India’s Adani Power said on Monday it has opted for an international arbitration process to resolve disputes over Bangladesh’s power supply payments.

The company led by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been at loggerheads with Bangladesh Power Development Board over pending payments for the electricity it supplies as part of a pact that both sides had signed in 2017.

“There are disagreements in the way certain cost elements are calculated and billed. Hence, both partners have agreed to invoke the dispute resolution process and are confident of a quick, smooth and mutually beneficial resolution,” an Adani Group spokesperson said in a statement.

However, Bangladesh’s de-facto power minister Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan told Reuters that negotiations are still on. “Once that process is over, we will move toward international arbitration, if needed,” he said.

Adani Power supplies electricity from its coal-fired 1,600 megawatt Godda power plant in eastern India, which meets nearly a tenth of Bangladesh’s power needs.

Bangladesh’s interim government had accused Adani of breaching the power purchase agreement by withholding tax benefits that the Godda plant got from India, Reuters reported in December.

Bangladesh paid Adani a tariff of 14.87 taka ($0.1220) per unit during the fiscal year to June 30, 2024, higher than an average of 9.57 taka for power supplied by other Indian companies.

Adani Power had last week said its power dues from Bangladesh had narrowed significantly to equivalent of 15 days of tariff, down from about $900 million in May, and nearly $2 billion early this year.

“Adani Power reaffirms its commitment to the PPA (power purchase agreement) and will continue to support Bangladesh by supplying reliable, cost-competitive and high-quality power,” the company said on Monday.

Source: Reuters

– Agencies

Air Canada suspended all operations Saturday morning after more than 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job over pay and scheduling disputes, prompting the Canadian government to step in.

Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu has directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration, extending the existing contract until a new agreement is reached.

“This decision will help make sure that hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are not impacted because of canceled flights,” Hajdu said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

The strike has already upended travel plans worldwide at the height of the summer season. Air Canada, the country’s largest airline and flag carrier, estimates that with its roughly 700 daily flights suspended, some 130,000 customers will be impacted each day the walkout continues.

Hajdu warned the strike could hit the Canadian economy hard, noting that Air Canada transports more than 40% of the country’s critical goods, including pharmaceuticals and organ tissue.

It’s unclear how long the strike will last or when a deal might be reached. Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr cautioned that even after an agreement, it could take up to a week to fully restart operations.

Wesley Lesosky, who heads the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, accused the government of siding with the airline and undermining workers’ rights.

A group of a few dozen protestors, who appeared to be affiliated with CUPE, picketed outside of Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday, according to video of the protests.

“Say it loud, say it proud. Unpaid work is not allowed!” the protestors shouted.

Shelley Brown was stranded in New York City after her Air Canada flight to Canada was canceled Saturday. She called the timing “unfortunate” during peak travel season, but said she empathized with the flight attendants.

“Hopefully the two sides will come together very soon,” she told NBC News.

Air Canada is urging affected customers not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket on an airline other than Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge. Flights operated by Air Canada Express partners Jazz and PAL airlines are not impacted.

Passengers whose flights are canceled will be notified. Here’s what travelers need to know:

Request a refund or credit

Customers who booked an Air Canada flight on or before Aug. 15 for travel on Saturday or Sunday can cancel for a full refund of the unused portion of their ticket, regardless of fare type, through the company’s website or mobile app.

Travelers may also opt for a travel credit to use toward a future Air Canada booking.

For other travel dates, refundable ticket holders can request a full refund with no fees. Nonrefundable fares can be converted into credit for future travel.

Air Canada can rebook your flight

If you forgo a refund, Air Canada said it will attempt to rebook you, including with other carriers.

But the airline — which serves more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and on six continents — warned that seats are extremely limited during the peak summer season.

“Available capacity on our airline and on other carriers is limited due to the summer travel peak, meaning the possibility of rebooking you within an acceptable timeframe is low,” Air Canada said in a news release on Saturday.

Passengers can also rebook their flights for dates between Aug. 21 and Sept. 12 at no additional cost.

Impact on other airlines

Air Canada is a member of the Star Alliance network, which includes 26 member airlines such as United and Lufthansa. This means travelers on partner airlines operating Air Canada flights could be affected.

United Airlines said in a statement that it is “working with customers to get them to their destinations and have issued a travel waiver to make sure they have the flexibility to manage their travel plans.”

Airport and agency response

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that it is “fully prepared to support travelers and help minimize disruptions.”

“Airport staff will be on-site to assist passengers, and we are working closely with Air Canada and our terminal partners to ensure necessary resources are in place,” the agency said in a statement ahead of the strike.

The Port Authority advised that travelers check their flight status directly with Air Canada before heading to the airport and allow extra time for travel.

The U.S. Department of Transportation did not issue an official statement on Air Canada’s suspended operations and did not immediately return a request for comment.

CNN
 — 

Three years after fleeing Iran, chess referee Shohreh Bayat fears being further ostracized after challenging the game’s governing body and its president, Russia’s former deputy prime minister, over her choice of clothing at a tournament in October.

Back in 2020, Bayat was criticized in Iran for not wearing the appropriate headscarf at the Women’s World Chess Championship in China and Russia. She refused to bow to the regime’s pressure but, as a result, has not returned home out of fear of punishment.

Now, three years on, Bayat has raised the hackles of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and its president for wearing clothes in support of the Iranian protests and the people of Ukraine.

The 35-year-old Bayat, who now lives in London with her husband, recently officiated at the 2022 Fischer Random World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October.

The tournament was another opportunity for Bayat to officiate some of the sport’s biggest stars, though it came at a difficult time as protests spread across her home country of Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died in mid-September after being detained by the country’s morality police, allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code, sparking outrage around a range of grievances with the regime.

“It reminded me of my own story,” Bayat told CNN. “So I decided to stand up for women’s rights in Iran. During the tournament I wore a t-shirt with the motto of Iranian people ‘WomanLifeFreedom’ and I wanted to stand with them.”

Bayat said that after the first day of wearing the t-shirt, a FIDE official asked her, unofficially, to not wear it.

In a statement sent to CNN, FIDE said that “arbiters at top events are required to dress in due decor and discretion” and that Bayat “disregarded direct instructions given to her to stop wearing slogans or mottos.”

According to Bayat, such regulations are not found in FIDE’s arbiter handbook and she says no dress code was given for the event in Iceland.

The arbiter’s handbook does say officials must “follow the dress code” and that they must be “dressed properly, helping to improve the image of chess as a sport.” CNN has reached out to FIDE to clarify the dress code that was expected for the October event.

Frustrated by the request to stop wearing the slogan, Bayat said she decided she was not breaking any rules so she wore it again the next day.

Bayat says she was once again asked by an official to take it off, only this time she was told the request came from FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who previously served as Russia’s deputy prime minister and who attended the tournament in Iceland.

Bayat said Dvorkovich never spoke to her in person about the t-shirt, despite being in the same room as her when she wore it.

Dvorkovich, however, messaged her on WhatsApp – messages seen by CNN – to request Bayat not use official FIDE events for “political purposes.”

Angered by Dvorkovich’s request, Bayat says she quickly responded but then deleted her “emotional” reply.

Bayat then informed Dvorkovich she would not wear the t-shirt the next day, though she wanted to do the “right thing.”

Given that FIDE’s charter states that it is “committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights,” Bayat said she decided she had not violated any rule.

“I thought carefully, and I realized that it is not me that was making chess political but Arkady,” Bayat said.

“I was following FIDE rules, but Arkady was breaking them by forbidding me to stand up for women’s rights in Iran.”

FIDE refuted any notion that politics played a part in Dvorkovich’s request to Bayat.

“We were not judging her views or her activism, but the platform and moment she chose for it,” FIDE told CNN.

The following day, Bayat, who has not seen her parents since leaving Iran over three years ago, said she bought a blue and yellow outfit and wore it in support of the Ukrainian people fighting against the Russian invasion, and also in memory of the 176 people that were killed when Iran said it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian plane that crashed near Tehran in 2020.

She says nothing was said to her about the blue and yellow outfit but, since leaving the tournament in Iceland, Bayat told CNN that she hasn’t been invited to another FIDE event, despite the organization recognizing her as the best female arbiter in Europe in 2022.

Bayat said she was initially removed from the arbiter commission – a registry of all qualified arbiters – and, in a message seen by CNN, a top FIDE official told her it was because of her outfits in Iceland.

Her name is currently listed on the database and FIDE told CNN that Bayat was still very much in contention to officiate future events but that it has “more International Arbiters than world events, so we need to establish some rotation.”

FIDE President Dvorkovich was first elected in 2018 and was re-elected for a second term in August. Previously, the 50-year-old served as Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister between 2012-2018 following a stint as the Kremlin’s top economic adviser.

The Kremlin welcomed Dvorkovich being reelected as FIDE president last year, but he has always maintained his proximity to the Kremlin would not impact his work for FIDE and noted that he was one of the most senior establishment figures in Russia to question the war in Ukraine.

However, Bayat told CNN she believes Dvorkovich is not accepting criticism of Iran due to Russia’s links with the country – Iran continues to support Russia with military aid for the war in Ukraine.

She notes FIDE’s handling of the Iranian Chess Federation as further evidence of this.

Dvorkovich wrote a letter urging Iran to comply with FIDE’s regulations in 2020 after it allegedly told its players to not play against Israeli opponents.

The acting president of Iran’s Chess Federation responded, saying that Iran has constantly been in compliance with FIDE’s rules and statutes, and that the athletes themselves decide in which events to participate.

Despite being given a warning, Iranian players are still forfeiting games and FIDE has not yet taken concrete action.

“I find it extremely ironic that FIDE finds my human rights t-shirt political, but when the Iran Chess Federation repeatedly forces its players not to play against Israel, FIDE is silent and turns a blind eye to that,” Bayat said.

Asked by CNN whether it was confident Dvorkovich was working without pressure from Russian authorities in regards to Bayat’s support of the Iranian protests, FIDE said it had total and absolute faith in him.

“While we respect Ms. Bayat’s political stance and activities, any FIDE officials need to follow political neutrality while on duty, and of all the official positions one can hold, that of an arbiter is the one that demands higher standards of integrity, neutrality, and discretion,” FIDE said in a statement to CNN.

“No matter how noble or uncontroversial the cause is, doing activism from that role is inappropriate and unprofessional. She was indeed asked not to wear any slogans while acting as an arbiter and explained the reasons why.”

Bayat’s activism has attracted the attention of the biggest names in the sport after the Iranian chess referee tweeted about the incident again on Sunday.

US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura recently tweeted “#WomenLifeFreedom #IStandWithUkraine” in response to a message about Bayat’s tweet.

Meanwhile, chess superstar Magnus Carlsen’s coach Peter Heine Nielsen tweeted: “The chess world needs to make up its mind. On which side do we actually stand?”

Bayat, who now also works in primary schools teaching chess, said the support she’s received has been “heartwarming,” as it was when she first sought asylum in England back in 2020.

“I was initially trying to support Iranian women. I think that’s important and it’s very nice to see other people are supporting me for doing the right thing,” she said.