Leaked report calls indigenous women's deaths a 'Canadian genocide'

Yahoo – AFP, May 31, 2019

Indigenous leaders participate in a protest against the expansion of Texas-based
Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline project in Burnaby, British Columbia
on March 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Ottawa (AFP) - A public inquiry report leaked to Canada's public broadcaster Friday called the disappearances and slayings of possibly thousands of indigenous women over recent decades a "Canadian genocide."

The report concluded that through "state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies" indigenous women and girls faced a disproportionately high level of violence.

"We do know that thousands of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) have been lost to the Canadian genocide to date," said the report, titled "Reclaiming Power and Place."

"The fact that First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples are still here and that the population is growing should not discount the charge of genocide."

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls's 1,200-page final report is set for public release Monday at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- who has made reconciliation with Canada's 1.6 million indigenous peoples a government priority -- and families of the victims.

CBC said it contains more than 230 recommendations.

The inquiry was the culmination of years of lobbying by native leaders, activists and victims' families seeking to know why possibly thousands of indigenous women were murdered or have gone missing over the past three decades.

Indigenous women represent four percent of Canada's population but accounted for up to 16-24 percent of homicide victims during the period, said the report's authors.

According to official estimates, almost 1,200 women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012.

But inquiry commissioners have said that figure is probably too low.

The commissioners held 24 hearings across Canada over the past 2.5 years and heard from more than 2,000 witnesses, including family members of missing or murdered women, survivors of violence, experts and officials.

Vengaboys head back to Ibiza with ‘protest’ hit in Austria

DutchNews, May 31, 2019

The Vengaboys in 2009. Photo: Violent Music via Wikimedia Commons

Dutch band Vengaboys chart topper We’re going to Ibiza, recorded 20 years ago, has become a number one hit in Austria after being used as a protest song. 

A video of the song was put online by German comedian Jan Böhmermann in the wake of a corruption scandal which involved deputy prime minister and leader of the right-wing FPÖ Heinz-Christian Strache. 

The politician, who has since stepped down, was set up to meet who he thought was a Russian investor in Ibiza and was filmed promising government contracts in exchange for electoral support. 

Wow, Going to Ibiza is #1 in Austria #ibizavideo

Hey @janboehm Did you make this happen?!https://t.co/grujlnjsuB pic.twitter.com/3q0hMbb705

— Vengaboys (@vengaboys) 21 mei 2019

The band, founded by DJs Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen, are now in great demand in Austria and performed at a protest meeting in Vienna earlier this week. 

The Vengaboys song is actually a version of Typically Tropical’s Barbados, which was a hit in 1975.

Israel PM's wife reaches plea deal in delivery meals case: reports

Yahoo – AFP, May 29, 2019

Sara Netanyahu has been a high-profile presence at her husband's side
throughout his long tenure as Israeli premier (AFP Photo/Thomas COEX)

Jerusalem (AFP) - The wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a plea bargain with prosecutors over accusations she used state funds to fraudulently pay for hundreds of meals, media reports said Wednesday.

Sara Netanyahu had been charged with fraud and breach of trust in June 2018 for allegedly misusing state funds to pay for catered meals costing $100,000 (85,000 euros) by falsely declaring there were no cooks available at the prime minister's official residence.

According to Israeli media reports, she agreed to reimburse the state 45,000 shekels ($12,440, 11,160 euros) and pay another 10,000 shekels ($2,770, 2,480 euros) as a fine as part of the plea deal.

She will also admit the relatively light charge of exploiting the mistake of another person, according to the reports.

The agreement would have to be approved by the court.

Spokespeople for the court administration, justice department and Netanyahu family refused to comment on the reports.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2013, Sara Netanyahu, her family and guests "fraudulently (received) from the state hundreds of prepared meals" ordered from a variety of well-known Jerusalem businesses.

Netanyahu, 60 and a high-profile presence at her husband's side throughout his long tenure in office, denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial.

She has also faced accusations of mistreating staff, and in 2016 a court awarded some $47,000 in damages to a former housekeeper who accused the couple of repeated workplace abuse.

Separately, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing possible indictment for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the months ahead and is reportedly seeking legislation that would result in him being granted immunity.

He has been unable to form a governing coalition following April elections and has until a Wednesday night deadline to do so.

The deadlocked coalition negotiations may result in snap elections only months after the previous vote.

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Netanya huflies into turbulence over $127,000 bed on plane

French #MeToo founder sued for slander by man she accused

Yahoo – AFP, Juliette MONTESSE, May 29, 2019

Journalist Sandra Muller, who began the French answer to the #MeToo movement,
is accused of slandering a media executive (AFP Photo/BERTRAND GUAY)

Paris (AFP) - The woman behind France's answer to the #MeToo campaign exposing abusive behaviour by men appeared in court on Wednesday accused of slandering a media executive who she said had made lewd remarks.

Sandra Muller, a US-based French journalist, is being sued for defamation by French TV executive Eric Brion at a Paris court over a Twitter post accusing him of humiliating her with vulgar comments.

Muller and Brion, a media consultant and former head of TV channel Equidia, were both present in court for the hearing.

Muller started a viral hashtag in French in October 2017, #balancetonporc ("expose your pig"), which called on Frenchwomen to name and shame men in an echo of the #MeToo movement that began in response to allegations that toppled movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

In her Twitter post, she told of how Brion had humiliated her, saying: "You have big breasts. You are my type of woman. I will make you orgasm all night."

The post led to an outpouring of tales of harassment and assault, which were hailed as ending a culture of permissiveness in France towards unwanted advances.

After apologising for his remarks, Brion nonetheless decided to launch legal action against her.

He is asking for 50,000 euros ($55,000) in damages, 15,000 euros in legal fees ($17,000) and the deletion of the tweet where his name is mentioned.

'Predator'

Drion's legal team argue that while he does not dispute that he flirted with Muller she had portrayed him as a sexual predator and ruined his career.

"He has never admitted to harassing anyone. He said that one evening he tried to flirt with Sandra Muller as he liked her," Brion's lawyer Marie Burguburu told the court. "This is his right to flirt," she added.

Muller, speaking to the court, said that she wanted things to change so that "sexist insults, whatever they are, are finally taken seriously".

"I started a movement that spread through all levels of society," said Muller, who said she was happy to travel from the United States to attend the hearing.

In a column in Le Monde newspaper late last year, Brion admitted making "inappropriate remarks to Sandra Muller" at a cocktail party.

But he also accused Muller of "deliberately creating ambiguity about what happened" by linking it to the response to the Weinstein affair.

He complained of the severe personal and professional consequences of what he said was a "conflation of heavyhanded flirting and sexual harassment in the workplace".

Many Frenchwomen made public their experiences of abusive behaviour by men in the wake of the #MeToo and #balancetonporc movements.

But there has also been controversy.

Last year a group of prominent French women, led by film star Catherine Deneuve, complained that the campaign against harassment had become "puritanical" and they defended the right of men to "hit on" women.

Canada's Ontario province says will sue opioid makers

Yahoo – AFP, May 27, 2019

A 500ml bottle of liquid oxycodone, an opioid pain relief medication, and a dose
of 5ml of the solution; the Canadian province of Ontario has joined a suit against
opioid makers and distributors (AFP Photo/EVA HAMBACH)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's most populous province of Ontario on Monday announced plans to sue opioid makers to recover health care costs related to the deadly addiction epidemic.

Ontario's attorney general, Caroline Mulroney, said the province will join a lawsuit launched last year by British Columbia against more than 40 opioid manufacturers and wholesalers.

"The opioid crisis has cost the people of Ontario enormously, both in terms of lives lost and its impact on health care's front lines," Mulroney said.

She unveiled legislation to set up the legal action "to battle the ongoing opioid crisis and hold manufacturers and wholesalers accountable for their roles in it."

More than 10,000 Canadians have died of opioid-related overdoses since 2016, according to government figures. Combatting the crisis is estimated to have cost Ottawa nearly Can$400 million (US$300 million).

Historically, opioid overdose deaths -- mainly from the powerful painkiller fentanyl -- were concentrated among drug addicts.

But many victims became addicted to prescribed painkillers before turning to street drugs and others were experimenting with recreational drugs for the first time.

Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario have been the hardest hit provinces but the epidemic has affected every part of the country.

The British Columbia suit named opioid manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors as defendants -- including Purdue, whose popular OxyContin drug has been blamed for triggering the crisis.

"These opioid manufacturers and wholesalers failed to warn doctors and the public of the dangers of opioids and marketed them as safer and less addictive than other medications when they were not," Ontario alleged in a statement.

Mulroney said Ontario intends to invest any award from the suit in mental health and addiction services.

Neither British Columbia nor Ontario have yet said how much they would be seeking in damages.

Landmark US opioid trial begins in Oklahoma

Yahoo – AFP, May 28, 2019

This undated handout file photo obtained courtesy of the US Drug Enforcement
Administration shows 20 mg pills of the opioid painkiller OxyContin (AFP Photo/Handout)

Chicago (AFP) - The first civil trial that could end up holding a drug company responsible for the US opioid epidemic began Tuesday in Oklahoma, in a landmark case that might impact thousands of others like it.

The bench trial pits the state of Oklahoma against Johnson & Johnson. Two other drug companies named in the lawsuit settled ahead of the trial.

Oklahoma has accused the three drug makers of deceptively marketing addictive opioid painkillers, hyping their effectiveness and downplaying the risks of addiction.

The lawsuit is the first of many of its kind to go to trial, and seen as an important test of whether drug companies can be held accountable in court for an addiction epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of Americans.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter in opening statements accused Johnson & Johnson of being motivated by greed in embarking on "a cynical, deceitful multimillion-dollar brainwashing campaign" to sell opioids as a "magic drug."

"It's time to hold them responsible for their actions," Hunter told the presiding judge, who will decide the case in lieu of a jury.

Johnson & Johnson has denied the charges levied by the state and its attorneys were scheduled to make opening statements later in the afternoon.

There are some 2,000 lawsuits brought by states, cities and Native American territories across the country, all seeking compensation from makers of the highly addictive prescription painkillers.

The lawsuits are being compared to the 1998 cases against Big Tobacco, which ended in a 46-state overarching settlement estimated at $250 billion in annual payments over the first 25 years of it being in force.

In the Oklahoma lawsuit, Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva on Sunday settled the case for $85 million.

Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin -- a key driver of the crisis -- reached a $270 million settlement with the state in March.

Overdoses from prescription painkillers and heroin exploded over the last 20 years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Almost 400,000 people have died from an overdose involving prescription or illicit opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pop icon Prince and rocker Tom Petty were among the high-profile victims of the epidemic.

Israeli drugmaker Teva to pay Oklahoma $85 mn in opioid suit

Yahoo – AFP, May 27, 2019

Israeli drugmaker Teva agreed to pay the US state Oklahoma $85 million to settle a 

lawsuit accusing it of complicity in the opioid epidemic, which has killed thousands 

(AFP Photo/JACK GUEZ)

Washington (AFP) - Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva agreed on Sunday to pay the US state of Oklahoma $85 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of fueling the state's opioid epidemic, Oklahoma's attorney general said.

The announcement comes after Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin -- a key driver of the crisis responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States -- reached a $270 million settlement with the state in March.

Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement the Teva settlement shows Oklahoma's "resolve to hold the defendants in this case accountable for the ongoing opioid overdose and addiction epidemic that continues to claim thousands of lives each year."

The money will be used by the midwestern state to fight the opioid crisis, Hunter said, with an announcement of how exactly it will be spent made in the future.

Meanwhile, another pharmaceutical titan, Johnson & Johnson, is set to go on trial in Oklahoma on Tuesday, with the company facing similar accusations that it aggressively promoted opioid painkillers despite knowing the risks of addiction.

Overdoses from prescription painkillers and heroin -- a last-resort illicit drug for opioid addicts -- exploded over the last 20 years, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Almost 400,000 people have died from an overdose involving prescription or illicit opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Pop icon Prince and rocker Tom Petty were among the high-profile victims of the epidemic.

Pope accepts resignation of Brazilian bishop

Yahoo – AFP, May 17, 2019

Pope Francis last week passed a landmark new measure to oblige those who know
about sex abuse in the Catholic Church to report it to their superiors (AFP Photo/
Vincenzo PINTO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Brazilian bishop Vilson Dias de Oliveira, the Vatican said Friday in a statement.

The bishop is under investigation for alleged extortion of priests in his diocese, and the covering-up of sexual abuse cases, according to Brazilian media reports.

Dias de Oliveira allegedly protected a priest accused of clerical abuse.

The bishop confessed to police in April that he had swiped $4,000 (3,580 euros) from parish funds for personal use, telling them he did so because he was having financial difficulties, the reports said.

The Vatican always announces when Francis has accepted the resignation of a bishop, but never explains why.

"Dear brothers and sisters, in recent months we have had to bear all sorts of crosses through attacks against our Limeira church, against me and other presbyters," Dias de Oliveira said in a statement.

"I acknowledge my limitations, but I also carry in my heart all the love I have received from the good people of God.

"I ask to resign for the love of Christ and for the good of the diocese," he said in the letter published by the diocese of Limeira, a city in the Sao Paulo state in southern Brazil.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by a global clerical paedophilia scandal, with victims coming forward in countries ranging from Australia to Chile, Germany and the United States.

Pope Francis passed a landmark new measure this month to oblige those who know about sex abuse in the Church to report it to their superiors, in a move which could bring countless new cases to light.

Humiliating exit for Austrian far-right's 'Mr Clean'

Yahoo – AFP, Jastinder KHERA, May 18, 2019

After years of efforts to clean up the image of Austria's far-right, Heinz-Christian
Strache (L) quit Saturday over what he termed a "stupid, irresponsible mistake"
(AFP Photo/ALEX HALADA)

Vienna (AFP) - Heinz-Christian Strache, the man who successfully steered Austria's far-right back into government after years in opposition, has himself been brought down by an explosive corruption scandal.

The 49-year-old was forced to quit Saturday after German media published hidden-camera footage -- of unknown provenance -- showing him meeting the purported niece of a Russian oligarch over a boozy dinner in a luxury villa on the resort island of Ibiza.

After years of efforts to clean up the image of his Freedom Party (FPOe), founded after World War II by former Nazis, Strache has now been disgraced by what he termed a "stupid, irresponsible mistake".

In the recordings, Strache is seen promising public contracts in return for campaign help and suggesting he could help bring about staff changes in Austria's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung, as well as the part-privatisation of public broadcaster ORF.

For many observers, the scene seemed to confirm the stereotypes of the party that Strache had worked so hard to bury: too ready to engage in dubious practices, too close to Russia, and contemptuous of the free media.

'Mature' figure

It almost certainly marks the humiliating end of a political career which had come a long way in the three decades since Strache was detained by German police at a torch-lit protest by a group aping the Hitler Youth.

When the former dental technician, brought up single-handedly by his mother in a lower-middle-class area of Vienna, took over the FPOe in 2005 aged 35, the movement was a mess.

Joerg Haider, its controversial but magnetic leader from 1986-2000, had broken off to form his own party, the movement torn apart by its last spell in government in the early 2000s.

But "HC", his striking blue eyes matching the party colours, restored its fortunes and in elections in 2017, the FPOe won 26 percent -- double the score of the Alternative for Germany a month earlier.

This gave Strache, cutting a mature figure in new glasses, a ticket to enter talks to form a coalition with Sebastian Kurz's conservative People's Party (OeVP).

When the FPOe last entered government in 2000 under Haider, there was uproar in Europe.

This time, the reaction was more muted, with Europe more inured to populists and the FPOe seen as having moderated.

Stream of controversy

Indeed, early in Strache's leadership, FPOe posters screamed "Daham statt Islam" ("Home not Islam") but over the years they became less shrill and more subtle.

In the 2017 campaign, the main messages were "fairness" -- an elastic term encompassing everything from lower taxes to scrapping benefits for immigrants -- and opposition to "Islamisation".

Strache also moved to clean up the party's image by suspending members for anti-Semitic behaviour.

However, since the party's entry into government, it has been dogged by a steady succession of controversies.

Strache himself was forced to apologise last year to one of ORF's most prominent newscasters, Armin Wolf, after sharing a Facebook post accusing the journalist of spreading "lies" and "fake news".

Other revelations pointed to extremist sympathies in the party's base, including links to the Identitarian Movement Austria.

The appointment of the FPOe's Herbert Kickl as interior minister also sparked fears among Austria's Western partners over whether information could be leaked to Moscow.

Observers say the manner in which Strache has been brought down will raise questions over the FPOe's future and to what extent his efforts to detoxify the party have been permanently damaged.

#UPDATE Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dramatically pulled the plug on his coalition government and announced fresh elections after an explosive camera sting claimed the scalp of his far-right deputy https://t.co/uppuyddsoT

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 18 mei 2019

‘Leading’ trauma surgeon sacked for sexual misconduct

DutchNews, May 17, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

 A Twente hospital has sacked a trauma surgeon for sexual misconduct in the second major #metoo scandal in the Netherlands this week. 

The 64-year old surgeon was dismissed from his post at the Medisch Spectrum Twente earlier this month following 18 accusations of sexual misconduct and verbal aggression from staff including nurses, interns and secretaries. 

None of the accusers have filed police complaints as yet. 

In a letter from the hospital to the medical inspectorate quoted by the Volkskrant, hospital offcials say the incidents which cover the period between 2014 and now ‘may well have had a negative influence on the quality of care at the hospital’. 

The surgeon, who was given a prestigious royal distinction for his work, has admitted having being verbally aggressive but denies abuse of power and being a sex pest. 

‘Some of the accusations are true. I can be rough verbally. That can have an effect and I am not always aware of it,’ he told the paper. ‘But if people start to accuse you of sexual misconduct then, as a man, you are playing a match with a 5-0 disadvantage.’ 

He also denies endangering the quality of care. ‘The whole country knows my name. I am one of the leading trauma surgeons. If it is said the quality of care has been compromised it will have to be proven.’ 

Inspectors 

Staff have also said their accusations were not properly handled by their superiors. Healthcare inspection body IGJ, which will investigate the matter said that ‘to deliver good and safe care the culture has to be right,’ a spokesperson said. 

The sacking of the Twente surgeon comes in the wake of news this week that a law professor at the University of Amsterdam was sacked at the end of 2018 because of sexual misconduct. The professor, who can only be referred to by his initials R.B. following a court decision, was known as a ‘flamboyant, charismatic man with a lust for life,’ the paper said.

EU fines five major banks 1 bn euros for currency collusion

Yahoo – AFP, May 16, 2019

.With collusion between traders, clients may not have gotten the best rates (AFP
Photo/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

Brussels (AFP) - The EU's powerful anti-trust authority on Thursday fined five major banks -- including Barclays and Citigroup -- more than a billion euros for collusion in the massive foreign exchange currency market.

The European Commission sanctioned Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Japan's MUFG Bank a total of 1.07 billion euros ($1.2 billion) after finding that traders colluded to fix exchange rates using electronic chat rooms, a statement said.

The commission said Swiss giant UBS received no fine as it revealed the collusion to the authorities.

"These cartel decisions send a clear message that the commission will not tolerate collusive behaviour in any sector of the financial markets," said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

"The behaviour of these banks undermined the integrity of the sector at the expense of the European economy and consumers," she added.

The decision involves two cases of forex manipulation, with the first known as "Essex Express 'n the Jimmy" because all the traders (except Jimmy) lived in the county to the east of London, the commission said.

The other one was called "Three-way banana split", though the EU's executive arm did not explain why.

"Some of the traders created the chat rooms and then invited one another to join, based on their trading activities and personal affinities, creating closed circles of trust," the commission explained.

The collusion took place between 2007 and 2013, roughly the years of the financial crisis and has been sanctioned by other authorities, including the US.

Except Japan's MUFG, the banks cooperated with the commission and in return received lighter fines than the EU's maximum amount.

"We are pleased to resolve this historical matter, which relates to the conduct of one former employee. We have since made significant control improvements," said a spokesperson for JPMorgan.

Several of the banks, including Barclays, had already provisioned for the fines in earlier filings.

Global study finds third of female lawyers harassed

Yahoo – AFP, 15 May 2019

The report noted that many victims were speaking up thanks to the global
spread of the #MeToo movement

The world's largest survey of sexual harassment in the legal profession has found one in three women said they had suffered abuse from their bosses and colleagues.

The report published on Wednesday by the London-based International Bar Association (IBA) also found that 75 percent of victims who reported abuse in the survey did not speak up and file complaints at work.

Half did so for "fear of repercussions" or because the perpetrator was someone more senior.

The global sexual harassment rate among men in the legal profession was reported at around seven percent.

"I didn't report it because who believes that a man says no to sex?" a man from a Swedish law firm said.

The report noted that many victims were speaking up thanks to the #MeToo movement that spread globally in response to sexual harassment charges filed against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

The IBA found that men and women who did report their cases most often felt frustrated with their employer's response.

"In three-quarters of sexual harassment cases, the perpetrator was not sanctioned," the 130-page report said.

"In more than half of cases, the situation was unchanged or deteriorated."

The report was based on a survey of 7,000 respondents from 135 countries.

The survey focused heavily on Western countries and the group said the study may be under-representing respondents in countries where the subject is either taboo or where there is limited awareness about it.

This could make it seem like abuses are most prevalent in "progressive" countries that speak more openly about sex crimes. It calls this problem a "perception paradox".

But the IBA stressed that its analysis remained the most comprehensive global assessment of sexual harassment in the legal profession ever undertaken.

Abuses are "driving people away from their workplaces and the profession as a whole," the IBA said.

"These findings... cannot be ignored."

The report noted that many victims were speaking up thanks to the global spread of the #MeToo movement.

Actress Felicity Huffman pleads guilty in college admissions scandal

Yahoo – AFP, May 14, 2019

Actress Felicity Huffman arrives at court in Boston (AFP Photo/Joseph Prezioso)

New York (AFP) - American actress Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty on Monday for paying bribes to help her daughter gain admission to a prestigious university, avoiding what was sure to be a well-publicized trial and probably also dodging jail time.

The former "Desperate Housewives" star was the latest celebrity brought down by the wide-ranging college bribery scandal that's snared a slew of wealthy American parents.

In a tearful appearance before federal judge Indira Talwani in Boston, Huffman pled guilty to paying $15,000 to boost her daughter's SAT college entrance exam score.

The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000, but by admitting guilt Huffman will likely avoid those penalties.

Federal prosecutors have recommended a sentence of a year's probation and a $20,000 fine, though the judge can modify the penalty if she pleases.

Huffman announced her intention to plead guilty last month, saying she was "ashamed" of what she had done. Sentencing is scheduled for September 13, US attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said.

Among the 50 people charged in the admissions scandal -- a group that includes CEOs and partners at major law firms -- 10 have already pled guilty, including five parents.

Another 10 parents have said they will also plead guilty in the scandal that saw some of the accused pay as much as $400,000 to get their children into their chosen college.

The ringleader behind the scam, William "Rick" Singer, who authorities say was paid about $25 million dollars to bribe coaches and university administrators, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities.

Monsanto ordered to pay $2 bn in latest Roundup blow

Yahoo – AFP, Glenn CHAPMAN, May 14, 2019

Monsanto has suffered the latest in a series of court defeats for its glyphosate-based
weedkiller Roundup, which the company insists is not linked to cancer (AFP Photo/
JOSH EDELSON)

San Francisco (AFP) - In a third major legal blow to Bayer-owned Monsanto and its weedkiller Roundup, a jury in California has ordered the chemicals giant to pay more than $2 billion in damages to a couple that sued on grounds the product caused their cancer, lawyers said.

The ruling on Monday was the latest in a series of court defeats for Monsanto over the glyphosate-based product, but the company insists the weedkiller is not linked to cancer.

The couple's legal team described the damages award as "historic," saying it totalled $2.055 billion (1.8 billion euros) after adding in slightly more than $55 million in compensatory damages.

"The jury saw for themselves internal company documents demonstrating that, from day one, Monsanto has never had any interest in finding out whether Roundup is safe," said plaintiff's counsel Brent Wisner.

"Instead of investing in sound science, they invested millions in attacking science that threatened their business agenda."

The setback sent Bayer's shares tumbling 2.55 percent to 55 euros in Frankfurt in mid-morning trading on Tuesday.

The German chemicals giant has seen close to 45 percent of its market capitalisation evaporate since it bought Monsanto in June 2018 for $63 billion.

Bayer finalised its massive acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster
purchase has turned out to be plagued with other massive costs (AFP Photo/
Odd ANDERSEN)

In a statement, Bayer said it was disappointed with the jury's decision and would appeal the verdict, which it argues was at odds with a recent US Environmental Protection Agency review of glyphosate-based weedkillers.

"The consensus among leading health regulators worldwide is that glyphosate-based products can be used safely and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic," Bayer said.

Bayer apologises

Glyphosate developer Monsanto was convicted in the United States in 2018 and 2019 of not taking necessary steps to warn of the potential risks of Roundup -- their weedkiller containing the chemical, which two California juries found caused cancer in two users.

Bayer announced last month that more than 13,000 lawsuits related to the weedkiller had been launched in the US.

Monday's stunning verdict came as Bayer admitted that its subsidiary Monsanto kept lists of high-profile people -- for or against pesticides -- in France and likely other European countries.

Bayer apologised on Sunday after it emerged that Monsanto had a PR agency collate lists of French politicians, scientists and journalists, with their views on pesticides and GM crops.

French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into the claims.

"It is clear that we apologise for what has come to light in France," Matthias Berninger, Bayer's head of public affairs, told journalists in a conference call.

Bayer has said that more than 13,000 lawsuits related to its 

glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup have been launched in the 

US (AFP Photo/Alain BOMMENEL, Laurence SAUBADU, Kun TIAN)

But he admitted that "it's very likely that such lists also exist in other European countries."

"We consider what we have seen so far to be completely inappropriate," he said.

"We were of the opinion that the reports of these dealings with journalists, politicians and activists are not in order and not in agreement with what Bayer stands for."

Hidden costs

The German agro-chemicals and drugs giant finalised its massive acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster purchase has turned out to be plagued with other massive costs.

Just two months after the acquisition was completed, Monsanto lost a case to a school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He had sued the company over the glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Monsanto was initially ordered to pay $289 million to the groundskeeper, before the damages were reduced to $78.5 million.

In March, the company lost another case to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the weedkiller, and was ordered by a court to pay $80 million to the plaintiff.

Bayer is appealing both cases.