Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 7, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B2 B 2 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I WORLD B ORIS Johnson will tell the Euro-pean Union he’s prepared to walk away from trade talks rather than compromise on what he regards as a core principle of Brexit, as the feel- ing grows on both sides that a break- through will prove impossible when ne- gotiations resume in London this week. The British prime minister will to- day set the Oct. 15 European Council meeting as the deadline for a deal. And he’ll say the U.K. is prepared to end the Brexit transition period without one, if necessary, at year-end — a scenario he’ll describe as a “good outcome,” his office said in an emailed statement. “There is still an agreement to be had,” Johnson will say, pledging that his government will work hard through September and urging the bloc to “re- think” its positions. “But we cannot and will not compromise on the fundamen- tals of what it means to be an independ- ent country to get it.” A European diplomat, who asked not to be named in line with policy, said informal consultations ahead of this week’s talks yielded no shift in positions. A second diplomat said the view in Brussels is that there’s a fight between Brexit realists and Brexit ideologues in the British government, and it’s uncertain which side will pre- vail. Meanwhile a spokesperson con- firmed the government is “considering fall-back options” in case it can’t resolve “outstanding issues” in the Brexit with- drawal agreement related to Northern Ireland. The Financial Times reported that a planned internal market bill to ensure smooth trade between the four U.K. nations will override key parts of the withdrawal agreement on state aid and Northern Ireland customs — a move people familiar with the plans told the newspaper will undermine prospects of a trade deal. The U.K. will revert to trading with its biggest market on terms set by the World Trade Organization if there’s no agreement in place by Dec. 31. That means the return of certain tariffs and quotas, as well as extra paperwork for businesses. Though the British govern- ment describes that as an “Australia- style” agreement, it’s an outcome feared by British businesses who warn of severe disruptions to vital just-in- time supply chains. Today, Johnson will say that in the ab- sence of a deal, the U.K. will be “ready to find sensible accommodations on practical issues,” including aviation, haulage, and scientific cooperation, ac- cording to his office. The two sides have been at an im- passe for months over state aid and fisheries. The EU is seeking to keep the access its fisherman currently have to U.K. waters to protect jobs and coastal communities, while Britain wants reduced access for EU boats and to make it conditional on regular negotiations. On state aid, or so-called level play- ing field regulations, Johnson’s govern- ment wants the freedom to chart its own course, while the EU is demanding to know what the British government plans to ensure fair competition. Negotiators have scheduled eight hours of talks on both issues this week, according to an agenda published on Friday. On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dom- inic Raab accused the bloc of trying to undermine the U.K.’s Brexit decision by keeping it bound to the rules of the EU’s single market. “This week is an important moment for the EU to really effectively recog- nize that those two points of principles are not something we can just haggle away — they are the very reasons we are leaving the EU,” Raab told Sky News. He said the issue of state aid is a “point of principle” for the U.K. rather than an indication the government is preparing major interventions. “I don’t think the EU should be wor- ried about that,” he said. There’s pessimism in Brussels about the prospects of a breakthrough, and for now, Brexit isn’t on the agenda of the Sept. 24 EU summit. Michel Barnier, the bloc’s top nego- tiator, said last week he was “worried” and “disappointed” by the current state of the talks, saying Britain would need to shift its position to reach an agree- ment. The EU also hit back at reports in the British media that Barnier is being sidelined in an attempt to push forward a trade agreement, calling them “un- founded rumours.” “Whoever wants to engage with the EU on Brexit needs to engage with Michel Barnier,” Sebastian Fischer, a Brussels-based spokesman for the Ger- man government, whose country holds the EU presidency, said in a tweet over the weekend. The two sides are even at loggerheads on how to negotiate, with the EU de- manding progress on all issues and the U.K. seeking initial agreements on less contentious points to build momentum toward a final deal. But ahead of the meetings, the U.K.’s chief negotiator, David Frost, warned that his side would “not blink,” and con- trasted Johnson’s steadfast approach with that of his predecessor, Theresa May. British officials have also repeat- edly complained about the EU’s pos- ition. “A lot of what we are trying to do this year is to get them to realize that we mean what we say and they should take our position seriously,” Frost said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday. The standoff comes amid warnings from British businesses, particularly the haulage industry, about the U.K.’s ability to mitigate disruption at ports. Raab told the BBC on Sunday that earlier planning for a no-deal Brexit and the measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic have put the U.K. “in a much stronger place” to handle the risks. “But we’d much rather have a deal with the EU.” — Bloomberg News STUART BIGGS Johnson prepared to end post-Brexit transition period without trade deal U.K. rules out compromise as EU trade discussions drag on SIMON DAWSON / BLOOMBERG British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set Oct. 15 as a deadline for a deal in trade talks with the European Union. MOSCOW — Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered throughout Belarus on Sunday to call for longtime President Alexander Lukashenko to step down, despite security services warning that they would crack down on protests. In Minsk alone, tens of thousands of protesters marched in the streets of the Belarusian capital in bad weather, wav- ing the country’s historic red-white-red flag and shouting “Belarus lives” as they moved through the city, observers said. Some reports placed the number of protesters at 100,000. Many marched past the city’s Palace of Independence in another part of the city, where Lukashenko is based. Some waved rainbow flags and played music. Maria Kolesnikova, an opposition polit- ician, marched along with them. The capital’s Independence Square was completely cordoned off and police blocked the protesters’ route with barri- cades and barbed wire. Uniformed offi- cials stood side by side holding shields. Videos posted online showed ar- moured vehicles on the streets and police dragging protesters into prison transporters and police buses. The Interior Ministry has said it was prepared to send in more personnel. The ministry had warned people against participating in the protest, which was called by opposition forces as a “March of Unity” at Minsk’s In- dependence Square. Opposition leader Svetlana Tikha- novskaya called on her fellow Belaru- sians not to be intimidated. “Remem- ber, together we are strong,” she said in a video message from Lithuania, where she fled to after losing to Lukashenko in the elections. Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old foreign- language teacher, registered as a candi- date in the election after her husband, a key Lukashenko opponent, was jailed in the run-up to the poll. More than 100 people were arrested in Minsk ahead of Sunday’s demonstration, the Interior Ministry said. More than 165 people were arrested according to Viasna, a human rights organization. Demonstrations also swept through other cities. Videos from the city of Grodno showed marchers being stormed by groups of uniformed of- ficers. There were also reports of tear gas being fired. Security personnel used tear gas against marchers in Brest, according to opposition groups on the Telegram mes- saging service. Sunday is the main day for opposition protests in Belarus and last Sunday the demonstrations drew hundreds of thou- sands of people, despite a ban. Protesters are calling not only for Lukashenko’s resignation, but also for the release of political prisoners, new elections and the prosecution of police violence. Lukashenko has thus far avoided en- tering into any dialogue with the oppos- ition. He claims to have won the August 9 elections by a margin of over 80 per cent. He has ruled the former Soviet coun- try for over a quarter century. — Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH Thousands continue protests in Belarus CLAUDIA THALER AND CHRISTIAN THIELE SHAVER LAKE, Calif. — Rescuers in military helicopters airlifted 207 people to safety after an explosive wild- fire trapped them in a popular camp- ing area in California’s Sierra National Forest, one of dozens of fires burning Sunday amid record-breaking temper- atures that strained the state’s electric- al grid and threatened power outages for millions. The California Office of Emergency Services said Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were used for the rescues that began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning at Mammoth Pool Reservoir. At least two people were severely injured and 10 more suffered moderate injuries. Two campers re- fused rescue and stayed behind, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said, and there was no immediate word on their fates. A photo tweeted by the California National Guard showed more than 20 evacuees packed tightly inside one helicopter, some crouched on the floor clutching their belongings. In another photo taken on the ground from a heli- copter cockpit, the densely wooded hills surrounding the aircraft were in flames. The blaze dubbed the Creek Fire has charred more than 184 square kilometres of timber, and the 800 fire- fighters on the scene had yet to get any containment after two days of work on steep terrain in sweltering heat. Some homes and businesses have burned, but there was no official tabulation yet. Other blazes broke out in Southern California and forced evacuations in San Diego and San Bernardino coun- ties. The Creek Fire churned southward from the reservoir through miles of dense forest and by Sunday afternoon threatened a marina and cabins along Shaver Lake, where Jack Machado helped friends remove propane tanks from the lodge Cottages at the Point. Sheriff’s deputies went through the town of several hundred residents to make sure people complied with evacu- ation orders. “The lake is totally engulfed with smoke. You can’t hardly see in front of you,” Machado said. “The sky’s turning red. It looks like Mars out there.” Temperatures in the fire zone were in the 30s, but that was cool compared to many parts of the state. Downtown Los Angeles reached 44 Celsius and a record-shattering high of 49.4 C was recorded in the nearby Woodland Hills neighbourhood of the San Fernando Valley. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in Los Angeles County, ac- cording to the National Weather Ser- vice. The mark rivaled the high in California’s Death Valley, typically the hottest place in the country. Meanwhile, downtown San Francisco set a record for the day with a high of 37.7 C, smashing the previous mark by 5 degrees. “By our calculations, over 99 per cent of California’s population is under an Excessive Heat Warning or Heat Ad- visory today,” the weather service in Sacramento tweeted Sunday afternoon. The exceptionally hot temperatures were driving the highest power use of the year, and transmission losses because of the wildfires have cut into supplies. Eric Schmitt of the Califor- nia Independent System Operator that manages the state’s power grid said up to 3 million customers faced power outages if residents didn’t curtail their electricity usage. Power usage was expected to peak at 6 p.m., and no significant outages had been reported by then. The city of Glen- dale near Los Angeles implemented a very small blackout that local author- ities promised would last only an hour. Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, warned customers that it might cut power starting Tuesday because of expected high winds and heat that could create even greater fire danger. Some of the state’s largest and deadliest fires in recent years have been sparked by downed power lines and other utility equipment. The Creek Fire started Friday and by Saturday afternoon exploded in size, jumped the San Joaquin River and cut off the only road into the Mam- moth Pool Campground, national for- est spokesman Dan Tune said. At least 2,000 structures were threatened in the area about 467 kilometres north of Los Angeles. The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined. While some campers were rescued by helicopters, others made a white- knuckle drive to safety. Juliana Park recorded video of flames on both sides of her car as she and others fled down a mountain road. “A backpacking trip cut short by un- foreseen thunder, ash rain, and having to drive through literal fire to evacuate #SierraNationalForest in time,” Park tweeted. “Grateful to the SNF ranger who led us down ... wish we got her name.” The Mammoth Pool Reservoir is about 56 kilometres northeast of Fres- no. It’s surrounded by thick pine forests and is a popular destination for boating and fishing. Bone-dry conditions and the hot weather fueled the flames once the fire started, and it grew rapidly. Lindsey Abbott and her family were guided to safety by a stranger they fol- lowed down from their campsite near Whisky Falls. “It was so hot, you could feel the flames going through the window,” she told ABC30 in Fresno. Ashley Wagner was among those rescued, along with two relatives and a friend. They were trapped in Lo- gan’s Meadow behind Wagner’s Store, a 63-year-old business run by her aunt that was destroyed. “My family’s history just went up in flames,” Wagner told the station. In Southern California, crews scram- bled to douse several fires that popped up, including one that closed moun- tain roads in Angeles National Forest. The largest was a blaze in the foothills of Yucaipa east of Los Angeles that prompted evacuation orders for eastern portions of the city of 54,000 along with several mountain communities. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said the fire scorched at least 12.2 square kilometres of brush and trees. —The Associated Press California fires continue as hot weather strains power grid MARCIO SANCHEZ AND CHRISTOPHER WEBER B_02_Sep-07-20_FP_01.indd B2 9/6/20 9:28 PM ;