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The global capacity for producing renewable energy will soar by some 75% in the next five years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, citing energy security concerns as a key reason. Energy security worries triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have motivated countries to turn to renewables such as solar and wind to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. According to the forecast, renewables will account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years, overtaking coal to become the largest source of global electricity by early 2025. The IEA expects worldwide capacity to grow by some 2,400 gigawatts — the equivalent of China's current entire power capacity — to 5,640. That increase is 30% higher than the growth predicted a year ago, as higher fuel and electricity prices make renewables increasingly attractive to investors and consumers. "Renewables were already expanding quickly, but the global energy crisis has kicked them into an extraordinary new phase of even faster growth as countries seek to capitalize on their energy security benefits," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "The world is set to add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the previous 20 years. This is a clear example of how the current energy crisis can be a historic turning point towards a cleaner and more secure energy system." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The war in Ukraine has proved to be a decisive moment for renewables in Europe, where governments and businesses are looking to replace Russian gas with alternatives as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the United States, China, and India are also adopting policies and market reforms to roll out renewables more speedily than previously planned, the report said. The IEA said China alone could account for almost half of new global renewable power capacity additions in the next five years. Globally, the IEA said the increase would "keep alive the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5 [degrees Celsius]," referring to the more optimistic target of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit climate change. The report also envisaged a scenario where the increase in renewables could exceed its main prediction by 25%, making it more likely that the world could reach that target. In developed countries, this could be helped by streamlining the process of granting permits and using more renewables in the heating and transport sectors. In developing countries, it would mean addressing policy uncertainties, weak grid infrastructure, and a lack of access to affordable financing. "Worldwide, the accelerated case requires efforts to resolve supply chain issues, expand grids and deploy more flexibility resources to securely manage larger shares of variable renewables," the report said. Edited by: Mark Hallam | 6Nature and Environment
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The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday designated five Chinese tech firms as posing an "unacceptable risk" to national security. The companies include Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, along with ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology. "This list is a big step toward renewing trust in our communications networks," FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. "This list provides meaningful guidance that will ensure that as next-generation networks are built across the country, they do not repeat the mistakes of the past or use equipment or services that will pose a threat to US national security or the security and safety of Americans," she added. The move by the FCC comes one day after the Biden administration imposed new 5G license restrictions on some suppliers to Huawei. The US government believes Huawei 5G equipment could be used by Beijing to spy on US residents, with former-President Donald Trump's administration implementing a blacklist on Huawei doing business with US firms in May 2019. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei called for a reset with the US under the Biden administration, but it seems the new president wants to continue the Trump-era hard line against the firm. China criticized Biden's new restrictions on Huawei on Friday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying it "will severely disrupt the technological exchanges and trade exchanges of the two countries and the world at large." The Trump administration had previously cracked down on other Chinese tech companies, attempting to ban both Chinese video app TikTok in the United States along with messaging service WeChat over national security concerns. The Biden administration has paused the Trump-era bans, which had been tied up in court. Biden may do more than Trump in working with allies against Huawei's ambitious 5G expansion, taking a friendlier approach towards international partners in Europe and elsewhere. Although his predecessor managed to get some support from countries such as Poland in the fight against Huawei, Trump had reportedly blown up in a phone call last year with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after the UK said it would use some Huawei equipment in its 5G networks. In an essay for Foreign Affairs magazine in March 2019, Biden said the "United States must sharpen its innovative edge and unite the economic might of democracies around the world" to counter China's growing influence in global affairs. The US may work with international partners to deal with not only Chinese tech, but also other issues such as Beijing's human rights abuses against the Uighur minority and it aggressive stance toward territorial waters in the South China Sea. The European Union is also looking at working closely with Biden, proposing a "Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council" to coordinate US-EU joint strategies against China's growing tech dominance. wd/sms (Reuters, dpa) | 7Politics
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The United States on Thursday tightened export controls on Myanmar, imposing new sanctions in response to the military's violence against pro-democracy demonstrators. US officials reclassified Myanmar into the same group as Russia and China, implementing restrictions on any exports that could be put to military use. The new regulations will specifically impact exports to Myanmar's ministries of defense and home affairs, along with two state-owned firms, Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanmar Economic Holding Limited. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US took the measures "in response to shocking and deadly violence against protesters in Burma." The Commerce Department "is announcing further restrictions to constrain the Burmese military regime's access to US goods and technology," he wrote on Twitter. "We call for the restoration of democracy in Burma." The new measures come as YouTube announced that it would remove five of Myanmar's military-run channels. "We have terminated a number of channels and removed several videos from YouTube in accordance with our community guidelines and applicable laws," a YouTube spokeswoman said in a statement. YouTube is taking measures similar to what Facebook took in February, by banning all pages linked to Myanmar's army, including accounts linked to state network Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV). Additionally, researchers said the military had reverted to TikTok as a platform to induce fear and deliver death threats to protesters. The platform saw a strong rise in downloads after the military banned Facebook in February. Although TikTok announced it was removing content that incites violence, dozens of videos, which garnered tens of thousands of views, depicted uniformed men, sometimes brandishing guns, threatening to harm protesters. All three platforms — Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok — have been used by the Myanmar government to spread misinformation in tandem with its state-run media. Facebook drew criticism in 2017 for not doing more to fight misinformation, which helped fan atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority. YouTube had also faced criticism from researchers and civil society groups for a hands-off approach to the Nov. 8 vote, in which the military alleged mass fraud. Researchers believe that the military will attempt to grow its presence on other platforms to continue making its case for last month's coup. Also on Friday, residents reported that electricity supplies were cut in many parts of the country. Residents of cities from Myitkyina in the north, to the capital Naypyitaw reported losing power in the early afternoon. Myanmar has been facing widespread and often bloody demonstrations since February 1, when military forces detained elected de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup brought to a halt Myanmar's decade-long push towards democratic governance. Despite several deaths, protesters were still expected to take to the streets to call for a return to democracy on Friday. lc/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Throughout the year, national and international hopes have been pinned to the date of the Libyan national elections on December 24. However, exactly three months prior to this election date, the situation on the ground is becoming increasingly fractured. This week, the Tobruk-based lower chamber of the Libyan parliament, also called the House of Representatives, withdrew its support for the Tripoli-based unity government. Since then, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah has been left with a caretaker role. However, this new role should not have any tangible impact on his duties, as his main task was to prepare the presidential and parliamentary elections according to the UN-backed framework. So far, the parliament has passed a law only for the presidential election but not yet for the parliamentary election, which is scheduled for the same day. And, quite recently, Dbeibah even voiced concerns that the country might not yet be ready for elections. It is worth noting that the UN plan technically excludes Dbeibah from running for the presidency. However, more than a few Libyans in the west wouldn't oppose his candidacy. Since the presidential election law stipulates that state employees have to suspend their posts three months before the election date, he would have to step down now to join the race. This is most probably the reason why Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh withdrew from his position after he had ratified the presidential election law earlier this week. "Aguila Saleh was initially on the sanction list, but he was taken off by the EU and the UN to allow the transition process to continue," Virginie Collombier, researcher of political dynamics in Libya and part-time professor at the European University Institute of Florence, told DW in a video call. Collombier is convinced that another name should have been on the sanction list: General Khalifa Haftar. The strongman of the east, who is not known for peaceful communication and who was responsible for the latest episode of war in 2019, also stepped down from his position as head of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces this week. This can be seen as signaling his intention to run for president. "The two main potential candidates so far are both very contested figures; this doesn't bode well for the future of the political transition," Collombier told DW. Sami Hamdi, managing director of International Interest, a global risk and intelligence company in London, also sees these two candidates from the east with skepticism. "The fact that Haftar and Saleh intend to run suggests that they are not entirely singing from the same hymn sheet," he told DW. In Hamdi's opinion, however, Haftar is definitely in a win-win situation: "If he wins, he's the president. If he loses, he will go back and take over the military force and essentially continue to be relevant in being this major military power in the east." Other potential candidates are likely to announce their candidacies shortly. So far, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, one of the sons of long-time ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was toppled in 2011, has already voiced interest in running for the presidency. "It appears that a number of international actors are willing to employ him as a potential card," Hamdi told DW, and added: "If Saif al-Islam has traction on the ground, he may well be the candidate that both Turkey and Russia decide to try to elevate in Libya." The influence of Turkey and Russia in Libya is immense. According to the UN, more than 20,000 foreign mercenaries and military personnel from Turkey, Russia, Sudan and Chad are still in the country. For the UN, their removal is one of the key points of the cease-fire agreement signed last October, which paved the way for the national elections. But so far, nothing has changed on the ground. "They are all there," confirms Collombier. However, their presence also has one positive aspect: "There have been no major clashes in the region of Tripoli or around Sirte in the northern coastal region. At least the cease-fire has held, even if the situation in the south is more unstable," Collombier said. She doesn't believe that there will be a removal of the mercenaries in the short run. "Basically, there is nobody to ensure the implementation of the agreements on the ground. The UN mission has become very weak. They are not putting pressure on external or domestic actors, and they can't play the role of the guarantor of the agreements," Collombier said. Hamdi is convinced that the elections really have little to do with the Libyans or the Libyans choosing their leaders. "It's about getting the Libyan parties and the Libyan warlords to come to a framework of ruling or cooperating together." In his view, the best-case scenario for the elections is unrealistic. "This would be that the national elections take place, Libyans go to the polls to vote for the members of the parliament and the president, and the results are accepted by the opposing parties," he says. However, he feels that a more likely outcome is that there won't be a clear majority and that the political rivals won't accept the results of the elections, either. This implies a return to the status quo, including a weak government, the division between the east and the west and their divided security issues. "But if the worst-case scenario is another war, then it's better that we continue with these elections," Hamdi said. His only hope is that the process might establish some sort of new situation that will eventually allow disputes to be solved by the next generation of Libyans. | 7Politics
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Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lost a legal bid to prevent the release of his tax returns to a congressional committee. The US Supreme Court denied Trump an emergency application seeking to prevent the Treasury Department from releasing six years of tax returns. The Democrat-controlled House Ways and Means Committee has been seeking tax returns from Trump and some of his businesses since 2019. While president, Trump broke precedence by refusing to make his tax records public. During Trump's presidential term the Treasury Department had refused to release the records. In 2019, the Democrat-controlled Congress sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service demanding access to the records. Trump's lawyers have argued that the the Ways and Means Committee lacks a legal basis for requesting the tax returns. Then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the documents being sought by Democrats for partisan reasons. The Biden administration has argued that under federal law, the committee has the right to peruse taxpayer returns including those of the president. The legal victory for Democrats comes shortly before Republicans again take control of Congress in January, after which the request almost certainly would have been dropped. However, the committee now has little time left to analyze the returns to determine if Trump or his businesses broke tax law. Richard Neal, Massachusetts Democrat and committee chairman until the next Congress begins in January, said in the a statement that the committee "will now conduct the oversight that we've sought for the last three and a half years.'' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The ruling Tuesday is Trump's second Supreme Court defeat in the past two months. In October, Trump asked the court to intervene in his legal battle over classified documents that were seized at his Mar-a-Lago mansion on August 8. The request was denied by the court. Also last month, the Trump Organization went on trial for tax evasion. The company, currently run by Trump's older sons, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, is charged with hiding compensation it paid to top executives between 2005 and 2021 by prosecutors in Manhattan. Trump has dismissed the trial as a political stunt and denounced the charges as a "witch hunt" by rivals. kb,jcg/wmr (AP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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A court in India has acquitted a Catholic bishop accused of repeatedly raping a nun over two years. The court in Kottayam issued a one-line verdict on Friday finding Franco Mulakkal not guilty of rape, illegal confinement, and intimidation. Prosecutors said they plan to appeal the verdict. Mulakkal's accuser, a 44-year-old nun, told police in June 2018, the bishop raped her multiple times at a church guest house in Kerala between 2014 and 2016. She said she went to the police only after complaining repeatedly to church authorities. He was arrested later that year but only formally charged in 2019 after months of protests and allegations of a coverup. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nuns in the state joined the protests and some said the church attempted to transfer them to other parts of the country as punishment for their public protests. Mulakkal was the official patron of the nun's community, the Missionaries of Jesus, and the first Catholic priest in India to be arrested on charges of sexual assault. "My first thought was that misogyny in the church has won. The verdict reinforces the idea that a powerful man can't be brought to justice,'' said Virginia Saldanha, former executive secretary of the Commission for Women of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. Sister Anupama, who had campaigned for the bishop's arrest, said she and her fellow nuns were surprised at his acquittal. On Mulakkal's request, the Vatican relieved the cleric of his duties in 2018 Peter Kavumpuram, the spokesman of the Jalandhar diocese where Mulakkal was a bishop, said the acquittal proved the clergyman's innocence. He added Mulakkal would not resume his duties. The Catholic Church has been battling allegations of sexual abuse around the world. In 2019, Pope Francis publicly acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops and vowed to confront the problem. lo/sms (AFP, Reuters) | 3Crime
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When a pipe carrying a cyanide solution burst at a gold mine in Turkey's eastern Erzincan province earlier this month, it failed to attract widespread media attention. Yet, with 20 cubic meters (706 cubic feet) of toxic solution spilling into the Karasu River, it is a major environmental disaster. The 450-kilometer-long (280-mile-long) Karasu is one of the two sources of the Euphrates, the longest river in western Asia. The incident occurred at the Copler Gold Mine, which uses cyanide in its extraction process. Located in the Ilic district of the province, the mine has long been criticized by environmental organizations and opposition political parties for polluting the environment and killing local wildlife. Mine operator Anagold Madencilik has since confirmed reports of the leak but said the solution contained only 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of cyanide and that it was "cleaned immediately." In a statement, the company also emphasized its contribution to the Turkish economy. Anagold Madencilik is a joint venture corporation between Canada-based SSR Mining and Lidya Madencilik, a subsidiary of the Calik Group that is known for its close relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change responded to the leak first by fining the operators 16.4 million Turkish lira (€945,378; $987,654), and then, on Monday, by issuing a statement via Twitter that operations had been suspended. Unions representing the miners, however, have reported that they are continuing to work. The Copler Gold Mine began gold production in 2010. After receiving positive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports in 2019 and 2021, the company expanded and deepened its open pits, increasing the mine to the size of nearly 2,445 football pitches. According to cadastral surveys, before mining began, 45% of the site was forest, 43% public land and 5% pasture. In the latest EIA report, the Karasu River is cited as the closest waterway. According to the 2021 EIA report, operations at the mine site will continue until 2027, with a total of 38.1 million tons of ore expected to be extracted. The company is predicted to generate $4.8 billion in operating income and $2 billion in net profit after 10 years in operation. The royalties to be paid to the state over the life of the mine will be approximately $198 million. Even if ore production on the site wraps up in 2027, it will have caused lasting environmental destruction, say experts. Metallurgical engineer Cemalettin Kucuk told DW that even before the recent cyanide waste spill into the Karasu, the mine's activities had taken a heavy toll on the environment. He said groundwater has become contaminated through the storage of oxidized ore and that mining activity had devastated forests, agricultural land, flora, and fauna. He also said heavy metals such as arsenic that are a part of the mining process are being discarded, also harming the environment. "A 200-meter-high (656-foot-high) mountain containing heavy metals has formed in the region. We are talking about a mine pit that goes down to a depth of 5,600 meters. The topography is changing. When we evaluate the ecological effects of all this, we are faced with great destruction," he said. The mine also poses risks to agriculture and food safety in the Karasu and Euphrates basins. According to a study conducted by Environmental Engineer Ahmet Yuksel, around 1,500 tons of vegetables and 1,200 tons of fruit are produced in the Ilic district annually. It is also the site of animal feed production, beekeeping and poultry farming. Both agricultural production and animal husbandry have been damaged by mining, Yuksel said. Nearly 80 hectares (198 acres) of the overall mining area were comprised of agricultural lands, most of which the 2021 EIA report says were purchased by Anagold. Before the mining activities began, non-agricultural use permits were obtained in accordance with applicable laws. There are also impacts for people. When gold is extracted using cyanide, other heavy metals such as zinc, nickel, copper, iron and arsenic are also extracted as a result. They are toxic for the environment and also have serious effects on human health. The spill in the Karasu River has further highlighted dangers associated with mining, experts say. Ahmet Soysal from the Association of Public Health Specialists said pollution from heavy metal mining remains in the soil and groundwater for years. According to Soysal, mines that use cyanide have been causing heavy metal contamination in the region for decades. And these pollutants end up in food. "When people take in heavy metals through food, through the water, these heavy metals cannot be filtered out," he explained. "They accumulate in the body. It causes various health problems, especially cancers, neurological diseases, or autism in the development of children." This article was originally written in Turkish. | 6Nature and Environment
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Kuwait government ministers tendered their resignations en masse to Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid on Tuesday, the Ministry of Information announced on Twitter. The move came after lawmakers submitted a motion in Parliament, asking to question the premier, local media reported. Sheikh Sabah must now submit his government's resignation to the OPEC member state's ruler, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, for approval. The official Kuna news agency reported that the prime minister held a meeting with Defense Minister Hamad Jaber Al Sabah and other ministers of the government on Tuesday. The defense minister submitted the resignation of all the ministers and "put it at his disposal." Kuna says the move came "in light of the ongoing developments in the relations between the government and Parliament, known as the National Assembly, and what the national interest dictates." The resignation of the cabinet had been expected after more than 30 other MPs supported the request to question the prime minister on issues including forming a cabinet "not reflective" of poll results and allegations of government "interference" in electing the Speaker and members of parliamentary committees, according to Reuters news agency. "The lawmakers are trying to bring reforms, but they feel their hands are tied because the government keeps bringing in the same old
faces,'' Mohammed al-Yousef, an independent Kuwaiti political analyst, told The Associated Press. "The system is designed to create deadlock." The motion to question Sheikh Sabah, who has been premier since late 2019, was submitted by three MPs on January 5 in the first regular session of the National Assembly. The country is also grappling with an acute economic crisis, which has posed a challenge to the new emir. Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf region to establish an all-male Parliament in 1963. The current Parliament was elected in December. The actual power remains in the hands of the ruling al-Sabah family and the emir, who appoints the government. shs/rt (Reuters, dpa) | 7Politics
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Teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg appeared on the cover of the first issue of Vogue Scandinavia and is using the platform to criticize fast fashion. On Sunday evening, Thunberg shared a picture of the front page of the magazine on her social media accounts. She is seen wearing an oversized trench coat while petting a horse in a forest. "The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables," Thunberg said in her post. The Swedish environmental activistsaid the fashion industry uses expensive promotional campaigns to appear sustainable without actually doing anything to protect the environment, calling the campaigns "greenwashing." The 18-year-old said in her Vogue interview that she has not purchased new clothes in years. "The last time I bought something new was three years ago and it was second-hand. I just borrow things from people I know," Thunberg said. She called for a change in how clothing is produced and consumed worldwide. "You cannot mass produce fashion or consume 'sustainably' as the world is shaped today. That is one of the many reasons why we will need a system change," Thunberg said. DPA contributed to this report | 6Nature and Environment
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Chile's ruling center-right coalition has failed to secure control of the body that will rewrite the country's constitution, according to early results of a vote that has been called the most important in Chile since the fall of its military dictatorship in 1990. On Saturday and Sunday, Chileans cast ballots to elect 155 delegates who will be tasked with drafting the new constitution. The current Pinochet-era charter is widely blamed for social inequality, which sparked massive protests in 2019. With more than 90% of ballots counted, projections show that Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's coalition, Chile Vamos, has secured just 21% of the votes, according to the electoral authority Servel. Pinera's coalition was aiming to win at least a third of the seats in the 155-member body, as any proposal to be included in the new constitution will need two-thirds approval. Independent candidates running on a variety of campaign promises and programs are expected to take more than 40% of the seats. Candidates aligned with left-wing parties received a third of the total vote. The projected victory of independent and left-wing delegates has been seen as a rejection of Chile's ruling right and of traditional political parties. President Pinera said the results were a sign that his coalition is not "attuned to the demands and aspirations of citizens." "We are being challenged by new expressions and new leadership," he said. Parties on Chile's political right defend decades of free-market economics and private property rights anchored in the existing constitution. Leftist parties, however, want privatized resources to be returned to state control and more public spending on education, health, pensions and social welfare. A new constitution could also overturn the privatization of water, an issue that has become increasingly pressing in a country facing water scarcity. A number of independents emerged during the uprising against Pinera's government in 2019, and include actors, writers, academics and lawyers. Their strong performance caught many observers by surprise. "The political system is being reconfigured," Mireya Davila from the University of Chile's Institute of Public Affairs told AFP news agency. "The electoral force of the independents is much greater than previously thought and this confirms that the citizenry is fed up with the traditional parties." A new constitution was a central demand of the 2019 protests, which left several dozen people dead, and shut down the capital, Santiago, for days at a time. Chile's current constitution was drafted drafted during the 1973 to 1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It promotes private enterprise in all sectors of the economy, including education, health and pensions. This privatization has been blamed for deep social inequality in Chile, and was one of the main drivers of the protest movement. In October 2020, 80% of Chileans voted in favor of a new constitution to be drafted by a body of elected delegates. wmr/nm (dpa, Reuters, AFP) | 7Politics
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At least 82 people were killed, and 110 more injured, when a fire tore through the coronavirus unit of a hospital in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Sunday At least 28 of those who perished at Ibn al-Khatib hospital were on ventilators battling COVID-19, according to the semi-official, independent Human Rights Commission. The government blamed negligence from hospital authorities for the fire, which was initially sparked by an oxygen tank explosion. "The majority of the victims died because they had to be moved and were taken off ventilators, while the others were suffocated by the smoke," a civil defense official told AFP news agency. A hospital worker also told AFP that the fire broke out in the middle of the night as dozens of relatives were at the bedsides of COVID patients, and the flames spread across multiple floors. One witness described people jumping out of windows to escape. "The fire spread, like fuel ... I took my brother out to the street, next to the checkpoint. Then I came [back] and went up from there. To the last floor, that did not burn. I found a girl suffocating, about 19 years old, she was suffocating, she was about to die," Ahmed Zaki told Reuters news agency. He had been visiting his brother in hospital. "I took her on my shoulders and I ran down. People were jumping... Doctors fell on the cars. Everyone was jumping. And I kept going up from there, got people and come down again," Zaki said. At least 200 people were rescued from the fire, the Health Ministry said. Shortly after the blaze, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi fired key health officials, including the director-general of the Baghdad Health Department in the al-Rusafa area, where the hospital is located, and the director of Ibh al-Khatib Hospital and its director of engineering and maintenance. "Negligence in such matters is not a mistake, but a crime for which all negligent parties must bear responsibility," he said. He ordered an immediate investigation into the incident. Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi was suspended and was facing calls to be sacked. President Barham Saleh posted on Twitter, saying: "The tragedy at Ibn al-Khatib is the result of years of erosion of state institutions by corruption and mismanagement." Iraq accounts for the highest number of coronavirus infections in the Arab world, with a total of 1,025,288 registered cases since the start of the pandemic in February 2020. The hospitals in the country are crumbling following decades of conflict and poor investment, with many reporting a scarcity of medicines and beds. Ibn al-Khatib hospital is reserved for the most severe COVID cases in Baghdad. aw, dv/nm (AP, AFP, Reuters) | 1Catastrophe
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Typhoon Muifa gained strength on Wednesday ahead of its expected landfall on China's central coastal region of Zhenjiang on Wednesday evening. The country was put on "red alert" and more than half of the scheduled flights from Shanghai's two main airports were canceled. Muifa is expected to hit land close to the city of Ningbo, just to the south of Shanghai. Ningbo and other nearby cities also canceled flights and ordered tankers to remain anchored during the storm. Maximum sustained winds reached 145 kilometers (90 miles) per hour, the Hong Kong observatory said. Authorities in Shanghai warned that strong winds and torrential rains were expected until Thursday. China's busiest container seaport was also expecting waves of up to 5 meters (16 feet). Authorities in Zhenjiang also issued a "red warning" for flash floods as the national weather forecaster warned that small and medium rivers could burst their banks. The collective populations of the three cities facing the brunt of the storm — Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhoushan and Taizhou — have a total population of 42.46 million people. According to meteorologists, this summer's unusually high temperatures have caused what the Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported would be the strongest Typhoon in the Yangtze River Delta in a decade. Parts of China have been experiencing drought conditions due to a lack of rain and the sweltering heat. The Central Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on Tuesday that Muifa — China's 12th typhoon of the year — would move northwest after making landfall and then begin to dissipate. ab/aw (Reuters, AP) | 6Nature and Environment
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A German court on Friday heard that the man who allegedly killed three people and injured nine others in the southern central city of Würzburg last summer is mentally ill and still very dangerous if he does not undergo successful treatment. Somali national Jibril A., who was first registered in Germany at the height of the 2015 migrant crisis, was arrested shortly after the stabbings on June 25, 2021. The attacks, which started in a department store, continued on one of the main shopping streets in the city center. "There is no doubt that the accused suffers from paranoid schizophrenia," psychiatrist Hans-Peter Volz told the court in Estenfeld near Würzburg. Volz said on the day of the attacks that June, Jibril A. was "acutely delusional." He was hearing voices and believed he was being followed by secret services. "There is a high probability that we have a person in front of us [...] who felt controlled," Volz said. "He was sure he was doing the right thing [by carrying out the attacks] and had no choice but to do it." Volz spoke of a low likelihood that the accused will recover from his illness. "Even with very good treatment, the risk that the subject will become psychotic again is not zero," added the medical director of the Werneck Castle Hospital for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Prosecutors have agreed that the accused was not criminally liable in the case due to his psychiatric illness. That means the court is following a special legal procedure for such cases and that the man is set to be transferred to a hospital after the proceedings are concluded. His guilt in the case is considered to have been proven. Shortly after the stabbings, the Munich Prosecutor's office and Bavarian police said an Islamic terrorism motive was "likely." However, the police investigation did not reveal any indications that the man had any extremist beliefs. The case before the Würzburg Regional Court is taking place in a nearby hall because there is not enough space for a COVID-compliant trial at the usual court building. Jibril A. first arrived in Italy before settling for several years in Saxony. He moved to Würzburg, in the state of Bavaria, in 2019. The accused had attracted attention several times because of psychological problems, authorities said. In January last year, he pulled a knife on several people at a refugee center. Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and obliges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases. Material from dpa news agency contributed to this report. Edited by: Wesley Dockery | 3Crime
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We have now closed these live updates. The UN General Assembly is expected to vote Thursday on a non-binding resolution which would demand that Russia stop the war in Ukraine "immediately." Ukraine put the new resolution forward at a UN General Assembly emergency session on Wednesday. The text, which is also non-binding, "demands an immediate cessation of the hostilities by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in particular of any attacks against civilians and civilian objects." 141 countries approved an earlier resolution on March 2 that demands that Russia cease the use of force against Ukraine. Five states voted against and 35 abstained. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video French carmaker Renault is immediately suspending operations at its Moscow factory, it has announced. It comes after Ukraine called for a boycott of Renault for refusing to leave the country. During a 20-minute speech to the French parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on French companies such as Renault, supermarket chain Auchan and home improvement giant Leroy Merlin to "stop being sponsors of Russia's war machine." Renault said it was also considering what to do about its Russian affiliate AvtoVAZ. The first batch of weapons from a new $800 million (€727 million) arms package will leave the United States in the next few days, a senior official has told Reuters news agency. The package was approved by US President Joe Biden last week. The official, who Reuters did not identify, did not reveal which systems would be shipped first, but said defensive weapons already being used by Ukrainian troops would take priority. The United States has issued a warning to China, telling it not to take advantage of business opportunities created by western sanctions on Russia. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking on Air Force One, told reporters that G7 nations will soon reveal a unified response to ensure Russia cannot evade Western sanctions. "That's not specifically about China, but it will apply to every significant economy and the decisions that any of those economies take to try, in an intentional and active way, to undermine or weaken the sanctions that we put in place." Beijing has previously condemned sweeping sanctions on Russia, saying they only make people suffer. It has not condemned Russia’s invasion, but it has expressed deep concern about the war. US President Joe Biden has landed in Brussels ahead of several summits. On Thursday, Biden will participate in meetings with NATO, the European Union and G7 before visiting Poland on Friday and Saturday for consultations with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The summits are due to address the possibility of further sanctions on Russia, particularly relating to energy. Russia supplies about 40% of the natural gas used in Europe, which has been reluctant to target energy supplies, despite pressure from Washington. On board Air Force One, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that reducing Europe's reliance on Russian energy has been a "substantial" topic recently and the subject of "intense back and forth" . He said Biden would announce some news on that front alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday. The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos has warned that Russia's nuclear arsenal has the capability to wipe out any enemies. "The Russian Federation is capable of physically destroying any aggressor or any aggressor group within minutes at any distance," Dmitry Rogozin said in televised comments. He noted that Russia’s arsenal included tactical nuclear weapons as well as nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. Western allies have become increasingly concerned that Russia might consider the use of nuclear or chemical weapons as it becomes increasingly bogged down in Ukraine. A Russian journalist has died in a residential neighborhood of Kyiv when it was hit by Russian shelling, according to her employer. Oksana Baulina was reporting for news outlet The Insider when she was killed, the outlet said. The website, which is criticial of the Kremlin, said she "died under fire in Kyiv" while "filming the destruction" caused by Russian shelling. She previously worked for the anticorruption network of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. One civilian reportedly died alongside her, while two people accompanying her were reportedly injured and hospitalized. Reporters Without Borders confirmed the Baulina's death on Twitter, and called for the protection of journalists in conflict. Russia has moved to expel an unspecified number of US diplomats. It comes in retaliation for the United States expelling 12 of Moscow’s delegates to the United Nations in New York in March. "On March 23, a note with the list of the American diplomats declared 'persona non grata' was handed to the head of the American diplomatic mission who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "The US side has been given firm notice that any hostile action by the United States against Russia will be met with a resolute and appropriate response," the statement added. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The United States has assessed that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken said the US government had been "documenting and assessing" evidence of Russia deliberately targeting civilians. "Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," Blinken said in a statement. "Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources." He added that courts would be ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt. The 27 EU member states have approved an additional €500 million ($550 million), on top of a previous package worth €500 million issued in February. The latest €500 million were previously pledged by EU leaders at a summit in Versailles 12 days ago. The announcement comes ahead of a leaders summit with US President Joe Biden to discuss the conflict. "We will continue supporting Ukraine against Russia’s aggression and the unspeakable suffering it is inflicting on the Ukrainian population. The additional €500 million under the European Peace Facility is another sign of the EU’s support to the Ukrainian armed forces to defend their territory and their population," top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said in a statement. The package will used to buy equipment and supplies such as personal protective equipment, first aid kits and fuel, as well as lethal military equipment and platforms. The duration of the assistance has been expended by 12 months. Also announced on Wednesday, Germany and Sweden are each sending thousands of additional antitank weapons. Animal rights activists have evacuated Simba the lion and Akyla the wolf from a zoo in Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine. The journey took four days, and was hampered by border entry bureaucracy. Simba and Akyla were awake for the whole journey due to a lack of tranquilizers in Ukraine. The two animals arrived safely at a zoo in the Romanian city of Radauti, near the Ukrainian border. "If there is something this war brought on is incredible cooperation between organizations," said Sebastian Taralunga, from Animals International, one of several groups involved in the extraction. "Everybody agreed that in extreme times we have to have extreme measures and we decided to do whatever possible to bring those animals out of war." The animals will be quarantined in their new enclosure, where zoo visitors can see them before they are relocated to sanctuaries. NATO has estimated that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have died in the invasion of Ukraine, according to figures released to the Associated Press. The estimate is reportedly based on Ukrainian information, Russian publications, and open source information. Extrapolating from the deaths using standard ratios of wounded and dead soldiers in other conflicts, NATO estimates total Russian battlefield casualties of between 30,000 and 40,000 soldiers. Previous reports also indicated Russia has lost at least three generals since the conflict started on February 24. Russia has suppressed reporting of its battlefield causalities, making accurate information difficult to come by. A recent report in the pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reported 9,861 Russians deaths and 16,153 injured, but the report was very quickly taken down and blamed on hackers. Russia has not updated its official casualty figures since March 2, when it said 498 servicemen had been killed and 1,597 had been wounded. Ukraine puts the Russian death toll at 15,600. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The German Defense Ministry intends to supply Ukraine with an additional 2,000 antitank weapons from Bundeswehr stocks, German news agency DPA is reporting. The department, run by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, has reportedly submitted a corresponding application to the Federal Security Council. Germany has already supplied the Ukrainian armed forces with 1,000 antitank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks, as well as 500 Strela surface-to-air missile from army reserves of the now-defunct East Germany. An additional 1,700 Strela missiles are on their way, according to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Russia will demand nations it considers "unfriendly" pay in rubles for its gas supplies, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "It makes no sense whatsoever to supply our goods to the European Union, the United States and receive payment in dollars, euros and a number of other currencies," Putin said. It's not clear from when exactly this policy will take effect. The Russian currency, which has plunged in value in recent weeks, briefly gained value following the announcement, stoking fears in Europe that the switch might worsen the region's energy crunch. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on France to support his country with weapons, equipment and more planes to defend itself from Russia's invasion. Speaking to French lawmakers via video link, he thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his "true leadership" over the war. He urged French companies to quit the Russian market. "Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin must stop being sponsors of the Russian war machine," he said. The speech comes a day after Macron spoke to both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin about the terms of a potential cease-fire. Russia's ally Belarus said on Wednesday it is expelling most Ukrainian diplomats working in the country. "Since 2020, Belarus has seen many unfriendly actions of Ukraine aimed at the irresponsible destruction of interstate relations with our country, business contacts and long-established ties," said Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz. The expulsion means only Ukraine's ambassador and four diplomats will continue working in Minsk, compared to over 20 people currently staffing the embassy. Belarus had already withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Ukraine after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said that Kyiv will come up with an appropriate response to the Belarusian government's decision. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing peace talks between the two sides, Russia said. Meanwhile, Scholz's spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said that the German chancellor had warned Putin personally against using chemical or biological warfare agents in Ukraine. Scholz has had several phone calls with Putin since the Ukraine war began last month. Addressing the German parliament earlier in the day, Scholz said the Russian leader "must hear the truth" that not only is the war destroying Ukraine, "but also Russia's future." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Anatoly Chubais, a special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin and veteran Kremlin reformer, has quit his post and reportedly left the country in protest against the Ukraine invasion. Chubais is the first senior Kremlin official to have quit over Russia's war in Ukraine, US news outlet Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources. Separately, the Kremlin confirmed the oligarch has stepped down. "Chubais resigned at his own request. And whether he left or not is his personal business," Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency. He had been Putin's special envoy to international organizations since 2020 and was also one of the principal architects of Boris Yeltsin's economic reforms of the 1990s. Several Russian media said Chubais is in Turkey, and sources told the Reuters news agency he doesn't plan to return to Russia. NATO nations will agree on "major increases" in troops stationed in the eastern part of the alliance, with the deployment of four new battle groups in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. "I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture in all domains, with major increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, in the air and at sea," he said. NATO leaders are gathering in Brussels on Thursday for a summit to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the way forward for the alliance. Saying that NATO has a responsibility to ensure that the war doesn't escalate beyond Ukraine, Stoltenberg also warned Moscow against using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. "Any use of chemical weapons would totally change the nature of the conflict, it would be a blatant violation of international law and would have far-reaching consequences," Stoltenberg said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Further supplies of Strela missiles taken from the inventories of the former East German army are to be delivered to Ukraine after a delay, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says. The Strela system is a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile designed to hit low-flying aircraft. The missiles are fitted with passive infrared homing guidance and a high-explosive warhead. So far, Ukraine has received 500 Strela missiles, but a delivery of up to 2,700 of the weapons has been discussed. "We are one of the biggest weapons suppliers in this situation; it doesn't make us proud but it's what we must do to help Ukraine," Baerbock told the Bundestag. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused Germany to change its longstanding policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Japan as "the first nation in Asia that started piling pressure on Russia," following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "I ask you to continue to impose sanctions," he told the Japanese parliament via videolink on Wednesday. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Let's make efforts to ensure Russia will want and seek peace. Trade embargoes on Russia must be introduced to stop the tsunami of the invasion against Ukraine." During the speech, Zelenskyy also warned of the dangers his country faced from Russian attacks on nuclear plants and the site of the Chernobyl meltdown. Furthermore, he criticized the ineffectiveness of the United Nations system to stop the invasion. "Neither the United Nations nor the UN Security Council have functioned. Reforms are needed," the Ukrainian leader said. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he planned to unveil more support measures for Ukraine and strengthen Tokyo's sanctions against Russia at a G7 meeting in Brussels this week. Ukrainians will not step back from the war, no matter the destruction wrought upon them, said Andrii Osadchuk, member of the Ukrainian parliament for the opposition party. "Ukraine is resisting ... we know how to fight. We burned Russians on the ground extremely well almost a month of war. Russians are stuck almost in all points of the front line," he told DW. Describing it as a "full-scale, terrible war," the MP said it's not correct to blame Vladimir Putin alone because "thousands and thousands of Russian soldiers" are also involved in attacks on Ukraine. "All of them are committing crimes against humanity, war crimes," he said. Osadchuk also stressed the need for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. "We will fight until the end ... Our big problem for today is protecting of Ukrainians from Russians in the sky. They are not able to move on the ground. They are not able to kill Ukrainian soldiers. They are killing civilians and they are taking us by cruise missiles and jet fighters." "That's why we need more help from the West to protect our sky. We are repeating this for four weeks already. That's the only option." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated that Berlin will not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine or send troops to intervene in the war launched by Russia. "NATO will not become a party to the war. We are in agreement on this with our European allies and the United States," he told German lawmakers. Scholz said Germany would also not impose an embargo on Russian oil, coal and gas. He stressed that Europe will end its energy dependence on Russia but to do so from one day to the next would plunge it into an economic recession, risking mass unemployment and entire industrial sectors. "Sanctions should not hurt European states harder than the Russian leadership," Scholz said. The German chancellor also underlined that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stalled. "Putin's offensive is stuck despite all the destruction that it is bringing day after day," Scholz said, adding that the Russian leader "must hear the truth" that not only is the war destroying Ukraine, "but also Russia's future." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The United Nations will face three resolutions on Wednesday on the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine. While the 193-member General Assembly is scheduled to start considering two rival resolutions on Wednesday morning, the Security Council will vote on the third resolution, which is sponsored by Russia and widely slammed for not referring to its invasion of Ukraine. The two resolutions being taken up by the General Assembly demand humanitarian aid access and the protection of civilians, medical personnel, and aid workers in Ukraine. But only one text, written by Ukraine and its allies, criticizes Russia's role in creating the crisis. The second draft from South Africa makes no mention of Russia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday that agreements have been made to evacuate trapped civilians from Ukrainian towns through nine "humanitarian corridors." In the besieged city of Mariupol, Vereshchuk said evacuees would find transport in the city of Berdyansk, which is more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the southwest. About two dozen buses were also ready to be sent to the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, she said. Furthermore, humanitarian corridors are planned from the towns of Polohy and Huljajpole to Zaporizhzhia. Three routes are planned near the capital Kyiv: From Velyka Dymerka, neighboring Bohdanivka, and Svitylnya, people are to be brought to the capital's suburb of Browary, while people from Borodyanka, located northwest of Kyiv, are to be evacuated to Bila Tserkva, a city in the center of Ukraine. And two corridors are planned in the region of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine: from Rubishne and Nyshnye to Bachmut. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The national carrier of Vietnam is to suspend flights from Hanoi to Moscow from March 25, according to state run Vietnam News Agency (VNA). The agency reported that the temporary suspension was due to review procedures, requirements and regulations for operations in Russia. The countries have close links which date back to the Soviet era and Hanoi has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of "simply capturing" refugees trying to make their way out of the besieged city of Mariupol, on a previously agreed route. Zelenskyy said 7,000 people were able to escape over the past 24 hours, but claimed one group traveling the route was taken captive. Zelenskyy said in a video message that there 100,000 people remain in the port city on the Sea of Azov "without food, without water, without, medicine, under constant shelling." Tens of thousands of people have already escaped the city. He also accused Russian forces of blocking a humanitarian convoy trying to reach the city on Tuesday and taking rescue workers and drivers captive There were around 450,000 people living in the city before Russia invaded. "We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling or deliberate terror,'' Zelenskyy said. Human Rights Watch described the city as a "freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings." The United States military says Russia is bombing the city with artillery and long-range missiles fired from naval ships. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has described attempts to negotiate peace with Russia as "very difficult." Zelenskyy made the comments in a video address released early on Wednesday. "They are very difficult, sometimes scandalous, but we are moving forward step by step," Zelenskyy said and added that Ukrainian officials were negotiating on a daily basis. "We will work, we will fight as much as possible. Until the end. Brave and open," Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader has indicated a willingness to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but there has been no response to his requests for dialogue. The agency responsible for managing the Chernobyl exclusion zone has accused Russian forces of destroying a new laboratory at the nuclear power plant. Ukraine's State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management said that Russian troops had "illegally seized" the laboratory and then said they "robbed and destroyed the November Central Analytical Laboratory." The agency said the laboratory contained "highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world." The facility was built at a cost of €6 million ($6.6 million) with the help of the European Union. It had been in operation since 2015. After weeks of bombardment by Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Italian parliament there is "nothing left" of the post city of Mariupol. The UK's Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces continued to "repulse" Russian attempts to take over the southern port city of Mariupol. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 300,000 people in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson are running out of food and medical supplies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was willing to consider dropping its demands for full NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees. The UN refugee agency said more than 3.3 million Ukrainian refugees have poured into neighboring countries since Russia's invasion on February 24. Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, paid tribute to Boris Romanchenko, who survived several Nazi concentration camps but was killed last week in a Russian strike on Kharkiv. A senior US defense official said Russia's combat power in Ukraine has dipped below 90% of its pre-invasion level, pointing to the possibility of heavy losses and rising casualties. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video kb, sri/wmr(AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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As Japan marks the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the global conversation around the merits of using nuclear power to tackle the climate crisis remains hot. Many environmentalists are opposed, pointing to the risk of nuclear meltdowns and the difficulty of properly disposing of nuclear waste. However, it has been championed by others for its ability to produce huge amounts of carbon-free energy. DW spoke to Mycle Schneider, editor of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR), which assesses the status and trends of the global nuclear power industry. DW: The goal is to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). What role can nuclear power play? Mycle Schneider: Today we need to put the question of urgency first. It's about how much we can reduce greenhouse gases and how quickly for every euro ($1.21) spent. So, it's a combination between cost and feasibility, while doing it in the fastest possible way. And if we're talking about the construction of new power plants, then nuclear power is simply excluded. Not just because it is the most expensive form of electricity generation today, but, above all, because it takes a long time to build reactors. In other words, every euro invested in new nuclear power plants makes the climate crisis worse because now this money cannot be used to invest in efficient climate protection options. What about existing nuclear power plants? The power plants exist, they provide electricity. However, many of the measures needed for energy efficiency are now cheaper than the basic operating costs of nuclear power plants. That is the first point, and unfortunately it is always forgotten. The second point is that renewables today have become so cheap that in many cases they are below the basic operating costs of nuclear power plants. Let me give you two examples: The world's lowest price for solar power in currently in Portugal, at 1.1 cents per kilowatt hour. And we now have the first results from Spain with costs for wind and solar power at around 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour. These are below the basic operating costs of the vast majority of nuclear power plants around the world. It would often even be affordordable to pay 1 to 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity storage in addition to the generation costs for wind and solar power and still be below the operating costs of nuclear power plants. And here we have to ask the same question: How many emissions can I avoid with one euro, one dollar or one yuan? So why are construction projects being announced now? In the case of nuclear power, I often have the feeling that Trumpism prevails. Facts no longer matter. There is talk of plans and projects all over the place, but in reality, little or nothing actually happens. We document this in detail every year in the more than 300 pages of our World Nuclear Industry Status Report. What sort of interests are behind this? These are very clear self-interests. If the industry doesn't launch phantom projects, then it will die even faster. Why do politicians go along with it? There are different interests here. During a visit to the Le Creusot forge in December 2020, for example, French President [Emmanuel] Macron made it clear that there are also military strategic interests in maintaining the nuclear industry. And France has never made a secret of the links between military and civil interests when it comes to nuclear. In other countries like China there are different interests. China is funding infrastructure in a large number of countries through its Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the New Silk Road. This is geopolitics on a grand scale. The co-financing of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Great Britain, for example, puts this into context. In this case, the fact that it is an inefficient project is irrelevant. The scale of Chinese infrastructure investments is huge. There's talk of $1,000 billion (€821 billion). That means: You have to look at each country, because each country has their own self-interests. What other interests do energy companies have in continuing to operate unprofitable reactors? The main reason is that an operating nuclear power plant generates income. As soon as a nuclear power plant is decommissioned, liabilities appear in the balance sheet and additional expenses appear. You can see an example of this in Japan. If often took years to officially close nuclear power plants because companies could not afford to remove these plants from their assets. Some of these operators would have gone bankrupt overnight. There's no doubt that energy companies like EDF in France face a serious financial crisis. The question is, how will they survive this? Certainly not without the help of massive state subsidies in the long term. But as long as they can keep earning money, even if it's no longer profitable, investing in demolition and waste management isn't a consideration. How much does demolition cost? In the order of €1 billion per reactor. In France, only a third of [the required funds] have been put aside. This means the problem starts once the reactors go offline. What about the costs of the storage of high-level radioactive waste? No one knows how much this really costs, because there is no functioning permanent storage facility. Is there any chance of a permanent storage facility being operational in the future? There is currently no operational permanent storage facility. The most advanced projects are in Finland and Sweden. However, the concept there is based on a design from the early 1980s, with storage in copper containers. However, recent research has shown that the copper containers are significantly more susceptible to corrosion than first thought. That means the viability of commissioning one of these facilities in Sweden or Finland is still totally unclear. It's the same situation for other countries. They are even further behind on development or they don't even have storage models, let alone locations. How far along in this process are countries in Asia? In Japan there is still no storage location or model. The same goes for Korea. In China they're discussing whether or not nuclear waste should be reprocessed. That's even further away. Basically, these countries behave just like countries in the West where the nuclear power plants were built two or three decades ago. That means there is no advanced planning in place and no coherent concept as to how their highly radioactive nuclear waste should be stored for eternity. Mycle Schneider is the initiator and lead author of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report, an independent reference report on the development of the global nuclear power industry. Schneider is an independent consultant to governments and international organizations around the world. In 1997 he was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award). This interview was conducted by Gero Rueter and adapted into English by Ineke Mules. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 6Nature and Environment
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US President Joe Biden's administration on Friday granted temporary deportation protections and work permits to citizens of Myanmar living in the United States. The administration cited the recent military coup in Myanmar and political violence there against civilians as reasons behind the decision. "Due to the military coup and security forces' brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma (Myanmar) are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, adding he designated Myanmar for temporary protected status so that Myanmar "nationals and habitual residents may remain temporarily in the United States." Temporary status protection is typically limited for a set period, such as 12 months, but can be extended if harsh political conditions continue. The Biden administration earlier this week issued temporary status protection to Venezuelans living in the United States for 18 months, due to the extraordinary political and economic crisis in their home country under President Nicholas Maduro. The US decision to grant temporary deportation protections is a move in solidarity with the people of Myanmar facing off against the military regime that controls the country. Washington is also ramping up pressure against junta leaders. Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, seized power in a coup d'etat last month, arresting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the ruling National League for Democracy party. Earlier this week, the US initiated sanctions against family members of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. The Treasury Department had previously sanctioned Min Aung Hlaing, along with five other leaders of the recently installed junta, freezing their US-based assets. The United Kingdom and Canada have also implemented sanctions on Myanmar military leaders after the coup, with Australia suspending its defense cooperation program with the country. All 15 nations of the UN Security Council on Wednesday backed a statement condemning the military government's crackdown on protesters following the coup. The backers include Russia and China, two countries, which had previously defended the actions of the military junta. The statement expressed "deep concern at developments in Myanmar following the declaration of the state of emergency imposed by the military on 1 February and the arbitrary detention of members of the government, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and others." The Security Council called on the military to "exercise utmost restraint" and refrain from violence. According to data compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, over 70 civilians in Myanmar have been killed since the February 1 coup, with more than 2,000 people having been arrested amid widespread demonstrations. wd/sms (Reuters, AFP, AP) | 7Politics
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday reappointed UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab as justice secretary as part of a larger Cabinet reshuffle, Downing Street said. Raab has faced criticism for his handling of the Afghanistan crisis, as he was on holiday in Crete while the Taliban were entering Kabul. Johnson named current Trade Secretary Liz Truss as the new foreign secretary, while also giving Raab the deputy prime minister position. Raab had effectively served as the deputy last year, when he stepped in for Johnsonafter the prime minister contracted COVID and was hospitalized. Johnson's office said earlier Wednesday that the prime minister is appointing "a strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic.'' The UK government also said Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson have all left their posts. Michael Gove will take over as housing minister in the reshuffle, said the UK government. Gove, former cabinet office minister will also be responsible for maintaining relations between the four nations of the United Kingdom. Truss will stay as minister for women and equality after taking over the high profile Foreign Secretary portfolio, the UK government said on Wednesday. Johnson named Nadine Dorries as the new minister for digital media, culture and sport. Her responsibilities will include overseeing technology companies and regulating Premier League football. Dorries will replace Oliver Dowden, who will become minister without portfolio in the Cabinet, with responsibity for implementing policy. UK media reported he is also set to become the Conservative Party co-chairman.
"We know the public also want us to deliver on their priorities, and that's why the prime minister wants to ensure we have the right team in place for that," Johnson's spokesman said. Johnson removed Williamson from the government after criticism of his handling of school closures and examination during the coronavirus pandemic. Williamson had also been previously sacked as defense minister under former Prime Minister Theresa May over a controversy involving China and Huawei. Williamson tweeted Wednesday that it had been "a privilege to serve'' in Johnson's cabinet, adding he will "look forward to continuing to support the prime minster and the government.'' Jenrick had came under fire after a controversial planning decision involving a billionaire developer who was also a Conservative Party donor. Critics said the timing of the announcement overshadowed a crucial Labour vote in parliament over the government's decision to remove extra support for low-income families. But rumors of a reshuffle had been circling for weeks, with an anonymous Conservative lawmaker describing the cabinet as a boat which was "appallingly encrusted with barnacles." jc/wmr (Reuters, AP, AFP) | 7Politics
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Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that people needed to "stop whining" about COVID-19 in his latest outburst against the protective measures to contain the crisis. The far-right leader's comments come as Brazil goes through its deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 1,300 deaths per day. "Stop whining. How long are you going to keep crying about it?" Bolsonaro said as he called for easing restrictions. "We regret the deaths ... But where's Brazil going to end up if we just close everything?" The South American country of 212 million people has had an outbreak of cases, partly due to a variant of the virus detected in the Amazon rainforest. Bolsonaro previously compared COVID-19 to a "little flu" and promoted hydroxychloroquine as medication, despite studies showing its inefficiency against the virus. At least 260,000 people died in Brazil because of COVID-19. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Honduras said it is set to receive 4.2 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine as pressure piles on the government to vaccinate with delays from the expected COVAX shots, Reuters reported. The government had also struck a deal with AstraZeneca for 1.4 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine. In California, the San Diego Zoo vaccinated nine great apes against COVID-19 after gorillas in its Safari Park contracted the virus from their keeper, officials said. Four orangutans and five bonobos received their two-shot jabs in January and February, making history as the first non-human primates recorded to receive a coronavirus vaccine. Germany’s top health authority reported on Friday that the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain, now made up at least 40% of cases, compared to 6% four weeks ago. "It is foreseeable that B117 will soon be the predominant variant in Germany and then it will be even more difficult to keep the virus in check because B117 is more contagious and even more dangerous in all age groups," said Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute. A rise in coronavirus cases would threaten Germany's plan to ease lockdown restrictions. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday a five-step plan to relax the measures in place that was highly conditional to the rate of weekly cases. A study carried out by Oxford University in the UK has shown that the vaccine that it cooperated on with AstraZeneca is effective at protecting people against the COVID-19 variant discovered in Brazil, according to preliminary data seen by Reuters on Friday. South Africa had already paused deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine after early results showed the jab to be less effective against the strain which was discovered there. Switzerland is to offer free COVID tests to the public,and commuters from across the borders, as of mid-March, the government has announced. Each person will be given five self-testing kits per month. The distribution program is expected to cost CHF 1 billion ($1 billion). The Czech Republic has reluctantly called for help from nearby nations as its hospitals struggle to cope with the burden of coronavirus patients. Germany, Poland and Switzerland have been asked to take on and treat at least a dozen patients, the Health Ministry in Prague said. "We are in a situation we never wanted to be in," Health Minister Jan Blatny said. Paris has massively extended its ban on alcohol in public places. Alcohol consumption is now prohibited on the banks of the Seine, the Saint Martin Canal, Place du Tertre and in many other public places across the French capital, the police prefecture has announced. In addition, shops larger than 10,000 square meters, that do not sell food, will have to close. Italy is postponing a round of local elections until after the summer due to the spread of coronavirus. Major cities, including Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Bologna, were set to elect new mayors in June, but the pandemic has challenged their campaigns. People will instead vote on a date between September 15 and October 15, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office said after a cabinet meeting. Ireland is investigating four stillbirths potentially linked to coronavirus, the deputy chief medical officer told AFP. Health officials have been "made aware of four preliminary reports of stillbirths potentially associated with a condition called COVID Placentitis," Ronan Glynn said. "I can't give too much detail because there's not too much more details to give at this point," Glynn added, according to AFP. Recent reports have shown that women in Africa were less likely to die due to a coronavirus infection than men, the United Nations said. However, women were more likely to experience maternal complications as access to reproductive service declined since the pandemic hit the continent. "There was a rise in maternal deaths in 10 countries," the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, told an online news conference. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that he "understands" Italy's decision to block the export of AstraZeneca vaccines, given how much worse the situation is in Europe compared to Australia. Nevertheless, his government in Canberra did ask the EU to review the decision. New Zealand is lifting lockdown restrictions off its largest city Auckland, starting March 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Last Saturday, Adern imposed a week-long lockdown on the city of 2 million after six months without one as the virus variant, first detected in Britain, caused 15 community cases in February. Auckland is moving to Alert Level 2, which includes restrictions on crowd sizes but allows people to continue most aspects of life as normal. Alert Level 1 would only require people to wear masks on public transport. Meanwhile, Japan is extending the state of emergency in Tokyo by two weeks, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday. The current state of emergency includes closing restaurants and by 8 p.m. The government also asked people to stay at home from 8 p.m. unless it is essential for them to go out. Also in Japan, supercomputer simulations found that wearing two masks was 89% effective in blocking particles, compared to 85% when properly wearing one mask, Reuters reported. This conclusion partially contradicts advice from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that two masks were better than one, suggesting instead that any benefit appears to be minimal. fb, jsi/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) | 5Health
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"Natural erosion" triggered the collapse of Darwin's Arch in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador's Environment Ministry said. Images distributed Tuesday show only two rocky pillars left at the northernmost island of the Pacific Ocean archipelago, which lies 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the South American continent. The iconic arch is famed as a diving spot for underwater encounters with sea turtles, whale sharks, manta rays and dolphins. Diving website Scuba Diver Life said visitors on a diving boat witnessed the collapse just before midday local time on Monday, adding that no divers were harmed. The rock formation was named after British scientist Charles Darwin, who visited the islands in 1835 on the HMS Beagle and developed the theory of evolution by examining Galapagos finches. UNESCO declared the area a Natural World Heritage zone in 1978. The Galapagos archipelago comprises 234 islands, inlets and rocks, and boasts unique flora and fauna not seen anywhere else on earth. Human settlement is restricted to four islands that are home to some 30,000 residents. The marine reserve, located at the confluence of three ocean currents, is described on UNESCO's website as a unique "living museum and showcase of evolution." Last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — an advisory body to UNESCO — voiced alarm about the "massive presence of industrial fishing vessels from diverse nationalities" near the Galapagos Islands. Darwin's Arch, once 18 meters (59 feet) high, stood above a submerged plateau — a kilometer form Darwin Island — enabling divers to hold onto rocks underwater and observe the spectacle of marine species. Landing was not allowed due to biodiversity protection regulations. Because of its shape, the arch was sometimes likened to Paris' Arc de Triomphe. ipj/nm (AFP, EFE) | 6Nature and Environment
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Apple Inc on Monday became the first company in the world to hit $3 trillion (€2.66 trillion) in market capitalization. On the first day of trading for the year, the tech firm's shares rose to $182.88 in mid-day trading, also a new record, though it did go on to drop slightly as the day wore on. Apple hit $2 trillion in August 2020, amid a pandemic that has sparked demand for electronics. The world's most valuable business operation is the first to reach the $3 trillion milestone as investors continue to show faith that consumers remain enchanted with iPhones, MacBooks and services such as Apple TV and Apple Music. Apple has been listed on the stock exchange since 1980. With Steve Jobs at the helm from 1997 until he died in 2011, Apple went from strength to strength, and that upward trajectory has continued under the stewardship of Tim Cook. Over the past five years, shareholders have seen their investment increase more than sixfold. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Meanwhile, the market as a whole was set to extend a recovery from the shock of the COVID pandemic, led by Tesla Inc, followed by Apple and graphics chipmaker Nvidia. On Sunday, Electric carmaker Tesla said it sold 936,000 vehicles globally in the last year, up 87% from its 2020 figures. jsi/rt (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | 0Business
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Firefighters in the western US fought to contain wildfires amid soaring temperatures in northern California and surrounding regions. A rescue aircraft crashed into a wildfire in Mohave County, Arizona, killing the crew of two firefighters. The aircraft was performing monitoring the Cedar Basin Fire burning near Wikieup, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management told local broadcaster KHPO-TV. The Cedar Basin Fire, which has burned around 300 acres (1.2 square kilometers), was started by lightning. US authorities have deployed hundreds of firefighters and multiple planes in a bid to get the fires under control, but the blazes, fueled by winds and lack of moisture, have been raging on. California residents had been asked to cut down on their power usage as the state's power grid was under excessive strain due to the wildfires in Oregon. The blaze in Oregon, which is located just north of California, threatens the power lines that carry power to the southern state. As grids remained stable, however, the flex alert (a request for residents to cut down on power usage) was lifted on Saturday night. On Friday, fire information officer Lisa Cox said, "We're expecting more of the same the day after and the day after and the day after." On Saturday, Death Valley in California's Mohave Desert hit 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Celsius). On the previous day, it had reached 54 degrees Celsius. The highest recorded temperature on Earth is 57 degrees Celsius, from July 1913 in Furnace Creek Desert. The largest wildfire of the year in California was raging around 483 kilometers (300 miles) away from the desert, along the border of Nevada. Another fire caused by two lightning strikes was blazing in the Beckwourth Complex of the Sierra Nevada forest region, nearly doubling in size during Friday and Saturday. Several fires burning in the west have destroyed homes in California. Surging flames have forced evacuations in Northern California and Nevada. | 6Nature and Environment
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Sunday to mark 60 years since the signing of the Elysee Treaty. Speaking at the Sorbonne University, Germany's Scholz said the future of Europe rested on the "driving force" of Paris and Berlin. "The German-French engine is a machine for compromise — well oiled, but from time to time also loud and marked by hard work," the German chancellor said. Addressing the war in Ukraine, Scholz said France and Germany would back Ukraine "as long as necessary." The Elysee Treaty between France and Germany, sealed in 1963, laid the foundation for close bilateral collaboration between the two former enemies. Scholz, Macron, and around 300 lawmakers from both countries gathered at the Sorbonne for a ceremony to celebrate the occasion. Macron told the audience that Germany and France had "cleared the path to reconciliation," and must therefore "become pioneers to relaunch Europe." He stressed there was a need to "build a new energy model," encourage "innovation and the technologies of tomorrow," and ensure the European Union is "a geopolitical power in its own right, in defense, space and diplomacy." Later in the day, the French and German Cabinets took part in a joint Council of Ministers at the Elysee Palace. The talks focused on energy and economic policy, as well as security and defense policies. Military aid for Ukraine was also on the agenda. Macron said his country was still deciding to deliver French-made Leclerc heavy tanks to Ukraine, but he added that "nothing is excluded." However, the French president stressed that dispatching any hardware to Ukraine to push Russian forces away should be "collectively" decided and coordinated with allies, Germany included. Scholz has been under immense pressure to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine. Berlin has been hesitant to send the highly advanced, German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or allow other nations to transfer them. On Sunday, Scholz reiterated Berlin's stance on the matter, stressing that his country had always acted in close coordination with its allies. Separately, the French president announced that Germany will be joining a new hydrogen pipeline project which connects Spain and France. The gathering was the first in-person meeting of its kind between the two governments since 2019. The joint discussions had initially been planned for October but were canceled at short notice, sparking concerns about strained Franco-German relations. Both sides have since reaffirmed their close cooperation. Scholz and Macron were expected to hold a joint press conference in the late afternoon, followed by dinner at a Paris restaurant. The Elysee Treaty was signed by then-French President Charles de Gaulle and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on January 22, 1963. rmt, m/sms (AP, dpa, Reuters, AFP) | 7Politics
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The foreign ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) countries are attending a joint summit on Friday on the Indonesian island of Bali, amid tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in attendance despite objections from Western leaders. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry told DPA that Lavrov would leave the meeting early after holding bilateral talks and addressing the press. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a direct appeal at the meeting of foreign ministers for Russia to unblock Ukraine's grain exports. "Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You should let the grain out," he said to Lavrov directly. Blinken said there had been widespread calls at the meeting urging Russia to end its war in Ukraine. "What we've heard today already is a strong chorus from around the world — not just the United States but around the world about the need — for the aggression to end," Blinken told reporters on the sidelines of the talks in Bali. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Lavrov was not present in the afternoon, as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed the foreign ministers. He also walked out as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock addressed the opening of the meeting. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi urged for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine. "It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not at the battlefield," Marsudi said at the opening of talks. Marsudi added that it was important for Indonesia as the host to "create an atmosphere that's comfortable for everybody." Several Western ministers, including Baerbock and Blinken, have ruled out meeting the Kremlin's top diplomat. They boycotted a dinner held on Thursday evening due to Lavrov's presence. Blinken, Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna held talks ahead of the meeting, along with a senior British official to discuss "Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice." UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss left early to return to London amid fallout from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's resignation. As Lavrov shook hands with Marsudi before the meeting began, journalists asked Lavrov: "When will you stop the war?" and "Why don't you stop the war?" Reporter Andreas Kynast, from German broadcaster ZDF, said he had been the one to ask Lavrov the question, and was immediately thrown out by Indonesian security officials. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked host Indonesia, but denounced Western criticism of Moscow's war in Ukraine. Lavrov said Western participants had "strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine." "'Aggressors', 'invaders', 'occupiers' — we heard a lot of things today," he said. "Everyone is telling us to put an end to the operation and reach a peaceful solution." "Despite the behaviour of our Western colleagues, this is a useful discussion." Lavrov added that Russia was is ready to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey about grain but said it was unclear when such talks might take place. The gathering as a whole was overshadowed by the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who previously represented his country at a number of G20 summits. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is set to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the meeting in a bid to mend relations. "We all know we have our differences. There are challenges in the relationship. We believe engagement is necessary to stabilise the relationship," Wong told reporters. China is Australia's largest trading partner, but relations have deteriorated in recent years after Canberra called for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and imposed a 5G network ban on Chinese firm Huawei. In response, Beijing imposed tariffs on Australian products including coal, seafood and wine. "We don't believe those blockages are in our interests," she said, referring to Beijing's sanctions on Australian products. "We would say to China, they are not in China's interests." sdi,rc/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa) | 7Politics
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US President Joe Biden paid a rare visit to Capitol Hill on Friday to lobby for an approximately $1 trillion (€862 billion) infrastructure bill. The plan has already passed in the Senate with bipartisan support. But progressive and moderate Democrat lawmakers reached an impasse in a row over spending. "It doesn't matter whether it's six minutes, six days or six weeks, we're going to get it done," Biden told reporters as he left a closed-door meeting with Democrat lawmakers at the Capitol. "We are going to deliver for the American people," Biden's official Twitter account posted following the meeting. The bill will see investments in public transport, including in trains, the White House outlined on its official website. Clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure also feature in the plan. Other areas of investment include building high-speed internet infrastructure and plans to tackle climate change. The bill outlines plans to enable clean energy transmission and electric vehicles, as well as build a clean, updated electric grid. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Progressive and moderate democrats are at odds over a separate social spending and climate change bill that Biden also wants to pass. Progressives want around $3.5 trillion to be spent on education, childcare, and promoting clean energy. But moderates say that bill is too expensive, and are seeking around $2 trillion spent on this instead. The row has seen members of the party's progressive wing vow to block the $1 trillion infrastructure bill to maintain negotiating leverage. They say they will only back the infrastructure plan once the Democratic-controlled Senate backs the original social spending deal. During the private meeting with House Democrats, the president acknowledged that his party currently did not have enough votes to pass the two spending bills, lawmakers said. Biden reportedly told Democrats that he wanted both bills passed regardless of how long it takes. Biden allegedly discussed a compromise topline of $1.9 trillion to $2.3 trillion, the AP news agency reported quoting a person in the room who was granted anonymity to discuss the talks. Shortly after Biden's 40-minute meeting, Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the fractious House Democrats, pulled a vote on the bill again, after delaying a vote on the plan on Thursday. The move buys time for crafting an overall agreement on the two bills. But there is no hard timeline for action on either bill. kmm/fb (AFP, AP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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The World Health Organization on Wednesday said international travel bans "do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress" of countries. In a statement issued after a WHO meeting, the UN health agency said travel restrictions that were introduced to curb the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus demonstrated "the ineffectiveness of such measures over time." In late November, several countries suspended flights to and from southern African countries, citing concerns over omicron. Most governments have lifted this ban. The WHO also urged countries not to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as the only way for travelers' entry, citing inequity in vaccine distribution. Countries should consider adjusting some measures, including testing and quarantine requirements, "when appropriate," that put a financial burden on travelers, the WHO said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Separately, the WHO said that coronavirus cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million. Infections increased in every world region except for Africa, where cases fell by nearly a third, according to the WHO. The number of deaths globally remained similar to the previous week, at about 45,000. Here's a roundup of the latest developments on COVID-19 from around the world: South African-born biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong opened a plant in Cape Town, South Africa, that will be the first on the continent to produce COVID-19 vaccines from start to finish. The NantSA facility aims to produce a billion doses annually by 2025. The plant is South Africa's third vaccine manufacturing facility, but it would make vaccines itself rather than producing them from semifinished batches. Soon-Shiong, who is also a medical doctor, will transfer technology and materials from his California-based NantWorks to scientists in South Africa to produce second-generation vaccines "within the year." They will also work on vaccines targeting cancer, TB and HIV. "Africa should no longer be last in line to access vaccines against pandemics," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the opening of the plant. Ramaphosa said Africa had secured 500 million vaccine doses through the African Union's vaccine acquisition task team, but the continent needs more. "These doses represent only around half of what the continent needs to vaccinate 900 million people in order to achieve the 70% target set by the World Health Organization,'' said Ramaphosa. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that people in England would no longer be required to wear face masks from next week. He told Parliament on Wednesday that measures introduced to combat the omicron variant were no longer needed as scientists believe infections have peaked in the UK. "Because of the extraordinary booster campaign, together with the way the public have responded to the Plan B measures, we can return to Plan A in England and allow Plan B regulations to expire as a result from the start of Thursday next week," Johnson said. He intended to drop self-isolation rules for people with coronavirus in March. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The prime minister also announced an end to the vaccine certificates mandate but added that businesses could continue asking for COVID-19 passes if they wanted to. Museums and concert halls in the Netherlands opened as beauty salons and gyms to protest the Dutch government's pandemic policies. The cultural sector is protesting rules that they must remain closed while COVID-19 measures were lifted on shops and "contact professions" like barbers, nail salons and sex work. During the protest, nail artists were giving manicures at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Barbers also gave haircuts on the stage of Amsterdam's historical concert hall, Concertgebouw. Authorities handed out enforcement notices to a number of the 70-odd venues that took part in the day-long protest. Germany recorded more than 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases for the first time. The new single-day record of 112,323 comes as Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he believed there could be twice as many unreported cases as known ones. Lauterbach told broadcaster RTL that Germany had not reached the peak and compulsory vaccination should be introduced by May. In the east-central German state of Thuringia, some 1,200 demonstrators, protesting COVID measures, marched past the home of Gera's Mayor Julian Vornab, police said. Asked if he felt threatened, Vonarb said: "The police were there, but not in proportion to the number of demonstrators." Bodo Ramelow, the state leader of Thuringia, said marching up to politicians' homes was nothing other than intimidation. Protests against Germany's pandemic policies have increased in recent weeks. Some 70,000 people joined anti-COVID measures protests across Germany earlier this week. Austria recorded a record number of infections. "We have close to 30,000 infections. That is a frighteningly high figure," Chancellor Karl Nehammer said. The previous record for new daily cases, 17,006, was set a week ago. Sweden set a new daily record for COVID-19 cases, registering 37,886 on Tuesday, health agency data released on Wednesday showed. The country is in the middle of a fourth wave of the pandemic. Kronoberg, one of Sweden's 25 health care regions, said it would pause all testing except for hospital and elderly care patients and staff. In Slovenia and Croatia, laboratories can not process tests fast enough. The two countries recorded record-high new COVID-19 cases of 12,285 and 10,427, respectively. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Tourism Ministry in Cyprus announced that the country will lift all entry requirements on March 1 for travelers who present proof of receiving a booster shot The tourism-reliant island nation currently requires travelers to either show proof of a negative COVID test or to self-quarantine upon arrival. Under the new rules, travelers who haven't received a booster shot can enter the country if it has been less than nine months since they received their last dose. The United States plans to distribute 400 million N95 for adults free of charge from next week. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a White House official said the masks would be available at pharmacies and community health centers. President Joe Biden's administration hopes that it will help curb the rapidly spread omicron variant. Also in the US, Starbucks said it would no longer require its workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The move to reverse the policy that Starbuck had announced earlier this month came after the US Supreme Court rejected a plan by the Biden administration to require vaccines or regular COVID testing at companies with more than 100 workers. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said coronavirus infections in the Americas are reaching new peaks, with 7.2 million new cases and more than 15,000 COVID-related deaths in the last week. "The virus is spreading more actively than ever before," PAHO Director Carissa Etienne told a press briefing. According to the PAHO, the Caribbean has had the steepest increase in infections since the beginning of the pandemic. The regional agency recommended that countries prioritize rapid antigen tests for people experiencing symptoms and who are at risk of spreading the virus amid a shortage of testing. India reported 282,970 new infections on Wednesday, the highest in eight months. Authorities said omicron was causing fewer hospitalizations and deaths than the delta variant, which killed hundreds of thousands of people in India last year. While infection rates have recently fallen in India's big cities, experts say cases nationally could peak by the middle of next month. "We have to worry about hospitalization and deaths and that will come later," Tarun Bhatnagar, from the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, told the Reuters news agency. Japan widened COVID-19 curbs to several towns and cities, including Tokyo, as it battles a record wave of omicron infections. The country has resisted complete shutdowns, instead focusing on requiring restaurants and bars to close early and not serve alcohol. It also urged the public to wear masks and practice social distancing. A sharp rise in infections has begun to paralyze hospitals, schools and other sectors in some areas. New Zealand called off the national cricket team's tour of Australia before the scheduled first match because of strict COVID-19 quarantine requirements. The Black Caps, as they are commonly known, would not have had to isolate on their return home when the tour was first announced. The spread of the omicron variant in Australia has caused New Zealand's government to defer a plan to introduce quarantine-free travel between the countries. fb, lo/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters) | 5Health
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Germany and four members of the European Union have launched an initiative to establish a bloc-wide rapid reaction force for future military crises, the German news agency dpa reported on Thursday. The initiative, which also draws in Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia, aims to expand the existing EU battle groups, which are multinational military units of 1,500 personnel each on standby to respond to crises. The new force is expected to include space and cyber capabilities, along with special forces and air transport. The five countries said recent events in Afghanistan have shown that the EU must be able to act swiftly, according to a document cited by dpa. To this end, the availability, readiness, deployability and competence of the forces had to be improved, the document added. In order to provide greater flexibility, the five states also proposed using Article 44 of the EU Treaty, which has never been activated before. The article allows coalitions of willing member states to carry out security activities with the permission of other non-participating countries. The plan also calls on EU member states to utilize more regional cooperation arrangements. It does not, however, make any specific proposals on the size of the force in terms of personnel. The document says that the land-based forces should be of brigade strength, or about 5,000 troops. The current battle group concept provides for two units, each with around 1,500 troops, to be on standby, with forces from different member states rotating every six months. German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer seemed optimistic about the proposal. In an interview with German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, she said that although EU forces within NATO cannot function without the support of the United States, the reaction force would offer an addition, but not a replacement for US forces. Meanwhile, Germany's far-left Left party immediately denounced the plan, saying that leaders were drawing the wrong conclusions from Afghanistan. "The EU does not need a new intervention force. The EU should be a civilian alliance," deputy party head Tobias Pflueger told dpa. The problem in Afghanistan was that nations had attempted to "democratize a country by military means," he said. "The EU does not need a new intervention force. The EU should be a civilian alliance," Pflueger added. | 7Politics
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Australia's second-most-populous city of Melbourne was set to end its fifth coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday, with the state of Victoria announcing it had curtailed the spread of the contagious delta variant. The strict virus curbs in the city are set to be eased at midnight, allowing schools, restaurants and pubs to reopen, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said. "This lockdown [...] sends a very clear message that we have seen off two delta outbreaks,'' Andrews said. "I don't think there's a jurisdiction in the world that has been able to achieve that, and every Victorian should be proud of that.'' However, people will not be allowed to have visitors in their homes for another two weeks. On Tuesday, Victoria reported 10 new cases of COVID-19, but all were in isolation during the time they were infectious. Meanwhile, the state of New South Wales reported 172 new infections, compared with 145 the day before. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said a decision on whether the five-week lockdown in New South Wales will be extended would be announced later this week. The city of Nanjing in eastern China reported 31 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, just as the country announced it had administered more than 1.5 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The new cases have brought Nanjing's case tally to more than 106 in recent days. According to local officials, the virus being transmitted is the contagious delta variant. Nanjing is carrying out mass testing and has placed thousands of residents under a lockdown in order to contain the spread. A near-universal indoor mask wearing rule is also in place. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In Japan, Games organizers reported seven new coronavirus cases at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. The total number of infections since July 1 now stands at 155. There are two athletes among the latest infections, including a Dutch tennis player. Meanwhile, the number of new infections in Tokyo has risen to a record high during the Olympic Games. On Tuesday, the Japanese capital city reported 2,848 new infections within one day. Moderna is pushing back its planned delivery of a vaccine shipment for South Korea from mid-July to August due to supply problems, a South Korean health official said on Tuesday. Official Lee Sang-won said at a briefing that the issue was due to the manufacturing process involving Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza and a Spain-based company that does bottling work for the Moderna vaccine. Cambodian authorities have stopped five large containers of water buffalo meat imported from India after detecting that the shipment was tainted with the coronavirus. The Health Ministry on Tuesday said the virus was detected in three of the five shipping containers of frozen meat being brought in by a private company. The contents of the three containers were to be destroyed. Thailand has started transporting Covid infected patients from Bangkok to their hometowns on Tuesday for isolation and treatment to alleviate the burden on the capital's overwhelmed medical system. A train carrying more than 100 patients and medical workers in full protective gear left the city for the northeast. United States health officials have urged fully vaccinated Americans to go back to wearing face masks in public indoor settings in areas with high coronavirus infection rates. The latest move is in response to the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said data suggested that vaccinated people can spread COVID-19 in rare cases. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country has enough vaccine to inoculate everyone who is eligible for the shot, two months earlier than promised. Trudeau had promised Candians that all those who wanted to be vaccinated would receive their doses by October. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Trudeau said his government had bought 66-million COVID-19 vaccines, enough for all eligible Canadians. EU chief executive Ursula von der Leyen said they have achieved their goal of providing at least one coronavirus vaccine shot to 70% of all adults while 57% are fully vaccinated. The EU, home to around 450 million people, was widely criticized for the slow pace of its vaccine rollout earlier this year. Von der Leyen said “these figures put Europe among the world leaders” when it comes to vaccination rates. Germany registered 1,545 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the total to 3,758,401, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. The death toll increased by 38 to reach 91,565. The country reported a small rise in the seven-day incidence rate, with 14.5 cases per 100,000 people average over the past week. German Health Minister Jens Spahn is planning compulsory coronavirus tests for travelers entering the country, regardless of where they travel from. Finance minister Olaf Scholz said many events will continue to be only possible for those who have been vaccinated, recovered, or tested. Scholz is calling for mobile vaccination teams to reach more people. Meanwhile, Germany is listing Spain and the Netherlands as "high-incidence areas" starting Tuesday. The move means most people arriving from the two countries who aren't fully vaccinated will have to undergo quarantine. UK epidemiologist Neil Ferguson said the end of Britain's Covid-19 pandemic could be just months away as vaccines have reduced the risk of hospitalization and death. Prime Minster Boris Johnson has urged caution after infection rates dropped for seven consecutive days. On Tuesday there were 23,511 new cases, down nearly 50% from the previous week. The fall in infections also follows England’s decision to remove nearly all pandemic regulations, in a move that was widely criticized. Israel has recorded a rise in infections with most of the new cases linked to the Delta variant. The Ministry of Health reported 2,112 cases on Tuesday - the highest number since mid-March. Among the newly infected are many younger people and also those who have been vaccinated twice. More than 57% of Israel's 9.3 million residents are already fully vaccinated. Turkey's daily new coronavirus cases have jumped to 19,761. These are highest numbers seen since early May. According to the country’s health ministry there is a daily death toll of 51 people a day. COVID-19 cases in Iran hit a record high for the second time in as many days. New cases rose to nearly 35,000 with the country’s health ministry warning that there was scant hope of improvement unless the public followed its advice. A fifth wave is being blamed on the highly infectious Delta variant. The Bledisloe Cup will commence in New Zealand next month after the government granted the Australian rugby team an exemption to cross the border. A coronavirus outbreak in Australia had led to a suspension of travel for at least eight weeks between the two countries on Friday. The first test match is set to get underway on August 7 in Auckland. New Zealand Sports Minister Grant Robertson said test matches were worth millions of dollars in spending for host regions. kb,on,dvv/nm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) | 5Health
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Hungary said Saturday that it would try to end a standoff with the European Union by passing a series of new anti-corruption laws within days. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff told reporters that the legislation would be submitted to parliament next week and, if approved by MPs, could enter into force in November. The measures will likely include the creation of independent anti-corruption watchdogs to monitor the use of EU funds as well as steps to make the government procurement process more transparent. "The government has either accepted the requests of the European Commission, or, in the areas where we could not accept them, we have managed to reach a compromise that is satisfactory to both parties," chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a media briefing. The announcement comes as the European Commission decides the fate of billions of euros of frozen EU funds allocated to Budapest from the bloc's 2021-2027 budget. Reuters news agency cited two EU officials as saying that the Commission will next week recommend suspending the payments due to concerns over graft, in what would be the first such move against Orban. Brussels has accused Orban's fiercely nationalist government of undermining the rule of law and using EU money to enrich its cronies. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Last week, a large majority of EU lawmakers voted to condemn damage to democracy in Hungary since Orban took power in 2010, stepping up pressure on the bloc to cut funding for the ex-communist country. Hungary is also earmarked to receive €5.8 billion ($5.8 billion) from the EU's COVID-19 recovery fund but Brussels has yet to sign off on Budapest's spending plan for the money. Hungary had by far the highest share of irregularities in the whole bloc in spending EU funds from 2015 to 2019, according to the EU anti-fraud agency. Brussels has long called for transparency, competition and accountability in public procurement. Orban is under pressure to boost Hungary's economy at a time of fast-rising inflation and a weakening local currency. mm/wd (AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Joyful celebrations filled the air when South Sudan defeated Ethiopia in Omdurman in the semifinal of the East African regional CECAFA U20 championship in November. The win meant qualification for their first-ever continental tournament, the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations. It was the culmination of years of hard work after the country's decade-long civil war. "The whole of the squad fell on the pitch and cried. We were so emotional. We couldn't express the happiness we felt," the captain, Joseph Loro, told DW. "It was the greatest thing that had happened in our lives." South Sudan had taken two big leaps in football in one year. Less than a month prior, the country's U17 team had punched their ticket for the continental championship through the regional qualifiers. Their football-crazy country was in raptures. Inspired by the feat of the U17 boys, Loro said his team were determined they could succeed as well, and they fought hard. He is happy to have surprised onlookers and placed his country on the football map. "Lanky Loro," who stands at 6 ft. 4 i.n tall (1.97m), and his teammates represent a new generation who hope that football can help them change the narrative of a country known for the conflicts that have displaced millions of its citizens. South Sudan's civil war claimed more than 400,000 lives after its independence from Sudan, as political groups turned on each other in a fight for power. Loro's father was sadly one of the early victims. "Everybody had somebody that was affected by the conflict, but we came together to represent our country and forget about the past," said the 18-year-old central midfielder, who left to be raised by his mom. In football, he found his path to a livelihood. After being discovered playing in a Juba neighborhood by coach Bilal Felix, now the U17 national team trainer, Loro joined an academy from where he was signed by local club side Munuki FC, who paid his fees through secondary school. His salary now helps his family financially. When he was called up to the national team, he had already developed leadership skills. He was named captain of a side that included players from South Sudanese communities in Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt, who had been displaced by the civil war. "Football brings people together, and it crosses ethnicities. People playing on the pitch don't ask themselves, 'where do you come from?' They're just teammates,'' said Augustino Maduot, president of the South Sudanese Football Association. "This is bringing hope for our unity and peace. It is a vehicle and a tool to break all the divisive things that have come into our society." The years of fighting took its toll on the country, leaving football and other cultural activities underdeveloped. But since the signing of a peace accord in 2020, South Sudan has slowly taken big steps, despite the need for more infrastructure. "It is clear that development is affected when there are problems, and this is what happened. Sport is not a priority when there is a civil war," said Maduot. "Now, with the current peace, things have become calm, and we can reach all our organizations and areas for the players to play." Maduot's work has centered on grassroots and youth football, women's football development, and technical training for coaches and other officials. The country also needs more infrastructure, like quality pitches required for football growth. But the war is not the only thing responsible for the lack of infrastructure. Former SSFA president Chobur Goc was banned from football for ten years by FIFA after he enriched himself with FIFA grants to the tune of $497,000 (€539,000) in 2019. The South Sudanese have an abundance of football talent. Four members of its diaspora played at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Garang Kuol, Awer Mabil, and Thomas Deng were in the Australia squad, their families having fled the country during the independence war with Sudan. Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria, whose father is South Sudanese, was a member of the Swiss squad. "South Sudanese are known for being resilient and have this talent for playing football. We have the talent. We need the opportunity to give to these young ones," Maduot said. Maduot hopes that their youth teams' growth will be sustained to build a senior squad that can finally play at the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. "We have a dream. Whether it will be achieved remains a matter of time and place," he admitted. Loro hopes to lead his side to the U20 AFCON in Egypt in February. The South Sudanese have been drawn into Group B with Uganda, the Central African Republic, and Congo. The U20 AFCON is a big shopping window for talent, and a good performance would mean much for the South Sudanese boys to be seen by scouts. "Some of our opponents don't even know where our country is on the map," said Loro. "We are not going to relax, and we're not going to stop our movement. Our mission is to go and make sure we qualify for the U20 World Cup in order also for us to heap pressure on our U17 team to go and fight." A good tournament will inspire all the people of South Sudan. Edited by: Matt Pearson | 9Sports
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In his daily video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Moscow's claims that Ukraine was preparing provocations with the use of a "dirty bomb", as suggested by Russia's defense minister during telephone calls with NATO counterparts. "If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this. I believe that now the world should react as harshly as possible," Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president also said that only Russia was capable of using nuclear weapons in Europe. "If anyone can use nuclear weapons in this part of Europe — it can be only one source — and that source is the one that has ordered comrade Shoigu to telephone here or there," Zelenskyy said. Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced Moscow's claims as "absurd" and "dangerous". "Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves," he added.
Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on October 23: Ukraine Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, urged countries across the globe to ban Russian broadcaster RT after a rogue presenter at the state-controlled television network called for children to be drowned. Quote tweeting a clip of the segment, Kuleba wrote, "This is what you side with if you allow RT to operate in your countries." Anton Krasovsky — a pro-war commentator who has been sanctioned by the European Union — had earlier said Ukrainian children who saw Russians as occupiers under the Soviet Union should have been drowned. "They should have been drowned in the Tysyna (river)," Krasovsky said, responding to Russian science fiction author Sergei Lukyanenko who was recounting incidents of children criticizing Russian occupation, in his visits to Ukraine. "Just drown those children, drown them," Krasovsky said. Alternatively they could be shoved into huts and burned, he added. Within hours, RT's Editor-In-Chief Margarita Simonyan said she had suspended the presenter for his "disgusting comments". She reassured people that no one at the channel shared his views. French President Emmanuel Macron addressed concerns that speaking of peace between Ukraine and Russia could be taken as a lack of support for the former. He said this at an international conference organised by Italy's Sant' Egidio Community — a worldwide peace and charity group — in an official visit to Italy. "To speak of peace now, call for peace, might seem unbearable for those who are fighting for freedom, it seems like a betrayal (of Ukraine)," the French leader said. But peace cannot be "captured by Russian power. Peace can't be the consecration of the law of the strongest, nor can it be a cease-fire (marking) the state of affairs," he said. He pointed out that it was up to Ukraine to decide the time and terms of peace with Russia, adding that the international community will be there when the Ukrainian government chooses that time. Macron also addressed the Russian Orthodox Church, asking it to resist pressures from Russia’s authorities and their manipulations to justify the war against Ukraine. "We know well how the Orthodox religion today is being manipulated by those in power in Russia to justify their actions," Macron said. "Resistance is needed here." Ukraine lost around 90% of its wind power capacity as a result of the Russian invasion. In the case of solar energy, the loss is 40-50%, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Ukrainian television on Sunday. According to Halushchenko, before the war, renewables accounted for 10-11% of energy production in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kyiv's energy operator said that scheduled "stabilization" power cuts have been introduced in the Ukrainian capital after Russian strikes on the country's energy infrastructure. Russia in recent days has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy grid, destroying at least a third of the country's power stations ahead of winter. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his British counterpart Ben Wallace on Sunday that Moscow was concerned Kyiv could be planning to use a "dirty bomb" in Ukraine. It's a claim Moscow has made before, without providing evidence. A "dirty bomb" refers to a conventional explosive device that disperses radioactive material. Wallace "refuted" claims by Moscow that Western countries were facilitating a planned escalation of the war in Ukraine. "The defense secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation," Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a statement, noting Moscow had requested the conversation. Shoigu also repeated the "dirty bomb" claim in phone calls earlier in the day with the French and Turkish defense ministers. He also later spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. "The situation in Ukraine, which has a steady tendency towards further, uncontrolled escalation, was discussed," by Shoigu and France's Sebastien Lecornu, Russia's Defense Ministry said. In a statement, Lecornu said France would not get drawn into any form of escalation in the Ukraine conflict, especially regarding nuclear options. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Russian claims are "absurd" and "dangerous." "Firstly, Ukraine is a committed NPT member: we neither have any 'dirty bombs,' nor plan to acquire any. Secondly, Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves," he wrote on Twitter. There have been growing fears that Moscow may resort to using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where counteroffensives by Kyiv's troops have forced Russian units to go on the defensive. In its latest assessment, Britain's Ministry of Defence says Russia is planning to bring mercenaries to defend its occupied territories as it faces counteroffensives by Kyiv. Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed online last week that his engineering teams were constructing an extensive fortified
"Wagner Line" of defenses in Russian-occupied Luhansk, the ministry said. It added that a map Prigozhin had posted online "showed a section of newly constructed anti-tank defenses and trench systems southeast of Kreminna in Luhansk." Russia has been using the Wagner Group in conflicts for several years, including in Syria and the Central African Republic. In a recent video, the mercenary group's chief appeared to be recruiting Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russia's military leadership is pulling its officers out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson ahead of an expected advance by Ukrainian forces. The think tank said Russian officers were being moved across to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, while newly mobilized, less experienced troops would be left on the western side to slow the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Kherson is the capital of a region of the same name that was illegally annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. The city has been in Moscow's hands since early in the war. On Saturday, Russian-installed authorities there told all residents to evacuate immediately. Ukraine's military said Sunday that Russian forces were now mostly on the defensive, but were continuing to target energy infrastructure and launch attacks on several towns in the eastern Donbas. The ISW think tank said Russia's strategy of targeting power plants in recent days appeared to be aimed at hurting Ukrainians' will to fight and forcing Kyiv to spend additional resources to protect civilians and energy infrastructure. Russian forces in Kherson urged civilians to "evacuate," with a post on Telegram noting that "Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city" and cross to the eastern side of the Dnieper River. Russian forces are in control east of the Dnieper River. After warnings of a Ukrainian counter offensive to recapture the city were announced, thousands of civilians left Kherson. At Oleshky, which is the opposite bank of the bank of Dnieper, people were seen arriving by a river boat loaded with boxes, bags and pets. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram, "Kherson region! Just a little bit more. Hang in there. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are at work." The leaders of the G7 nations condemned Russia's kidnapping of the Ukrainian officials responsible for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In a statement, they condemned the abduction of the plant's leadership and said that Russia must immediately return full control of the plant to Ukraine. Russian forces took control of the nuclear plant in the initial aftermath of the February 24 invasion. The urgent meeting of the G7 leadership came a day after Moscow launched more than 80 missiles at Ukraine. The attack killed at least 19 people and left 105 injured. The G7 also condemned Putin's nuclear sabre rattling. Ukrainian forces detained Vyacheslav Boguslaev, the former owner of Motor Sich, a well-known manufacturer of aircraft engines in Ukraine. He has reportedly been charged with treason. Several Ukrainian media outlets reported that after being detained, Boguslaev was whisked off to Kyiv. Reports quoted security sources who said that Boguslaev, a former member of parliament, was suspected of collaborating and assisting the Russian occupation of four Ukrainian regions, including Zaporizhzhia. Citing security sources, Ukrainian journalist Iryna Romaliyska wrote in a Facebook post that Boguslaev was known for his pro-Russian views and was in contact with Russian intelligence services. Boguslaev allegedly helped to supply Moscow with aircraft parts, she said. The Ukrainian government warned that Russia's escalating attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure could spark a major "humanitarian catastrophe." Kyiv said at least 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has already been destroyed. The attacks have forced the country to brace for a cold winter with a limited supply of power. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Zelenskyy thanked energy service providers and grid operators who were working to rebuild critical sites despite the risk. His office said Saturday that Russia's airstrikes had damaged the Ukrenergo power company, leaving close to 1.5 million customers were left without electricity. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelenskyy, tweeted that "By striking Ukraine's critical infrastructure, the Kremlin wants to provoke new refugees" to Europe. He added that the only way to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe is to "transfer air defense and additional missiles fast." Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also warned that the intensified Russian attacks would "trigger a new migration tsunami." As Russia continued to attack Ukraine's critical civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged that his military would up its air defense systems to counter incoming Russian missiles. Zelenskyy said, "Those treacherous blows on critically important facilities are characteristic tactics of terrorists." He added, "The world can and must stop this terror." Even though Ukraine currently doesn't have the technical ability to down all of the missiles and drones Russia sends incoming, it is only a matter of time before Ukraine "will achieve that" with the help of partners, he said. The latest airstrikes have caused power outages in many parts of the country. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy noted that Saturday Ukrainian forces downed 20 Russian missiles and more than 10 Iranian-made drones. Earlier, the Ukrainian air force confirmed that of 33 missiles fired at Ukraine by Russia that 18 were shot down. ns/ar, jsi (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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The French far-right opposition National Rally (RN) party elected its incumbent leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday, with no opposing candidates. Le Pen is seeking to breathe new life into her campaign for the presidency next year, after the party's recent electoral disappointment. Formerly known as the National Front, the RN party was tipped for strong gains in last month's regional elections, but ultimately failed to win any of the 13 regions in mainland France. Those results raised questions about Le Pen's efforts to detoxify her party's image and establish it as a more mainstream right-wing force. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nevertheless, her reelection, with "98.35%" of the vote, prompted European Parliament lawmaker, and fellow RN member, Jerome Riviere, to confidently predict on Twitter that Sunday's result will propel Le Pen towards a "presidential election victory in 2022." Le Pen has held the role for 10 years and wants to run again in the French presidential election in nine months' time, when her main opponent is likely to be the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, to whom she lost the last nationwide ballot in 2017. Le Pen defended changes to the party to make it more mainstream during a keynote address later on Sunday. "The National Rally has experienced a healthy change. We will not go back to the (old school) National Front," Le Pen said during a party gathering in the southern city of Perpignan. Le Pen said the party had "ideological" successes. "We were right about immigration, about society's descent into savagery, about globalization and so many other subjects that dominate the political debate," the National Rally leader said. Le Pen painted a dark picture of France during the remarks, saying the country is plagued by "crime bosses, Islamists, and mafias." She promised to crack down on crime and said if elected, she would hold a nationwide referendum on immigration. "This victory, we're going to go out and get it," Le Pen said, referring to the upcoming 2022 presidential race. She said voters will have the chance to make a "historic choice" between nationalism and globalization. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video jsi, wd/mm (AFP, dpa) | 7Politics
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Rosalia Romaniec (RR):There are only a few weeks left until Germany's general election and the outcome has rarely been as open as this time. We're talking to Janine Wissler, the lead candidate of the Left Party. Chiponda Chimbelu (CC): Ms. Wissler, you are a socialist and the top candidate of a party that always votes against deploying the Bundeswehr abroad. What do you think Germany's role should be in Afghanistan today? Janine Wissler: Today and over the next few days, the most important thing is to save as many lives as possible, to evacuate as many people as possible. But we must understand: After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, and 20 years of the Bundeswehr being deployed, after tens of thousands of deaths, the country has sadly neither become more secure nor peaceful. On the contrary — we are witnessing a disaster. That's why this deployment was a mistake from the very beginning. The Bundeswehr mission alone has cost 12.5 billion euros. Imagine how that amount of money could have improved the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan! That's why the Left has always voted against this war effort, and that's why it's also right that the German government should now face up to its responsibility. That means evacuating the local staff. This should have been done before withdrawing from Afghanistan. That's a shabby way to treat the local staff. They're flying 65,000 liters of beer out of there, but when it comes to the people that were working for the Bundeswehr and for other German institutions — the human rights activists, women's rights activists — they're being left to fend for themselves. RR: We'll talk about that in a moment. But you brought up responsibility, which includes responsibility for the world. This is also a question that concerns our viewers — this one is from Kenya. VIEWER QUESTION: How is her leadership is going to affect the world positively? For one thing, we need a fair world economic order. We can't have rich countries exploiting the natural resources of poorer countries. We need a just world economic order. We must stop delivering weapons all over the world and stop supporting dictators. Instead, we need to focus on development cooperation and on improving the humanitarian situation. We need a global effort to fight hunger. I think that is urgent. That's also a way to eliminate some of the causes behind migration. This also ties in with combating climate change. That, too, will make some regions uninhabitable. I think it's crucial for Germany to focus on a peaceful foreign policy. That means not exporting weapons across the globe, and not building up our troops and sending them abroad, but instead focusing on civilian solutions. RR: Even so, it's also a matter of what role Germany plays internationally — and whether Germany should withdraw completely from its international responsibility and rely solely on development aid. That can't be the solution. That's no way to deal with terrorists. But what does it mean to withdraw from international responsibility? I would say that it would make a great contribution to bearing international responsibility if, for example, we stopped delivering weapons to regimes like Saudi Arabia, until recently, or Qatar and Egypt. That would be a contribution to making the world more peaceful. It would also be an opportunity to focus more on economic development. You can see this in African countries, for example, when European fishing fleets empty the seas off the African coasts ... RR: I'd like to stay in Afghanistan. What is Germany's current responsibility there? Right now, at this moment? The most pressing issue is: How can we evacuate as many people as possible? And then the question arises: How can we support existing civil-society projects that have also received development cooperation funds? CC: And how would you deal with the Taliban? If I could just finish my sentence: How can we keep up projects there? That's the question. We can't just say we're going to cut all development aid right away. We need to consider the people living there, some of whom are living in catastrophic supply conditions. RR: Germany has already reduced or even canceled development aid. Very few funds are still flowing. Does that mean you'd be in favor of maintaining them? I think, at the very least, we have to consider what impact this has on the supplies for the civilian population. I'm against entirely cutting off anything right now. We are in a very fluid situation. We don't know yet how many international organizations will remain in the country, how many can continue working. It looks as if UN organizations... RR: But you would be financing the Taliban if you kept paying now. No, for the time being that's not what it means. The question is: Can UN organizations, development organizations, remain in the country? Can they continue working there? I think that's uncertain right now. It's too early to say how events will unfold. I am against completely cutting off the funds for development cooperation. This is about the people, who are now suffering both at the hands of the Taliban, and from the terrible humanitarian situation on the ground. Of course, we need to keep an eye on what happens next. RR: Many countries are now speaking with the Taliban: the West, Russia, and China have all invited the Taliban. The question will soon arise as to whether the Taliban should be recognized as a government. What is the position of the Left Party? Germany is also in talks with the Taliban. Those talks are taking place. I would even say it was a great mistake... RR: But there is a difference between recognizing the Taliban as a government and talking to them. The problem is that the recognition of the Taliban took place much earlier. Remember the peace talks in Doha. The U.S. negotiated with the Taliban, but left out the Afghan government. The problem is that they sought talks with the Taliban, without including the Afghan government and — incidentally — didn't include any other states, either. To that extent, it has been a done deal for a long time. Of course, Germany will now also be talking to the Taliban, especially when it comes to the question of evacuating. I think the Taliban are a reactionary, misogynist group. I think it's an absolute disaster that the group is taking back power in Afghanistan. I fear they'll be even stronger than they were 20 years ago when the Western troops invaded, because it appears they've taken over much of the arsenal and the combatants that the West had been training and arming for years. But that's the fact of the matter. Naturally, we're going to have to – as is already the case – talk to the Taliban to get as many people out as we can... CC: You are talking about what has happened. Do you have a plan or are you thinking about what you could do? What will you do in this situation? In the current situation the very first thing is to provide help — to fly as many people out as possible. Which means rescuing first and asking questions later, and not how the German government has been doing it, which is the exact other way around. Yes, we will certainly be talking to the Taliban at one point or another, and that's what the German ambassador is doing in Doha right now; talking and negotiating with the Taliban about how local staff and human rights activists can be flown out. Then, as I said, we'll see which development cooperation projects can be sustained. But the fact is, the Taliban are now in power in Afghanistan. They've conquered the provinces. There's still some resistance, but I think we will have to wait and see how things develop in the coming days. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video RR: But that means you are in favor of the Taliban being recognized as a government. Ursula von der Leyen rejected that. I think it's far too early to ask that question. RR: But the question will arise. Yes of course the question will arise. But as I said, what does "formal recognition” truly mean? The fact is that the German ambassador, the German government, is negotiating with the Taliban. It's not a question of whether the Left would talk to them or recognize them. That's already the case. I find the question to be a symbolic one. Now we need to focus on helping the people who are suffering at the hands of the Taliban, whose lives are at risk. That's the task at hand, and that is where the German government has lost valuable time. A few months ago, we had all the infrastructure available in Afghanistan. We should have flown out the local staff and those at high risk first, and only then withdrawn our forces. That would have been a matter of urgent necessity. The Left have been campaigning in the Bundestag on this for five years. In June, there was a vote on it. At that time, only the Greens and the Left voted for the evacuation of the local staff. Everyone else did not. CC: Let's talk about what's going on right now. The German government's strategy is to support Afghanistan's neighbors so that refugees can stay in the region. Do you stand behind this strategy? It's good that neighboring states are receiving support for taking in refugees. Right now, I'm more worried that many people will not get out of Afghanistan at all. The figures that Seehofer mentioned — up to 5 million refugees — I don't know how realistic that is. Opportunities to leave Afghanistan are currently limited. So yes, it's good to support neighboring countries, but Germany must fulfill its responsibility and take people in here, as well. CC: How many Afghans should Germany take in? I can't quote an exact figure. Right now, it's unclear how many are even being flown out, and how many are reaching Germany? Of course, Germany is obligated. It is one of the richest countries in the European Union, and partly responsible for this disaster. We mustn't forget that Germany is also responsible for civilian deaths. Just recall the massacre in Kunduz, for example. There weren't even reparations. Germany has a responsibility to take in people from Afghanistan. That also means stopping deportations, which has only been the case since last week. It's crucial that nobody is deported to Afghanistan, and that people from Afghanistan now living in Germany receive a secure residence status, so that they can live here in safety. Germany is able to take in people from Afghanistan. I don't think a number can be seriously given at this time. I also don't know where Interior Minister Seehofer got his figures from. RR: Ms. Wissler, let's take a quick look at this responsibility. Circumstances remains dire. The German government has admitted that it misjudged the situation. You accuse the government of playing for time. You also speak of a "failure to render assistance." What do you mean specifically? Do you mean politically, or in terms of legal liability? It had long been known that the Bundeswehr and the US troops would withdraw from Afghanistan. I'm under the impression that the federal government was playing for time. RR: But what is it you're demanding when you say that this is a failure to render assistance? What are you asking for? I've already said that means we now have to fly out as many people as possible. But in some places, there's no fixing things anymore. For many people, it's already too late. RR: Does that mean that the German government is to blame for the loss of these lives? Of course! When the German government takes that much time to fly local staff out, of course they're putting lives at risk! The people there have been abandoned. It's been known for a long time that the troops would withdraw. That raises some questions. The Federal Intelligence Service and other intelligence services were on the ground, and Heiko Maas, the foreign minister, still claimed in early July that a rapid takeover by the Taliban was not to be expected, and that deportations to Afghanistan could continue. I believe this was a serious misjudgment. RR: Are you calling for the resignation of Heiko Maas, or of the entire government? Are you calling for an investigation committee? What do you demand, specifically, in political terms? We're five weeks out from a federal election, but I do believe that the foreign minister, the Defense Minister (Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer), and our current Interior Minister (Horst Seehofer) — for whom the question no longer arises — have disqualified themselves for such ministerial offices. We're now five weeks away from a federal election, but the government still needs to take responsibility for this. I could also see an inquiry committee looking into what was truly going on between those ministries. Now one is shifting the blame onto the other. Recall Horst Seehofer celebrating the fact that 69 Afghans were deported on his 69th birthday. He is now shifting the blame onto Heiko Maas. Heiko Maas blames the Interior Ministry, and says the defense minister is somehow involved. What the German government is doing now is disgraceful. It's clear the entire government shares responsibility, and by that I also mean the chancellor and the vice-chancellor (Olaf Scholz). The government have endangered human lives with their actions. I worry that they were just looking to hold out until after the election. They were trying to avoid a debate on migration in Germany before the election, and in doing so, they put peoples' lives at risk. The entire federal government is responsible for this, especially the three people I mentioned. CC: The resignation of the entire German government — is that what's being called for? No. As I said — we're five weeks away from a federal election. The entire federal government resigning now would… What I'm saying is that the people who made these decisions, or who avoided these decisions, and used elaborate visa procedures to leave people to their fate, or to the Taliban: They have disqualified themselves from political office. RR: Ms. Wissler, on Wednesday the chancellor will be making a statement on the issue. However, on Wednesday, the Bundestag will also vote on retroactively mandating the evacuation mission in Afghanistan. Will the Left vote against this? That would be how you've always voted on foreign deployments. Were going to take a carefully look at the draft and discuss it in a meeting with the party chair and the party faction. RR: What is there left to debate? People are being flown out of the country. You said so yourself: they have to be brought out of the country immediately; they need to be saved. It's a rescue mission. What is there to debate? How could the Left say they don't support this? Why of course we need to take a closer look at the proposal. For example, the word "local staff” isn't mentioned even once. And that's why our position is ... RR: They are mentioned. The local staff are described. The word "local staff" isn't in the draft. RR: But it's clear that the local support staff are being referred to. We're discussing that now. One thing is clear, and I pointed this out earlier: We want as many people as possible flown out. We think it's the right thing to do. What we're criticizing is the way it's being handled. Far too few people are being flown out. People who are not on any lists are being left behind. RR: So it's possible the Left might vote against this? We're discussing it. We're not against this operation. We have always opposed the mission in Afghanistan, because it was only about war and occupation. But as I said; we're taking a close look at the resolution text. We are fundamentally in favor of flying people out. We're criticizing the way the German government is handling it, because far too few are getting out. That's the criticism… RR: Is it just a matter of principles? No, it is not just a matter of principle. Not at all. If there is one party in the German Bundestag that has been clear in its position over all these years: We stood up for local employees years ago. In June, we were pushing to get the local staff out of Afghanistan. The grand coalition voted against it. The FDP didn't vote for it either. We as a party have constantly stood up for the people of Afghanistan — and for years we have fought against deportations to Afghanistan and have campaigned for a ban on deportations. I believe that shows we are very credible when it comes to saving the lives of people Afghanistan and elsewhere. I don't think the Left has to hide its position. We will take a close look at the proposed resolution, and then we'll make our own decision. It's good that the people are being evacuated now, but we are critical of how the government is doing it. CC: I think we should now switch to the topic of Russia. Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Moscow on Friday, and we now have a viewer's question, from Moscow, on the matter. VIEWER QUESTION: Do you plan to meet Vladimir Putin? Which questions would you like to discuss with him? I don't have any meeting planned with Vladimir Putin, but if I were to talk to him, then I would talk to him about the situation of the opposition in Russia. I would talk to him about human rights. Apart from that, I believe that Germany should pursue a policy of détente, that is, a policy of de-escalation. I am against military escalation with Russia, even in light of all the criticism towards the Russian government. That's what I would emphasize in such a conversation. RR: Ms. Wissler, who would you prefer as Russia's president: Vladimir Putin or Alexei Navalny? JW: There are far more progressive forces in Russia than either of them. But Alexei Navalny can be assured of my solidarity for being persecuted by the Russian government, and for being detained and wronged. But apart from that, Navalny is not someone to whom I am politically sympathetic or close. RR: Why? Because he's expressed some far-right tendencies. He's made statements I find incredibly difficult… CC: Can you name an example of one of his statements that you found dubious? He's been quoted saying things about Muslims, for example, that were very problematic. But I find the question over-simplified: Do you want Putin or Navalny? I don't think that's a question that can just… I don't have to choose between the two. I am against curtailing the rights of the opposition in Russia, and I am against suppressing opposition in Russia. I don't have any sympathies with Putin, but Navalny is not the political alternative in my eyes. RR: Why are you not sympathetic to Putin? You party has the bad reputation of being a friend of Putin's. What do you have in common? You say that that we have a bad reputation. There's a big difference between sympathizing with someone and thinking one shouldn't engage in military escalation with another country. I also didn't hold any sympathies for Slobodan Milosevic, and I thought the war against Serbia was wrong. There's a difference. I think we need a policy of disarmament and de-escalation. I think that something like the Defender 2020/2021 exercise, one of the largest maneuvers in recent decades taking place on German soil, among other places, where thousands of soldiers practice going to war against the East… RR: But NATO doesn't support the separatists in eastern Ukraine. NATO didn't annex Crimea. Putin did, and Russia. Yes, and I'm against that. RR: Do you think it's justified? Of course I'm against that. But how does it bring us any closer to peace if NATO is practicing drills and rehearsing a war against Russia? Nobody seriously believes that we could end a conflict with Russia militarily. For God's sake, we're dealing with nuclear powers! We cannot afford a military escalation of this conflict. And that has absolutely nothing to do with political sympathies; it has to do with the fact that we can't risk going to war. We can get further with diplomacy and talks; not with military exercises and rehearsals for invasion. That has nothing to do with criticizing the annexation of Crimea… CC: The conflict on Crimea and in eastern Ukraine is ongoing. What would a possible solution look like? What would you do if you were part of the next government? I think it is necessary to criticize what happened in the past: One the one hand, what did Russia do? And on the other, what did NATO do? I think NATO's eastward expansion was a mistake. I think it was wrong for NATO to keep expanding eastward. After the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and the Cold War ended, I think it would have been better to strive for a different international security framework that included Russia. That would have been more sensible. RR: Ms. Wissler, back then we had the Two Plus Four Agreement, and this agreement led to the re-unification of Germany and East Germany joining NATO. Russia, then the Soviet Union, agreed to this. How can you tell eastern European countries… Well, the eastward expansion of NATO came a bit later than Germany's accession to NATO. RR: In Eastern Europe, this is considered an imperialist mentality. How can you tell countries like Poland or the Balkan states, which are independent countries, that Russia and other nations have a right to decide on the matter? I just said: After 1990 or 1992 we would have needed a completely new security framework. That would have meant a security alliance that included Russia, where this confrontation between could have been resolved. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved — that's good — but NATO, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, should have also been dissolved in order to achieve a security framework that didn't escalate situations, but was based on joint cooperation. I don't think this dangerous saber-rattling, arming and military maneuvering brings us any closer to peace. RR: Ms. Wissler, the federal elections are coming up. You have made some hard demands. You've always been a member of the opposition. Now, you might be in a position to be part of a governing coalition. Would you be willing to back down from one of your maximum demands in foreign policy? What do you mean by "maximum demands?" RR: You want to dissolve NATO, you are against military operations abroad. Do you stand by all these points? In view of the disaster we're currently experiencing in Afghanistan, there is one party that has little reason to reconsider its foreign policy positions, and that's the Left Party. We're not responsible for this disaster, nor do we believe that we should stay out of international affairs. We believe that war, weapons, the military, do not foster peace, and human rights and democracy. We believe we should focus on a just world economic order; that we must fight global hunger, and that we shouldn't support dictators. That's another problem: Dictators are being supported with arms deliveries, as long as they're agreeable. That's our position. CC: Let's have a look at another crisis that has affected the entire world: the coronavirus pandemic. We have a viewer's question from the US on the matter. VIEWER QUESTION: I would ask how they were planning on incorporating economic policies to assist with the possible implications of the pandemic for Germany, but also in assisting countries that are not as fortunate as Germany. So, the first thing is, in order to mitigate the economic damage, we propose a levy on wealth. That would affect 0.7% of the German population, who would pay a one-off levy on their assets. That would increase revenues. Not everyone has become poorer during the crisis, there are also a few who have become significantly richer. That's why we urgently need redistribution. The second thing is that we need a global vaccination strategy. We cannot allow rich countries to vaccinate their populations while many poorer countries have no access to vaccines. Across the entire African continent, we see a vaccination rate of 1.6%. That's far too low. We need a global vaccination strategy, and we also need the solidarity of the wealthy countries. This is a question of solidarity, but it's also a question of self-interest, because if we don't get the pandemic under control worldwide, it will come back in the form of mutations. RR: Thank you very much. That was Janine Wissler, lead candidate for the Left party. Thank you. The interview was conducted by DW's head of Current Politics, Rosalia Romaniec, and DW reporter and editor Chiponda Chimbelu. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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India's devastating second wave of COVID-19 earlier this year brought the nation's health care system to its knees. At the height of the wave in April and May, the daily number of new infections often exceeded 400,000, overwhelming the country's health care infrastructure, which struggled with acute shortages of hospital beds, critical medicines and equipment. Many patients died outside hospitals because of the lack of beds and medical oxygen. "It was almost like Dante's inferno. A numbed population watched in horror for more than a month at the shortage of hospital beds, the fires of crematoria burning day and night, doctors begging for oxygen, patients suffocating outside hospital gates, and decomposing bodies floating in the River Ganges," Aman Lal, a crematorium caretaker, told DW. Over the past couple of weeks, concerns over the prospect of a third wave of infections have grown, with the detection and spread of the new omicron variant worldwide. India has so far recorded about 200 omicron cases across 12 states, mostly in the western state of Maharashtra and the nation's capital New Delhi, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The country's tally of omicron cases has nearly doubled within a week, but there have been no deaths reported so far. In less than 40% of cases, patients either fully recovered or were discharged, the data showed. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Virologists and scientists say there will be an increase in infections in India over the coming weeks and months. Nevertheless, they believe the new variant could be less lethal than the last delta wave because of widespread previous infections and vaccinations in the South Asian nation. Vineeta Bal, an immunologist at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, believes another serious COVID-related crisis may not come India's way even though infections could go up. "Vaccination, some improvements in health infrastructure, partial but continued use of masking and omicron as a possibly more infectious but less virulent strain will contribute to a less devastating situation than what we saw in 2021," Bal told DW. Still, experts warn that there is no room for complacency. "A small percentage of a large number can be huge. However, the pre-existing immunity due to vaccination and prior infection should help reduce the impact. Unvaccinated and older people could still be affected more severely," Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization's chief scientist, told DW. "What we should be looking towards is making this another manageable respiratory infection which does not disrupt our lives," she added. "Rather than focusing on the absolute number of cases reported daily, we need to track severe cases, hospitalizations and deaths closely. And we need to analyze breakthrough infections by age and by vaccination status to look for waning immunity," Swaminathan underlined. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The number of new infections recorded in India has been on the decline over the past few weeks. The South Asian country registered 5,326 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest such tally in the country in more than one and a half years. Overall, the country has reported 34.75 million cases, the second-highest in the world after the United States. Government surveys have estimated that nearly 70% of Indians had been naturally infected by July, following a record rise in infections and deaths in April and May. With the drop in new infections, mask-wearing in public has fallen to levels last seen in March, before the second wave of cases, data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation shows. Current mask-wearing is estimated at 59%, nearly the same as in March, having peaked at 81% in May. But amid growing fears of potential surges in infections, health authorities have been urging people to use face coverings in public. Authorities have also been accelerating the vaccination campaign, with at least one vaccine shot given to about 87% of the nation's eligible 944 million adults while around 58% have received two doses. India has not considered authorizing booster doses yet, as many in the country have been naturally infected and the government believes two vaccine doses offer sufficient protection for now, Reuters news agency reported late last month. "A booster protects a person further from symptomatic infection. While we await local data, let us not delay preparing for boosters and vaccinating children as global data shows that people with prior infection with other variants have minimal capacity to neutralize omicron," virologist Shahid Jameel told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, believes India is better prepared overall to face a new wave of infections, in terms of knowing where its deficiencies lie and what to address first. "The positive is that, compared to the second wave, any third wave will hit a population that is expected to have substantial hybrid immunity, from infections during the delta wave and vaccinations," Menon said. The expert added that the government should make the relevant epidemiological data available widely, particularly with regard to testing, disease severity and patients' prior medical conditions, among other things. "Data is a public good and measures can be made faster and better if more integrated data is made available. We will be flying blind into the storm otherwise," Menon said. Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru | 5Health
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The president of the European Parliament David Sassoli has died, his office announced early on Tuesday morning. He passed away after a "serious complication" related to his immune system. "The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, passed away at 1.15 a.m. on January 11 at the hospital in Aviano, Italy," his spokesman, Roberto Cuillo said on Twitter. "The date and place of the funeral will be communicated in the next few hours," he added. On Monday, the EU parliament confirmed he had been admitted to hospital in Italy on December 26. In September 2021, during a plenary session of the parliament, the 65-year-old came down with a bad case of pneumonia. He was married with two children. Tributes soon poured in for Sassoli, an Italian social democrat. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lamented his loss, saying "Europe has lost a dedicated parliament president, Italy a shrewd politician, and Germany a good friend." Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised Sassoli for "always
succeeding in bridging divides." She wrote on Twitter that "we will not forget his commitment to dealing humanely with
refugees," EU Council President Charles Michel called the fellow politician a "sincere and passionate European. We already miss his human warmth, his generosity, his friendliness and his smile.'' President of the Euopean Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of a great European and proud Italian." In a post on Twitter, she described Sassoli as a "compassionate journalist, an outstanding President of the European Parliament and a dear friend." "What a big shock and a big loss. I am deeply saddened. He left us too early. My condolences to his family! Dear David, Rest In Peace," tweeted German MEP Ismail Ertug. Another MEP, Italian Paolo Borchia, said he was "stunned" by the news as it was so "sudden." A former journalist, Sassoli was first elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2009. He won another term in 2014 and served as the Parliament's vice-president. He then became president of the 705-seat legislature in 2019. The parliament sits for a five-year term between elections, but the president of the body serves for half that time, and Sassoli had indicated he would not seek reelection. jsi/aw (EFE, dpa, AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Kosovo will make an official application to join the European Union at the end of the year, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Friday at a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who is visiting Western Balkans. "We still aspire to the status of EU candidate and we plan to apply at the end of this year," Kurti said after meeting Scholz. "Europe is our destiny. Europe is our future." Kosovo, which has been an independent country since 2008, currently only has the status of a potential candidate in the EU. Formerly a province of Serbia, the population of Kosovo is now majority Albanian. Serbia continues to claim Kosovo as its own territory and five EU members — Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus — have not recognized Kosovo as an independent state. Russia and China also do not recognize Kosovo, effectively blocking Pristina from a seat at the United Nations. EU-brokered talks between Kosovo and Serbia, launched over a decade ago, have so far failed to achieve normalization of their ties. Scholz called for progress in negotiations between the former foes. Kosovo and Serbia must "find a political solution with a comprehensive, sustainable agreement that also contributes to regional stability", Scholz said after his talks with Kurti. The German chancellor also stressed the importance of fending off Russian influence in the region, praising Kosovo for its stance on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Through their support of all measures and sanctions, Albin Kurti and the government of Kosovo have shown that Kosovo, as a reliable partner, stands closely by our side, and by the side of the European and international community," Scholz added. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Later on Friday, Scholz visited Belgrade where he had asked Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to join European Union sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference with Vucic, Scholz said that as an EU membership candidate, Serbia should join the bloc in its measures against Moscow, which all its members were required to follow. However, Vucic said Serbia was in a difficult position and that the EU should consider that Serbia and Russia had long-standing special ties. "As far as sanctions are concerned we have different position.... We remember sanctions (against Serbia) and we do not think sanctions are efficient," Vucic said. He did not say whether Serbia planned to introduce sanctions on Russia. Scholz is on a two-day tour of five of the Balkan states. The Kosovar capital of Pristina is the first stop, Belgrade is the second. Scholz will also visit Thessaloniki Friday, followed by trips to North Macedonia and Bulgaria the next day. dh/rs (AFP, dpa) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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Relations between arch-enemies Morocco and Algeria have hit a new low after three Algerian truck drivers were killed on Monday. So far, Morocco has denied any involvement in the bombings that took place in the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara near the border with Mauritania. Morocco controls 80% of the Western Sahara, Algeria supports the independence movement Polisario Front. But Algeria's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has already warned Morocco that "their killings will not go unpunished," as the state news agency APS reports. "At the moment there are still many question marks over the origins of the attack; some early research suggests that the location where it took place is considered Moroccan by Rabat but under the control of the Polisario by Algiers," Alice Gower, director of geopolitics and security at the London-based political adviser Azure Strategy, told DW by phone. The killing of the three drivers on a desert road is the latest peak in a series of growing tensions between the two Maghreb states that support opposite sides of the dispute over the Western Sahara territory, a former Spanish colony. In November last year, then-US president Donald Trump had recognized Morocco's claim over the phosphate-rich Western Sahara as part of a quid pro quo for Rabat's normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel. This agreement was much to Algeria's dismay as it has been a firm supporter of the local Polisario Front with the Sahrawi group that seeks independence for the region. Since then, relations between Algeria and Morocco have been going downhill with ambassadors being recalled, borders closed, accusations for sparking forest fires being thrown around, airspaces being blocked and the killing of three Algerian truck drivers adding fuel to the fire. This week, the difficult situation has been even further exacerbated, with Algeria ending the contract for a gas pipeline that runs via Morocco to deliver gas to Spain. A presidential statement confirms that Tebboune had given the order to not renew the contract "in light of the hostile behavior of the (Moroccan) kingdom which undermines national unity." Algeria has been using the Gaz-Maghreb-Europe pipeline (GME) for the past 25 years to deliver natural gas to Spain and Portugal — via Morocco. Morocco, in turn, has been receiving about 10% of its gas supply as compensation. However, the contract between Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach and the Moroccan National Office for Energy and Potable Water (ONEE) ended without renewal in late October this year. While Algeria has promised to meet Spain's demand by using the smaller undersea Medgaz-pipeline instead — as it doesn't run through Morocco — the decision has sparked fear of gas shortages and soaring energy prices in Spain and other European countries. However, for Algeria, much is also at stake if they can't meet the demand. "Algeria has obviously said it can replace the supplies to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline. There are expansion plans for that, but they're not due for completion until the end of this year at the absolute earliest," Gower said, adding "there is no back-up plan. Medgaz was the backup plan. So, it is quite a risky position to take." The 10% cut of energy supply is a setback for Morocco as well, since the country has to import about 95% of its energy. Solar panel initiatives are already up and running but Morocco is far from being energy-sufficient enough to cover such a loss. However, Morocco's ONEE was quick to assure in a statement that "the decision announced by the Algerian authorities not to renew the agreement on the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline will currently have only a minimal impact on the performance of the national electricity system." More important is though, that the "Moroccan King Mohammed VI. can rely on a broad social and political consensus that the Western Sahara should be Moroccan and he has little criticism to fear from his own people," Sonja Hegasy, Vice Director at the Berlin-based Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (Leibniz Center for the Modern Orient, ZMO), told DW on the phone. In addition, Morocco has been keen on mending ties with various European countries, among them Germany, after several fallouts in the past year. "Morocco is in a difficult position where it needs to repair its relationship with the EU at the moment, and particularly now it wants to complete that process so it can focus its diplomatic efforts on the situation with Algeria. It doesn't have the capability to handle both at the same time," Gower said. While Tebboune has been upfront that his country would go to war with Morocco, both experts believe that there is actually little reason to fear an armed conflict at the moment. "There might be some effort to whip up support domestically and to try and create an enemy which therefore empowers the Algerian elite and the regime again. But without strong evidence, I think they would be hard pushed to launch some kind of military attack in response," Gower said. She believes that neither side can really afford to push the envelope too far. This view is echoed by Sonja Hegasy who is convinced that "both countries don't have any interest in waging a war on this conflict, so the most realistic scenario is that the bilateral relations are going to continue to stagnate." | 7Politics
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The United States and South Korea are holding joint military exercises from Tuesday, and the most powerful warship in Britain's Royal Navy is preparing to dock in the South Korean port of Busan before the end of August, moves that prompted Pyongyang to ramp up the rhetoric against what the regime insists is a threat to peace in the region. Seoul and Washington have tried to convince North Korea that the drills are purely defensive in nature and that the door is always open for substantive discussions on achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as peace and stability in the broader Northeast Asia region, but Pyongyang does not appear to be convinced. South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Friday called on Pyongyang to follow up on its decision earlier this month to reopen communications across the heavily fortified border by agreeing to return to dialogue. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that the North resume talks with the international community, indicating there are different "options and possibilities" available in negotiations. Pyongyang, however, will have been angered by Seoul's decision to go ahead with the exercises with their US counterparts, which will commence with a four-day crisis-management staff training exercise that is due to be followed by a 10-day computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training drill. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un and a close adviser to the North Korean dictator, said in a statement issued on August 1 through the state-run Uriminzokkiri news outlet that it was "an unpleasant story that joint military exercises between the South Korean army and US forces could go ahead as scheduled." She added that the exercises would "further becloud the way ahead" in North-South relations. News that British warship HMS Queen Elizabeth and its accompanying fleet will dock in Busan on August 31 has provoked further condemnation from Pyongyang, which has accused Great Britain of "gunboat diplomacy" and "poking its nose" into Asia-Pacific affairs. A statement from the North's Foreign Ministry on August 3 in the name of Choe Hyon Do, an official with the North Korea-Europe Association, accused Britain of escalating tensions in the region. It also claimed that London was looking to raise its profile on the international stage after becoming "an outcast as a result of its departure from the European Union." "The time is gone forever when the UK threatened the countries of the world with 'gunboat diplomacy' and colonized them of its free will," it added. "The UK had better concern itself with the troublesome after-effects of Brexit rather than groundlessly picking on others in order to grab what it desires for its political purpose." The British fleet is on a seven-month global deployment and made a port call to the Pacific island of Guam on August 6. Accompanied by a number of British, US and Dutch warships, the strike group is scheduled to travel on to Busan before arriving in Japan in September. It is the South Korean stopover that appears to have particularly angered the North Korean regime. "This is the sort of language that Pyongyang uses when it gets agitated and feels that it has to push back," said Daniel Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University. "It's the sort of rhetoric that they regularly deploy and is consistent with their worldview that the rest of the international community is aggressive and determined to destroy them and that therefore the only recourse is an attitude of 'might is right,'" he told DW. The North's angry accusations are likely to have been further provoked as Britain was one of the 16 nations that committed forces to the United Nations Command, which resisted the North Korean invasion of the South in 1950 and then fought the three-year Korean War, Pinkston said. Japan and the United States have in recent years been calling on other governments to play a larger role in the security of Northeast Asia, in particular through military deployments that challenge China's unjustified claims to a vast area of the South China Sea and North Korea's efforts to circumvent UN sanctions. Warships from the UK and France have already participated in multinational operations designed to stop ship-to-ship transfers of banned imports, such as fuel, to North Korea, while a German warship is also headed to the region. The restrictions have been imposed in a series of UN resolutions as Pyongyang has continued to defy calls to halt its development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. June Park, a political economist at George Washington University, says North Korea has "no reason" to protest when other nations deploy military assets to the region. "For the UK, France and Germany, this is simply a chance to collaborate with their allies in the Indo-Pacific region and develop their own interests," she said. The UK clearly has economic and trade reasons to fly the flag in the region as it is joining the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Park said. And while the visit to Busan will have little to do with trade with South Korea, it will serve to demonstrate that London is in lockstep with the US on Indo-Pacific security matters, she added. "Looking at the North Korean situation, one would think that it would be more important for their leadership to deal with all the problems that they are facing at present than complaining about one of the few countries in the West that does have a diplomatic relationship with Pyongyang," Park said. North Korea has an embassy in London and the UK operates an embassy in Pyongyang, although it is presently closed due to coronavirus restrictions. The condemnation of other nations' security and foreign policies in the region comes shortly after the German frigate Bayern left Wilhelmshaven, in northwestern Germany, for a six-month deployment that will include participation in the United Nations maritime surveillance of North Korea — potentially making Germany the target of similar rhetoric from Pyongyang. The deployment of the Bayern by Germany may provoke a response from Pyongyang, especially as it will be taking part in patrols designed to counter the North's efforts to get around sanctions, but Pinkston believes the rhetoric will be less harsh given that Germany did not commit forces to the Korean War in the 1950s. "Germany was not one of the sending states and it has a more restrained approach to joint military operations, such as in the Gulf or Afghanistan, for historical reasons, so while there is likely to be some rhetoric, I don't think it will be so over the top," he said. | 7Politics
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An icy wind is blowing across the Brokdorf nuclear power plant that stands between damp meadows and a dike covered in a thin layer of snow. A small group of mostly elderly people have hung up a yellow banner on the guarded gate to the nuclear reactor which reads: "Shut down nuclear power plants." Gathered on this wintry, gray day in the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, the activists are mostly from the area — though some have come from Hamburg and beyond. Singing peace songs and chatting while standing in a circle, the groups appear well-adjusted to the freezing cold, having met at the power plant's gate on the sixth day of each month for the last 35 years. Today, the activists are once again holding a vigil to commemorate the victims of nuclear catastrophes while also demanding the shutdown of the nuclear reactor in their neighborhood. Today is different, however. This 425th vigil will be the last. Later this month, the Brokdorf nuclear power plant will be shut down as part of Germany's 2022 nuclear phaseout. The reactor has been both one of Germany's most controversial and one of the world's most productive. "I'm glad it's being phased out," said Hans-Günter Werner, a pastor and co-founder of the activist initiative. "I'm not sad, but I am a little nostalgic because I know that we won't meet again soon. "But for the most part, I feel relieved that the operation of the nuclear power plant is finally coming to an end," he added. "At the time, we didn't expect that we would need to stand here for so long." Amid the growing anti-nuclear movement in the 1980s, hundreds of thousands protested against the construction of the nuclear plant in Brokdorf. Time and again, the protesters clashed with the police — especially after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986 saw increased radiation levels in soil and foods across Germany. "I had small children who were not allowed to play in the sandbox. We all panicked," said Werner at the sidelines of the vigil. Opening in late 1986, Brokdorf was the first nuclear reactor in the world to go into operation after the Chernobyl disaster. At that time, Werner and a few allies protested peacefully and decided to continue their protests in the future. They vowed to meet once a month until Brokdorf was shut down. He said that "showing opposition" and protesting also "helped us to combat our own fears." His fears weren't unjustified. In 2008, a study found that children growing up in close proximity to a German nuclear power plant face a higher risk of developing leukemia. Yet plants stayed open amid such health threats. One reason might be the decades of high revenues earned by the Brokdorf municipality through a commercial tax on the plant. Local politicians were loath to give up this income. The village, which has no more than 1,000 inhabitants, was able to fund a €7 million ($8 million) ice rink with the nuclear plant tax, and ticket prices for the public swimming pool with a 100 meter water slide were kept extremely low. "It's a commercial activity in our municipality, and as a municipality we always support our local enterprises," said Brokdorf Mayor Elke Göttsche of the plant. Göttsche would have preferred that the nuclear facility remain on the grid a while longer, arguing that this would have eased the transition to renewable energy. Now, however, the funding bonanza from the nuclear reactor is no more. While Germany is phasing out all its remaining nuclear plants by the end of 2022, other countries like France, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Russia and China continue to rely on nuclear energy. Globally, around 440 nuclear reactors are still operating, providing around 10% of the global energy supply. Some 50 nuclear reactors were under construction this year, 18 of which are being built in China. Three hundred more nuclear plants are currently in the planning phase. Meanwhile, the nuclear power lobby is promoting nuclear energy as an allegedly clean and, most importantly, climate-friendly alternative. French President Emanuel Macron even announced this year that in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, France would restart plans to build new smaller nuclear plants for the first time in decades. Emissions from nuclear energy are significantly lower than those from coal, oil and natural gas. Yet, compared to power from wind and solar energy, the technology costs are much higher, and the construction of nuclear plants takes significantly longer. The fact that states still stick with nuclear power clearly also has another reason, said Andrew Stirling, professor of science and technology policy at the University of Sussex. "Globally speaking, those countries that are the most truly dedicated to a civil use of nuclear energy either also have nuclear weapons or they are very keen on getting them," he said. According to Stirling, the civil use of nuclear energy is often needed for the realization of nuclear weapons programs, a point admitted by nuclear armed France and the US. Without the engineers and specialists working in the commercial nuclear power sector, it would be impossible to build nuclear-powered submarines, for example, Stirling explained. "The reports from the USA are absolutely clear. Even if the costs of nuclear energy were twice as high, it would still make sense for them to build reactors because this allows them to keep up their military activities," he said. Sharing coffee, cake and pumpkin soup, the Brokdorf activists look back together on 35 years of protests. Photo collages are rolled out, including images from private photo albums. Yet although Brokdorf will be removed from the grid on December 31, the plant will continue to serve as a temporary storage facility for nuclear waste for decades. There is still no final repository for radioactive waste. "Therefore, our commitment is not yet over," said one of the activists. Shortly after, someone starts playing the guitar. The protesters leave the Brokdorf plant singing. For the first time in 35 years, they're also leaving as winners. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 6Nature and Environment
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Benjamin Cadet stands among his plants in a white polo shirt bearing his company logo. He dons surgeon's gloves and handles the flowers carefully. They are full of pollen — ripe for the picking. Cadet smiles satisfactorily. The Ugandan entrepreneur and former member of parliament is the CEO of the only company licensed to grow and export cannabis legally in the East African country. The cannabis plantation, located in Uganda's mighty Rwenzori Mountains, extends over three hectares in the country's west, almost directly on the Equator. More than 40,000 cannabis plants thrive in greenhouses under strict hygienic conditions. They are destined for export to Europe. "When we developed the idea in 2011, we tried different strains. The first strain came from the Netherlands," Cadet told DW. "But we lacked the finances and contacts in the world market. So that was when we started contacting potential partners." Since the beginning of January, airtight 10-gram packets of Ugandan cannabis, conforming with the German pharmacopoeia — the official guidelines regarding quality assurance — have been on sale in German pharmacies. While company founder Nir Sosinsky was building his first greenhouses in southern Israel, he wanted to expand and open up new cannabis farms worldwide. He learned of the only cultivation license in Uganda through business contacts and subsequently invited Cadet to Israel. They then traveled together in Uganda and found the perfect growing conditions for cannabis near the town of Kasese at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains. "It's like God's garden — in the middle of a green area, surrounded by the mountains around Kasese," Sosinsky said, explaining that the location on the equator was crucial for cannabis cultivation. "Cannabis is a photoperiod plant, which means to flower, it needs 12 hours of sunshine and exactly 12 hours of darkness," he told DW. Sosinsky has since invested over €5 million ($5.6 million) in Uganda. First, he set up a power supply and hired more than 100 workers from the surrounding communities. At the same time, he started looking for new customers, especially in Europe. But the European import regulations proved to be an enormous hurdle. That's where Patrick Hoffmann stepped in to help. In 2015, the 43-year-old political scientist became one of the first people to legally import cannabis for medicinal purposes into Germany. At the time, there were just a few dozen German patients who were allowed to receive a prescription. Cannabis from the Netherlandsmet this small demand. In 2016, however, Germany's Federal Administrative Court ruled that patients had a right to access cannabis. As a result, the number of medical practises issuing these prescriptions has increased tenfold in the past three years. But this has also raised the issue of supply bottlenecks. In its coalition agreement, the new German government announced that it would allow "controlled dispensing of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed stores." For Hoffmann, it is clear that the current supply network soon won't be enough. But he has an idea: Worldwide, there are more than 25,000 cannabis cultivation licenses, but only about 20 licenses for importation into the German market. One of them was held by the medical cannabis company Cantourage, which Hoffmann co-founded in 2019. "Why not make an offer to these 25,000 cultivation companies that they supply us with the raw material and we turn it into the certified drug in Germany?" he said. Such a move would save foreign companies the time-consuming process of obtaining an import license into Germany. Cantourage now sources cannabis from 19 partners in 14 countries, including traditional production countries such as Canada and Israel, and primarily from Africa: South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. For Hoffmann, one thing is certain: There will be a strong demand for medicinal cannabis and even stimulants in the coming years, both in Germany and in the European Union. That's where Africa plays a crucial role. "Africa has a responsibility to play a leading role in the cultivation and processing of cannabis," said Hoffmann. "If we also want to protect the environment at the same time, we can't cultivate these large quantities indoors," he explained. Instead, these need to be cultivated under favorable conditions, and "the best place to do it is near the equator." This article was translated from German | 0Business
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Danish prosecutors on Friday formally charged the country's former military intelligence chief with leaking state secrets, following a scandal over Denmark's cooperation with US intelligence. Lars Findsen, who was in the post from 2015 until his abrupt suspension in 2020, is accused of "having divulged secrets important to national security on several occasions and... under particularly aggravated circumstances." If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. No public explanation was offered at the time of his suspension. He was then held in custody from December 2021 to February 2022 while under investigation. "I never divulged any state secrets. I reject the allegations", he told Danish news agency Ritzau in June, criticising the handling of the case as "ridiculous." Prosecutors say that Findsen leaked state secrets and other confidential information to six people, including two journalists. The leaks could "harm relations with other intelligence service partners and make their work more difficult if their work methods were revealed", prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said. Prosecutors said they would request a trial behind closed doors due to the sensitive material at the heart of the case. The details of the investigation are classified, but the case comes after Danish media reported that the Danish intelligence services had cooperated with the US National Security Agency (NSA). In May 2021, an investigation by several Danish media revealed that the NSA used Danish underwater cables to spy on officials in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden until at least 2014. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of these officials. The revelations sparked an international scandal and the four countries demanded explanations from Washington and Copenhagen. The leaks could "harm relations with other intelligence service partners and make their work more difficult if their work methods were revealed", prosecutor Jakob Berger Nielsen said. es/kb (AP, AFP) | 3Crime
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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd's civil rights during the arrest that lead to Floyd's death in May 2020. Chauvin had already been found guilty of murder and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for having pinned Floyd to the pavement with his knee outside a Minneapolis corner store for more than nine minutes, as the Black man lay dying. Chauvin pleaded guilty in December 2021 to violating the civil rights of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man. Floyd's killing sparked anti-racism protests worldwide, a movement known as Black Lives Matter, which was also a reckoning over police brutality and discrimination. Three ex-officers of the Minneapolis police have also been found guilty of negligence, showing "deliberate indifference" to George Floyd's medical needs. They are still awaiting sentencing for the crime. US District Judge Paul Magnuson admonished Chauvin for his actions. "I really don't know why you did what you did,'' Magnuson said. "To put your knee on a person's neck until they expired is simply wrong... Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.'' In brief remarks to the court, Chauvin said he recognized the court's difficulty in handling a case in a "politically charged environment," He made no direct apology or expression of remorse to Floyd's family. But he told the family that he wishes Floyd's children "all the best in their life'' and that they have "excellent guidance in becoming good adults.'' Chauvin's two sentences will run concurrently and he will be allowed to serve his term in a federal prison rather than in a Minnesota state penitentiary, where he has been held under solitary confinement. jcg/sms (AP, Reuters) | 3Crime
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The European Commission has proposed that it would ban buying Russian coal as part of new sanctions on Moscow in response to apparent war crimes by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. The EU imports nearly €4 billion ($4.4 billion) worth of coal from Russia a year. An embargo on coal from Russia, the EU's biggest coal supplier accounting for about 45% of total imports, could inflict further pain on the 27-member bloc already reeling from severe energy shortages and high oil and gas prices. Several EU countries have been importing more coal from Russia in recent months as they seek ways to bring down power generation costs following an unprecedented rise in gas prices. Coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, is much cheaper for power generation. With EU countries drastically cutting down their production and consumption of highly polluting coal over the past two decades to fight climate change, their reliance on imported coal, especially from Russia, has increased significantly. Russia, the world's third-largest coal exporter behind Indonesia and Australia, accounts for 45% of total EU coal imports. When it comes to thermal coal, which is used to generate electricity and heat, that figure stands at 70%, according to Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. Russian metallurgical coal, used to make iron and steel, makes up about 20%-30% of the EU's coal imports. Russia's share of the EU's imports of hard coal, an aggregate of anthracite and bituminous coal which has the highest carbon content, increased to more than half in 2020 from less than 10% in 1990. Germany, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands are among those most reliant on Russian coal, which accounts for more than 65% of total imports in each of those countries. The German association of coal importers (VdKi) has said hard coal imports from Russia to Germany can be substituted in a matter of months. It named the US, Colombia, South Africa and Australia among the countries most likely to fill the gap. "There is a well-functioning world market. There are sufficient quantities available," Alexander Bethe, chairman of the board of VdKi said in a statement. "Germany imported about 18 million tons of hard coal from Russia last year. That is only about 2% of the total world trade." Shunning Russian coal would be much easier and cheaper than replacing Russian natural gas as unlike gas, coal doesn't need to be liquified for transportation or doesn't require an extensive network of pipelines. "It was only Russia's aggressive push in the past decade for market share in the EU that pushed out other suppliers," analysts at Bruegel wrote in a blog. "In principle, shipments from countries that have reduced exports to the EU are still largely available to substitute for Russian coal." The analysts also suggested that the shortfall could be bridged by boosting domestic production in the event of an emergency. They called on policymakers to assess whether a temporary relaxation of environmental rules would be needed to allow the use of more easily available coal types. Rystad Energy analysts, however, have said coal consumers "will struggle to source additional coal from alternative producers because the supply-demand balance of the international seaborne thermal coal is extremely tight." Increased demand from the EU will further drive up global coal prices, which would mean even higher energy bills for households and companies. This could push up inflation which is already at its highest level since the bloc's inception. Energy shortages could worsen next winter when demand for heating rises. Despite efforts to curb the use of coal to generate electricity, the highly polluting fossil fuel continues to account for around 15% of Europe's electricity mix. "Higher coal demand, lower coal supply and more complex logistics will increase the cost of coal imports and might lead to temporary local disruptions," Bruegel analysts said. "However, stopping imports of Russian coal would appear not to cause dramatic supply disruptions on aggregate." Germany has backed a ban on Russian coal, with Economy Minister Robert Habeck saying the country would become independent of coal from Russia by autumn this year. Berlin, which is trying to swiftly rid itself of Russian energy, has been reluctant to sanction Russian fossil fuels, warning that such a move could have a severe impact on its people and economy. As atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine come to the fore, Germany seems to be more willing to hurt Russian fossil fuel exports, the country's biggest source of revenue, despite the economic costs. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday the EU was working on a plan to completely cut ties with Russian fossil fuels, starting with coal. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Hardy Graupner | 0Business
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The true scale of Europe's energy crisis hit home last month when Commerzbank published data showing the current stockpile of natural gas across the European Union. "Current inventories are about 47% of full capacity," Bernd Weidensteiner, senior economist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, told DW back in late January. "Normal for this time of the year is about 60%...so we are significantly lower." Indeed, a Commerzbank graphic posted to Twitter shows that, in previous years, EU inventories have ranged from 60% to more than 85% in January. Moscow, which supplies about 40% of Europe's imported gas, is accused of using its energy exports as leverage in the ongoing Ukraine crisis, a country through which much of the Russian gas transits. A war between Ukraine and Russia has become increasingly likely after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces into eastern Ukraine and formally recognized two regions in the country that are held by Russian separatists. . If Putin were to cut off natural gas supplies during a military conflict or in retaliation for any future Western sanctions, Weidensteiner warned that "some [European] inventories might run extremely low." However, both the German government and the European Commission have recently moved to assuage such concerns. This week, a report in Spiegel magazine said that government sources believed Germany had enough gas to get through the winter, even if Russia completely halted deliveries over the coming weeks. Those estimates were, however, based on temperatures remaining at an average level. A prolonged cold snap over the next month could change the picture. Nevertheless, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also insisted this week that Europe was covered this winter should Russia cut supply. Some of that optimism is based on increased supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG). To help ease demand for gas to heat and power homes and businesses, last month some 10 cargoes of LNG that were destined for Asia were diverted to Europe. The move reignited the debate about whether LNG could be a more permanent solution to Europe's energy dependence on Russia. LNG is a natural gas that is cooled down to liquid form and shrunk to 1/600th of its original volume. The liquid is often exported in huge ships containing heavily insulated tanks that keep the gas in a liquid state at approximately -162 Celsius. At the other end, the liquid is turned back into a gas (regasified). The US has long warned of the threat posed by Russia's dominance in the natural gas sector, partly in an attempt to boost its LNG exports to Europe. Thanks to the shale gas boom of the past decade, the US is now the world's largest exporter of LNG. But, while American energy firms are ramping up LNG export capacity by almost 20%, to 13.9 billion cubic feet per day by the end of the year, according to the International Energy Agency, the new supply may not be enough to bail out Europe if Putin turns off the taps. In the short term, "LNG would not be able to fully compensate [for any natural gas shortfall from Russia]," Weidensteiner said, citing "a lack of free short-term capacity among exporters like the US and Qatar." The Commerzbank economist said that, though Europe still has the capacity to process or regasify the imported liquid gas, "it would be difficult to deliver it to end-users as the distribution infrastructure is not tailored for a significant shift to LNG." In another sign of Europe's energy vulnerability, the US government held talks recently with several international energy firms to discuss contingency plans for delivering gas to Europe if Russian supplies were disrupted, Reuters news agency reported on Saturday. Citing two US officials and industry sources, Reuters said US State Department officials had approached the companies to ask where additional supplies might come from if needed. With global supplies tight at present, the officials were told that there is little gas available to substitute large volumes from Russia, the industry sources said. Without other natural gas or LNG exporters stepping up, Europe may struggle to compensate for any temporary lack of Russian supplies in a worst-case scenario, Weidensteiner warned. "You can ramp up coal power stations instead, but the environmentalists will not like that," Weidensteiner said. "But that really is the only possibility in the short term." Putin has insisted that the opening of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany would help to calm Europe's energy crunch. The pipe, which runs under the Baltic Sea, was finished late last year but has yet to receive its operating license from Germany. Reacting to Russia moving troops into Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on 22 February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his government's decision to halt approval procedures for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Nord Stream 2 faces resistance from the US and several European countries including Poland and Ukraine, which say it will further increase Russia's leverage over the continent and reduce transit fees earned by Ukraine for gas to pass through existing pipelines. Weidensteiner insisted that an easing of the crisis isn't dependent on the opening of Nord Stream 2. "Russia has the possibility to deliver more gas through the existing pipelines if it wanted to," Weidensteiner said. "That might have something to do with the game that Mr Putin is playing. It might also have something to do with supply issues in Russian gas fields. But it's unclear." Edited by: Hardy Graupner This piece was updated on February 23 to reflect recent developments on Nord Stream 2. | 0Business
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Denmark's Statens Serum Institut, the country's agency for preparedness against infectious diseases, on Thursday said an outbreak of salmonella linked to health products had now affected 33 people. Several of those who were infected had become seriously ill, with three fatalities so far and 19 people hospitalized. Those found to have common bacterial disease were aged between two years old and 92. A common factor among all of those who became ill was that they had all taken Psyllium seed HUSK herbal capsules. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recovered the product from the homes of two patients and was able to show that it contained salmonella. Several HUSK products were subsequently recalled. "This is a serious and large outbreak," said Luise Müller, an epidemiologist from the SSI. "This is the first time that we have been able to identify a natural medicine as the cause of a salmonella outbreak." Müller said a particular worry was that the people who took the product – purported to increase dietary fiber and improve bowel movements - were often already suffering from stomach problems. "I am therefore concerned that the salmonella infection is not detected because the people or their doctor think that the symptoms of the salmonella infection stem from their existing stomach problems," says Luise Müller. People with HUSK Psyllium seed husk capsules or HUSK Psyllium Stomach Balance supplements are asked to check against the batch numbers in question through a link. Even if individuals have taken the supplements, the risk of infection with salmonella is considered small and symptoms are normally mild, the SSI said. | 5Health
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Almost 400,000 people as of Friday have been forced to leave the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma due to fears of a new eruption by the nearby Mount Nyiragongo volcano. The volcano previously erupted last week, killing 32 people. The wider Goma metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2 million people. The city is the capital of the North Kivu province. General Constant Ndima, the military governor of the province, said the eruption could happen "very soon." The volcano is located on the shore of Lake Kivu. "Right now we can't rule out an eruption on land or under the lake, which could happen very soon and without warning," Ndima said. An eruption under the lake would be the worst scenario, as it could release a massive invisible cloud of carbon dioxide, asphyxiating life in the region. UN humanitarian agency OCHA said 80,000 households left Goma on Thursday due to evacuation warmings. OCHA said over 4,500 homes were destroyed from last week's eruption, impacting some 20,000 residents. Nyiragongo is the most active volcano on the African continent. It is located just 12 kilometers (8 miles) from Goma. The volcano has erupted at least 34 times since 1882. Nyiragongo has seen some deadly eruptions throughout history. An eruption in 2002 killed roughtly 245 people due to asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and the collapse of buildings in the city. A massive eruption in 1977 killed at least 600 people and destroyed villages in the area. The displacement of thousands of people in North Kivu comes after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi placed the province under a 30-day "state of siege" on May 6. Both the North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been placed under the control of the Congolese military and national police in order to provide security to the region. Both provinces have been grappling with intercommunal violence and the presence of armed groups. The violence has killed at least 300 people so far in 2021. Critics say the move restricts civil liberties, and that the "state of siege" will not bring peace to the region. wd/rt (AFP) | 6Nature and Environment
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Russia is the world's largest exporter of natural gas and oil. According to the International Energy Agency, 45% of Russia's federal budget in 2021 came from oil and natural gas revenues. The European Union has long been its best customer for both oil and gas. In the year ending October 2021, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says 49% of Russia's crude oil and condensate exports went to European OECD nations. For natural gas, Europe's role as Russia's primary market has been even more pronounced — just under three-quarters of all Russian natural gas exports went to European countries in 2021, according to the EIA. However, outrage over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the growing evidence of war crimes committed by its forces there has prompted the EU to dramatically speed up plans to pivot away from Russian fossil fuels. The speed and extent to which European countries such as Germany and Italy can do that, particularly when it comes to natural gas, remains a matter of intense debate. But if the European Commission's plan for the bloc to be independent of all Russian fossil fuels "well before 2030" comes true, Russia will badly need some new customers. Who will they be? Russia will likely focus on increasing sales to existing customers that have not imposed sanctions, such as China. In terms of oil, China is Russia's biggest non-European customer, accounting for the vast bulk of the 38% of Russian oil exports which were sold to countries in the Asia and Oceania region in 2021. Russia is currently China's second-largest supplier of oil behind Saudi Arabia but experts believe a key goal of the Kremlin in the coming years will be to surpass its Middle Eastern rivals to become China's main provider of oil. "The most interesting dynamic from the energy market perspective that we're going to be watching play out this year is how Russia tries to displace long-standing commercial relationships from the Middle East to East Asia," Fernando Ferreira, a geopolitical risk analyst with the Rapidan energy consultancy, told DW. Another big target for Moscow will be to significantly increase the volumes it sells to India. The country of 1.38 billion is the world's third-largest consumer of oil, the vast majority of which it needs to import. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are India's biggest suppliers and in 2021, Russia accounted for just 2% of Indian oil imports. But that is already showing signs of changing. India has not condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine and in March and April, the country's purchases of Russian oil ramped up dramatically. With Russia's crude now shunned by many Western nations, Indian refiners have been eager to buy it at heavily discounted prices. Margarita Balmaceda, an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, pointed out to DW that two large Indian oil refiners recently purchased a large cargo of Russian Sokol oil, which comes from Sakhalin Island, after several other countries and companies shunned it. However, there are doubts over the extent to which countries such as China and India can ultimately replace European demand. Ferreira says that commercial relationships regarding oil between Middle Eastern countries and countries such as China and India have taken decades to cultivate. "I think that they're both going to be wary of completely shutting the door on Middle Eastern countries in favor of Russian barrels," he said. An added problem that he foresees is how Western sanctions will impact Russia's capacity to buy equipment and technology needed for oil production. "Russia is going to be hard-pressed to keep up supply levels without access to Western technologies," he said. However, Russia will find it much easier to find new markets for its oil than for its gas. Whereas it can physically move oil to new markets relatively easily, transit of natural gas through pipelines is inflexible, and Russia's LNG (liquefied natural gas) production capacity still lags far behind its rivals. If Russia is to replace the European market for gas, its biggest bet appears to be placed on China. In February, Beijing and Moscow announced a 30-year contract for Russia to supply China with gas via a new pipeline. It was also agreed that the sales would be conducted in euros. Russia has also established close ties on gas with Pakistan. Russia has agreed to build Pakistan Stream, a $2 billion (€1.8 billion) pipeline which will transport LNG from the southern port city of Karachi to the north of the South Asian country. Like its neighbor India, Pakistan has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, Balmaceda says Russian rhetoric on the subject of switching gas volumes from West to East exceeds what is likely. "The reality is that those projects need massive financing, and if there is no financing, they're not going to happen," she said. She adds that in theory, Russia could build new infrastructure to supply China or even India with gas in the future but that it would require "massive investment" which does not seem realistic given Russia's economic outlook. Ferreira says that Russia's only realistic option for gas in Asia will be via existing or new pipelines between China and western Siberia. "That's going to take a while. So there is no short-term solution for Russian gas. You're going to have to shut it in," he said. The long-term consequence, in his view, is that Russia will cease to be a major player on global energy markets. "They're simply not going to be the energy powerhouse that they are today, not because they don't have the resources, but simply because they don't have the markets to sell it to or the technologies to lift that." However, Balmaceda, who recently authored a book on Russian energy titled "Russian Energy Chains: The Remaking of Technopolitics from Siberia to Ukraine to the European Union," is more doubtful. She says Russian energy may even become acceptable again on European markets unless a strong enough coalition of interest groups opposed to Russian energy — for example, coal producers, renewable energy groups or LNG producers — can convince policymakers in the long term to stay away from Russian energy. She cites the example of "sunk costs" — where money has been invested which cannot be recovered — as a concept some companies may point to regarding existing pipelines from Russia as an economic reason to persist with Russian gas. She warns that alternative energy options will need to be heavily invested in as soon as possible to convince governments and businesses to stick with them. "For that constellation of interest groups to be able to withstand the temptation of Russian gas, it needs to be anchored infrastructurally in a way that the various economic actors have that incentive of those costs not to move away from that quickly." However, she cautions that there are already clear signs that some central and eastern European nations such as Hungary and Serbia will be willing to buy Russian gas into the future. Hungary signed a deal with Russia last year agreeing to receive Russian gas via pipelines that would bypass Ukraine, such as TurkStream, a gas pipeline connecting Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea. On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary was willing to accede to Vladimir Putin's demands that gas is paid for in rubles when a payment obligation to Gazprom comes up in May. "These are relatively small countries but still, it is very disturbing that this is happening," she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Hardy Graupner | 0Business
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German football's unique "50+1" club ownership rule received legal backing on Monday when the country's independent competition regulator, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA), published a preliminary assessment concluding that the rule does not necessarily infringe free market competition laws. "In the authority's view, the basic rule is potentially unproblematic under competition law because of the sport policy objectives it pursues," read a statement from the Bundeskartellamt in Bonn. "Although the rule constitutes a restriction of competition as it sets certain conditions for participation in the Bundesliga, the DFL [German Football League] is nevertheless pursuing legitimate objectives, i.e. to ensure the organization of competition between membership clubs and an even balance in sports competition." Furthermore, the BKartA also emphasized the ethical and social objectives of the 50+1 rule in protecting the participatory and member-led nature of German football clubs, saying: "The DFL's argument that it wishes to maintain the club character of the sport can be considered such an objective: It offers the public at large the possibility to co-determine a club's affairs by becoming a member and hence to participate in Bundesliga activity beyond their role as consumers." Introduced in 1999 and enshrined in the statutes of the German Football League (DFL), the 50+1 rule stipulates that, should a football club outsource its professional football operation into a separate limited company, as most German clubs have done, the parent club must retain 50% of the voting shares in that company, plus one share. The rule therefore prevents German clubs from being majority owned by external entities in the way that, for example, English clubs are, and was one of the reasons why Bundesliga sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund did not sign up the European Super League in April. However, the rule does allow for exemptions in cases where an investor has "substantially supported the parent club's football activities for a continuous period of more than 20 years." Such exemptions have been granted to VfL Wolfsburg (Volkswagen), Bayer Leverkusen (pharmaceutical giants Bayer) and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp). Red Bull-backed RB Leipzig adhere to the 50+1 rule on paper only. In a surprising move, however, these "benefactor exemptions" have now also been criticized as "problematic" by the Bundeskartellamt, which says they undermine the rule's "uniform application and enforcement" and also result in a "competitive disadvantage" for those clubs which are not exempt. "If the benefactor exemption in its current version is included in the consideration, the restriction of competition appears disproportionate," read the statement. "This raises doubts whether the overall combination of the basic rule and exemption is suitable to achieve the objectives of the 50+1 rule. "This would risk the loss of key characteristics such as membership participation in the clubs and transparency for members … and also results in a competitive disadvantage for those clubs which do not benefit from the exemption. "Membership-owned and investor-financed clubs compete alongside one another. If some clubs have better possibilities to secure equity funding than others, this is more likely to distort rather than create an even balance in sports competition." The Bundeskartellamt carried out its assessment at the behest of the German Football League (DFL), which wanted to check the legal standing of the 50+1 rule in the wake of recent attempts to have it scrapped. Two of the rule's biggest critics, Martin Kind of Bundesliga 2 side Hannover and Hasan Ismaik of third-division side 1860 Munich, have both had applications for exemptions rejected in recent years, and have repeatedly threatened to take their cases to the European Court of Justice in the belief that the 50+1 rule contravenes competition law. In March 2018, the 36 Bundesliga and Bundesliga second division clubs which make up the DFL voted to retain the rule following pressure from supporter groups, who have now been buoyed by the preliminary assessment of the Bundeskartellamt, which now awaits the DFL's reactions to its findings. If the DFL is committed to retaining the 50+1 rule and the member-led nature of professional football in Germany, it may consider strengthening the requirements for future exemptions — although a reversal of currently existing exemptions is highly unlikely. If, on the other hand, the DFL is interested in opening up German football to greater investment, it may read the Bundeskartellamt's assessment of the exemptions as "problematic" as encouragement to abolish the rule altogether. | 9Sports
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she expects many more vaccines to arrive in the EU in April. "From April onwards, the quantities could double again according to the manufacturers' plans, also because further vaccines are about to be approved," von der Leyen said in an interview published Monday with German newspapers Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten. The EU chief said she expects "an average of around 100 million doses per month in the second quarter, a total of 300 million by the end of June." According to the reports, the boost in deliveries means 20 million doses could be administered in Germany every month. That would demand significantly improved vaccination capacities. Germany has administered about 7.3 million doses since vaccinations began at the end of December. The EU and von der Leyen have faced criticism over the slow rollout of vaccination campaigns across the bloc. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to recommend approval of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. DW has an overview of other major COVID developments around the world. Germany will ease some restrictions starting on Monday, but which ones are taken down will depend on infection numbers and the state. Retailers which have been closed since December will be allowed to reopen so long as incidence rates allow. Similar conditions apply to museums and galleries. Up to ten adults can take part in contact-less sports if the incidence rate is under 50. If it is between 50 and 100 new infections per 100,000 people per week, five people from two households can play sports. Children up to 14 years old can play sports outside in groups up to 20. In Berlin, that age limit is down to 12. Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 5,011 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Monday morning, with 34 deaths. Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder warned of rising infection figures, saying that the "third wave is rolling in." He also suggested an adjustment to the vaccination strategy, which would involve giving vaccine priority to commuters or highly mobile people, in order to reduce infection rates in hotspots. This month in particular, availability will be very limited, but that will soon change, he said. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz criticized riots at recent demonstrations against virus-related measures in Vienna. He said a "hooligan mentality" and anti-Semitism were unacceptable, referring to Nazi salutes shouted at the protests. Members of Kurz's conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) also sharply attacked the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) for their role in the movement. According to police, around 20,000 people took to the streets in Vienna on Saturday. More than 3,000 charges were filed for disregarding the minimum distance and other hygiene regulations. Forty-two participants were also arrested, according to police. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Italy heightened movement restrictions in several regions due to increasing COVID-19 cases. Schools and restaurants in affected areas in the southern region of Campania will be forced to close as the region is now considered to be among the most afflicted in the countrz. Other regions, such as the Veneto region in the north, were placed in the second worst level. A nighttime curfew from 10 pm (2100 GMT) continues throughout the country. Finland will enter a three-week shutdown on Tuesday after parliament approved a proposal to temporarily close cafes, bars and restaurants in a bid to stem a rise in cases. "The restrictions aim to minimize people-to-people contacts in order to reduce the number of infections and keep the epidemic under control," Prime Minister Sanna Marin told parliament. The shutdown will apply in areas where the virus is considered to be in either an acceleration or community transmission phase. The country of 5.5 million has recorded over 62,000 cases and more than 770 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The Dutch government plans to introduce a smartphone-based passport for people who have been vaccinated against the virus or tested negative in order to allow them greater freedoms. The app would allow users to travel, eat at restaurants or go to concerts and other events, for example. The app would only show whether someone was immune, but it would not be possible to see whether they had tested negative or received the vaccine. The government does not want to make the vaccination compulsory, even indirectly, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge told broadcaster NOS on Monday. Thousands of women marched through the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on International Women's Day to draw attention to domestic violence, which has spiked amid virus-related restrictions. "The purpose of the march is to draw public attention to how the situation of women has deteriorated, especially during the pandemic,'' said Daria Mizina, an Amnesty International Ukraine activist. Protesters also demanded Ukraine's ratification of the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe measure to combat violence against women. During the pandemic, cases of domestic violence in Ukraine increased by almost one half. Over the past year, police received 174,386 reports of domestic violence. New Zealand will obtain additional Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to protect the entire country's population. The government signed an agreement to buy an extra 8.5 million doses, to go along with their current 1.5 million doses, which will be enough to fully vaccinate 5 million people. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the vaccines will come in the second half of the year. Israel has officially started COVID-19 vaccinations for Palestinians who have a work permit for Israel and the West Bank settlements. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing mild symptoms, the presidency said on Monday. "They are in good health and their condition is stable," an official statement said, adding that the couple will quarantine for up to three weeks. Assad is 55 and his wife 45. Their positive results came more than a week after Syria started vaccinating frontline health workers using jabs delivered from an unidentified "friendly state." Vietnam began its vaccination program on Monday, giving the first shots to healthcare workers. Security forces, diplomats, teachers and adults at least 65 years old will also be first in line for the shots. Monday's shots were part of the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived last month. Vietnam said last month that it would acquire 150 million doses via direct purchase and the COVAX program. Malaysia's daily coronavirus case numbers have fallen to the lowest this year to 1,500. It's good news for the country's health authorities that were reporting the most new daily cases in Asia in early 2021 The case drop came as businesses in the country's crucial palm oil sector warn of huge financial losses caused by pandemic restrictions. Starting next month, Thailand will reduce its mandatory quarantine for travelers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, its health ministry said. Vaccinated travelers to the Southeast Asian country will only have to stay in quarantine for seven rather than 14 days. kbd, jsi/dj (dpa, Reuters, AP, AFP) | 5Health
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Though high-level discussions between NATO and Russia have been few and far between in recent years, the Kremlin's announcement that it would shutter its mission to the alliance, force NATO military officials to leave Moscow and close the NATO Information Office (NIO) there still sent a chill through the already frosty channels. Robert Pszczel was the last NATO diplomat posted to the Russian capital, and he left that post as the director of the NIO five years ago. The Kremlin had already cut off most communication with the NIO at that point but Pszczel still felt it was important to have a presence in Moscow. "We could show them that we don't eat children for breakfast, you know?" he laughed. Currently a senior fellow at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation in his native Poland, Pszczel told DW he now agreed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that there's an "absence of the necessary conditions for conducting diplomatic activities." Though Lavrov blames that on "NATO's deliberate steps" in expelling eight members of the Russian delegation accused of being intelligence agents, Pszczel said it had to do with the ways in which Russia engages the world. "There are extremely worrying developments almost every week," he said, with Moscow becoming "more and more aggressive, more provocative externally." He added that relations with NATO "would only change if Russia changes its policy — but that's just not happening." Practical cooperation between NATO and Russia was cut off in 2014, after Moscow illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, so the "two sides haven't really been talking to each other very much, certainly not at the working level," Jamie Shea, who retired as NATO's deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges in 2018, told DW. Now with the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, Shea said he saw Russia's maneuver as "more symbolic than real" especially because the Kremlin suspended the diplomatic office and didn't completely eliminate it. Shea said there was no mention of cutting off the "hotline" between NATO's top military commander, General Tod Wolters, and the head of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. However, the last time NATO reports that the two men spoke was April 2020, with the last face-to-face meeting two months earlier. Still, Shea said, there's no reason to "make a mountain out of a molehill" following the latest announcement. "It's not as if Russian officials will never meet with a NATO official — that clearly isn't true," he said. "And Russia will continue to have a bilateral embassy in Belgium with a military attache, so if NATO and Russia wanted to use that channel, it's there." Shea said NATO allies all had military attaches in Moscow who can conduct dialogue as well, so "it's not as if the Russian decision today totally freezes diplomatic relations with the NATO countries." Not everyone is so nonchalant about the changes. One of Shea's former NATO colleagues, William Alberque, said the Russian decision to expel the three NATO military representatives in the Military Liaison Mission removes a "good avenue for communication, for risk reduction, prevention of misunderstandings." Alberque, who is now the director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Program, said there was a "daily tempo of people calling each other, just knowing that you have someone at the other end of that phone that is valuable, even if none of that information ever reaches headlines." Though the decision was surely meant as a "stinging political rebuke to NATO's actions" in expelling the suspected spies, Alberque said it was likely the Kremlin that would suffer the biggest consequences. "Practically speaking," he said, "it's cutting off their nose to spite their face." Having Russian-speaking NATO officers in Moscow, he said, had been an assurance for Moscow above all. Justyna Gotkowska, coordinator of the Regional Security Program at the Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies, told DW that the Kremlin could be trying to send a broader political message with its decision — aimed not just at NATO but also at Berlin and the ongoing negotiations to form a new German government. "With this move Russia counts on influencing the political elites in Germany and in Europe that are confined to an idea of a dialogue with Russia as a necessity to maintain peace in Europe," said Gotkowska. "The goal is to present offers of a deeper dialogue with Russia, both on a bilateral track [with Germany] and in NATO" as it develops its next Strategic Concept, planned for 2022. She doubts, however, that this calculation will be successful. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Whatever the goals of Russia's retaliation, Robert Pszczel thinks back a bit wistfully on better days in the life of the NATO Information Office, two decades old as it goes into deep freeze. "A lot of time was spent explaining what NATO is not and is not doing," he chuckled, "but also, when the times were better, to try to promote we have been doing together when there was cooperation, to try to stimulate discussion and dialogue and bring in young people in particular. "I'm not saying that one was able to convince everybody," he said, "but one could clearly see that there was a genuine sort of interest in pursuing this further." Pszczel said there was a time when both sides were hopeful about improved relations, but he can't guess when or even if that will be the case again. | 7Politics
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Demonstrators appeared in several German cities on Saturday to protest against a nighttime curfew that was put in place to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. About 300 people marched through the financial city of Frankfurt, carrying placards with protest messages. In Hanover, about 100 people protested the measures. Both the Frankfurt and Hanover protests were previously registered with police. Germany enacted a so-called "emergency brake" beginning at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT/UCT) on Friday which includes tighter restrictions when the infection rate is above a certain level. If more than 100 people per 100,000 become infected in a district for three consecutive days, the "brake" is applied. The measures include a nighttime curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., as well as shop closures and a limit on gatherings to one household and one other person. Here is the latest coronavirus new from the rest of Europe and the world: Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recorded 18,773 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, as well as 120 deaths. That means the country now has 3,287,418 infections and a death toll of 81,564. Italy has joined several other countries in imposing a travel ban on India, fearing the spread of a new coronavirus variant. "Our scientists are working to study the new Indian [coronavirus] variant. We cannot let our guard down," Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Sunday. Italian residents will be allowed to return from India with a negative test result at their departure and upon their arrival. Travelers are also required to quarantine after arrival to Italy, Speranza said. Italy also unveiled its post-pandemic recovery plan before officially presenting it to the parliament. Most of the €222 billion ($270 billion) initiative would be financed from a special EU fund. Nearly €50 billion would go towards upgrading Italy's internet network. The plan also includes financial incentives for businesses to hire young people and women. The European Union will be able to produce enough vaccines to achieve its immunization target by the middle of July, the EU executive's vaccine task force chief said in an interview with the Greek weekly newspaper To Vima. The bloc had set a target of vaccinating 70% of the EU's adult population by the end of this summer. "We are confident that we will be able to produce a sufficient number of vaccines to achieve the goal of collective immunity, which means that 70% of the adult population would have been vaccinated by mid-July," European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton was quoted as saying by the paper. Earlier this week, the EU Commission said it was expecting to seal a deal for up to 1.8 billion doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine between 2021-2023. The UK is also close to finalizing a deal to purchase tens of millions more doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for a third booster dose, according to a Sunday Times report. This dose would be given to the elderly in the autumn. Government sources told the paper they hope to double the original order of 40 million shots. If successful, the extra shots may also be used for younger people in their 20s who are being offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine after the discovery of possible links to rare blood clots. Greece will be lifting the quarantine requirements on visitors from several non-EU countries as long as they can present a negative coronavirus test or proof of vaccination. The loosening of restrictions will apply to people arriving from Russia, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, Israel, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates starting on Monday. Previously, the visitors from those countries had to spend a week in quarantine. At least 82 people have died due to a fire in a COVID ICU unit in Baghdad. Medical sources told AFP that the fire at the hospital started with an explosion caused by "a fault in the storage of oxygen cylinders." Civil defense said the hospital "had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products." Iraqi hospitals have been run down by decades of conflict and poor management. The prime minister has called for an investigation. India's capital New Delhi is extending its lockdown in a bid to curb a devastating spike in coronavirus cases. The country has reported 349,691 infections in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks. The United States said it was planning to deploy additional support to India to help it tackle the pandemic. "We are in active conversations at high levels and plan to quickly deploy additional support to the Government of India and Indian health care workers as they battle this latest severe outbreak," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Likewise, the EU said its members were "pooling resources" to help India. Bangladesh closed off its land border with India over surging infection rates in the bigger country. The ban does not apply to the transportation of goods and is set to state in effect for two weeks. Thailand's capital Bangkok has ordered the closure of entertainment and sports venues from April 26 to May 9. But health care workers say the measures are not enough to relieve overwhelmed hospitals, local media reported. The Southeast Asian country has seen a rapid spike in recent weeks. On Sunday, it recorded 2,438 new cases and 11 deaths, according to Reuters. Japan has introduced emergency measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, including shutting down department stores, bars and theaters. The 17-day restrictions apply to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hyogo and Osaka ahead of the "Golden Week'' holidays, when Japanese usually travel extensively. The Japanese government is also planning to open large vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka to speed up what has been so far a slow rollout, The Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday. According to the report, Japan will open one site in central Tokyo as early as May, with the aim of vaccinating some 10,000 people a day. Medically trained staff from Japan's Self-Defense Forces will reportedly assist with vaccinations. Australia has set a record for the biggest crowd at a sports event since the coronavirus pandemic began, with more than 78,000 people attending a football match on Sunday. Fans crowded the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to watch a Football League match between Collingwood and Essendon. The state government in Victoria, where Melbourne is located, had allowed the MCG to be filled to 85% of its full capacity as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions. Last month, some 67,000 people attended a Twenty20 cricket international between India and England at the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Starting Monday, people in Peru will be required to wear two face masks when they go shopping, AFP reported. The requirement applies to places that attract large crowds, including markets, shopping centers, and galleries. The South American country has recorded nearly 1.7 million coronavirus cases and 59,440 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. fb,kbd/nm (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters) | 8Society
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Germany's government handed transcripts of interviews with Alexei Navalny to Russia, as part of the Kremlin's probe into the poisoning of the activist, a Justice Ministry spokesman said on Saturday. The ministry has demanded a thorough probe into Navalny's poisoning and made the interrogation protocols available to Russia's government. The Kremlin now has all the information needed to carry out a criminal investigation into the poisoning in August — including blood, clothing and tissue samples — the spokesman said. "The German government assumes that the Russian government will now immediately take all necessary steps to clarify the crime against Mr. Navalny," he said. "This crime must be solved in Russia," the spokesman added. "This requires investigations commensurate with the seriousness of this crime." The Kremlin had made previous requests for legal assistance, but Germany's government delayed the response, referring to Navalny's poor state of health, which kept him from being questioned. The activist was brought to Germany for treatment after the poisoning attack. On Sunday, Navalny is set to fly back to Russia for the first time since the poisoning, despite the risk of being jailed upon his return. Navalny has accused Putin of ordering his poisoning with the deadly Novichok nerve agent, and some supporters have urged him to stay abroad for his own safety. The Russian government has denied any involvement in the attack, claiming that Russian agents would have successfully killed him if they wanted him dead. The German Justice Ministry said Navalny was interviewed by Berlin prosecutors and provided "extensive answers" to questions submitted by Russia's general prosecutor's office. The transcripts are now available to Russia under the European Mutual Legal Assistance Convention, the spokesman said. lc/sms (Reuters, AFP) | 7Politics
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, made a surprise visit to Qatar on Monday. He made the trip at the invitation of Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. This is Sheikh Mohammed's first visit since the 2017 crisis that led to the UAE severing diplomatic relations with Doha. "I congratulate my brother Tamim bin Hamad and the people of Qatar on hosting the FIFA World Cup and wish them continued success," Sheikh Mohammed said. The UAE leader, who is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi, added that this was a "source of pride" for the Gulf countries and the Arab world in general. Sheikh Tamim said that the UAE leader's visit "allowed us to discuss ways to strengthen brotherly relations between our two countries, and to exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern, foremost of which are ways to support security and stability in the region." The UAE implemented a boycott of Qatar in 2017 alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. The four countries accused Doha of supporting Islamist groups that were close to Iran and financing extremism in the region. The UAE and Qatar have sought to mend ties following the end of the Saudi-led blockade in January 2021. Abu Dhabi has not yet appointed an envoy to Doha, but restored travel and trade links. The opening ceremony of the World Cup was attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, as well as Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. sdi/wd (AP, AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Billboards plastered with election propaganda in the Congolese capital Brazzaville shout out to the passersby: "Plus loin ensemble" — "we'll go further together." The posters are signed "DSP": Denis Sassou Nguesso. On March 21, the president of the Republic of Congo will face off against six opponents in the run for another term. "Sassou Nguesso has been in office for 37 years now, and he will hold on to power, by force if necessary," Sadio Kante-Morel told DW. The journalist knows what she's talking about. She was persecuted by Nguesso's secret police and arrested several times, after protesting against the extension of his term in office. In 2014, the pressure became too much to bear: Kante-Morel left Brazzaville and went into exile in France. "I took to the streets in Brazzaville with banners that read 'Congo is not Nguesso's private property'." But Nguesso does not tolerate dissent: "He had a referendum whipped through in 2015, that gave him three more terms of five years each," said Kante-Morel. Which means that he has ten more years to go. "The regime wants to maintain a facade of democracy, but dictatorship prevails," explained Kante-Morel. In February, the country's Episcopal Conference expressed "serious reservations" about the organization of the presidential election. It saw no transparency in the planned counting process of the ballots, particularly because of the curfew in place to fight the COVID pandemic. They also pointed out the lack of independent election observers. Several candidates have been excluded from the race. The clergy called the 2016 elections a farce and claimed that, this time too, the electoral system will be controlled by Nguesso's Congolese Party of Labor (PCT). A part of the opposition announced form the outset that it would boycott the election. Nevertheless, apart from the long-time ruler, six candidates are standing for election on March 21. The roster includes former Finance Minister Mathias Dzon and Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who came second in the 2016 election. Observers say the opposition doesn't stand a chance. This article has been adapted from German | 7Politics
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German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht came under fire on Monday for what has been considered a tone-deaf video published on her social media account. Lambrecht shared the video on Instagram, in which she appears on a street in Berlin during chaotic New Year's celebrations. Her reflections of the "war raging in the middle of Europe" — in reference to the already 10-month-long war in Ukraine — have been called insensitive with the backdrop of loud fireworks blasting behind her. German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel said the address failed to "hit the right tone," instead painting the war as an "exciting professional experience." A lawmaker from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called for Lambrecht's resignation after the video went viral on German-speaking social media, with many people mocking the minister. "The speech about the war with New Year's Eve firecrackers in the background only crowns her series of embarrassments," CDU lawmaker Serap Güler wrote in a tweet addressed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "Who is supposed to take us seriously anymore?" she added. "I don't see any reason to evaluate this now," deputy government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said in response. The chairperson for the Bundestag defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, distanced herself from the video — which had been made privately and not with ministry resources — saying, "the New Year's video in question is a matter for the minister and her communications staff. I myself find the setting somewhat unfortunate." "I don't want to say more about it," she added. ab/jcg (AFP, dpa) While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing. | 7Politics
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When members of Operation Dudula marched through South Africa's port city of Durban chanting anti-immigrant songs, they demanded that authorities crack down on undocumented immigrants. "People are coming into the country and they are not documented and the government is doing nothing about it, and it's difficult to find them when they commit crime," said Zandile Dabula, National Secretary for Operation Dudula. Anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa is nothing new, but Operation Dudula's rhetoric equates foreign African nationals living in South Africa with crime. This is troubling for Professor Loren Landau of the African Center for Migration and Society at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.. "It's turned your average citizen into your immigration or police department. That's dangerous because it's not only that they're looking for foreigners, but also anyone they feel shouldn't be in that community," Landau told DW. Dudula — which stems from a Zulu word meaning "to push back" — first surfaced on social media in 2020. It has recently morphed from anti-foreigner sentiment online to a physical movement, with people accosting individuals they suspect of being illegally in the country. Foreign nationals living in South Africa's poorer areas are nervous after massive demonstrations near Johannesburg fueled by anti-immigrant sentiments. Operation Dudula, based in Soweto, and the Dudula Movement that started in Alexandra last year, are separate. But they share strong anti-foreigner views, blaming undocumented foreigners for crime and for 'stealing' jobs from South Africans. According to the Operation Dudula campaigners, South African authorities have not responded to their concerns, so they must carry out citizens' arrests. "The emergence of these groups demonstrates the weakness of authority in South Africa," political analyst Ralph Mathekga told DW. Charismatic, leader Nhlanhla 'Lux' Dlamini spreads a potent "South Africans First" rhetoric. Yet, he only began using the hashtag frequently this year. The stoning and burning alive of a Zimbabwean man in Diepsloot, northwest of Johannesburg, just hours after Police Minister Bheki Cele promised a bigger security presence in the area shocked many in early April. But if movements like Dudula are allowed to grow or are tolerated, such events may increase, says Landau. "Political parties have been beset by infighting and have turned to scapegoating to blame the foreigners to distract the population from what is real here," Landau said. "They [South African political parties] have been accessories to the violence that we're seeing and to some of the anti-immigrant mobilizations," he told DW. Despite high unemployment rates, South Africa's economy dwarfs those of neighboring countries, and many are drawn to the economic engine room of Gauteng province. "Operation Dudula capitalized on deep dissatisfaction with the state of being in South Africa, with unemployment, with inequality, with lack of services. And in that sense, they are capturing something that is real and justified," says Landau. "They are directing the energies to fighting immigration rather than addressing the source of those problems which are within the political system itself." An estimated 4 million foreigners live in South Africa, but accurate figures are hard to come by. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Lwazi* (not his real name) has lived in South Africa for over a decade, mostly around Cape Town. He remembers being in mortal danger in May 2008 when xenophobic violence spread from Gauteng. At least 62 people, including South Africans, were killed. Around 40,000 foreign nationals fled the country and another 50,000 were internally displaced. Operation Dudula worries him. "It's different from before. Before it was a nationwide thing. It wasn't being organized like this. When they see undocumented foreigners, they should be putting the blame on Home Affairs. They are incompetent when giving asylum," he adds. He says so far Operation Dudula has not reached Cape Town. "Cape Town people are not that violent towards foreigners because some have come to understand foreigners and make money through renting out their land or houses," he told DW. For years, Lwazi would join other Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, and other African foreign nationals, in trying to get his asylum request processed, to no avail. That he has stayed so long in South Africa does not change anything. "They think we don't try, but we do!" Lwazi believes this time around, xenophobia is becoming a political tool. His fears appear well founded. Earlier this year, the Economic Freedom Fighters political party (EFF) made headlines when it visited restaurants demanding to inspect the 'ratio' of foreigners compared to locals to pressure businesses into hiring more South Africans. Others, such as former prisoner-turned-politician Gayton Mackenzie's smaller Patriotic Alliance party have taken a harder line, saying all illegal foreigners should 'leave the country.' In 2015, the Minister of Small Business Development, Lindiwe Zulu, claimed without evidence that foreign owners of small 'spaza' shops [a South African slang meaning a small shop in a township] had an unfair advantage over South Africans. She demanded that they "should share trade secrets." Political scientist Mathekga has noticed another worrying trend. "Recently, South Africa's politicians have become fond of mentioning the nationality of those accused in crime, as if South Africans are not committing crimes," he said, adding that it fuels anti-immigrant sentiment. For him, the vast majority of crimes in South Africa are committed by locals, and in most cases, those crimes involving foreigners are enabled by South Africans. According to Mathekga, political parties face a crisis of legitimacy and lack rapport with voters. "They are enticed to invoke easy messages that look like they connect with the people, especially if those issues are emotional to the people." While addressing the nation about the protests, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded angrily by comparing Operation Dudula to the apartheid system. But for Landau, condemning Operation Dudula and xenophobia is not enough. Instead, Ramaphosa's government must change the dire poverty and poor economic conditions for millions of South Africans. "Until he accepts that responsibility and offers a plan for addressing the root causes, I think people are going to continue to hear him as a sort of distant noise rather than as something that they can believe in," he told DW. Meanwhile, Lwazi keeps his head down, works his part-time job, and cares for his young daughter. "I'm just happy, God has been good to me," he said. "But it doesn't change my situation." Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu | 7Politics
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Both DW's German and Turkish departments reported on the recent trip by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to Turkey. In one photo published by DW, Maas and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, were wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus; in another photo, they weren't. Because they were standing against an identical background and their posture was the same, there was speculation online that the images had been manipulated. The truth was that they were different photos — taken at different moments by different editorial teams at the same event. It has become common practice for politicians to briefly remove their masks just before making statements — provided that social distancing guidelines are observed and proper ventilation is maintained. Alexandra von Nahmen, the head of DW's Brussels studio, said that had been her experience, though most press conferences take place virtually nowadays. When in-person events do take place, she said, everyone adheres to guidelines for masking and social distancing. "When Ursula von der Leyen has a statement to give, or questions to answer, she only takes her mask off when she's directly in front of the microphone, when she starts to speak," she said, using the president of the European Commission as an example. "The press team makes sure that all of the rules are adhered to here." Visual journalists do not tell politicians whether to wear masks or not, said Peer Grimm, the head of the photo department at DPA, the German press agency. Editors also do not require photojournalists to return from assignments with pictures of politicians not wearing masks. "We as agency journalists try to reflect reality," Grimm said. "When is a politician wearing a mask and when is a politician not wearing a mask? We're only trying to show what's happening." He said there was no particular type of image that performed better with clients, either. "It depends strongly on the context in which the picture was taken," he said. "For example, months ago, when Health Minister Jens Spahn continued to wear his mask incorrectly, that, of course, was newsworthy. In that case, our customers, for the most part, wanted those photos." At a meeting in Brussels in December, von der Leyen appeared to school British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on proper mask-wearing. "Keep distance," von der Leyen told Johnson before they took their masks off for photographs. "We have to put it back on," she said. "We have to put it back on immediately?" Johnson asked. "We have to put it back on," von der Leyen said. "You run a tight ship, Ursula," Johnson said as they pulled their masks back on. "Quite right, too." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article has been adapted from German. | 5Health
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In Erftstadt-Bliesheim, the clouds have been replaced by blue sky, the rain by a baking sun — and a picturesque Rhineland village by rubble. The tiny town between Cologne and Bonn, population 3,600, was devastated by the floods which hit western Germany last week when the small River Erft swelled to historic levels and burst its banks. Days later, residents are picking through the wreckage, trying to salvage what they can of their livelihoods with the help of the emergency services, local aid organizations and volunteers from near and far. Among them, around 200 supporters of nearby Bundesliga club FC Cologne. "We want to help people," says Kai, wearing a t-shirt with the message "Zesamme stark blieve" — "stay strong together" in the local dialect — beneath Cologne's club badge. "If you were in this situation, you'd like someone to help you; it's about looking out for your neighbors." The fans' efforts are being coordinated by the "Coloniacs," one of Cologne's hardcore ultra groups, usually known for their vocal support, flags and choreographies at Bundesliga matches. On Friday, the group appealed for donations in the form of blankets, shoes, clothing and money. By the next day, over €20,000 ($23,500) had been donated and the group had to ask people to stop donating material goods because they had reached storage capacity. By Wednesday morning, they had collected over €35,000. The Cologne ultras aren't on their own. Further up the Rhine, the "Ultras Leverkusen" also appealed for donations, saying: "Parts of Leverkusen are currently in the sort of state we have never seen before. Our neighbors, our friends, our family, our city need help." And in the formerly industrial Ruhr region, Borussia Dortmund supporters from the "Bündnis Südtribüne" — an alliance of fan and ultra groups from the club's famous Yellow Wall — also appealed for help. By Tuesday, 27 palettes and 90 bags of material had been donated and were on their way to Erftstadt or to Hagen, another badly affected town just to the south of Dortmund. "Fan groups, especially at BVB, are highly organized and have enormous networks, so they were able to organize a van to take supplies to the crisis region in a short space of time," explains Johannes Bagus from the Fanprojekt Dortmund, a pedagogical organization which works with young football supporters in the city. "With the support and the reach of Borussia Dortmund, they're able to launch and implement all sorts of social and charitable projects." Even fans of clubs from non-affected regions have got involved. Hannover fans from the "Rote Kurve" group, for example, are collecting donations and splitting them 50-50 between the Coloniacs in Erftstadt and local aid organizations further south in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "Unfortunately, the public image of ultras is dominated by burning away ends and clashes with the police," says Bagus. "But if you study their subculture more carefully, you'll see that there's a lot more to them than just 'hooligans.' There are the huge choreographies, the anti-discrimination projects and the aid in crisis situations, but these aspects are often overlooked." Ultras are not one homogenous group, either. Although generally united by their opposition to what they perceive to be the over-commercialization of modern football, many eastern European ultras can be explicitly right-wing and often violent. Most German ultras, however, tend to be on the political left: critical and uncomfortable but with a strong sense of social responsibility. "This is a common trait of the ultra movement around the world," says James Montague, author of "Among the Ultras: A journey with the world's most extreme fans." "Whether it's an earthquake in Croatia, a forest fire in Greece or floods in Germany, ultra groups are often on the front line," he says. Indeed, when the coronavirus arrived in Germany last spring, forcing cities into lockdowns, ultras from football clubs across the country were among the first groups to organize support for vulnerable people, doing shopping, looking after pets and generally helping out. "These are extremely well-organized groups, often consisting of physically fit young men," explains Montague. "They have a natural organizational structure and can organize things in a short space of time, from communications to collections to distribution — these things are part and parcel of what they do." Back in Erftstadt, the Cologne ultras have been deployed around the affected areas, carrying, cleaning, clearing and assisting where they can. They've been here all day, and they'll be back again tomorrow. "There are so many people out there who you don't even know, I don't even know where they're from," one resident told DW. "But they're out here helping to clean up, there's so much willingness to help, it's wonderful." For Kai and the others, it's a natural response. "We could be at home having a barbeque by the pool, but we're here, because that's what we do," he said. "The nasty football fans … well maybe people will see that we're not all bad." | 9Sports
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German Development Minister Gerd Müller's first stop on his weeklong tour of West Africa trip was Lome, the capital of the small country of Togo. As in all African countries, there is a shortage of vaccines and medical equipment. Müller came with a donation of 30 ventilators and more than 5,000 oximeters to help support the country's efforts to combat COVID-19. On his trip, which includes stops in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Senegal, Müller is hoping to gain a deeper insight into the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. He will also discuss the possibilities of producing vaccines in West Africa. In Togo, he met pharmaceuticals representatives and visited factories. Germany has invested €142 million ($170 million) into the country's agriculture, energy and education sectors. Togo's economic growth fell from 5.5% to 1.8% in 2020 because of the pandemic. Still, Togo was able to contain the latest wave, in April, and daily reported infections are currently in the low double digits, according to the scientific online publication Our World in Data. The global drop in infection rates "masks a worrying increase in cases and deaths in many countries," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists this week. "The steep increase in Africa is especially concerning because it is the region with the least access to vaccines, diagnostics and oxygen," he said. Conflicts in Ethiopia, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are exacerbating the situation. In Uganda, in East Africa, the number of new daily cases has shot up in the past month and had reached 1,400 by June 15, according to Our World in Data. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced a strict lockdown on June 6. Under the measures, all schools and institutions of higher learning were immediately closed for 42 days and all teachers must get fully vaccinated before they are allowed to return to work. Communal prayers in churches and mosques are also suspended for 42 days, as is public transport such as buses, taxis and boda boda motorcycle and bicycle service between and across districts. In the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi warned of a "fatal third wave" and told people to be cautious, limiting gatherings to 20 people and shutting down nightclubs. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), more than 35,000 COVID-19 cases have been registered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo so far and 845 people have died. However, the numbers are rising at an alarming pace. "The situation is serious, our hospitals are overcrowded," the president said, according to media reports. The beginning of winter has increased the risk of infection in South Africa, where the number of cases has doubled in a short time, according to the WHO. On June 15, the country's Health Ministry reported more than 8,400 new cases. There have been over 58,000 deaths so far. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It is questionable whether vaccines can help in such a situation. According to Africa CDC, not even 1% of the African population has received both shots of the COVID-19 vaccine; yet South Africa is in the top third of African states when it comes to progress in inoculating the population. The WHO fears that vaccination targets could be missed in most African countries, predicting that nine out of 10 will not manage to inoculate 10% of their populations by September. There is a shortage of 225 million vaccine doses. "Cases are on the rise, we have exceeded over 5 million cases and 98% of the African continent remains unvaccinated," said Thoko Elphick-Pooley, the director of Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases, a collective of global health organizations. At their recent summit, the G7 industrialized nations announced that they would provide more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries by the end of 2022. According to many NGOs, this is not enough. Elphick-Pooley said that was an ambitious goal but lamented the fact that not enough effort had gone into working out the details: "The logistics of organizing communities for mass treatment, sending out community health workers, transporting drugs and recording data — the whole system costs money." The pandemic will also be high on the German development minister's agenda during his visit to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, where he is slated to seal a partnership between Berlin's Charite hospital and the Princess Christian Hospital. He will also visit a health center in Gambia before wrapping up his week in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, where he will visit the Institut Pasteur, which is gearing up to produce COVID-19 vaccines for the region. This article was translated from German. | 5Health
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The semiconductor supply shortage has wreaked havoc on carmakers around the world. Now a new supply crisis has emerged to further jolt the industry. Magnesium is a key raw material used in the making of aluminum alloys, which are used extensively in car production. Magnesium strengthens aluminum even though it is a much lighter material. China dominates the global magnesium sector but production stalled in September and October due to the ongoing energy crisis in the country. This year has seen prolonged electricity and power blackouts in China as Beijing struggles to keep up with soaring global demand for its exports while also cutting back on its use of coal. With China producing around 90% of the world's magnesium, curbs on production have a swift knock-on effect down the supply chain. The EU is particularly dependent, with around 95% of its supply coming from China. In late October, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), along with 11 other industrial trade associations, issued a stark warning about the impending magnesium shortage. "Europe is expected to run out of magnesium stocks by the end of November, with production shortages, business closures and associated job losses to follow," it warned. Like many other firms, Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian aluminum producer, relies heavily on Chinese magnesium. "We are concerned about the availability of magnesium, but between a combination of the stocks we already have and the shipments that have already been sent, we are well covered throughout this year," Halvor Molland, a senior vice president at the company, told DW. He says the company's production of aluminum for auto industry parts makers (OEMs) has not yet been disrupted. However, he shares concerns that if power cuts and production curbs drag on into 2022, aluminum production could be affected. At the recent European Council summit in Brussels, the issue of a major magnesium shortage was reportedly raised by outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, both leaders of big car-producing nations. With existing stocks in Europe dwindling, metals industry analysts have pointed to the lack of an alternative to magnesium in aluminum billet production as a major risk. Moreover, China's domination of the market means alternative sources of magnesium on the scale required should the Chinese shutdown persist simply do not exist. Carmakers around the world have already been forced to postpone the production of millions of new vehicles in 2021 due to the semiconductor shortage. An aluminum crisis could severely compound that problem. While carmakers would bear the brunt, plenty of other magnesium-reliant sectors would also be hit, such as packaging, consumer electronics and household appliances. WV Metalle, a German metals trade association, warned last month that if Europe's magnesium stocks were to collapse by the end of November, there would be a risk of "massive production losses." Blackouts and electricity rationing in China have forced a majority of magnesium producers offline in recent months, dramatically lowering output and driving the market price of magnesium to record highs. "Today's remaining magnesium imports are trading at 'extortionate prices' of about $10,000 to $14,000 per ton, up from approximately $2,000 per ton earlier this year, making it almost impossible for European companies to produce or source magnesium-containing materials at a viable level," the European industry associations warned last month. However, there are some signs that the problems may be easing. Shanghai Metals Market, a consultancy, said last week that magnesium producers in China's Shaanxi province — the epicenter of the country's magnesium industry — were now back to between 70% and 80% of their capacity. Prices have begun to fall in recent days as a result. Norsk Hydro says it is "too early" to expect a turnaround. Even if Chinese production does continue to ramp up, European Aluminium, one of whose members is Norsk Hydro, is concerned that China will prioritize its own producers' huge demand for magnesium. It says the EU needs to develop a stronger and more coherent metals strategy to stave off such crises in the future. That will be easier said than done. While magnesium is already listed as a critical raw material by the EU, European production is unlikely to take off anytime soon. China's dominance of the market is largely based on the fact that its firms can operate far more cheaply than international rivals. The European Commission says it has opened talks with the Chinese "in order to address immediate shortages" and that it is "assessing long-term solutions to tackle this strategic dependency." | 0Business
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The three African nations at the center of a spat over the controversial building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam resumed talks on Sunday, officials said. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reopened their yearslong negotiations just six weeks after Sudan boycotted the last round of discussions. It had urged continental body the African Union to play a greater role in reaching a consensus over the disputed dam on the Blue Nile. The three Nile Valley countries held a fresh round of talks by video conference in the virtual presence of South African officials, as well as other international observers. South Africa is the current head of the African Union's rotating council. "The meeting concluded ... that this week will be devoted to bilateral talks between the three countries, the experts, and the observers," Sudan's Water Ministry said in a statement. This week's negotiations will pave the way "for the resumption of tripartite negotiations on Sunday January 10 in the hope of concluding by the end of January," the ministry added. The key sticking point surrounds the filling and operation of the vast reservoir behind the 145-meter-tall (475-foot-tall) hydropower project, which broke ground in 2011. Ethiopia claims the hydroelectric power produced at the dam is essential for it to meet the energy needs of its population. Ethiopia also insists downstream countries' water supplies will not be adversely affected. However, the other two countries at the resumed talks have expressed concerns. Egypt, which relies on the Nile for about 97% of its irrigation and drinking water, fears the dam would severely cut its water supplies. Sudan is hopeful the dam will help ease flooding fears, but has also warned that millions of lives would be at "great risk" if no binding agreement was reached. jsi/nm (AP, AFP) | 7Politics
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Rishi Sunak is set to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom after winning the leadership race in the wake of Liz Truss' departure. The 42-year-old politician will be Britain's youngest prime minister in more than a century, the country's first nonwhite and Asian leader and the first Hindu to take the job. Sunak is the son of a doctor and pharmacist of Indian origin, who migrated to the UK via Africa. He was born in Southampton, Hampshire, and received private education at Winchester, one of Britain's top boarding schools. An alumnus of Oxford University and Stanford University, he worked for Goldman Sachs before entering politics. Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Narayana Murthy, who is an Indian billionaire and the co-founder of IT services company, Infosys. The couple have two daughters. As a Hindu, Sunak took his oath to be a member of paliament on the Bhagavad Gita — a holy scripture in the religion. In a past interview, he had said he was also a devotee of Southampton FC soccer club. "In terms of cultural upbringing, I'd be at the temple at the weekend — I'm a Hindu — but I'd also be at the Saints game (Southampton) as well on a Saturday. You do everything, you do both." Sunak is one of Westminster's wealthiest politicians and came under enormous pressure earlier this year after revelations that his wife avoided paying taxes on her overseas income. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sunak entered politics in 2015, taking over the safe Conservative seat of Richmond in North Yorkshire. After his early support of Brexit, former Prime Minister Theresa May gave Sunak his first job in government in 2018 as a junior minister for local government, parks and troubled families. In 2019, Boris Johnson appointed him to the treasury, where he soon took over from Sajid Javid as finance minister, just as the COVID pandemic erupted. He served in this position until July 2022. As finance minister, Sunak quickly assembled a vast economic support package, putting the country on track for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s. He raised public spending, but promised more discipline and to cut waste. He now says this spending must be paid off with sound fiscal plans. Sunak lost out to Liz Truss in the leadership race in September following Boris Johnson's resignation. After Truss herself stepped down just six weeks later, Sunak quickly gained the support of many lawmakers who had previously backed either Truss or Johnson. He was vindicated after warning that Truss' economic plans would backfire — which they did, spectacularly. Sunak faces multiple economic and political crises, with the country facing an economically toxic combination of recession and rising interest rates. The economic program of his predecessor Truss has roiled financial markets, pushed up living costs for voters and enraged much of her own party and the public. A costly energy price guarantee and billions of pounds of unfunded tax cuts have since been rolled back, but the damage has been done, with the Bank of England forced into emergency bond-buying to stem a sharp sell-off in Britain's $2.3 trillion government bond market. He told Conservative lawmakers that his first priority is to deliver economic stability and unite the party. The Conservative Party has a large majority in parliament but is deeply divided on key issues such as Brexit and immigration as well as economic management. To achieve economic stability, he will likely oversee spending cuts and tax rises as vulnerable households struggle through a painful financial squeeze, with increasing mortgage costs, as well as rising food, heating and fuel prices caused by the war in Ukraine and other global factors. Any tax hikes will be strongly opposed by some in the party; while others will oppose spending cuts in key areas like health and defense. He also faces personal challenges, with many in the party seeing him as disloyal for triggering the downfall of Johnson in July and being out of touch with struggling Britons. Other pressing issues include ongoing negotiations with the European Union over trade with Northern Ireland, and acting on government promises to control immigration. aw, tg/rt (AFP, Reuters, AP) | 7Politics
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The findings of a recent Eurobarometer survey, commissioned by the European Union itself, are clear: Citizens in the bloc believe that the main issues it should be addressing are climate change, the COVID pandemic, health care, the economic situation and social inequality. DW explains the issues in more detail. There are now enough COVID-19 vaccines in Europe, but — as the fall rapidly approaches — the vaccination rate is still too low. The goal of ensuring that 70% of adults were vaccinated has been achieved, but this is not enough in view of the highly contagious delta variant. Moreover, vaccination rates vary widely among EU member states, from only 20% in Bulgaria to almost 90% in Malta. The European Commission will have to work on this in the coming months, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told DW. Von der Leyen has already launched a new EU agency, the European Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA), that will aim to better anticipate and control epidemics in future. It will attempt to restrict the current uncoordinated approach in which the 27 member states all apply different standards and measures. One direct consequence of the pandemic has been an unprecedented slump in the economy, which Ursula von der Leyen plans to counter with an equally unprecedented reconstruction program. Rolling out the €750 billion ($886 billion) recovery fund, which will be funded by joint debt for the first time, will be the focus of EU economic policy for some years to come. With a majority of EU citizens claiming to have suffered economic losses as a result of the pandemic, expectations of the EU and this recovery program are high. But it also carries risks, as member states will incur more debt and inflation will rise with higher demand. The debate about how to deal with this sharp increase in debt in all member states has already begun. The Commission wants a large part of the money from the recovery fund to go towards "green" investments. The idea is that the EU's "Green Deal" will turn Europe into the first climate-neutral continent without significant CO2 emissions by 2050. Ursula von der Leyen has been able to push through this ambitious goal. Now, the task is to implement the transition to renewables, electromobility and modern digital jobs with a whole raft of laws and measures. It is still unclear to what extent each member state will have to cut harmful gases and how the targets will be achieved. Divisive forces within the EU are increasing. More and more, the Polish and Hungarian governments are resisting the attempts of the Commission and European Court of Justice to prevent the erosion of the rule of law in their countries. Not all member states seem to have the same perception of what constitutes European values and fundamental rights. This is particularly evident in the increasingly homophobic policies of Poland, Hungary and certain other newer member states. The question of EU solidarity with regard to migration also remains unresolved. Across the bloc, societies are deeply divided by how to deal with migrants and asylum-seekers, a rising number of whom are likely to be coming from Afghanistan in future. The Commission has abandoned all hope of a distribution mechanism and instead is focusing more on sealing external borders and preventing immigration. It remains to be seen what new proposals Ursula von der Leyen can make in this regard, but at least she will be able to refer to the "Conference on the Future of Europe," which is already underway with the participation of normal citizens and is set to present its results in spring 2022. Comparing the issues this September with those discussed last year in Ursula von der Leyen's first State of the Union speech, it would seem that they are practically identical and the problems are just as huge. But the Commission president will try to present the steps that have now been taken to establish a climate policy, create the recovery fund and promote the digitalization of the economy as pathways to a better future. Her speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday morning will be followed by an extensive debate, kicking off the political season in both Strasbourg and Brussels after the summer break. However, there will be no real progress on legislation until the election is over in Germany, the bloc's largest member state, and a workable coalition government is in place. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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US law enforcement officers searching for a missing 22-year-old woman in a national park in Wyoming said on Sunday they have found human remains that match the woman's description. Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito set off for a months-long road trip with her boyfriend this summer. He returned without her on September 1, sparking a missing persons' case that has gripped the US. FBI spokesman Charles Jones said that human remains were discovered in a remote camping area near the Grand Teton National Park that were "consistent" with the description of the missing woman. "Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery," he added. The cause of death is not yet known. Medical examiners are expected to perform an autopsy and formally identify the body. Following the announcement, Petito's father tweeted a picture of his daughter with the words: "she touched the world." Petito set out with her boyfriend, identified as 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, from New York in July for a road trip to visit several western US national parks. He has been named as a "person of interest" in the case and declined to cooperate with authorities. The couple documented their journey on social media, saying they intended to reach the western state of Oregon by October. Petito's last known contact with her family was in late August, with the couple's next stop believed to be the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The 22-year-old woman was never heard from again. Laundrie then drove the van they were traveling in to his family's home in Florida on September 1 — without Petito. Her family then filed a missing person's report on September 11. Laundrie has also since disappeared, with his family saying they haven't seen him in days. Authorities in Florida are currently searching a large wilderness preserve where he is believed to be located, but have not found him. "It is important to note that while Brian is a person of interest in Gabby's disappearance, he is not wanted for a crime," Florida police said on Friday. During the search for Petito, it emerged that police in Utah had pulled over the van that Petito and Laundrie were traveling in on August 12 — responding to a domestic violence report. The body cam footage from the traffic stop showed an emotional Petito saying she had an altercation with Laundrie. Police separated the two for the night and declined to press charges. rs/ar (Reuters, AP) | 3Crime
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Bayer announced on Thursday steep losses for the year 2020 as it struggled to recover from a string of US lawsuits claiming its weedkiller causes cancer. The German chemical and pharmaceutical giant said in a statement that it posted an annual net loss of €10.5 billion ($12.8 billion), compared with a profit of just over €4 billion for 2019. Overall sales for 2020 came in roughly unchanged, at €41.4 billion, when adjusted for currency effects, Bayer said. The group, headquartered in the German city of Leverkusen, was expected to end the year in the red after it agreed last June to set aside around $11 billion to settle a wave of US claims against its weedkiller Roundup. The coronavirus also had its repercussions, with demand for Bayer's pharmaceutical products falling as the pandemic led to a postponement of non-urgent treatments, the company near Cologne said. The negative impact was offset, though, by an increase in sales of Bayer's blood thinner Xarelto. Anti-coagulants have emerged as a key treatment for COVID-19. Elsewhere, Bayer's over-the-counter consumer health division saw revenues increase by more than 5%. "The greater focus on health and prevention in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic generated substantial growth in demand" across all regions, Bayer said, especially for nutritional and digestive products. The group noticed a lower demand for its cough and cold medicines, which it attributed to improved hygiene measures as a result of the global pandemic. Despite Thursday's announcement, Bayer said it expected "solid operational growth" in 2021, as well as stable revenues. Bayer gave an update on its legal struggles, saying it had now settled roughly 90,000 US lawsuits in relation to Roundup. The group has been mired in a dispute over the weedkiller since its record acquisition of Monsanto, a US-based seed and chemical company, in 2018. Bayer, which is not admitting any wrongdoing as part of the settlements, has repeatedly rejected claims that Roundup causes cancer, saying that decades of studies have shown the weedkiller and its main ingredient — glyphosate — to be safe for human use. Nevertheless, earlier this month Bayer reached a $2 billion (€ 1.7 billion) deal to resolve future legal claims Roundup causes cancer. The settlement would cover claims brought by people who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — a type of cancer — and were exposed to the weedkiller before their diagnosis. jsi/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | 0Business
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Hong Kong's District Court on Thursday sentenced activist Joshua Wong to another 10 months in prison for participating in an unauthorized assembly on June 4 last year to mark the anniversary of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. The 24-year-old was sentenced alongside three district councilors. Judge Stanley Chan sentenced Lester Shum, Jannell Leung and Tiffany Yuen to between four and six months. Wong, Shum and Yuen were also facing charges under the new national security law. "The sentence should deter people from offending and re-offending in the future," Chan said. The judge said the four defendants' attendance at the vigil was "deliberate, premeditated... and openly defied the law." Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai is also set to appear in court on Thursday over his participation in the June 4 vigil. He also faces a fraud charge. Twenty others facing similar charges for their role in Tiananmen commemorations are scheduled to appear in court on June 11. Wong, one of the most prominent faces of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, is already serving a total of 17.5 months in jail for two illegal assembly convictions linked to protests in 2019; he is among 47 activists charged under the national security law. His 15-month sentence was reduced to 10 because he pleaded guilty to taking part in the banned protest over the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The annual candlelight vigil was banned last year for the first time in Hong Kong due to pandemic-related restrictions on group gatherings. Some 20,000 people gathered anyway in what was largely a peaceful event. Since then, prosecutors have brought charges against more than two dozen democracy activists who showed up at the vigil. Officials have already signaled that this year's vigil could face restrictions again due to the coronavirus. When asked whether commemorating the victims of Tiananmen would violate the new security law, the city's leader Carrie Lam last month said it was important to show respect to the Communist Party, which celebrated its 100-year anniversary this year. Commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown are banned in mainland China, where discussion of the events that took place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing is a highly sensitive topic. In June 1989, the Chinese government said around 200-300 people died, including soldiers and security personnel, when Chinese military tanks and troops moved into Beijing's Tiananmen Square to break up weeks of student-led protests. But rights groups and witnesses say thousands may have been killed. mvb/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa) | 7Politics
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Freiburg 2-1 Borussia Dortmund, Schwarzwald Stadion
(Jeong 49', Schmidt 52' — Moukoko 76') Borussia Dortmund have a problem. The man they've chosen to replace the fired coach Lucien Favre is struggling badly, and with most of their top six rivals winning, Dortmund's qualification for Champions League football — the bare minimum requirement — is starting to look doubtful. Dortmund's performance in Freiburg was dire and, at times, desperate. Erling Haaland was anonymous, Jadon Sancho was ineffective, and Marwin Hitz, Dortmund's second choice goalkeeper, was guilty of a howler that allowed the game to get away from them. Freiburg coach Christian Streich had never beaten Dortmund in 16 attempts, but his maiden win against them was well-earned and relatively comfortable. A wondrous strike by Woo-Yeong Jeong early in the second half set the tone for Freiburg, and just three minutes later, Jonathan Schmidt's speculative long-range shot crept past Hitz, who miscalculated the angle. A late Youssoufa Moukoko consolation did little more than raise hopes before they were ultimately dashed. Dortmund's hierarchy will be starting to get very concerned after a string of poor results. Terzic is a capable young coach who has every chance of carving out a successful career as a head coach — maybe even at Dortmund — but this is a situation that calls for experience. For all his qualities, Dortmund's performances have been incoherent and their defeats have come against teams they expect to beat. It's increasingly clear that Terzic is out of his depth. Dortmund looked fatigued having allowed Paderborn to force extra time in the German Cup on Wednesday. That made the decision to start Thomas Delaney, who played 120 minutes, in Freiburg all the more puzzling, particularly with Mahmoud Dahoud at his disposal. Pinning their top four hopes on a rookie coach was always a move that came with its risks. Had it worked out, then Hans-Joachim Watzke would look like a genius. But fail and he puts everything at risk. Dortmund are a club that needs Champions League football as a bare minimum to attract the types of players they feel they deserve, as veteran defender Mats Hummels was only too aware of at full time. "Of course, the Champions League goal is in danger," he told Sky. "We have to fight for that. That's the least we have to achieve, we know that." Emre Can, another player to start in Freiburg despite clocking up 120 minutes against Paderborn, demanded improvement: "It wasn't a bad game from us, but we always lose the same way," said the midfielder. "The turnaround has to come quickly, I can't imagine Dortmund not playing internationally." The question is, where do Dortmund go from here? Can they afford to wait for Marco Rose? There are some big games approaching, with Sevilla in the Champions League, a Ruhr Derby and Klassiker among their next five. It’s a run of fixtures that promises to define their season, and the way things are going, not in a positive way. Dortmund have to choose whether they can wait for their prime target, or move quickly for someone who can at least salvage their season. There are some names out there: Rafael Benitez, Maurizio Sarri or Jesse Marsch, who is probably the most attainable right now. But Dortmund need to act decisively on their next coach if they are to avoid drifting out of Germany’s established order. The season ends in May and there’s still time for a lot more damage to be done. | 9Sports
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Germany is seeking to buy a consignment of US F-35 fighter jets to replace its aging Tornado fleet, the German Defense Ministry has told parliament. The decision comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last month announced a massive boost in defense spending as the Ukraine conflict forces Berlin to reassess its foreign and defense policies. Berlin is seeking to use the Lockheed Martin planes to replace the Tornados, which were introduced more than 40 years ago. In light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Scholz said he would bring the nation's investments above a key NATO commitment of 2% of GDP. The F-35 is considered the world's most modern combat aircraft. Its unique shape and outer coating make the jet difficult for enemy radar to detect. At present, the Tornado is the only German jet capable of carrying US nuclear bombs, stored in Germany, in case of a conflict. However, the German air force has been flying those planes since the 1980s, and they are due to be phased out between 2025 and 2030. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The government was seeking more information on when the planes could be delivered, according to a document circulated to lawmakers. "In a first step, we will put in a formal request with the US government for the purchase of the F-35A in order to get clarity regarding delivery timelines and options for cooperation in training and maintenance," the document said. Announcing an increase in military spending, Chancellor Scholz said the German army would receive €100 billion ($113 billion) for investments and armament projects. Germany plans to buy up to 35 of the planes, sources said. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has said there will be no "shopping spree" after being promised the sum. Concerns had previously arisen that buying the F-35 aircraft could scupper joint plans with France to build a joint European combat aircraft. The procurement of F-35s would also prove a blow for Boeing, whose F-18 was the preferred option of former German defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to replace the Tornado. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video rc/aw (Reuters, dpa) | 2Conflicts
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European Union interior ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss a joint refugee policy as millions flee Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They agreed on a plan to coordinate the sheltering capacity between member states based on a solidarity approach. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 3.8 million people have fled as Russian forces attack civilian targets and hit cities like Mariupol with constant shelling. Over 2 million refugees have arrived in neighboring Poland, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in fellow EU member states Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. Polish officials have warned that their asylum system could buckle under the pressure of so many arrivals in such a short time. Ylva Johansson, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, spoke to reporters after the meeting. She said that the ministers had agreed on a 10-point plan. It included creating an EU-wide registration system for Ukrainian refugees and to improve transport coordination to help people move between countries. The EU will set up an anti-trafficking plan as well as giving direct support to Moldova, a non-EU state on the border with Ukraine that has taken in thousands of refugees already. "We have received in the EU 3.8 million refugees from Ukraine. Out of those, half of them are children," Johansson said. But "the number of arrivals is going down," she said. "At the peak we had 100,000 arrivals per day, now it's down to 40,000 per day." German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters before the special EU meeting that the bloc needs a system based "on solidarity" to fairly distribute refugees arriving from Ukraine rather than with quotas. However, after the meeting she appeared disappointed with what the ministers had agreed on. "It would have been good if it had been applied in a very binding way," Faeser said. She welcomed the 10-point plan, but said that an agreement on taking in refugees would need to be made binding at some point. "The more refugees come, the greater the desire will be for a binding distribution," she said. A letter written by Faeser and her Polish counterpart Mariusz Kaminski also called for a fixed payment of €1,000 ($1,100) to member states for each refugee they take in, dpa reported. Faeser has previously called on the bloc to do more to make the distribution of refugees more equal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees had already arrived in Germany. A common approach marks a significant shift to how the bloc approaches a refugee influx. In 2015, with millions arriving from Syria and Iraq, schemes to evenly spread out refugee resettlement were bitterly contested by several member states, and processes for dealing with new arrivals varied widely across Europe. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ab, es/wmr (Reuters, dpa) | 2Conflicts
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A male polar killed a female polar bear while attempting to mate at the Detroit Zoo in the US state of Michigan, staff said Tuesday. Scott Carter, the chief life sciences officer of the zoo, told WDIV-TV, a local news channel, that an aggressive encounter while mating led to the death of 20-year-old Anana by the male polar bear Nuka. "When bears and other large carnivores breed it is sometimes described in nature as an aggressive encounter. It usually involves physical control of the female by the male, which usually includes him holding her by the back of the neck," he said. Staff at the zoo said that they were devastated by the tragic event. Nuka and Anana had previously lived together in 2020 without any incident. They were apart for a few months and re-introduced to each other last week as part of a conservation program for captive animal populations. Carter said that Nuka, who has been in the zoo since 2011, had previously bred with other bears without showcasing harmful behavior. Nuka had fathered twin cubs recently with another polar bear, Suka. The Detroit zoo last witnessed the killing of one animal by another back in 1988 - that incident also occurred with polar bears. The Associated Press contributed to this report | 6Nature and Environment
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The monsoon rains that batter India each summer, unleashing 80% of the country's yearly rainfall in four months crucial for its farmers, are at the whim of forces far beyond its borders. Summer dust storms in the Arabian Peninsula and fossil fuels burned in countries across the world are causing heavier seasonal rains in India, according to two separate studies of a precarious climate system upon which more than 1 billion people rely on for food. The first study, a paper published in the journal Earth-Science Reviews in April, found that dust particles swept into the atmosphere from deserts in the Middle East grow so hot under sunlight that they change the air pressure over the Arabian Sea. This creates a kind of heat pump in the sky, which drives moisture from above the ocean to the Indian subcontinent, leading to a wetter monsoon season that then strengthens winds and could whip up even more dust particles. The second study, published in the journal Earth Systems Dynamics on Wednesday, found that human-wrought climate change is making the Indian summer monsoon wetter and more erratic. Using the latest climate models, researchers from Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) found that every additional degree of warming is likely to increase monsoon rainfall by 5%. The Earth has already warmed by more than 1 degree Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Revolution, and a November United Nations report found world leaders' plans to keep it to 1.5 C this century "woefully inadequate," adding that global heating is on track to more than double that. The countries least responsible — such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh — are typically poorer and more reliant on agriculture than historical emitters, and already suffer from worsening weather extremes. "The summer monsoon is even more sensitive to global warming than previously thought," said lead author Anja Katzenberger from PIK. "We have the power to shape the intensity of these changes via [our] greenhouse gas emissions." The English word monsoon comes from the Arabic mawsim, meaning season. It refers to the twice-yearly shifts in prevailing wind direction that bring warm rains to land in the summer, and send cold, dry air to the sea in the winter. In parts of India like the Western Ghats, the coming and going of the summer monsoon is strong enough to turn semi-arid mountains into lush green landscapes. For thousands of years, farmers have timed the planting and harvesting of staple foods like rice and wheat to the beat of the monsoon, which varies naturally from year to year. But as greenhouse gases clog up the atmosphere, trapping sunlight and warming the planet, scientists expect the monsoon to become increasingly chaotic. "More erratic rainfall in the future poses a challenge for farmers to cope with a broader range of potential rainfall amounts," said Katzenberger. At first glance, an increase in rainfall might seem good for crops — but too much can significantly lower yields for some plants during the growing season, she added. Most Indians rely on agriculture for their livelihood, and their crops are highly sensitive to rainfall variability. Climate scientists from three separate institutions told DW via email that the PIK study is in line with previous climate modeling that projects Indian summer monsoons will get wetter and more chaotic as greenhouse gas levels rise. "This new paper, based on the most recent models, supports earlier research," said Andrew Turner, an associate professor in monsoon systems at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. The study finds that "even with modest warming projected under the low-emission trajectories, the monsoons are likely to intensify," said Deepti Singh, an assistant professor in the School of the Environment at Washington State University Vancouver. "One of the key findings is that these latest climate models project even more pronounced intensification of the monsoon." But not all of the new climate models used in the analysis simulate monsoon circulation well, and that "reduces confidence in the results," said Roxy Matthew Koll from the Center for Climate Change Research at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. "There is, however, one factor that all climate model projections agree with: That the extreme rainfall events are going to increase. In fact, this is already visible in observations." Scientists struggle to assess monsoon patterns because they depend on competing factors. Although climate change is warming the planet, changes in land use along with aerosol emissions — from vehicle exhaust fumes and crop burning, for instance — are cooling factors. Since 1950, Indian summer monsoon rainfall has actually declined. Scientists think this is because of a solar dimming effect from those energy-absorbing aerosols. The effect could "still partly offset greenhouse gas-induced increases in monsoon rainfall in the next 10 or 20 years or so," said Turner. But even though most aerosols lead to less rainfall, some can have the opposite effect. The heavy layers of black carbon and sulfate hanging over South Asia — home to the most chokingly polluted cities on the planet — cool the surface and reduce monsoon rains. Yet mineral dust blown over from the Middle East heats the atmosphere and can instead increase rainfall. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video While most studies agree that these dust aerosols strengthen the Indian summer monsoon, their estimates of how and where rain is likely to fall vary widely, according to the new Earth-Science Reviews paper on dust in the Mideast. Understanding these processes better could help modelers trying to predict rainfall, said Qinjian Jin, lead author of that study and a lecturer at the University of Kansas in the United States. "Our understanding [of] the monsoon is very limited, even though we have made promising progress during the past several decades," he wrote in an email Since the beginning of the century, global warming has overtaken other human activities like aerosol emissions in driving Indian summer monsoon rains, Katzenberger concluded. "This is projected to continue to do so for the rest of the century." Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that some climate models do not simulate monsoon dynamics well, rather than not simulating them at all. | 6Nature and Environment
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A 35-year manhunt in France may have ended after the discovery of the body of a man thought to have been a notorious serial killer and rapist, French media reported on Thursday. The corpse of a former police officer found in the southern town of Grau-du-Roi on Wednesday is believed to be that of the man nicknamed "Le Grele" or "the pockmarked killer," who is blamed for four murders and six rapes since 1986. According to the news magazines Le Point and Le Parisien, the man, identified only as 59-year-old Francois V., killed himself after justice authorities began to focus on him as a suspect in the crimes, which include the rape and murder of 11-year-old Cecile Bloch in Paris in 1986. Reports said the man left behind a letter in which he identified himself as Le Grele. They said a DNA test was being carried out on the body. Le Parisien reported that authorities had been on the man's tail and had ordered him to appear before a committing magistrate but that he had failed to comply. In his letter, the man reportedly wrote that he had not been in a good state at the time of the crimes but that he had since "got himself together." Le Grele's other suspected murder victims included one man, Gilles Politi, 38, a 20-year-old German woman, Irmgard Müller, and 19-year-old Karine Leroy.
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Brazil is set to mark the 200th anniversary of its independence with the heart of Emperor Pedro I, a beloved figure in Brazilian and Portuguese history. Pedro I declared Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822. The heart has been loaned to Brazil by the Portuguese city of Porto, where it currently resides. It was separated from Dom Pedro's body upon his death and has been preserved in formaldehyde inside a glass jar in a golden urn ever since. The rest of the former emperor's body rests in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. "Today the heart of this national hero, the first emperor of Brazil, returns home to our soil. This important relic represents the bravery, passion and above all the immeasurable strength of our first emperor," Defense Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira said at a ceremony on Monday to welcome the organ at an air base in Brasilia. The heart was received in Brasilia like a formal state visit, and received military honors. "It will be treated as if Dom Pedro I were alive and with us... just as if it were a state visit by a foreign leader," said Alan Coelho, chief of ceremonial protocol at the Brazilian foreign ministry. Dom Pedro fled to Brazil escorted by the British navy with his family as a nine-year-old boy, when French leader Napoleon Bonaparte's army invaded Portugal in 1807. He stayed behind to rule the then-colony of Portugal. Going against his father King Joao VI's wishes, Pedro I declared Brazil an independent country on September 7, 1822, and became its first emperor. He returned to Portugal, as his younger brother tried to usurp the throne and turn it back to a monarchy from a constitutional government. But Pedro I led forces into Porto in support of the constitutionalists, winning the power struggle. He ultimately died of tuberculosis in 1834, at the age of 35. He was celebrated in both Brazil and Portugal as a champion of liberal causes and representative rule. At his request, his heart was removed and kept in Porto. His remains were donated to Brazil in 1972 for the 150th commemoration of independence and are kept in a museum in Sao Paulo. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will hold an official ceremony for the heart on Tuesday. The nine-kilogram (20-pound) urn will then go on display for 17 days at the foreign ministry headquarters, Itamaraty Palace. The heart will be under surveillance of a police officer sent by Porto city, before being returned on September 8. Some have criticized parading the heart, saying it is reminiscent of when Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985) brought the rest of Pedro I's body back from Portugal, in 1972. "This is going to be a farce by Bolsonaro, welcoming this heart like a visiting dignitary," historian Lilia Schwarcz, who has written books on Pedro I and Brazilian independence, told AFP. tg/jcg(AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Last updated at 15:08 GMT/UTC. Live updates are now closed. German tabloid Bild reported that CDU leader Armin Laschet admitted mistakes at the CDU/CSU parliamentary group meeting: "We were able to prevent red-red-green, but that is also the only consolation. We have to work through the result, in the opposition, but also in the government." Laschet continued, "I have made mistakes. Some culpable, some unintentional. I want to apologize to those who suffered as a result." The CDU and CSU parliamentary meeting is starting shortly. Ahead of the meeting, Ralph Brinkhaus, the parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU group in the German Bundestag, and Alexander Dobrindt gave statements to the media. Brinkhaus said: "We are ready to negotiate with the Greens and the FDP, but not any price." He commented on the result from Sunday's election that saw the party lose 8% points compared to the last election, saying: "We are all very sad about the result." He said that "there's no way to make it look better." Markus Söder, the leader of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party to the CDU, congratulated the SPD and its chancellor candidate, saying: "Olaf Scholz currently has the best chance of becoming chancellor, unequivocally." Söder also called for "stability and order." He distanced himself from rumors in Berlin, including about who could lead possible exploratory talks on a Jamaica coalition — the name for a coalition between the CDU, FDP and Greens due to their party-colors corresponding with those on the Jamaica flag. Some in the CDU/CSU conservative bloc are calling for CDU leader Armin Laschet to step down after the bloc suffered its worst election result since World War II. The Berlin Senate, the capital's executive governing body, has acknowledged problems in Sunday's elections. But it rejected the impression of Berlin-wide chaos, Germany's public-funded ARD reported. Senate Chancellery head Christian Gäbler said after a Senate meeting that problems were encountered at a double-digit number out of a total of 2245 polling stations. So far, there has not been any indications of such serious errors that a repetition of Sunday's ballot looked likely, Gäbler said. Local media on Sunday reported that some voters faced waits of over an hour before being able to cast their ballots as well as ballot paper shortages and mix-ups at polling stations. DW political correspondent Giulia Saudelli said that parties are beginning to prepare for coalition talks "behind the scenes." She added that such talks "could get complicated and could last a long time." Both the center-right CDU and center-left SPD have mooted a three-party coalition with kingmakers the FDP and Greens. But party members and experts have pointed out that there are few overlaps between the policies of the environmentalist Greens' and pro-free market FDP's. According to German media network RND, some within the CDU want Bavarian state premier Markus Söder to lead potential coalition talks with the Greens and FDP as the conservative bloc's would-be next chancellor. Söder is the lead of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the CSU, and lost the group's most recent leadership election to Armin Laschet. Much of the blame over the CDU's poor perfomance on Sunday has been blamed on Laschet, and his unpopularity appears to be growing in the aftermath. According to the report, the possible pivot to Söder came after CDU members learned that the Green party may put party co-chair Robert Habeck forward as their possible vice chancellor in a future government, instead of chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock. More left-leaning members of the Greens are meeting today, according to German media reports, in the hope to counter what they see as the party losing touch with its radical roots and giving up some of its core values in order to join the next government. In the spotlight is the possibility of a coalition with the pro-free market FDP. Decisions about the future "are decided by the party, not two people in a private discussion," member Jürgen Trittin told Der Spiegel magazine, referring to party leaders Baerbock and Habeck. Germany "needs a government that will keep in line with 1.5 degree [Celsius]" global temperature increase goals, Trittin said. He added that he found it distasteful that Baerbock was apparently being scapegoated in favor of Habeck. DW political correspondent Giulia Saudelli said while there can be no guarantees, the German public have had their say on the coalition they prefer to form a government. "In politics, as in life, there are no certainties," she said. "And coalition talks can become very complicated and sometimes fall apart. But what we know now is that the Social Democrats are taking on this election result as a mandate for them to form a government, in this case with the Greens and the Free Democrats, and it seems like the German public are also in favor of this option. Polls show that a majority of Germans would like to see this three-way government be formed." Germany's eastern state of Saxony bucked the nationwide downward trend in Sunday's election with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party emerging as the strongest, comfortably ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Greens barely managed to get above 5% in the state. In neighboring Thuringia, the AfD also narrowly beat the Social Democrats to become the largest single party. Read more here to find out what's next for the AfD after the party lost around two percentage points in comparison with its 2017 result. The party need a "speedy rehabilitation" of both political content and top personnel, said MIT, the CDU's economic policy arm in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. The group pointed not only to Sunday's disappointing result on the federal level, but also the losses it suffered in Baden-Württemberg's state elections this year and in 2016. The wealthy southwestern state was a longtime CDU stronghold, and remains so on the federal level even as state and many municipal offices have been ceded to the Green Party. Despite calling for fresh faces, MIT said it was also a mistake not to put Friedrich Merz, Chancellor Merkel's and candidate Armin Laschet's former rival for party leadership, in a more prominent position during the campaign. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A survey carried out by the research firm Civey for the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper found that 71% of respondents thought it was wrong for the CDU to form a government when the vote tallies showed the party had lost support and come in second place. Only 55% of CDU voters stood behind leader Armin Laschet, the study found. A similar poll carried out by the German mass-circulation Bild found that 58% of respondents did not think the CDU had a mandate to govern. The Greens' parliamentary spokesperson, Lisa Badum, believes her party can take heart from both the improvement on their result in 2017 and that they gained a large share of the younger vote, "whereas the conservatives lost this election, so for me the direction is quite clear," she told DW. "What we have seen with the election is a clear mandate for tackling the climate crisis," she said. "We gained nearly 6% [on 2017] and our main topic was climate protection. Especially the younger generation, they voted for us, so I think it's quite clear people want something to go forward." Badum said it was important that the next government improve upon the record of the previous as she looked toward coalition talks. "We had a failure in climate politics in the last years of the grand coalition," she said. "That's why we want a change [...] that's why the Greens are so important in government. Every party, except the AfD, addressed the topic of climate protection, so every party has to deliver now." As if trying to head off any attempts by the CDU to begin coalition talks, the center-left SPD said on Tuesday that it would be ready to start negotiations with the Greens and FDP as soon as this week. "We have invited them to begin coalition discussions," said Rolf Mützenich, the SPD's parliamentary chair, "already this week, if they wish." He added that the Social Democrats "are ready for not just speedy, but also open discussions. If there are problems [between the parties], they will be solved on the way." During Germany's last election in 2017, coalition talks lasted nearly six months. The SPD initially appeared ready to take its time, with Olaf Scholz calling a promise to have a government before Christmas "absurd." However, he did a quick about-face after the CDU also claimed a mandate to form a government, saying that the Christmas deadline could be met. Members of the top four parties are set to hold closed-door meetings, with press statements expected later in the day. Representatives from the Green Party and the FDP are expected to meet to try and find common ground between their disparate visions for Germany's future. The conservative bloc of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, is taking stock after suffering its worst federal election outcome since the party's founding in 1945. Much of the blame has been laid at the feet of Armin Laschet, whose campaign was marred by gaffes and a perceived lack of Merkel's trustworthy and competent persona. Despite this, Laschet announced on Monday that he would still try to form a government with himself as chancellor, a move some CDU members are becoming increasingly impatient with. "We should humbly and respectfully accept the will of the voters, with modesty and composure," said Hesse's State Premier Volker Bouffier, a CDU member. Tilman Kuban, the head of the CDU's youth organization, echoed Bouffier's sentiments, saying "we have no mandate to govern. We lost the election. Period." The CDU was clearly not united in this thinking, however, as Hamburg's party chief Christop Ploss told public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday morning that it was important to at least try to form a coalition with the Greens and FDP. "We don't know if we will be in the government or in the opposition," he said, "but a representative is being chosen now to lead exploratory coalition talks." jsi, es/rs (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 7Politics
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The burial ceremony of Algeria's longest-serving president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, took place on Sunday amid mixed reactions to his death. Bouteflika passed away at the age of 84 on Friday. He had stepped down two years ago after his bid to run for a fifth presidential term sparked mass protests. He was buried at a cemetery in the capital, where former presidents and independence fighters were laid to rest — but without the fanfare or honors accorded to them. Algeria's incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, top government officials and foreign diplomats gathered at the cemetery, guarded by blue and black-uniformed security officers. While other presidents had lain in state at the People's Palace, Bouteflika's lying-in-state was canceled, according to the French AFP news agency. Algeria has declared a period of mourning for three days, instead of eight. French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday described Bouteflika as a "major figure" of modern Algeria and a key partner for France during his years in power. Macron sent his condolences to the Algerian people and said Paris remained committed to maintaining close relations with the former French colony, according to an official statement cited by AFP. Morocco's King Mohamed VI sent a message of condolence to Tebboune for Bouteflika's death, despite severed diplomatic ties between the two North African countries. The Moroccan monarch said that "history retains that the late Bouteflika marked an important stage in the modern history of Algeria," according to Morocco's state news agency MAP. The announcement of Bouteflika's death triggered muted reactions in Algeria, and hatred surrounding his figure spread on social media platforms. Dubbed "Boutef" by Algerians, he had won respect as a foreign minister in the 1970s as well as for helping foster post-civil war peace. He became president in 1999 and served for nearly two decades. But his rule was marked by widespread corruption, and critics see his mandate as a time of missed opportunities for Algeria. The protests that forced him to step down in 2019 eventually grew into a pro-democracy movement known as "Hirak." fb/jlw (AFP, dpa, EFE, Reuters) | 7Politics
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A German veterinary clinic has trained dogs that can detect COVID-19 with 94% accuracy, even if people are asymptomatic. The dogs were conditioned to sniff out the "coronavirus odor" that is emitted from cells in infected people, said Esther Schalke, a veterinarian at Germany's armed forces school for service dogs. Filou, a 3-year-old Belgian Shepherd, and Joe Cocker, a 1-year-old Cocker Spaniel, are two of the dogs that are being trained at Hanover's University of Veterinary Medicine. Holger Volk, head of the clinic, said the dogs could accurately detect COVID-19 94% of the time in more than 1,000 samples. "So dogs can really sniff out people with infections and without infections, as well as asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID patients," said Volk. Stephan Weil, the state premier of Lower Saxony, said he was impressed with the study and called for more tests before the dogs wereput to work in the real world. "We now need tests in selected events," said Weil. Sniffer dogs have already been in use at airports in Helsinki, Finland, Santiago, Chile, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sniffer dogs have also been used to check fans at Miami Heat basketball games in the United States. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video kbd/msh (dpa, Reuters) | 5Health
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The quarrel between Washington and Beijing over the incursion of a Chinese balloon into United States airspace continued on Tuesday. The suspected surveillance balloon was shot down off the South Carolina coast on Saturday after a days-long journey across the US mainland. When asked on Tuesday whether Beijing had asked the US to return debris from the balloon, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said it belonged to China. "What I can say is that this airship belongs to China and not the United States," the spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular news briefing. "This balloon is not American. The Chinese government will continue to defend its legitimate rights and interests," she added. The US Coast Guard has imposed a temporary security zone in waters off South Carolina during the military's search for debris from the balloon. US President Joe Biden said the plan was always to shoot it down. "We made it clear to China what we're going to do," he said. "They understand our position. We're not going to back off. We did the right thing, and it's not a question of weakening or strengthening - it's reality." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Beijing condemned the shooting down of the balloon as an "obvious overreaction" and urged Washington to show restraint. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the balloon's flight over the United States had done nothing to improve already tense relations with China. He dismissed Beijing's contention it was for meteorological purposes. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to Beijing over the weekend when news of the balloon became public. Kirby said Blinken would seek to reschedule his trip. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US approach to relations with China would remain calm. "It's up to China to figure out what kind of relationship they want," she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video General Glen D. VanHerck, who oversees the US military's North American Aerospace Defense Command, said that at least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden's time as president, balloons have crossed American airspace. He added intelligence sources "made us aware of those balloons" after they had left US airspace." "I will tell you that we did not detect those threats. And that's a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out." VanHerck said. He said the downed balloon carried a payload that he would "categorize... as a jet airliner type of size, maybe a regional jet." He added debris from the balloon was spread on the waters over "15 football fields by 15 football fields square.'' A US football field is 100 yards (91 m) long. US Senators would receive a classified briefing on the balloon situation on Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office said. National security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the US was "still piecing through'' which Chinese officials knew what about the balloon and would wait to speak publicly about China's intentions. China apologized to Costa Rica for a balloon that flew over its territory, the Central American country's government said late on Monday. According to Costa Rica's foreign ministry, China's Embassy in San Jose "apologized for the incident" while insisting the balloon was focused on scientific research, mainly weather studies. It wasn't immediately clear whether the aircraft was the same one that was spotted over Colombia on Friday. lo/es (AP, dpa, Reuters) | 7Politics
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It was a moment of goodbye: At the conclusion of the Compact with Africa (CwA) conference on Friday, a good dozen African heads of state used the opportunity to wish German Chancellor Angela Merkel farewell before she leaves office after the federal election at the end of September. During her tenure, Merkel has been personally involved in economic and social development in sub-Saharan Africa, often putting economy, health and education issues on the agenda along with development opportunities for women and girls. "Africa has really gained leadership [with her help], and Germany has taken the lead in supporting Africa," Guinean President Alpha Conde told DW when asked to take stock of Merkel's Africa policy. "Not only with the Compact, but also with the African Renewable Energy Initiative, Germany has made a very big contribution." Moussa Faki, the chairman of the African Union Commission, praised Merkel and her Compact with Africa initiative. "It is an important initiative," said Faki. "Africa needs investment for its development, but Africa also needs investment in peace and security. This is a prerequisite for the fate of the African continent today." Merkel succeeded in giving "an important impetus to Germany's presence in Africa," he said. "I welcome that! You have to strengthen this partnership between Africa and Europe, between Africa and Germany." South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also thanked Merkel during the summit, saying, "We will greatly miss you." Merkel's contribution, he said, had led to many things developing in favor of the continent. CwA was launched in 2017 under Germany's G20 presidency. The aim of the initiative is to improve investment conditions in African countries and boost the economy. It includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. During the summit, Merkel called for significantly more investment, but also reforms on Europe's neighboring continent. "Africa has so much market potential, but it also needs to be better exploited," she said Friday. One focus, she said, must be on renewable energies. "Their expansion is of enormous importance for us to actually achieve our global climate goals," she said. South Africa's Ramaphosa emphasized the increased need for capital that African countries have as a result of the coronavirus crisis. He also added that Africa is dissatisfied with the continent's access to international capital markets. Merkel also called for more commitment to independent production of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa, saying they were also key to boosting the economy. African Union countries import 99% of their vaccines, according to the community. While nearly 60% of the population in the world's richer countries had been vaccinated against COVID-19 at least once, only about 2% of the population in Africa has been vaccinated — a figure which Merkel described as a "dramatic injustice." She said the first concrete projects were underway to develop vaccine production in countries such as Rwanda, Senegal and, above all, South Africa. She also stressed that Germany would be able to give the international vaccination initiative COVAX not just 30 million vaccine doses this year, but 70 million. For Merkel, the economic well-being of the continent is linked to the availability of vaccines. And that is something she did not fail to point out once more at what was probably her last Compact with Africa conference. | 7Politics
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine and climate change dominated speeches at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday. The first day of the weeklong assembly saw leaders from across the world share their concerns about the quaking international order and global challenges such as hunger and climate change, which have been exacerbated by the war's effect on inflation, and food and energy prices. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appeared virtually from Ukraine, blamed Moscow for willingly causing the food crisis. "Any state that provokes famine, that tries to make access to food a privilege, that tries to make the protection of nations from famine dependent on [...] the mercy of some dictator — such a state must get the toughest reaction from the world," Zelensky said. He blamed Russian blockades of Ukrainian ports and other "immoral actions" for disrupting exports from the country, which under normal circumstances is a major agricultural producer. "Russia must bear responsibility for this," he said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for reforms of the United Nations Security Council after expressing disappointment over the failure of the institution to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of Russia's veto right as a permanent member. In his speech, Kishida said, "The foundation of the international order is violently shaken right now," implying that the United Nations had lost part of its impact in maintaining world peace. French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to countries to not stay neutral and instead condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, declaring that the war amounted to a new type of imperialism. Macron insisted that negotiations to end the war could only succeed "if Ukraine's sovereignty is respected, its territory liberated and its security protected.'' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "trying to blackmail the international community with food" through his invasion of Ukraine in February. "There is no peace with hunger, and we cannot combat hunger without peace," Sanchez added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heavily criticized Putin's invasion of Ukraine, calling it an act of "imperialism plain and simple" during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Similarly to Macron, he urged other leaders to not remain passive, highlighting Russia's nuclear weapons and apparent war crimes committed in Ukraine. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Marshall Islands President David Kabua both urged industrialized nations and the global community to take up more responsibility for countries already affected by climate change. Marcos said, "The time for talk about 'if' and 'when' has long since passed," calling on industrialized countries to fulfill their obligations to cut greenhouse gasses and support developing countries. "The effects of climate change are uneven and reflect a historical injustice: Those who are least responsible suffer the most,'' Marcos said. "This injustice must be corrected and those who need to do more must act now.'' "The world's richest people have put its poorest at risk," he added. Kabua criticized how "The world has failed to break our addiction to fossil fuels," stressing that not enough investments have been made on climate change adaptation, especially for small island states such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. "Today, we renew our call to the world to declare total war on this century's greatest challenge: the climate change monster,'' he said. Kabua went on to urge world leaders to cut down on fossil fuel reliance while drastically upping investment into renewable energies. los/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa) | 7Politics
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The mayor of Leipzig and the state premier of Saxony on Tuesday sought to distance themselves from the latest images to come from weekly Monday night demonstrations in the eastern German state. The videos, showing protesters chanting slogans against Ukrainian refugees, received wide media coverage in Germany. Demonstrators gathered in Leipzig to protest issues including German energy policy and sanctions against Russia,with the rally held under the motto "for peace, freedom and self-determination." In the videos from the event, the protesters could be seen chanting at counter-protesters waving Ukrainian flags on the other side of the road. The audible chants in the video footage included "Nazis out," apparently an allusion to Russia repeatedly labeling Ukrainian authorities as fascist, and words to the effect of "get lost, you're living at our expense." Police said on Tuesday that they were aware of the footage and had reviewed it but were not aware of anything in it that could warrant prosecution. The authorities also noted an old military Wehrmacht flag with the motto "don't complain, fight" written on it had also been brought to their attention. However, this flag is not one of the symbols listed as banned in Germany due to their connection with the Nazi regime, they said. Various demonstrations have taken to the streets of Saxony and other primarily eastern German states repeatedly in recent weeks, usually on a Monday evening. The timing is a nod to the regular Monday protests that proved a precursor to the fall of the Berlin Wall and later East Germany and the Soviet Union. Some of the marches are more right wing, some more left wing, most oppose either sanctions against Russia or weapons deliveries to Ukraine, or both, and are upset about rising costs of living. Counter-demonstrations are also common. During the peak of the COVID pandemic, groups in the same region also rallied on Mondays against COVID-related restrictions. Commenting on the latest incident, Leipzig's Mayor Burkhard Jung said that the anger being targeted at refugees seemed to hail from "a strange mixture of right-wing radicalism, enemies of democracy, this odd presumption that one understands Putin, and Reichsbürger," with that last one a reference to a renowned German group that rejects the modern government and state as illegitimate. Jung said he found the images "unbearable," and said that a collective response was needed, "with backbone and clarity." He said this should demonstrate resistance and an attachment to one of the more famous lines in Germany's postwar constitution, its first article: "Human dignity shall be inviolable." Saxony's state premier Michael Kretschmer called the images "unthinkable and unacceptable." He said he regretted it all the more given that the protesters' chants in his view did not represent a majority view in Saxony. "In so many places we've witnessed, in a wonderful way, how love thy neighbor is practiced here," Kretschmer said. "That's why we condemn this. It disgusts us and we are defending ourselves against it." Germany has a large community with roots in Russia, many of whom live in the former eastern states. German police have warned of an uptick in intimidation, threats, vandalism and sometimes physical violence against both Russians and Ukrainians in Germany in recent months as a result of the war. There have also been famous alleged crimes that turned out to be bogus, such as the claims of a Russian teenager being beaten to death by Ukrainians in Germany that circulated in March. Germany's Russian-rooted community has also shown internal division on the war itself. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Polls repeatedly point to friendlier attitudes towards Russia in states that were once part of Communist East Germany like Saxony. Voting habits in these states also tend to be different, with both right-wing and left-wing political forces liable to fare better that in the rest of Germany. Even Saxony state leader Kretschmer, nominally a center-right Christian Democrat, has courted major media attention with his comments on the Ukraine war. His party is currently in opposition on the national level and has been trying to portray itself as tougher on Moscow than the current government. But Kretschmer has been a high-profile voice arguing against things like German weapons exports to Ukraine and also insisting on redoubling peace efforts. One fiery TV appearance prompted Ukraine to say it was calling off a prior invitation for him to visit Kyiv. msh/dj (epd, dpa) | 7Politics
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The Republican Party have won a majority of seats in the US House of Representatives, after results from crucial midterm elections were tallied on Thursday. The final call from the Associated Press came after more than a week of ballot counting, with Republicans securing the 218th seat required to gain control of the House. The result returns the conservative party to power in Washington, allowing them to resist Biden's agenda and start a flurry of investigations. President Joe Biden's Democrats will now be relegated to the minority in the lower chamber of US Congress. The House will now have to determine who will serve as the speaker. California Republican Kevin McCarthy has the backing of a majority of his caucus to run for the powerful position to succeed Nancy Pelosi., but underwhelming party performance may dampen his party's ability to rule. McCarthy welcomed news of the result and tweeted: "Republicans have officially flipped the People's House! Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver." US President Joe Biden said in a statement issued by the White House, that "last weeks elections demonstrated the strength and resilience of American democracy," and added that "There was a strong rejection of election deniers, political violence, and intimidation." "I congratulate Leader McCarthy on Republicans winning the House majority, and am ready to work with House Republicans to deliver results for working families," Biden said after news of the Republican victory became known. "I will work with anyone — Republican or Democrat — willing to work with me to deliver results for the American people," Biden added. The news comes a day after former President Donald Trump announced he would make a new run for the White House in 2024. kb,wd/aw (AP, Reuters, AFP) | 7Politics
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Polish pipeline operator PERN said on Wednesday that its automated detection systems had found a leak in one line of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to Europe. PERN said that it was still unclear what might have caused the leak, which was detected on Tuesday evening. According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, it is too early to say whether the leak was accidental damage or was caused by sabotage. "Many steps point straight to the Kremlin, but we want to be very responsible and only then confirm our assumptions," he told Polish state-owned radio broadcaster PR3. In a statement on its website, PERN said the leak was located some 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the western city of Plock and was on the main route transporting crude oil to Germany. "The cause of the incident is not known for the moment. Pumping in the affected line was immediately stopped. Line 2 of the pipeline is functioning normally," PERN said. A spokeswoman for the Czech pipeline operator MERO said no change in flows to the Czech Republic had been detected. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The reports come after blasts caused severe damage to pipelines carrying Russian gas in the Baltic Sea, raising fears that critical energy infrastructure could be in danger of sabotage amid tensions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Europe could face a severe energy crisis this winter after Russia cut gas deliveries in what many see as a "weaponization" of energy supplies. Last year, Russia supplied some 35% of Germany's crude oil supply. That share has been cut in response to the invasion, and Germany is now attempting to phase out the remaining amount ahead of an impending European Union embargo on most Russian imports. The German Economy Ministry said on Wednesday that Germany's Schwedt and Leuna refineries were still receiving oil via the pipeline and that the supply was "secure." However, the Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90% of Berlin's fuel, said in an emailed statement to Reuters that deliveries were ongoing but reduced. The Druzhba oil pipeline transports Russian oil to much of central Europe, including Germany, Poland, Belarus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. Its name means "friendship" in Russian. tj/wmr (Reuters, AFP) | 7Politics
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday flew to Saudi Arabia as part of a two-day visit to the Gulf in the hope of securing new energy deals. In Jeddah, Scholz held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, before heading to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, where the World Cup soccer tournament will be held later this year. With the loss of Russian gas supplies as a result of the war in Ukraine, the chancellor is keen to shore up Germany's energy security. It is unclear, however, whether agreements on the import of gas or, in the longer term, green hydrogen would be reached during the visit. Scholz faces a diplomatic balancing act because while human rights abuses are a major issue in the region, he will be keen not to offend potential Arab partners. The German leader has been accompanied by a sizable business delegation on his first trip to the Gulf. Germany's economy remains vulnerable while it weans itself off Russian oil and gas supplies, and the Gulf could provide a useful alternative energy source. Berlin is keen to cooperate on new technologies such as green hydrogen produced using renewable energy, which Germany could import in vast quantities from the Gulf. Ahead of the visit, a German government source told the dpa news agency that the chancellor would address the human rights situation but noted that a "solid working relationship" was needed with the crown prince. The Saudi crown prince has been blamed by US intelligence for authorizing the brutal assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which he has denied. The murder, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, led to a diplomatic crisis between Riyadh and the West, and the crown prince was largely isolated on the international stage. However, both US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron have met with the crown prince this year — a sign of normalized relations amid the West's vulnerability to high fossil fuel prices. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite some reforms, the strictly conservative kingdom continues to face criticism over its human rights record, prompting Renata Alt, the chair of the German parliament's human rights committee, to demand that Scholz take a clear position. "As important as it is to secure energy supplies to Germany, it is equally important to respect human rights worldwide," she told the AFP news agency. "You can't negotiate one without addressing the other." Khalid Ibrahim, the director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, said the chancellor should call for the release of jailed political opponents in the three Gulf countries. He spoke of "arbitrary arrests, torture, as well as arrests of human rights defenders after mock trials on false charges." Reporters Without Borders, meanwhile, said Scholz should make doing business in the region conditional on improvements in press freedom. "[It is critical] that their rulers stop trampling on the media as a fundamental pillar of the rule of law," Christian Mihr, managing director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. mm/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters) While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing. | 7Politics
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Airbnb announced it will close all listings and experiences in mainland China, making it the latest addition in a long list of Western internet platforms that have shut shop in the Chinese market. "We have made the difficult decision to refocus our efforts in China on outbound travel and suspend our homes and Experiences of Hosts in China, starting from July 30, 2022," said Nathan Blecharczyk, the chief strategy officer of Airbnb China, in a statement on its official WeChat account on Tuesday. The short-term property rental service will now focus on serving Chinese tourists looking to make travel bookings abroad. The US-based firm has joined a series of global internet companies, including Yahoo, LinkedIn and eBay, that have pulled out of China in the face of intense local competition and significant regulatory barriers. "The decision was not easy for us and I know that it is even more difficult for you," Blecharczyk said, "We’ve built and grown a thriving Host community in China together and have welcomed more than 25 million guest arrivals since 2016." The decision comes as the Chinese government pushes forth with its controversial "Zero Covid" strategy, which includes a two-week mandatory quarantine for foreign travelers entering the country. The government has also urged the Chinese public to avoid foreign travel if it isn't necessary for business or studyamid the COVID-19 pandemic which was first reported in China in late 2019. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video According to reports, Airbnb would remove close to 150,000 listings in China, which have accounted for roughly 1% of Airbnb’s business in recent years. Airbnb has about six million listings around the world. After entering the Chinese market in 2015, Airbnb took several steps to localize its services, including integrating with Chinese platforms like Tencent Holdings' WeChat. However, it continued to face intense competition from local rivals like Tujia and Xiaozhu. see/dj (AP, Reuters) | 0Business
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This live updates article has now been closed. British railway and postal workers have decided to halt upcoming strikes after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. The Communication Workers Union had announced the continuation of a two-day strike for Friday but canceled it "out of respect" for the queen, as their general secretary Dave Ward said in a statement. "The UK's trade union movement sends our condolences to the Royal Family on the death of the Queen, and recognises her many years of dedicated service to the country," the Trade Union Congress said after postponing their annual conference which would have begun on Sunday. Other unions have joined in by suspending planned walkouts for the duration of a week to the whole month of September. British railway and postal workers weren't the only ones to put a halt to scheduled events. The British Premier League called off all of its games until Monday following the death of the queen, while the Bank of England delayed a scheduled meeting to discuss interest rates by one week. US President Joe Biden announced on Friday that he would attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral in London. The funeral normally takes place ten or eleven days after the death of the monarch, but there's no fixed appointment yet. According to Buckingham Palace, the funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey. Biden ordered flags at the White House and other government buildings to be lowered to half-mast in honor of the queen earlier on Friday until the funeral will be held. "Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States. She helped make our relationship special," he said. US presidents travel notoriously rarely by the standards of most world leaders. King Charles III has addressed the public at a service at St Paul's Cathedral, his first speech since becoming king. He called Elizabeth "an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family. And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example." "Queen Elizabeth's was a life well lived. A promise with destiny kept. And she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today," he said, referring to one of his mother's most famous speeches. "Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling, we also share with so many of you, in the United Kingdom, in all the countries where the queen was head of state, in the Commonwealth, and across the world, a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years in which my mother, as queen, served the people of so many nations," Charles said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The king also highlighted his mother's "fearless embrace of progress" while abiding by tradition. "When she came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of WWII and led by conventions of earlier times," Charles went on to say. Yet, in her lifetime, Britain had become a country of "many cultures and many faiths", with institutions changing in turn. About the new Queen Consort, Camilla, he said: "She will bring steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much." His eldest son William, who is now heir to the throne, will inherit Charles's former Scottish titles and be pronounced as Prince of Wales. Charles went on to say that the new princess and prince of wales "will continue to inspire and lead national conversations, helping to bring the marginalized to the center grounds." The king also expressed love for Harry and Meghan. "The most sincere and heartfelt thanks for your condolences and support. They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express," the new sovereign said. By the end of the speech, the king addressed his mother directly, thanking her for her "love and devotion to our family and our family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. Charles ended his speech with a moving quote from the last scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet: "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." Charles III has welcomed the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss — who was appointed by his mother Queen Elizabeth II three days ago before her tragic death in Balmoral on Thursday — to a private audience at Buckingham Palace. The audience signifies an important constitutional meeting between the UK's head of state and its political leader. The private meetings will be held once a week, with some exceptions, from now on and have been a tradition between the head of state and PM. It is expected that the new PM will express her condolences to the king as well as discussing any matters of state. Both the king and the new prime minister took their respective offices at a time of heightened concern about the energy crisis, the soaring cost of living, the consequences of Brexit as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Onlookers and mourners gathered outside Buckingham Palace crowded at the gates to greet King Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla. Thousands greeted their arrival with cheers, as the royal convoy arrived, accompanied by cheers of "God save the king." Charles exited the car to shake hands with members of the public who came to greet him and share their condolences. Some offered the the king flowers, and offered their sympathies. The king then quietly walked in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace, accompanied by Camilla. The two inspected flowers and notes laid by well-wishers. The 73-year-old monarch is expected to meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss and deliver a speech to the nation later in the evening. King Charles III and his wife Camilla, now known as Queen Consort, have landed at an airbase near London. The two left Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where members of the royal family gathered following the death of the queen. Footage showed Charles and Camilla wearing black and getting in an official royal car. They are now headed to Buckingham Palace. The king is taking the throne at a time of upheaval — when many in the UK are worried about the energy crisis, dealing with the soaring cost of living and the consequences of Brexit, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A special gun salute took place in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Troops fired cannons 96 times — one shot for every year of the queen's life. Earlier on Friday, bells tolled across Britain as the nation started its 10-days of mourning. The gun salute was set up in several areas of the UK — including at the Tower of London, Edinburgh, York, Stonehenge, Cardiff, and on board Royal Navy ships — as well as in British commonwealth countries. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed to the role just days ago, is heading a special session in Parliament to honor Queen Elizabeth II. "Her devotion to duty remains an example to us all," Truss told lawmakers. The queen's death has caused a "heartfelt outpouring of grief" around the world. The prime minister said the UK's new monarch, King Charles III, has a clear sense of duty and service. Truss urged lawmakers to support the monarch, ending her remarks with the words: "God save the King." Kier Starmer, the head of the opposition Labour Party, said that the queen's loss is being felt profoundly not just due to her 70 years on the throne, but "because in spirit, she stood among us." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Katharina Barley, Vice President of the European Parliament and a German-British citizen, said Queen Elizabeth II absence is being felt across Europe. "I always felt that she was a dedicated diplomat, but someone with a strong link to Europe, to the continent, but to the European Union also," Barley said in an interview with DW. The European lawmaker said the late queen "was always the greatest ambassador for her country." She noted Elizabeth's role in helping repair British and German relations after World War II, and noted that "it was always a moment of joy and honor for us" when the queen traveled to Germany on state visits. "She was such an example in so many ways — in discipline, in how she carried out her duties. She was a guarantee for stability. And stability is something we desperately need especially in these days," Barley told DW. Looking ahead to Elizabeth's eldest son and successor, King Charles III, Barley said it will be important for him to bring people together across the UK's divided society. It is important for him to " be the bridge between all these different people in his home country. That will be the big question, because that is the function of monarchy in modern days," the European Parliament vice president said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a short televised statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, offering Berlin's condolences. "Great Britain lost its queen — the world lost the figure of a century," Scholz said in the German capital, saying that she "devoted her life to the service" of her country. Her death "moves and touches every one of us," the chancellor said. The flower tributes piled up outside Buckingham Palace and outside the British Embassy in Berlin also show "the place Queen Elizabeth had in everyone's hearts, here in Germany as well." "The queen embodied the best of our common European legacy, democracy and the rule of law," Scholz said. He said the German government wishes her successor, King Charles III, all the best in his new role and "strength" in the time to come. In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, King Charles III expressed his "wish" for a period of mourning to be observed from Friday until seven days after Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. "The date of the funeral will be confirmed in due course," the statement read. Flags at royal residences were lowered to half-mast following the queen's death and will remain that way until the end of the mourning period, while royal residences will remain closed. The statement also issued guidance to members of the public seeking to leave flower tributes at royal properties, including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral Castle. One day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, a state of mourning has officially begun across the United Kingdom. Several official, and impromptu, memorial events are being held in honor of the late queen on Friday. King Charles III and his wife Camilla, now known as the Queen Consort, will return to London — traveling from back from Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the queen passed away. Charles will meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace, as well as hold several meetings organizing the queen's funeral. Lawmakers will gather for a special session at the Houses of Parliament at noon, which is set to last for 10 hours. Truss will lead the session, as well as attend a service in memory of the queen at St. Paul's Cathedral. Bells will ring-out at in the afternoon, followed by a gun salute in London's Hyde Park and other locations. There are 96 gun salutes planned, one for each year of the queen's life. In the evening, Charles will deliver his first televised address as king, speaking to the grieving nation. Many aspects of life in Britain are set to change with the accession of Charles to the throne, starting with changes to the names of institutions across Britain and the Commonwealth. The new king will replace the queen's effigy on currency and cypher on insignia. He will appear on coins and banknotes in Britain and around the world, including the obverse of coins of the East Caribbean dollar, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Britain's national anthem will also now change, shifting to the male-version lyrics of "God Save the King", which is also a national anthem in New Zealand and the royal anthem in Australia and Canada. British passports will have to be updated with a change in the wording on the inside cover, similar text used in Australian, Canadian and New Zealand passports will also have to change. The Queen's English is set to become the King's English, while the iconic Queen's Guard also changes its name and the police no longer preserves the queen's peace. A large number of other changes, including senior lawyers changing from being a QC (Queen's Counsel) to a KC, the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court becoming the king's bench, Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End becoming His Majesty's, will also be implemented. The death of Queen Elizabeth II sparked a wave of condolences from all over the world. Elizabeth passed away peacefully on Thursday at the age of 96 at her Balmoral residence in Scotland, Buckingham Palace announced. Following the queen's death, her eldest son replaced her as monarch, taking the title King Charles III. Serving on the throne for 70 years, she was the country's longest-ruling monarch and was remembered fondly by current and former world leaders who met with the late queen. US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden went to the British Embassy to pay their respects, describing Elizabeth as a "stateswoman of unmatched dignity." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the queen's role in helping repair ties between the UK and Germany following World War II, saying she was "an example and inspiration to millions." los, rs, see/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP) | 8Society
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This live updates article has now closed. This story was last updated at 00:06 (UTC/GMT). Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres has called on "all countries" to take in refugees from Afghanistan and to cease all deportations of Afghans who are already in their countries. His comments were made over Twitter. He added that the people of Afghanistan "deserve our full support." DW spoke to German lawmaker Alexander Graf Lambsdorff from the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee about Afghanistan's future. "I fear that the country is going to slide back into the dark ages. That means that Germany will have to reduce relations with the country to a minimum," he said. He also criticized the government for failing to take responsibility for the Afghans who worked with the Bundeswehr. At the same time, he called for a limit on the number of people given refuge in Germany. "It's a moral failure of the German government not to have looked after the local employees. On the other hand, we do not have as Europe, as Germany, an obligation to take in all the refugees," the FDP politician said. Germany's Defense Ministry confirmed in a tweet that "the first A400M Bundeswehr aircraft has left Kabul airport again — the plane is now on its way to Tashkent, Uzbekistan with evacuees on board." "Bundeswehr security forces remained on the ground in Kabul to prepare further evacuation flights," the ministry said. The US State Department raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on any future Afghan government that "does not recognize the basic and fundamental rights of the people of Afghanistan, importantly the fundamental rights of half the population, the women and girls," spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. Price emphasized, however, that there has been no "formal transfer of power" to the Taliban, adding that the State Department is working with the international community regarding a political settlement in Afghanistan. The State Department was also focused on continuing evacuation operations from Kabul airport. "We will seek to maintain a presence on the ground at the Hamid Karzai International Airport for as long as it is safe to do so," Price said, adding that the top priority for the US government was the safety of US citizens as well as those who had worked with the military. "We will be working around the clock to relocate as many eligible individuals as we can," he said. Kabul airport reopened for operations early on Tuesday morning local time (19:35 UTC) after being closed for several hours, an official from the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Hank Taylor, told reporters. Disruptions on the runway had prevented further operations, the general said. He also announced that a C-17 transport aircraft had landed with US marines on board, to help secure the airport. A second plane carrying further soldiers was also on its way. "Our focus right now is to maintain security at [Hamid Karzai International Airport], to continue to expedite flight operations while safeguarding Americans and Afghan civilians," Taylor said. One of the A400M German military transport planes has landed in Kabul. Its arrival had been delayed by crowds of people desperate to flee swarming the runway, forcing it to circle overhead for five hours. The plane is carrying out a rescue mission to evacuate German citizens from the country. The German government has also promised to help locals who supported Germany's military operations. The plane will first take evacuees to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, from where they can take civilian flights to Germany. US President Joe Biden on Monday reiterated that his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan was "the right decision." "I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw forces," Biden said. Biden insisted that the US "planned for every contingency" as he put the blame on Afghan forces. "Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country." Biden's remarks come as he faces sharp criticism — domestically and internationally — over the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. He cut short his planned vacation and returned to Washington on a helicopter from the Camp David presidential retreat. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke separately with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi about the worsening situation in Afghanistan. Blinken did not provide any details about his calls. But Russia said Blinken and Lavrov discussed Moscow's outreach to different Afghan political forces to help "ensure stability and public order." Washington and Moscow "agreed to continue consultations with the participation of China, Pakistan and other interested nations to establish the right conditions to begin an inclusive inter-Afghan dialogue under the new conditions," a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said. Earlier on Monday, Russia said it stepped up contacts with the Taliban. French President Emmanuel Macron Islamist militants will attempt to benefit from the turmoil in Afghanistan. "Afghanistan must not become the haven for terrorists that it once was," Macron said in a televised address from his summer residence. Macron pledged that France would do all it could to ensure Russia, the US and Europe "cooperate efficiently as our interests are the same." "Our actions will above all be aimed at fighting actively against Islamist terrorism in all its forms," he said. The French president said the European Union would set up an initiative to prevent the expected large flows of migrants after the Afghan crisis. "We must anticipate and protect ourselves against significant irregular migratory flows that would endanger the migrants and risk encouraging trafficking of all kinds," Macron said. Two German military transport planes have been unable to land because of chaos at Kabul airport. One of the planes flew to Kabul on Monday afternoon, but was prevented from landing because of civilians on the airfield. It was one of two aircraft that had already been held up after a refueling stop in Baku, Azerbaijan. After maintaining a holding pattern, the plane was then forced to fly to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, to refuel there. "No flight movements can take place there at present, because there is a large number of desperate people on the tarmac," the German foreign office said, referring to the airport. The UN Security Council called for "inclusive negotiations" to establish a new government in Afghanistan that is "united, inclusive and representative, including with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women." The 15-member body issued a press statement after an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan. The council members also called for an immediate end to hostilities and human rights abuses and for all parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. Afghanistan's ambassador to the UN, Ghulam Isaczai, had told the emergency meeting that "there is no time for blame game anymore." Isaczai urged the Security Council — the UN's most powerful body — to call for an immediate halt to violence and to "prevent Afghanistan descending into a civil war and becoming a pariah state.'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control. "This is an extremely bitter development. Bitter, dramatic and terrifying," Merkel said. "I am thinking of the pain of families of soldiers who lost their lives fighting there," she said. "Now everything seems so hopeless." Merkel's remarks came as Germany and several other countries scramble to evacuate their diplomatic personnel and local Afghan staff out of the main airport in Kabul. She told reporters that efforts would be made to offer support and refuge, particularly for Afghan support staff who helped the German military. Aid would also be given to neighboring countries such as Pakistan, where it is expected many refugees are likely to arrive. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for leaders of the Group of Seven to discuss the developments in Afghanistan and prevent a humanitarian fall-out from the Taliban takeover. Johnson's office said he "outlined his intention to host a virtual meeting... in the coming days," during a call with French President Emmanuel Macron. The British leader, whose country holds the rotating G7 presidency, stressed the need for a "unified approach" to the situation in Afghanistan, his office said. The Pentagon said the US has authorized the deployment of more troops to Kabul to help aid the evacuation mission. The AP news agency reported, citing Pentagon, that some 1,000 US soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said all military and civilian flights have been halted at the Kabul airport after crowds of civilians surged out onto the runways. "US military forces are on the scene working alongside Turkish and other international troops to clear the area of people. We do not know how long this will take," Kirby said. Kirby blamed the airport chaos on Afghanistan's leadership, much of which has already fled the country. "You can resource, you can train, you can support, you can advise, you can assist. You cannot buy will, you cannot purchase leadership, and leadership was missing," he said. US forces shot and killed two armed men at Kabul's airport, a defense official said. "In the thousands of people who were there peacefully, two guys who had weapons brandished them menacingly. They were both killed," the official told AP news agency on condition of anonymity. An official told Reuters news agency that armed assailants had fired into the crowd, citing initial reports. The Pentagon later confirmed the incident, and said there were preliminary indications that one US service member had been wounded.
Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas admitted that NATO allies underestimated the Taliban's speed in taking over Afghanistan. "There is no talking this up. All of us — the [German] federal government, the intelligence services, the international community — we misjudged the situation," Maas told a press conference in Berlin. "After the withdrawal of troops, we were certainly not in a position to assess that the Afghan armed forces were not ready to confront the Taliban," Maas said. Maas said that of the 2,500 embassy personnel who had been identified previously for evacuation, 1,900 had already been brought to Germany. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the situation in Kabul was "stabilizing," claiming that Taliban militants were "restoring public order." In a statement carried on Russia's state news agency RIA novosti, the ministry said it established contact with Afghanistan's "new authorities." "The Russian Embassy in Kabul continues to function normally. Working contacts have been established with representatives of the new authorities in order to ensure the security of the Russian mission abroad," the statement said. In a separate report, RIA Novosti quoted an official from the embassy alleging that Ghani fled with four cars and a helicopter full of cash. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the international community to unite to "suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan." Guterres appealed to the UN Security Council "and the international community as a whole to stand together, work together and act together." The secretary-general urged all parties, especially the Taliban, "to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and to ensure that humanitarian needs can be met." "We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan," Guterres told a US Security Council emergency meeting. The UN still has staff and offices in areas now under Taliban control, and which have so far been respected, Guterres said. "Above all, we will stay and deliver in support of the Afghan people in their hour of need." "We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan," he said. US officials told AP news agency that seven people died amid the chaos at the Kabul airport, adding that some of them had fallen from a departing US military transport jet. Countries including the US, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines and Sweden are involved in efforts to evacuate people out of Afghanistan. Belgium is sending four aircraft to aid the evacuations from Kabul airport. Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said the decision was in light of the "very worrying situation in Afghanistan," according to a short statement from her cabinet carried on Belga news agency. The Belgian Defense Ministry said Afghans who worked with Belgium would have the possibility to apply for visas in the European state, Belga reported, citing the same statement. Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi also assured that his country would "protect Afghan citizens who have worked with our mission." "Italy is working with its European partners for a solution to this crisis that safeguards human rights, and in particular those of women," Draghi added. A military transport plane carrying about 50 Italian diplomats and 20 Afghans reached Rome in the afternoon. Switzerland's Foreign Ministry said the country's last three development agency workers in Afghanistan were airlifted on a US military plane. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Twitter that "they are on their way to Switzerland." "We are working very hard under the most difficult circumstances to evacuate local staff," he added. Some 38 local employees of the office have not yet been able to leave Afghanistan. They and their families — 230 people in all — are getting Swiss humanitarian visas. "The Afghan employees of the cooperation office could be viewed by the Taliban as Western collaborators and are therefore at risk of life and limb," the ministry said. The German military has reportedly had to delay its mission to evacuate German citizens and others from the Afghan capital Kabul. The DPA news agency cited sources saying that the arrival of two army A400M military transport planes was held up because they were unable to land because of the chaos unfolding at Kabul airport. Dramatic scenes unfolded at the airport on Monday with footage of desperate people crowding the runways and trying to board flights. Four successive US presidents need to take responsibility for the failure of the military intervention in Afghanistan, Jessica Berlin, a US political analyst based in Germany, told DW. However, Berlin said US President Joe Biden's handling of the withdrawal as particularly damaging for the Washington's reputation globally. "By giving the Taliban a due date, an end date for the American presence, he basically made it possible for them to put up pressure in the knowledge that they would face no repercussions, because once the US had made the commitment to withdraw, all that was going to happen." "From left and right across the political spectrum, people will see this as perhaps one of the greatest failures, not only of the Biden administration but in 21st century foreign policy so far." Uzbekistan’s defense ministry says an Afghan military jet was shot down after it crossed the border into the country. The plane crashed late on Sunday in Uzbekistan’s southernmost Surxondaryo province. "Uzbekistan's air defense forces prevented an attempt by an Afghan military aircraft to illegally cross Uzbekistan's border," defense ministry spokesman Bahrom Zulfikorov said. The head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, Armin Laschet says the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan has unfolded badly. "It is evident that this engagement of the international community was not successful. It is the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding and we're standing before an epochal change," said Christian Democrat party chief Armin Laschet. Iran's ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi said in a statement Monday, "The military defeat and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan should offer an opportunity to restore life, security and lasting peace in that country." While the statement followed the Taliban's seizure of Kabul, neither the Taliban nor Kabul were mentioned. Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was engaged in talks with Yue Xiaoyong, China's special envoy for Afghanistan. A foreign ministry spokesman said a skeleton staff remained at the Iranian embassy in Kabul but that employees had been evacuated from three of the five of Iran's diplomatic missions in other Afghan cities. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing that China is ready to have "friendly and cooperative" relations with the Taliban. She did not answer directly whether China would recognize the Taliban as the new government but instead insisted China will respect the choice of the Afghan people. Hua said, "The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China, and that they look forward to China's participation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan." She called on the Taliban to "ensure a smooth transition" of power and to uphold its promises of establishing an "open and inclusive Islamic government" and ensure the safety of Afghans and foreign citizens alike. While China has come up short of recognizing the Taliban, a delegation of senior Taliban officials met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin, China last month. The Talban promised Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militants, especially Uigyurs. In exchange, China offered economic support and investment for Afghanistan's reconstruction. In a meeting with her Christian Democrat (CDU) cohort in parliament Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party colleagues Afghanistan is experiencing "painful hours." The German government has dispatched a second and third military aircraft as it steps up evacuations. Merkel said Germany relies on US troops to hold and control the airport in Kabul to enable the evacuations of German and Afghan nationals who assisted German forces over the last 20 years. Consultations with the Americans suggest it may be possible to continue evacuations until August 31. Merkel said that as many as 10,000 people may require evacuation. She said her government would seek a mandate from parliament to deploy as many as several hundred soldiers to assist with the airlift. German troops are only permitted to deploy abroad with authorization from parliament. The chancellor told party colleagues that Berlin would support Afghanistan's neighbors should they have to cope with an influx of refugees. Ultimately, Merkel acknowledged, the Taliban would control who gets to leave the country, the German press agency DPA reported. Commercial flights from Kabul were canceled Monday as Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) announced Kabul airspace had been released to the military. On its website, the ACAA announced the "civilian side of Hamid Karzai International Airport (Kabul airport) is closed until further notice." Civilian aircraft over Afghanistan were advised to reroute because any transit through Kabul-controlled airspace, which includes all of Afghanistan, was likely to be uncontrolled. In a message to reporters, the Kabul airport authority announced, "There will be no commercial flights from Hamid Karzai Airport to prevent looting and plundering. Please do not rush to the airport." Lufthansa said all its flights would reroute to avoid Afghan airspace starting Monday. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed commercial flights including an Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi and a Terra Avia plane traveling from Baku to Delhi had changed course to avoid an Afghan overflight. US troops securing the Kabul airport reportedly fired shots in the air Monday as chaotic scenes unfolded with Afghans scrambling onto the tarmac in the hopes of catching a flight out of the country after the Taliban took charge over night. A correspondent with German public broadcaster ARD shared footage from the scene with audible gunshots. An official told Reuters, "The crowd was out of control," as hundreds of civilians ran onto the tarmac. "The firing was only done to defuse the chaos." At this time, the airport is the only viable exit still available out of the country as many border crossings have been closed while others have fallen under Taliban control. Germany's Defense Ministry said early on Monday that the first A400M military transport plane had taken off from an airfield near Hanover, bound for Kabul, "to bring those in need of protection from Afghanistan to safety."
On Twitter the ministry wrote, "What's clear: it is a dangerous mission for our troops." On a typical flight, an A400M has space for just over 100 passengers. The plane is supposed to bring back embassy staff, German citizens, and some Afghan staff fearing Taliban reprisals. Several flights are planned. German media outlets, including Deutsche Welle, also published an open letter urging the government to establish an emergency visa scheme for journalists and other staff in the country. Both France and Turkey say their evacuation flights will arrive Monday evening. At a press conference in Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called on Taliban leaders to follow through on their stated commitments by allowing women to continue to work and let girls go to school. Ardern noted the situation on the ground deteriorated much faster than anticipated and said New Zealand would send a C-130 military aircraft and personnel to evacuate New Zealanders still in the country and the approximately 37 Afghans who worked alongside the New Zealand defense forces and their dependents. Ardern said, "The whole world is watching. Taliban is making claims about the type of administration they wish to be. We would implore them to allow people to leave safely." She conceded, "It's not a matter of trust — it's going to be all about the actions, not the words." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video On Sunday, hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan, Taliban fighters entered the presidential palace according to footage shot by Al Jazeera. The flag on the US embassy was lowered as US diplomats were ferried to the airport by helicopter, including the acting ambassador. Many cities and districts in Afghanistan fell with little fanfare in recent days as the Afghan security forces largely crumbled in the face of the insurgency. By Sunday, the Taliban were able to enter Kabul with little to no resistance. The Taliban's rapid advances have effectively coincided with the withdrawal of NATO troops from the country, almost 20 years after the US-led invasion to topple the Taliban in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.
| 2Conflicts
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Kevin Mayer, France | Decathlon, High Jump | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo Lisa Carrington, New Zealand | Canoe Sprint, 500m | Sea Forest Waterway, Tokyo Frazer Clarke, Great Britain | Boxing | Kokugikan Arena, Tokyo Nicolas Delmotte and Urvoso du Roch, France | Equestrian Jumping | Equestrian Park, Tokyo 110m Hurdles, Semifinal | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo Maja Ognjenovic, Serbia | Volleyball | Ariake Arena, Tokyo Frank Staebler, Germany | Wrestling | Makuhari Messe Hall, Tokyo Open Water Swimming | Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo Genevieve Gregson, Australia | Steeplechase, 3000m | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo Vasilina Khandoshka and Daria Kulagina, Belarus | Artistic Swimming | Tokyo Aquatics Centre Team New Zealand | Team Pursuit | Izu Velodrome, Shizuoka Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre, Great Britain | Sailing | Enoshima Yacht Harbour, Tokyo Simone Consonni, Italy | Team Pursuit | Izu Velodrome, Shizuoka
| 9Sports
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Roads reopened in the US city of Buffalo, New York in the early hours of Thursday. The city was the epicenter of a major deadly snow storm that swept most of the US. The storm raged for nearly a week during the Christmas holiday, killing 37 people in Erie County, with some 29 dying in the City of Buffalo alone, County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. Many bodies were still unidentified. Some 60 people were killed across the US. County officials were preparing on Thursday for potential floods due to the weather warming up significantly, with the 4.5 feet (140 centimeters) of snow which reportedly landed over the city expected to melt, the National Weather service said. The storm surpassed in ferocity, duration and death toll a 1977 blizzard that went down as the deadliest in the history of Buffalo, after killing nearly 30 people. Some 500 National Guard members conducted nearly 850 welfare checks on residents who suffered long-term power outages during the storm, Poloncarz said. "We are fearful there are individuals who may have perished living alone, or two people who are not doing well in an establishment, especially those who still don't have power," the Reuters news agency quoted him as telling reporters. Only 62 customers in Erie County were still without power late on Wednesday, Poloncarz said, citing National Grid figures. He added that the remaining power cuts were expected to be restored shortly. The driving ban which gripped the city during the storm was replaced by a travel advisory instead. Poloncarz warned on Twitter that hundreds of very large pieces of equipment would still be out on the streets to clear them, urging pedestrians and motorists to exercise caution. US President Joe Biden announced federal disaster relief for New York state on Monday, to help deal with what was dubbed as a "once-in-a-generation" storm. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video rmt/jcg (AP, Reuters) | 1Catastrophe
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been defeated — by himself. His resignation is not the result of a lost election, or a powerful opposition. Instead, the Conservative populist has tripped over his own personality. After three years in office and a series of scandals that exposed him as a liar and a leader unable to admit mistakes, Johnson is on his way out. His own cabinet lost faith in him, a leader they attached high hopes to at the beginning of his tenure. Johnson is indeed equipped with political talent exhibiting the ability to seize power and win over others. Yet, now he is paying the price for spinning a web of lies, leaving promises unfulfilled and being demonstrably aloof and complacent. The fact that Johnson would even consider staying in Downing Street as a lame duck until the Conservatives have selected a new party leader — and hence successor — in a few months' time comes as no surprise. Johnson has long thought of himself as irreplaceable, holding onto power with everything he's got. All the while refusing to acknowledge exactly why he need take responsibility and resign. Tellingly, in his resignation speech, Johnson blamed Parliament's powerful "herd instinct" for his downfall. This misinterpretation of events makes him look like his populist role model Donald Trump. Neither are willing to concede defeat. And like Trump, Johnson doesn't seem to care how much damage his chaotic exit inflicts on the country's political system. Boris Johnson did keep his 2019 promise to divorce Britain from the European Union and deliver Brexit. In that regard, Johnson accomplished what his conservative predecessor, the responsible yet unlucky Theresa May, failed to achieve. Johnson signed Britain's EU divorce agreement, knowing he would be unable and unwilling to fulfill the deal. It created, among other things, a virtual border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which remains part of the EU's single market. Even so, in 2019, Johnson achieved a major electoral victory for the Conservatives. From then on, things took a turn for the worse. In spring, Johnson mulled unilaterally breaking with the divorce agreement. Yet that won't be possible now, as Britain's caretaker government lacks the power to do so. Johnson's downfall has sparked a sense of relief, even glee, in the EU. Still, nobody can predict whether his successor will respect the Brexit deal. It is impossible to say whether Britain's relationship with the EU will improve, or further sour. Johnson's approach to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic was similarly erratic. Initially, he did not take the outbreak seriously. Despite this, Johnson quickly established a successful vaccination drive, which proved more effective than elsewhere in Europe. Johnson himself, however, ignored the government's very own lockdown rules, when he partied at his official residence. Revelations of this breach severely harmed his standing. Johnson's successor will have to deal with a set of pressing issues, including high inflation, a decline in post-Brexit foreign trade, the fallout of Russia's war on Ukraine, a global hunger crisis and the challenge of phasing out fossil fuels. When it comes to foreign policy, Johnson's exit will turn Britain into a lame duck for months. We can expect a phase of political uncertainty until a new government takes charge. In light of the multiple crises we face today and the international cooperation required to tackle them, this is not a very comforting prospect. In his resignation speech, Johnson admitted the present may appear "dark," yet he claimed to be optimistic when looking to a "golden" future. He has never made a secret of the fact he admires Britain's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Occasionally, he would even imitate Churchill's gait and gestures. But unlike his idol, Johnson lacks firm principles, deep convictions, and a conscience. This article was originally written in German | 7Politics
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On this week's edition of Eco Africa, we bring you a host of smart idea for a greener planet! First we’re off to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country often mired in conflict. But now people are devoting time to protecting nature there. That’s good news for the endangered gorillas living in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Next we meet Nigerian entrepreneur Ibrahim Salisu, who has built prototypes for the country’s first bamboo houses, which are more sustainable than homes built using other kinds of wood. Then we check out how students in Europe are helping scientists map plastic waste landing in rivers, while others are working to trap microplastics before they enter waterways. South Africa is our next stop, where landowners are being rewarded with a tax break if they set up a nature reserve. Over in Botswana, a project is training dogs to keep predators away from cows and goats. By making sure fewer animals get killed, farmers are less likely to hunt down and kill predators, like the endangered cheetah. We end our show in Uganda, where a group of farmers is helping protect the country’s indigenous seeds through a community-based initiative. Check out the show and let us know what you think at ecoafrica@dw.com. | 6Nature and Environment
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The Finnish government on Sunday formally announced that it will apply for NATO membership after the move received the backing of the country's ruling political party. The Finnish parliament is expected to greenlight the decision in the coming days. The decision, coming in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, signals a stark U-turn for the country's long held neutral stance. President Sauli Niinisto said he agreed with the government and consulted with the parliament before announcing the decision. "This is a historic day. A new era is opening," Niinisto told a joint news conference with and Prime Minister Sanna Marin. "We have had wars with Russia, and we don't want that kind of future for ourselves, for our children, and this is why we're making these decisions today and in the upcoming weeks, so there will never again be a war," the Finnish premier said. Sweden's governing Social Democrats on Sunday were also expected to announce their support to join NATO. The Swedish Social Democrats have long been against NATO membership, but Russia's invasion triggered a debate in Swedish society about joining the defense alliance. Finnish Prime Minister Marin said joining NATO with Sweden was crucial. "It's important that we're moving in the same direction. It's important that we're moving at the same pace," she said. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said on Sunday, "Finland and Sweden are already the closest partners of NATO." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin wants to speed up the ratification process if both Sweden and Finland desire to join the defense alliance. The ratification period can typically take as long as a year. "If these two countries are deciding to join, they can join very quickly,'' Baerbock said. At the same time, NATO member Turkey has expressed opposition to the two Nordic countries joining the bloc. Turkey accuses Sweden in particular of leniency toward the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. On Saturday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was "unacceptable and outrageous" that the prospective new NATO members supported the PKK. A day later, Cavusoglu called on Sweden and Finland to stop supporting the PKK, provide security guarantees and lift export bans on Turkey. Niinisto said he was "a bit confused" about what he said was a shift in Ankara's stance. "What we need now is a very clear answer, I am prepared to have a new discussion with President Erdogan about the problems he has raised," Niinisto said. NATO's deputy secretary-general said Sunday that the alliance is confident that it can form a consensus with Turkey on the issue. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia has vowed retaliation for steps toward NATO expansion. On Saturday, the Finnish president said he told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about Helsinki's plans to join the Western alliance. According to the Kremlin's statement, Putin told Niinisto that Russia posed no threat to Finland, but that membership in NATO could negatively affect the countries' relations. Niinisto had said earlier that "joining NATO would not be against anyone." Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Although Helsinki remained militarily non-aligned for 75 years, the Finnish public opinion shifted amid the war Ukraine.sdi, wd/fb (AP, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that they expected an explanation regarding the revelations that the Danish secret service had aided the US in spying on European leaders. An investigation carried out by a group of European news outlets and broadcasters discovered that Danish intelligence had helped the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on top politicians in Germany, France and other countries between 2012 and 2014 — when Joe Biden was serving as vice president. Macron condemned the actions by Danish authorities following a meeting with Merkel, with the German chancellor agreeing that answers from Washington and Copenhagen were required. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "This is not acceptable between allies, and even less between allies and European partners," Macron said. The French president stressed the importance of good relations between Europe and the US, but underlined that there was "no room for suspicion." He added that he was waiting for "complete clarity" from Danish and US allies. Merkel followed up that she "could only agree" with Macron's sentiments. The chancellor did, however, take a slightly softer tone — saying that she was "reassured" by the remarks from Denmark's current Defense Minister Trine Bramsen. "In this regard I see a good basis not only for the resolution of the matter, but also to really come to trusted relations," she said. Bramsen, who did not hold the post during the period in question, has not confirmed the reports and only gave a blanket condemnation of any eavesdropping on close allies as "unacceptable." Bramsen was made aware of the actions of the Danish intelligence service in late 2020, according to Danish public broadcaster DR. Not long after, top intelligence officials were removed from their positions, although no explanation was given at the time. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Denmark's Scandinavian neighbors also demanded answers after the report revealed that the NSA had also spied on Norwegian and Swedish leaders with Danish support. "It's unacceptable if countries which have close allied cooperation feel the need to spy on one another," Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told NRK, a public broadcaster that also took part in the investigation. Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist had also been "in contact with Denmark's defense minister to ask if Danish platforms have been used to spy on Swedish politicians". Edward Snowden — the former NSA worker who released thousands of classified documents in 2013 shining a light on the vast spying operations — also called for an explanation. "There should be an explicit requirement for full public disclosure not only from Denmark, but their senior partner as well," he wrote on Twitter. ab/rs (AFP, dpa) | 7Politics
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Casualties among Afghan troops have been "shockingly high" amid a surge in attacks by Taliban militants in recent days, a senior government official said on Monday. Fighting that is now raging in 26 of the country's 34 provinces has killed or wounded at least 150 Afghan troops over the past 24 hours, the officials said in comments carried by Reuters news agency. The deaths and injuries come as the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency since being ousted as rulers in a 2001 US-led invasion, exploit the dwindling security brought about by the foreign forces' withdrawal from the country. The government says territorial clashes have increased as the US continues to pull out its remaining troops in an operation scheduled to be completed by September 11. Other NATO troops, including German ones, also began officially pulling out of the country on May 1. According to officials, Taliban insurgents have captured two more districts since the start of the withdrawal, now holding nine from the total of 388 in the country. Late on Sunday, Taliban fighters took over the Qaisar district of northern Faryab province in an attack that killed and wounded dozens of Afghan security forces, a police official said. Government forces were said to have retreated to a nearby hilltop from which they were still offering resistance on Monday. The Taliban also took control of Shahrak district in western Ghor province on Sunday evening, again causing a number of casualties among Afghan troops. The violence comes as talks between the government and the Taliban largely stall amid mutual accusations of failing to halt attacks against civilians. Observers fear that if the Taliban regain power in the country, even as part of a power-sharing government, women's and other civil rights could be endangered by the group's fundamentalist interpretation of the Islamic faith. Military experts have warned that the Afghan security forces will have problems fighting back the Taliban without foreign help, being poorly trained and ill-equipped. tj/aw (dpa, Reuters) | 2Conflicts
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Local authorities in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada's province of British Columbia are waging an aggressive campaign to eradicate colonies of "murder hornets" that appear to be gaining a foothold in the region after arriving from Asia. Since 2019, experts in British Columbia alone have reported at least seven nests or sightings of the aggressive insects, which are native to Japan, the Korean Peninsula and other parts of mainland Asia. They have been blamed for attacks on several hives of honeybees in which entire colonies were wiped out. There have been more cases over the border in Washington State, including incidents in which experts monitoring the sites were attacked and reported stings far more painful than from other insects. The largest hornet in the world, an adult can grow to more than 4.5 centimeters (1.7 inches) long and have a stinger that is another 6 millimeters (0.2 inches) long. They are usually found in forests and mountain areas and create nests by enlarging existing burrows or occupying decayed trees. The hornet feeds primarily on other insects, such as caterpillars, as well as tree sap and honey. Commercial beekeepers have expressed concern for the well-being of their hives should Vespa mandarinia become established in North America. "A concerted attack by several dozen workers of Vespa mandarinia can destroy an entire colony of 25,000-30,000 Apis mellifera in a matter of a few hours," Conrad Bérubé, a beekeeper and entomologist in Nanaimo, British Columbia, told DW. "Thus, the establishment of V. mandarinia in British Columbia would represent a threat to the beekeeping industry." Japan spends around €20 million ($23.6 million) a year on eradicating hornet nests, he said, while the figure in South Korea is around €12.3 million a year. Experts in the US have estimated that should the hornet become established in the US, annual extermination costs would quickly top €27.6 million. Charged with eradicating one nest on Vancouver Island in November 2019, Bérubé took more precautions than usual — Kevlar strappings on his wrists and ankles, in addition to a bee suit — but was still stung at least seven times. He described the pain as being like having "hot thumbtacks driven into my flesh." Murder hornets are blamed for the deaths of around 50 people a year in Asia. Measures have been taken to protect honeybee hives, such as traps and reducing the size of the hive entrance, although Bérubé admitted that "none of these methods seems to be entirely effective or satisfactory." The problem, as with other invasive or artificially introduced species on other parts of the world, is that the hornets do not have any natural predators and the local flora and fauna have not developed effective defensive mechanisms as these species have not previously been exposed to this threat. Kevin Short, a professor who specializes in environmental education at the Tokyo University of Information Sciences, has been studying Japanese hornets for 35 years. He says they are ferocious predators but insists that they are also somewhat misunderstood. "The Japanese media gave them the name 'murder hornets' and that's not fair as they are extremely beneficial to the environment here," he told DW. "They feed almost entirely on meat, such as the caterpillars that would otherwise devastate agricultural crops. Farmers in the mountains here welcome them." In all the years he has been monitoring hornets, Short says he has never once been stung and that they are unlikely to attack as long as their nests are not threatened. They are particularly territorial in the late autumn months, he added, as they prepare the nest for the following year's queens. Hornets are fully integrated into the larger environment here, he pointed out, with bees devising an effective defensive measure of simply swarming any hornet that threatens their hive, surrounding it in a "ball" of countless bees that serve to raise the intruder's body temperature to the point that it dies. The European honeybees that have been transplanted into North American hives have not mastered that trick, Short said. Instead, they attack individually or piece-meal and are quickly killed by the hornets, which are equipped with powerful mandibles that simply decapitate the bees. In Canada and the US, the two-fold approach to the problem is focused on trying to identify the routes that hornets are taking to get into the region and then the most effective ways of halting the colonies from spreading further, said Bérubé. "No one knows how the hornets may have arrived in the Pacific Northwest, although the introduction and establishment of a congener species in France was traced to a cargo container shipment of terracotta flowerpots from China," he said. Stacks of earthenware pots with gaps between the pots appear to have served as wintering chambers for Asian hornets, while similar exports from Asia are sold in garden centers in the US and Canada, he said, adding that customs and other border agencies need to devise effective ways of fumigating shipments to ensure they are not bringing invasive species into the region. For any colonies that are discovered, the response must be timely and comprehensive, he underlined. "Government-sponsored monitoring programs are on-going on both sides of the Canada-US border and citizen scientists are encouraged to take part in trapping campaigns and to report sightings," Bérubé said. "The two nests so far discovered in North America were destroyed upon discovery and that will remain the approach for any additional discoveries." | 6Nature and Environment
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Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk will be removed from his post in Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a decree published on Saturday. Ukraine's envoys to the Czech Republic, India, Norway, and Hungary were also dismissed. Zelenskyy and his aides did not provide reasons for the moves, with the president later saying decision was "a normal part of diplomatic practice." However, the 46-year-old Melnyk has been increasingly at odds with politicians in Germany, where he openly slammed leaders over their Russia policy. Most notably, in May, he called Chancellor Olaf Scholz an "offended liver sausage" — a German term roughly equivalent to "snowflake" in English. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The controversial comments about the chancellor were prompted by an earlier dispute with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Melnyk criticized Steinmeier for his "web of contacts with Russia" and said that the German president saw his ties with Moscow as "fundamental — even sacred." "No matter what happens, even the [Russian] invasion doesn't play a big role," Melnyk told the Tagesspiegel paper. The Ukrainian ambassador also called out an adviser to Scholz and the state secretary in Germany's Foreign Ministry for their ties with Russia. A week later, Steinmeier said his plans to visit Kyiv had been rebuked by the Ukrainian leadership in a move Scholz called "irksome." Melnyk said the chancellor himself should visit Kyiv. After Scholz said he would not make the trip because Steinmeier's visit was denied, Melnyk fired back at Scholz with the "offended liver sausage" comment. Melnyk went on to say that it would be even better for the German government to "quickly fulfill the request from the parliament about sending heavy weapons." His comments were widely criticized by senior politicians in Germany. In early June, Melnyk told the Kyiv Post that — while he loved Germany — "What I hate here in Germany is hypocrisy, arrogance, and that many German politicians used to tell fairy tales and give empty promises. You wouldn't expect Germans to be like that. They're regarded as honest, hardworking and reliable, but my modest experience has not always confirmed that." The German chancellor and the Ukrainian ambassador seemed to only bury the hatchet in mid-June after Scholz visited Kyiv alongside France's Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Mario Draghi. Less than a week later, Melnyk said he regretted his remarks and promised to personally apologize to Scholz. But Melnyk's latest controversy, the one that may have been too much for Kyiv, relates to Ukrainian WWII ultranationalist Stepan Bandera. While Bandera is praised as a hero by far-right extremists in Ukraine, others see him as a Nazi collaborator whose militants massacred thousands of Jews and Poles. In an interview 10 days ago, Melnyk said Bandera "was not a mass murderer of Jews and Poles" and there was no evidence to support the claim. The Ukrainian ambassador blamed the Soviet Union for allegedly demonizing Bandera and he tried to minimize his collaborations with the Nazi regime. The interview was quickly condemned by Israel and Poland. "The statement made by the Ukrainian ambassador is a distortion of the historical facts, belittles the Holocaust and is an insult to those who were murdered by Bandera and his people," the Israeli Embassy said. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz wrote on a local online platform that "such an opinion and such words are absolutely unacceptable." Uncharacteristically for Melnyk, the ambassador did not immediately respond to the controversy. Days later, he posted a tweet saying he "DECIDEDLY rejects" the "absurd allegations" posted by the Israeli Embassy. "Everyone who knows me, know that I have always condemned the Holocaust in harshest possible terms," Melnyk said. By then, however, it was too late. The outrage had already prompted a response in Kyiv, where the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quickly announced that Melnyk's opinion was "his own and does not reflect the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine." Ukrainian President Zelenskyy did not say where Melnyk would be stationed next. According to media reports, he is expected to take up a position in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. dj/sms (DPA, AP, AFP, Reuters) | 7Politics
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Julia Heinrichs has tears in her eyes as she listens to her 10-year-old daughter recall events on the night of the flood: "There was dark water everywhere. And now, whenever it rains, I'm afraid. Then all the memories always come back," the girl says. Mother and daughter are sitting on chairs on the gravel in front of their home in the village of Schuld in the Ahr Valley. It was here that the waters rose suddenly on the night of July 14-15 and completely flooded the first floor of Heinrichs' house. Julia managed to drag herself, her daughter, and her daughter's cousins onto the roof. A lot has happened since then. First, they moved in with friends a few towns away. But since May, the 31-year-old mother has been back in her old house again, together with her daughter and her father. She says she renovated almost everything by herself, using screed, laminate, and plasterboard: "I really learned to do many new things last year," she says. The damage to the house was estimated at €175,000 ($175,500), but so far she has received little assistance from public coffers. "It should have all been totally unbureaucratic, but it's not," she says. Unbureaucratic — that's a word that makes people here in the Ahr Valley just laugh wearily. One year after the disaster struck, claiming the lives of 180 people, and destroying thousands of homes, many feel abandoned to their misfortune. The picturesque town of Ahrweiler, once the tourist hotspot of the Ahr Valley, has now been cleared of mud and debris, but many houses and stores still stand empty. One of them is the French restaurant "Crep'chen," which used to be run by Charly Schafgans-Gülker. He opens the door and points to the bare concrete floor. "This is where the counter was, with a state-of-the-art French coffee machine. Now it's all gone." For more than 13 years, he ran this restaurant in the town center until the water destroyed everything within its walls. At first, he was optimistic that he would be able to reopen. He and his landlord applied for government aid and were hoping to be able to renovate everything. But there has been little progress. Meanwhile, the 71-year-old has given up and knows that the "Crep'chen" will not reopen. He still has €20,000 in debts to pay off, which will be hard to manage on his small pension. Katharina Kläsgen knows these stories of hardship all too well. She works for the ISB bank in Rhineland-Palatinate and her job is to help the flood victims with their applications for assistance and investment. "This application procedure is much simpler than those for financial assistance in the COVID-19 pandemic," she admits. But still, applicants need to provide evidence and experts' estimates when they make their claims. That's necessary "because a lot of money is also at stake," she says. The 30-year-old, who took time off from her job to work in the Ahr Valley, does the math: If a family that had no insurance has lost all its household goods, it can receive support worth €28,500 through the ISB. If that is not enough, it can apply for additional help from Catholic and Protestant churches' aid organizations such as the Maltesers or the Diakonie. That money is not a loan and, therefore, does not have to be repaid. Shortly after the floods, the two chambers of the federal parliament, the Bundestag and Bundesrat, launched a special fund of €30 billion to help local authorities and private households with reconstruction. But many flood victims, especially the elderly, have struggled with the online-only application process. A pensioner tells Katharina Kläsgen that his mobile home was destroyed, he wants to apply for assistance, but he doesn't have a computer. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Last year, the ISB bank approved 90% of all applications for financial assistance. That means 10,000 applicants were to receive a total amount of almost €350 million. In addition, businesses were granted €200 million. However, only a small part of the money has actually landed in the applicants' accounts. Only an initial 20% of the approved sum is paid out quickly and unbureaucratically, after that recipients have to show proof and detail their expenditures. This is exactly where Julia Heinrichs and her family stand. They received emergency aid shortly after the flood, then the first 20% of the assistance the ISB found them to be entitled to. Now, they need craftsmen and surveyors to provide them with invoices for building materials and estimates for the work that still has to be done. But skilled workers are hard to come by in the Ahr region at the moment. It is hard to muster the energy for hunting around for workers, and doing the paperwork to get financial assistance, says Heinrichs. Like most people in the Ahr Valley, she is traumatized and finds it hard to cope. Last year after the floods, she says, the adrenaline drove her. But one year on, she finds herself overwhelmed by memories and emotions: "In the evening, I lie in bed, the images come back, and the tears too," she says. Still, she doesn't want to give up. She just got her truck driver's license: "It's always been my dream to haul gravel and rubble." That dream has taken on a whole new meaning now. This article was originally written in German. While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing. | 8Society
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It was billed as the rebirth of British business — a chance to build a brighter commercial future, free of costly bureaucracy. But Brexit is proving far from profitable for many UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Swamped by paperwork, taxes, and eye-watering additional costs, some are having to shutter their EU operations indefinitely. Others, unwilling to cut off European customers, are simply upping sticks, and moving to the Continent. Antos, a Scottish dog chew producer, is one such firm. "We've had to move the whole export side of our UK business to within the EU," says owner Antoon Murphy. "We simply weren't able to efficiently provide for our European customers from Britain anymore, with all the extra health certificates and documentation that's required." Big changes Prior to leaving the EU, trading with the Continent couldn't have been easier. Shipping orders to the likes of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France was often cheaper than servicing remote parts of the UK. Now outside of the bloc, British exporters must wrestle with a mountain of documents on rules of origin, customs, and VAT when sending stock to Europe. If the item contains animal products, as Antos's dog chews do, the paperwork is particularly onerous. With this in mind, Antoon decided to partially relocate to France, acquiring a warehouse two hours east of Lyon. Having recruited a small local workforce, he's recently resumed barrier-free business with continental Europe, where the company makes around a quarter of its overall sales. Though it's early days yet, he has no regrets. "There was an option to just walk away and fold that area of the business, but we'd worked for the last six or seven years gaining those customers through going to trade shows and engaging with them online. I didn't want to give them up." Non-tarrif barriers It's a conundrum that confronts many British businesses. Though the UK government secured an eleventh-hour tariff-free trade with Brussels, massive non-tariff barriers have emerged since the start of the year. Exports to the EU fell by almost 20% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the final free months of 2020, official figures show, while goods traveling in the other direction — Europe to the UK — dropped by over one-fifth. Much of the pain has been felt by Britain's small businesses. In the first 12 weeks of the year, close to a third had lost consignments in transit to the Continent, an industry survey revealed, with 70% suffering some sort of shipment delays. As a result, almost a quarter said they had temporarily stopped sending goods into Europe. The British government has remained bullish throughout the post-Brexit period, promising that these early setbacks are simply "teething problems" that'll ease with time. But some experts aren't convinced. "With the changes to VAT, rules of origin, customs paperwork, these are related to the UK leaving the customs union and single market, and us undergoing such a huge change to our trading relationship with the EU," James Sibley, head of International Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), told DW. "These changes are not going away," he added. Looking on the bright side There is, however, optimism around the flip side of Brexit — Britain being able to broker its own global trade agreements. More than two-thirds of FSB members trade with non-EU countries, and though new markets such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan might not entirely mitigate commercial losses in Europe, it is an exciting prospect, said Sibley. In the meantime, the government has launched a £20 million (€23.2 million, €19 million) fund to support EU-exporting SMEs struggling with post-Brexit barriers — an acknowledgment of the breadth of the issues they're facing. The money is only available to businesses that solely trade with Europe, however, excluding the likes of Forageplus, a Wales-based seller of nutritional horse supplements. "In a lot of the European countries now things are running smoothly," said General Manager Kieren Brownhill, who had to overcome huge logistical hurdles in the first weeks of 2021. "It's very expensive for the customer to receive the goods, however — they're being charged anywhere from 20% to 40%, and it seems totally random what the charges are." These fees, slapped on Forageplus's products by customs authorities in the destination country, have put the firm's European sales into reverse. Brownhill and the team now plan to double down on their domestic customer base, noting that a move to the EU just isn't viable. Moving to Germany? For SMEs that can consider relocating to the Continent, Germany is among the most promising destinations, officials say. "Germany is a hugely important market, 83 million consumers," said Dr. Ulrich Hoppe, director general of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce in London. "There's an established trading relationship and profitable business to be done across the Channel." It's a message that's resonating with UK businesses — around 250 have contacted the chamber over the last year, keen to learn more about setting up in Germany. Those who do make the move will be employing EU citizens and contributing to European coffers, money and jobs that Britain will miss out on. As for Antoon Murphy, he's enjoying the best of both worlds: Half of the year will now be spent in the beautiful French Alps, overseeing the growth of the European and UK businesses. There is, however, a rather sizable hurdle on the horizon. "From October 1, there will be a requirement on our suppliers in Europe to provide export health certificates for all goods entering Britain," said Antoon. "We've asked the UK's Animal Plant Health Agency for assistance in identifying and creating new health certificates for our products, but so far they are yet to assist." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video | 0Business
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From her office in Waldbreitbach, a small village situated in the Westerwald mountains of western Germany, Edith-Maria Magar has a breathtaking view across the Wiedtal valley. Her spacious workplace is suffused with light and belongs to a sprawling abbey that sits on top of the Klosterberg, or Cloister hill. It has been the home of the 67-year-old Franciscan nun since 1977. Since 2012, Magar has run a small empire of 300 nuns and nonaffiliated employees as "mother superior," the official name for her position in the terminology of the Roman Catholic Church's Franciscan order to which she belongs. "Sometimes I'm still surprised how I ended up here," the Franciscan nun told DW, making clear that she doesn't mean her religious calling, but her numerous responsibilities as someone effectively running a mid-sized business. The Catholic and Protestant churches are powerful forces in Germany, despite losing members in recent years. Still, for Magar, the reason for her call of duty in the commercial corners of the Catholic Church lies in her past as a business manager. Her resume includes positions such as vice president of the Caritas Association — which is Germany's largest religious charity — and head of the supervisory board of Marienhaus, the country's biggest church-based social employer with a staff of 13,000. Now, apart from running the commercial activities of Marienhaus Abbey, she is also deputy chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Marienhaus Stiftung, a charitable foundation that runs numerous hospitals, nursing homes and other social facilities. Over all those years in management, sister Edith-Maria said she learned how to deal with people, and how to remain faithful to her values even in the face of commercial pressures resulting from the need to make a profit. She's soft-spoken and chooses her words carefully. And although she's not wearing the habit of a nun, but a business outfit instead, a necklace with a wooden cross betrays the foundation of her convictions. Some call her a "feel-good manager," she said, rushing to explain that, actually, it was a different logic in her approach that would make her stand apart from "conventional managers." Leadership is what matters more to her than managerial skills, she said, because her attitude would "train the focus on the human being." Being mindful of human interaction has remained a hallmark of her outlook on life ever since she graduated from high school and joined the Franciscan order and trained to be a nurse. "It was a calling," she explained, that guided her through careers as a teacher and later as principal of a nursing school, as well as a university course in sociology she did while she was already working. A few years later, she took a course in management in Berlin to become a business advisor. For her, a proper understanding derives from the term "management" itself, which she said is rooted in the Latin words "manus" for hand and "agere" meaning actively doing. That's what she's seeking — to create, to act, to shape and finally do something meaningful. "An [religious] order, just like economies, can never be an end in itself," she insisted, adding, "It's the human being who must be at the center of all commercial activity." Maintaining close relations with her staff is, of course, time-consuming, Magar admitted, which is why the days at work can sometimes stretch well into 9 p.m. in the evening. "But if I wouldn't find the time for prayers and the congregation anymore, I'd know something is going wrong," she said. As environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns have become the new mantra of modern-day managers, sister Edith-Maria said that all three tenets of sustainability have long been enshrined in Franciscan nuns' self-conception. The abbey's cattle herds are all made up of endangered races, and they graze on the organic pastures of Cloister hill. What bothers her a bit, though, is her car that's a hybrid and not fully electric, because she can't afford to waste any time for recharging, she said, due to her tight daily schedule. What may also sound a bit surprising is the fact that she's never run into career obstacles in the male-dominated Catholic Church. Quite the contrary, she said, as strict gender separation there has avoided her hitting the proverbial "glass ceiling" — an invisible barrier set by men that prevents women from being promoted to managerial positions within an organization. As a member of an all-female congregation of nuns, she was democratically elected by her fellow sisters for a term of 12 years. An open voting system is also what she said she would prefer to see installed in choosing other top positions within the Catholic Church, but for now, she will keep focusing on her many responsibilities. The article has been translated from German. | 0Business
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Moscow has accused the United States of putting civilian lives at risk after a reported mid-air near-miss on Friday, involving two civilian aircraft and a NATO reconnaissance plane. Russia's foreign ministry specifically accused the US Air Force of creating a "threat to civil aviation" over the Black Sea. "Just because an air incident over the Black Seas' Int waters has been prevented, this does not mean the US and NATO can further put lives at risk with impunity," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying on Twitter. According to Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport, a NATO CL-600 surveillance plane was flying over the Black Sea international waters on the morning of December 3. The aircraft was observed making a rapid descent from 11,000m to 9,200m, which allegedly crossed the designated path for civilian aircraft. The reconnaissance aircraft's crew did not respond to Russian air traffic control, according to the Russian agency. At that moment a Russian Aeroflot Airbus A330-300 flying from Tel Aviv to Moscow and a CL-650 plane belonging to Malta flew along their designated flight paths. It's understood that the two aircrafts' travel paths had to be promptly changed to allow them to continue safely. Russia said that flights by military aircraft with no form of radio communications presented a risk to civilian planes in the Black Sea region, and that it would lodge a diplomatic protest. The statement was posted in full on the ministry's Facebook account. The reported incident comes amid claims that Russia is massing troops at the border with Ukraine. Kiyv has expressed concern that the troop build-up could lead to some form of escalation as soon as January, 2022. US media outlets including the AP news agency and the Washington Post have reported US intelligence claiming to have evidence that Moscow is planning a military offensive. According to the reports, it could involve an estimated 175,000 Russian military personnel. Moscow has denied the claims and has accused NATO of failing its peacekeeping commitments by refusing to de-escalate tensions. US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to hold an online meeting on Tuesday. kb/dj (AFP, dpa) | 2Conflicts
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Last week's tax raids on two of India's largest media houses have once again brought into question the ethics of the Indian government. The Dainik Bhaskar newspaper group and Bharat Samachar regional television network have both been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to the COVID pandemic. Last week, the two organizations were subjected to raids by the Income Tax Authority on their offices across six states, including Delhi and northern Uttar Pradesh. The press community believes the move by the Indian government was a blatant act of intimidation from a government frustrated with the media's response to its handling of the health crisis. The homes of some employees were searched and Dainik Bhaskar reported that agents confiscated cell phones from some members of staff. The alleged retaliatory response to recent coverage of the second wave of the coronavirus in the country is yet another stark reminder of the shrinking space for independent media in India. In an official statement, tax authorities said they had grounds to believe the Dainik Bhaskar media group may have evaded taxes worth up to 7 billion Indian rupees ($94 million, €80 million), over a period of six years. However, close observers of the media landscape say that the media house, which has a considerable following, was targeted because of its critical reporting. During the height of the second virus wave, for instance, the paper sent a team of 30 reporters to document newly dug graves of COVID victims along a 1,140-kilometer (708 miles) stretch of the Ganges River. It also reported about the shortage of oxygen supplies and apparent under-reporting of the death toll. Its story on graves along the banks of the Ganges River was soon picked up by other news outlets, both domestic and international. The newspaper also ran pictures of mass cremations on its frontpage to contest official claims about COVID deaths, with headlines such as "Government data on deaths is a lie, these burning pyres are telling the truth." "The newspaper is hailed as the hero of the media world in India today. The more the Modi government unleashes its enforcement might on the the group, the greater its credibility grows," Pamela Philipose, a media commentator, told DW. Om Gaur, the editor of Dainik Bhaskar, told the Indian broadcaster NDTV that the raids were a surprise and an obvious attempt to suppress independent journalism. "All our COVID stories were based on facts. If our facts were incorrect, these raids would not have taken place. We won't give in to pressure. We will stick to our journalism," said Gaur. In the last few years, especially under the current political dispensation, there has been misuse of archaic, colonial laws on defamation and sedition as well as self-censorship to muzzle dissenters, especially journalists. Several media outlets have been investigated by the government for alleged financial impropriety, raising fears about press freedom in the world's largest democracy. Since 2020, attacks on independent media have surged, with arrests and sedition cases. In February, income tax officials visited the offices of the website Newsclick in New Delhi, questioned two of its editors, including the editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, for over 100 hours in relation to a money laundering investigation, ordering the outlet to submit a number of additional tax documents. Still in the dark as to why the raids were conducted, Purkayastha said in a statement that his website sought to "hold power accountable" and the raid was "a clear attempt to suppress journalism critical of the government and its allies." The news portal had been actively reporting on the ongoing farmers' protests and the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. In 2017, tax authorities raided the offices of NDTV, and the homes of its founders. The move was seen as an attempt to muzzle one of the few liberal voices in a media landscape that is become increasingly starved of oxygen. Journalists who refuse to cower to the government and the ruling party have also been in the line of fire. In October last year, global media groups accused PM Modi's government of using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to silence its critics. The Rights and Risks Analysis Group detailed in a report that about 55 journalists faced arrest, summons, physical assaults, or alleged destruction of properties and threats for reportage on COVID-19. The International Press Institute and Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists pointed out that the health crisis was being used as an excuse to silence those who have exposed shortcomings in the government's response to it. For instance, journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem was charged in May under the draconian National Security Act by the BJP-led Manipur government. His crime? Commenting on social media that cow dung and cow urine are not remedies for COVID-19. He was released from jail just last week. "No government likes honest journalists and journalism," Neha Dixit, an independent journalist who won the 2019 International Press Freedom Award, told DW. "The difference under the present political leadership is that they have started filing law and order-related cases against journalists." Dixit has also been threatened with violence and in January there was an attempted break-in at her home. "This is also the first time that there have been a large number of physical attacks on journalists and there is no push from the government to bring the guilty to the book, also perhaps because of the political affinity with the accused," Dixit added. To substantiate Dixit's point, in February this year, an obscure YouTube channel posted a video calling for some of India's most prominent journalists to be "hanged" which marked a new danger for India's free press. The video was shared by a host of right-wing figures despite its call to execute at least five senior journalists, all from India's clutch of independent online news media. "Either laws like sedition or defamation are used against journalists or they face intimidation at different levels," Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute, told DW. Increasing control of the media by big business houses, self-censorship by smaller outfits, and a general fear of religious and political subjects, have further imperiled free and fair reporting. Several media owners, who owe their allegiance to the powers that be or who want their business interests furthered, have started putting pressure on journalists to curb reporting or change editorial direction. "Obviously, we are concerned that government agencies are being used as a coercive tool to suppress free and independent journalism. This is all the more disturbing given the recent media reports on the widespread surveillance of journalists and civil society activists using the Pegasus software," Sanjay Kapoor, general secretary of Editors Guild of India, told DW. In its latest report, global body Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has identified Prime Minister Modi in its list of 37 heads of state or government who are seen as "predators of press freedom." He joins the likes of Pakistan's Imran Khan, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Myanmar's military head Min Aung Hliang and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who "trample on press freedom by creating a censorship apparatus." "It clearly shows that the government wants to kill the messenger in order to avoid the message from spreading," Daniel Bastard, Asia-Pacific director at RSF, told DW. RSF, which ranked India 142 out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index this month, said government agencies harassing media houses over spurious accusations had almost become a pattern now. The organization brings out the press freedom index annually and bases its rankings on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. "This is a preoccupying reality as more and more Indian journalists have to cope with if they want to keep their job. The result is a dramatic loss of pluralism of voices in the media," added Bastard. "The government does not agree to the conclusions drawn by this organization for various reasons," the Indian government's Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told parliament last week. Thakur cited a "low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy, adoption of a methodology which is questionable and nontransparent, and lack of clear definition of press freedom." | 7Politics
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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Monday named Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig as the winners of this year's Nobel economics award. It said the US-based trio won the award "for research on banks and financial crises." "Fifteen years ago, much of the world stood at the brink of a devastating economic crisis," Tore Ellingsen, chair of the social sciences committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said at a press conference. "Most of us were unprepared for it. However, a few academic economists were both prepared and worried. They had studied the theory of bank runs." Bernanke is the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve. He led the US central bank from 2006 to 2014, notably during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. In the 1980s, he argued that it was bank runs that caused the Great Depression in the 1930s, which had dramatic repercussions for the global economy. "His insights broke with conventional wisdom, and now have solid empirical support," the Academy said. Diamond is a professor of finance at the University of Chicago, where he specializes in the study of financial intermediaries, financial crises, and liquidity. Dybvig is an economist and professor of banking and finance at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1983, the pair developed the Diamond-Dybvig model of bank runs. The model shows how the liquidity needs of savers, who want cash on hand, are in conflict with the needs of borrowers, who prefer loans with a long maturity. This is a fundamental tension for banks, which try to channel savings into investments, i.e. loans. In normal circumstances, this works well: banks can loan money out to borrowers, providing them with a long maturity to pay the loan back, and keeping only a small fraction of cash on hand for its customers' short-term liquidity needs. However, if all depositors try to withdraw their savings at the same time, as they do in a bank run, the banks wouldn't be able to meet all demand and would quickly go bankrupt. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Diamond and Dybvig's model suggests that bank runs are an inherent weakness to the banking system, because the bank's stability depends on what depositors expect other depositors to do. If many start withdrawing their savings, others will want to as well before the bank runs out of cash. "Financial crises...become worse when people start to lose faith in the stability of the system," Diamond said in a call with journalists following the announcement. The trio's academic contributions provided a foundation for modern research on banking, regulation and crisis management, the Academy said. Their insights were "invaluable" during the global financial crisis as well as during the coronavirus pandemic. They are "highly useful for understanding and regulating an ever changing financial system." The prize in Economics marks the last Nobel Prize to be announced for 2022. The winners in the categories of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were announced last week. The Nobel Prizes are traditionally awarded on December 10, the anniversary of the death of prize donor and inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896. All Nobel Prizes this year are again endowed with 10 million Swedish kronor (€913,000; $886,00). Unlike the other prizes, the Nobel Prize in Economics is not directly based on the will of the prize's founder. It was established in 1968 by the Swedish Riksbank in memory of Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1969. Last year, the Canadian David Card, the US-Israeli researcher Joshua Angrist and the US-Dutchman Guido Imbens were honored for their work in the field of experimental economics. AFP/dpa | 0Business
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