Latest news with #licensinglaws
Malay Mail
09-08-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Brazil's Lula strikes down parts of controversial environmental ‘Devastation Bill'
BRASÍLIA, Aug 9 — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday vetoed some provisions of a Bill that would have made it easier for companies to secure environmental permits, bowing to pressure from activist groups. Dubbed the 'Devastation Bill' by its detractors, the text recently adopted by lawmakers would have loosened environmental licensing laws for projects considered 'strategic' by the state. For some permits, all that would have been required is a simple declaration of the company's environmental commitment. Lula instead reinstated the current strict licensing rules for strategic projects, such as a controversial oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river, but set a one-year deadline for them to be approved or rejected. His veto also ensures that several Indigenous territories and the Atlantic Forest, which stretches along the east coast, will continue to enjoy special protection, Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters. SOS Atlantic Forest, a non-governmental organization that had garnered over a million signatures calling for a veto of the law, hailed Lula's decision as 'a victory' for environmental protection. Greenpeace also praised the leftist president's action on the issue. But the executive coordinator of APIB, Brazil's largest Indigenous rights group, told AFP he was disappointed that the president had not struck down the entire Bill. Lula's veto must now be ratified by Congress, which is dominated by conservatives. Lula's environmental credentials are under close scrutiny in the run-up to the annual UN climate summit, which he will host in November in the Amazon city of Belem. While seeking to take a leadership role on climate change on the global stage, Lula has faced criticism at home for backing drilling in the Equatorial Margin, along the country's northern coast. He argues that the revenue from the oil field is necessary to finance Brazil's energy transition. Silva said Lula's objective was to ensure that 'the economy does not compete with ecology, but rather they are part of the same equation.' — AFP
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's Lula vetoes parts of environmental 'devastation bill'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday vetoed some provisions of a bill that would have made it easier for companies to secure environmental permits, bowing to pressure from activist groups. Dubbed the "devastation bill" by its detractors, the text recently adopted by lawmakers would have loosened environmental licensing laws for projects considered "strategic" by the state. For some permits, all that would have been required is a simple declaration of the company's environmental commitment. Lula instead reinstated the current strict licensing rules for strategic projects, such as a controversial oil mega-project at the mouth of the Amazon river, but set a one-year deadline for them to be approved or rejected. His veto also ensures that several Indigenous territories and the Atlantic Forest, which stretches along the east coast, will continue to enjoy special protection, Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters. SOS Atlantic Forest, a non-governmental organization that had garnered over a million signatures calling for a veto of the law, hailed Lula's decision as "a victory" for environmental protection. Greenpeace also praised the leftist president's action on the issue. But the executive coordinator of APIB, Brazil's largest Indigenous rights group, told AFP he was disappointed that the president had not struck down the entire bill. Lula's veto must now be ratified by Congress, which is dominated by conservatives. Lula's environmental credentials are under close scrutiny in the run-up to the annual UN climate summit, which he will host in November in the Amazon city of Belem. While seeking to take a leadership role on climate change on the global stage, Lula has faced criticism at home for backing drilling in the Equatorial Margin, along the country's northern coast. He argues that the revenue from the oil field is necessary to finance Brazil's energy transition. Silva said Lula's objective was to ensure that "the economy does not compete with ecology, but rather they are part of the same equation." jss/rsr/cb/sst Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
07-08-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Salisbury Plain shooting group fears closure in bird flu row
A Wiltshire shooting group says it may have to close down if new licensing laws around bird flu are not March, general licences for shooting gamebird, such as pheasant, were no longer issued for 2025 on or around Special Protection Areas by move was over fears the gamebirds could infect important bird populations with bird flu. Natural England was tasked with considering licences on a case-by-case of Bulford and Tidworth Garrison Shoot Hugh Carter said without a licence his shoot on Salisbury Plain would face closure. Natural England says licences can only be granted in "exceptional circumstances" where "clear measures" to cut transmission risk are taken. Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are strictly protected sites where internationally important wild bird populations live, such as the ground nesting Stone Curlew, which live on Salisbury Plain for parts of the Carter said Natural England should reconsider its "broad brush" approach to avian influenza."The assessment over the whole country is at one level but not reflecting what's going on, on Salisbury Plain," said Mr club shoots on the military training area of the plain and has 250 members who are largely serving personnel, military veterans and their dependants. It also employs a gamekeeper for the area, beaters and a gun dog team. Game killed during shoots is given first to employees and then donated to the wider community for Carter said if the shoot folded, the impact would be far-reaching for his community: "If there's no shoot, there's no gamekeeper, no picker-ups, no beaters, no food going into the community, no field sports going to the military community."It's the end. There are eight shoots here on Salisbury Plain all of whom will go out of business in the not too distant future if there is not some measured and sensible assessment done by Natural England." The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is taking legal action against Natural Lovejoy, BASC's deputy director for conservation, said the focus of Natural England was on "disease risk" and it had not "looked at the impact of the removal of the predator control and habitat management" that shoots management is achieved largely through the employment of a gamekeeper, who controls the number of animals, such as foxes and badgers, which eat protected species like the Stone Curlew. 'Thriving' Ms Lovejoy said: "There is ample evidence that shows that protected bird species are thriving on areas where you have a shoot."Where predator management is undertaken, in our opinion, that whole section is missing in the [Natural England] assessment".She said Natural England's approach risked undermining the very conservation goals it was meant to support. Game management, predator control and habitat improvements, much of it privately funded and volunteer-led, were often inseparable from shooting activities, she added."Shooting contributes over £500m annually in conservation work – equivalent to 26,000 full-time jobs," said Ms Lovejoy. Natural England said it could not comment on ongoing legal matters but Matthew Heard, director of national delivery, said: "Natural England is responsible for protecting internationally important bird populations on Salisbury Plain from avian influenza, such as the Stone Curlew."We have been tasked by Defra with considering individual licences for game bird releases. "But, given the very high risk of transmission of this deadly disease, government policy makes clear they can only be granted if there is evidence of exceptional circumstances and clear measures to reduce risk of transmission." According to the Bulford and Tidworth Garrison Shoot, Minister for Animal Welfare and Biosecurity Baroness Sue Hayman recognises its "biosecurity protocols exceed Defra requirements", but Natural England refused the licence application. Military Veterans Mark Witham is a military veteran who served 36 years in the army and says he relies on the Bulford and Tidworth Garrison Shoot. "I was physically and mentally broken when I left the army," he says, adding that with the shoot, "I'm outside with my dogs, talking to different people every day."It is fantastic for my mental wellbeing".He said working on each shoot with his five dogs, retrieving injured game to quickly dispatch them, and collecting shot game, was his said if shoots closed it would have a "devastating" impact on him. "I'll have dogs that I can't employ, they are my livelihood."I'm also a gundog trainer. I'd have to get rid of my picking-up team because I wouldn't be able to employ them." The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has shown support for the current guidance.A RSPB spokesperson welcomed "the decision made by Defra to not allow gamebird release on SPAs under general licence and the precautionary approach Natural England are taking in granting individual licences".The charity said it wanted the government to go further, calling for "all future releases of reared gamebirds and mallards [not just those on protected sites]" to be licensed.
Irish Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Last dance: Tourists ‘can't get their heads around' Dublin nightclubs closing at 2.30am
Dublin's first 'night mayor' finds it 'embarrassing' to explain Ireland's highly-restrictive licensing laws to European counterparts. Ray O'Donoghue, who leads Dublin City Council's efforts to develop a vibrant night-time economy, said visitors to the capital are 'shocked' they cannot go to clubs or bars after 2.30am. 'They can't get their heads around it,' he said, noting this has an impact on tourism. 'Even the lads in the 24-hour Spar [are] talking about tourists coming into the shop asking: 'Where do we go now?'' READ MORE 'And what can you say? 'Back to your hotel or your Airbnb, because there's no regulated place for you to go.'' A recent report on the State's nightclub industry and dance culture said the sector is 'downsizing'. There are now only 83 regularly active nightclubs in the Republic of Ireland, compared to 522 in 2000, according to the report published by campaign group Give Us the Night. For more than two decades, Give Us the Night has advocated for improvements to night-time culture in Ireland, including licensing law reform. The group's fingerprints are on many of the initiatives progressed in recent years, including through the Night-Time Economy Taskforce established by the Department of Culture. There was the expansion of Culture Night events and activities later into the night, the participation of arts venues in nightlife activity, the appointment of night-time advisers or 'night mayors', and noise mitigation grant schemes. The industry is regulated by a 90-year-old piece of legislation, the 1935 Public Dance Halls Act. Nightclubs account for 0.6 per cent of the 14,085 active liquor licences across Ireland. Most nightclubs operate six to nine hours a week, paying on average more than €20,000 for special exemption orders annually. The highest concentration of Ireland's nightclubs – 23 – is in Dublin. Ireland has the strictest nightclub curfews in Europe, and Dublin has the earliest closing times of any European capital. The average European nightclub closing time is 6.30am. In Dublin, it is 2.30am. Before the last general election, licensing law reform pursued by former minister for justice Helen McEntee effectively stalled. Sunil Sharpe, who co-authored the report with Ciara Power, is a techno DJ known for elevated, intense sets, and a capacity to play for hours. 'The business model of a nightclub is particularly difficult,' Sharpe said. 'It's an industry more heavily regulated than anywhere in Europe. We still can't give young people the basics ... The generalisation made is that if you're out late at night that must mean you've been boozing all evening and you're going to keep doing that until it's bright. That is simply just not the case. Drinking culture has changed.' Index nightclub, run by event management company District 8 The data backs this up. Alcohol consumption has fallen by 34.3 per cent since 2001. Today, people in Ireland are drinking alcohol at average European levels, according to a report published last month by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland. Dublin is not alone in experiencing a post-pandemic shift towards larger one-off dance music events, with some audiences driven by a desire for experiences and big moments (and the social media cachet of documenting them). SILO at the RDS in Dublin 4 hosts huge parties. In Belfast, AVA Festival pulls a substantial audience from Dublin. Martin Smyth and Fernando Martin, along with their team at event management company District 8, are a Dublin club culture success story. Their operations include Index, which in February moved to the Academy venue on Middle Abbey Street. District 8 also holds large one-off events and a festival in Kildare. 'I'm not a big memory lane guy, I look forward,' Smyth said. 'The event industry or market in Ireland – if that includes what we do – it feels like it's booming. But I do think a knock-on effect of that is it has become more difficult for mid-tier spaces ... If you're into dance music, people tend to go for bigger occasions.' Smyth is in favour of licensing law reform, saying all kinds of nightlife and music scenes could benefit. 'I think it could be infrequent, maybe once a month, or maybe for a few key nights a year. The conservative, scary public perception of late night opening hours, it shouldn't be viewed like that,' he said. O'Donoghue, the night-time economy adviser, does not have the typical profile of a leader within Dublin City Council, having emerged through the city's club scene as a DJ and club promoter. Under his reign there has been a rapid prototyping of ideas. After a brief trial of a welfare zone on College Green to assist partiers at night, the Nee-Naw, a Department of Justice-funded mobile support unit van, launched earlier this month in the Camden Street area. 'We just want to get things up and running. Just give it a go,' he said. O'Donoghue is also incorporating club culture into mainstream city festivals. 'We did late night events at Culture Night, St Patrick's Festival, St Brigid's Festival, Culture Date with Dublin 8 ... There is a bubbling underground scene. There may not be a lot of spaces, but they are there. But you do have to go out and find them. They're not falling into your lap,' he said. But in recent months, O'Donoghue has noticed a subtle, positive change in the atmosphere in the city centre. 'It does feel like there's a shift and a momentum,' he said. Survey data monitoring safety sentiment that asks, 'do you feel safe in Dublin city at night?' was at 24 per cent in December 2022, rising to 31 per cent last summer. The latest available statistic is 37 per cent, he said, adding: 'So even in the first six months of the year, it has improved.' At Tengu, a club at the back of Yamamori restaurant close to Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge, DJ EMA programmes and manages the space, runs the label Woozy, and cofounded the collective Skin&Blister. 'Dublin can feel like it's vibrant, evolving and inclusive one minute, but then stifling and restrictive the next. It is a really tough place to build a rich scene,' EMA said. EMA cited the cost of special exemption orders as contributing to 'wild' overheads, saying touring artists visiting Dublin find the costs, laws and opening times 'baffling'. [ The Irish Times view on helping Ireland's night time economy: Government needs to get on with it Opens in new window ] But EMA sees community at the core of Dublin nightlife, saying Dublin would feel 'super flat' without collectives such as Honeypot, Tender, Stretch and Dublin Modular, which 'focus on local talent and local community-building and have created incredibly safe and inclusive spaces'. [ 'Dreadful government, lack of nightlife, lack of cultural spaces': Dublin writer Thommas Kane Byrne on his home city Opens in new window ] Last weekend at Dublin Pride, there was an abundance of parties. One of the people behind some of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the city is Lisa Connell, who runs the club brand Mother with Cormac Cashman. 'We had around 7,000 people at the Block Party [at Collins Barracks], and we did four parties on Saturday night with an average of 800 people per party. Honestly, we could have put more on,' Connell said. Connell pointed to the number of alternative Pride parties that took place as indicating a 'really strong' appetite for clubbing. 'Along with that, people are flat out running raves, it's so deadly to see ... There seems to be a renewed curiosity in things. People are really interested in experiences.' On the potential for expanded opening hours, Connell said: 'You'd hope that if you weren't corralling people into a limited time slot, it would encourage people to pace themselves. I know from a venue perspective, we feel the infrastructure around nightlife isn't great. If people stay out later, can they get home? In other cities that's set up very well.' Among those making things happen, there is an enthusiasm for Dublin's vibe to become more optimistic. 'We probably took one of the biggest batterings during the pandemic,' Smyth said, 'Nobody wants to talk about the pandemic, but there's something about the hangover of that lifting now.'
CBS News
16-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado Christian camp sues over new rules on gender identity accommodations
A Colorado Christian camp is suing the State of Colorado over licensing requirements that the camp claims violate its religious beliefs. Camp IdRaHaJe is located south of Evergreen off Highway 285 and has been operating since 1948. A camp tucked amongst the mountains holds summer memories for Leah Rohwer. Camp IdRaHaJe CBS "I actually worked there as a horse wrangler in 2001 over the summer," said Rohwer When her two daughters were old enough to go, Camp IdRaHaJe once again became a part of her family's life. "They love it," said Rohwer. "They've gone since after the pandemic. They're set to go this year." In less than a month, campers will return to Bailey, Colorado, and kick off the summer at Camp IdRaHaJe, including Rohwer's two daughters. However, families like hers also wonder what will happen to the future of the camp in the wake of a lawsuit challenging new state licensing guidelines that the camp says do not align with their religious beliefs. "I fully support the camp in this decision," said Rohwer. The new rules, issued by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, outline requirements for camps to allow campers in attendance access to toilets, bathroom facilities, rooms, and other spaces that align with the person's gender identity. Camp IdRaHaJe CBS "This regulation requires it for bunking, for bathing, for changing, for anywhere where they would be separated biologically," said Rohwer. The camp resisted those changes and initially asked for an exemption from these new regulations based on the camp's religious ideologies. When the state refused to grant this exemption, the camp's defense team filed a lawsuit against the CDEC. "Camp is in jeopardy that they're going to continue operating in what they believe is consistent with freedom of religion and what they should be allowed to do as a religious organization," said Rohwer. The executive director of the camp released a statement in response to their lawsuit filed: Camp IdRaHaJe has faithfully served and ministered to Colorado children of all backgrounds and faiths since 1948 and has successfully maintained its resident camp license since it first received one in 1995. The new policy of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, however, is asking IdRaHaJe to choose between upholding its Biblical beliefs about biological sex and risk losing its license or abandoning its beliefs and mission by forcing girls and boys to shower, dress, and share sleeping quarters with campers of the opposite sex. We are asking the court to allow us to operate consistent with our beliefs and protect our campers from a gender ideology agenda. ADF Legal Counsel Andrea Dill, representing the camp, also released a statement: The government has no place telling religious summer camps that it's 'lights out' for upholding their religious beliefs about human sexuality. Camp IdRaHaJe exists to present the truth of the Gospel to children who are building character and lifelong memories. But the Colorado government is putting its dangerous agenda—that is losing popularity across the globe—ahead of its kids. We are urging the court to allow IdRaHaJe to operate as it has for over 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs. The CDEC did not respond to a request for comment pending litigation. For Rohwer, she says the state's policy is overreaching, especially when it comes to an institution that's had the same values instilled for nearly 80 years. Camp IdRaHaJe CBS "They feel like they're honoring god in what they're doing, and I feel like they should do that, to operate in a way that's consistent with that," said Rohwer. Having a family member that is transgendered, Rohwer says she empathizes with children who may identify outside of their biological gender, but she says she does not support a change that forces an organization to change its religious values. "I have a heart for the kids that feel like they don't fit in their body," she said. "I love those kids and I'm not saying anything bad about any of those kids or family members, whoever it might be, but I feel like we shouldn't stomp on someone's religious freedom to try and help those folks.
