Grand

• Candlelight Ceremony at Salvation Army Grand Falls Citadel, 33 Circular Rd., Grand
  “With our Candlelight Service of Hope and Remembrance and our Memorial Monument, we honour the innocent lives lost and the devastating injuries suffered as a result of impaired driving,” said Meghann Wetmore, MADD Canada’s Atlantic Region Victim Services Manager.
• “We also hope our Monument is a powerful reminder to everyone about what is truly at stake when someone gets behind the wheel impaired.
• They are not only taking that risk for themselves, they are risking the lives and health of everyone on the road with them.”
  MADD Canada has provincial Memorial Monuments in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.
• We are working towards establishing similar monuments in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.

• The new AI supercomputer is part of ongoing efforts to advance France’s national AI strategy and was co-funded by the Normandy Region, the French State, and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
• Austral will help train robust AI models and run simulations and data analysis to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation in climate modeling, biotechnology, healthcare, and materials science, among other areas.
• “We are proud to continue partnering with France’s national and regional centers to accelerate its AI missions by building powerful solutions using our supercomputers and AI software.
• Accelerate innovation for autonomous driving by understanding obstacle avoidance across different environments, such as railways or adverse weather conditions.

• A little over three years ago, a group of Portuguese youths filed a legal action against 33 European governments to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over what they say is a failure to adequately tackle global heating.
• Now, the Strasbourg court will be hearing them on 27 September, in a novel, far-fetching bid to arm-twist them into taking climate action.

The claim

• Plaintiffs expressed their grave concern over governments’ insufficient efforts to limit global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Were the rest of the world to mirror their commitments, the global temperature would hike by 2 to 3°C, according to Climate Tracker.

Human rights to the rescue of climate justice

• Against a global backdrop of increasing climate litigation, the Duarte Agostinho application follows in the steps of other climate lawsuits to draw a clear link between human rights violations and climate change.
• The first to have blazed that trail in 2015 was the Urgenda Foundation, whose legal action compelled the government to cut emissions by 25% from 1990 levels on the grounds of its applicants’ human rights.
• They also claim to suffer from anxiety after wildfires in Portugal in 2017 killed more than 120 people.
• In the absence of a specific article on environmental protection, these articles are essential tools for protecting people against various forms of pollution and other nuisances.
• The youths also argue that governments, in failing to take bold climate action, have breached Article 14, which guarantees the right not to suffer discrimination in the “enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this convention,” with the view that climate change impacts their generation in particular.

Ushering in effective action

• To prevent this from happening again, young people will be banking on a range of principles from human rights, including that of effectiveness.
• According to this postulate, states cannot remain passive in the face of a violation of the rights of individuals.
• For the court, this principle originally offered a guarantee that states would implement the positive obligations of protection required by the convention.
• The latter orders parties to take action to prevent a provision from being violated, even in a context of uncertainty.

The European court’s climate challenge

• Because the ruling is set to be issued by the Grand Chamber, there will no possibility of appealing against it.
• The question of its impact on the continent’s climate justice also remains to be seen.
• However, it could sharpen states’ resolve in climate and human rights’ matters.

• LAKEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstBank , one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” is hosting “FirstBank Fiestas ” from September 15 to October 6 in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
• These events will celebrate the vibrant cultures, traditions and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx communities.
• “FirstBank is committed to fostering inclusivity within and outside of our organization,” said Jim Reuter, CEO of FirstBank.
• “We celebrate and support all communities, and our Hispanic Heritage events have something for everyone to enjoy, from culturally inspired food, entertainment to activities.