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September
Germany said on Tuesday it would step up lending to energy firms at risk of being crushed by soaring gas prices, as the European Union readied proposals to help households and industry cope with an energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission is due to announce on Wednesday proposals including targets to cut electricity consumption and a revenue cap for non-gas fuelled plants. EU energy ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Sept. 30 to try and agree on them.
Separately, the EU's securities watchdog is also considering measures to help energy firms struggling to meet rocketing collateral demands after they were caught out by the surging prices as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe.
The crisis is already weighing heavily on Europe's economy, even before the onset of winter when industrial users could face rationing if gas reserves prove inadequate. Industry sentiment in the bloc's economic powerhouse, Germany, has tumbled.
"Of course we knew, and we know, that our solidarity with Ukraine will have consequences," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday, urging Germans to brace for a tough winter and rise to the challenge of a shift in energy supply away from Russian gas.
"Let us tackle the task together!" Scholz said.
Germany's finance ministry said it wanted to boost state loans for energy firms by using credit authorisations created to offer relief in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a German newspaper putting the value at 67 billion euros ($68 billion).
Last week, VNG (VNG.UL), one of Germany's biggest importers of Russian natural gas, became the latest energy firm to ask the government for aid to stay afloat.
The German cabinet is expected to approve draft legislation for the boosted credit funds on Wednesday.
RAFT OF EU PROPOSALS
At the EU level, a spokesperson for the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said on Monday the regulator was "actively considering" whether any regulatory measures were necessary to help support energy firms.
ESMA directly regulates clearing houses in the EU, which in turn set mandatory levels of margin based on potential risks from markets and counterparties. Public intervention in this area is rare, especially after the global financial crisis over a decade ago led to tougher margin requirements.
A draft of the European Commission's proposals, seen by Reuters, would cap at 180 euros per megawatt hour the price at which wind, solar and nuclear plants could sell their power in the 27-nation bloc. It would also force fossil fuel firms to share excess profits.
Governments would be required to use the cash to help consumers and companies facing sky-high energy bills.
EU officials said, however, that plans for emergency liquidity support for power firms facing soaring collateral needs were still being drafted, and would likely be published later than Wednesday.
NO GAS PRICE CAP
Diplomats say there is broad support for a revenue cap for non-gas generators, as well as plans to impose electricity demand cuts. But countries are split over other ideas - including a gas price cap, which was not included in the draft Commission proposals.
The EU has also backed away from an earlier plan to impose a price cap on Russian gas. Countries including Hungary and Austria had opposed that idea in case Moscow retaliated by cutting off the dwindling supplies it still sends to the EU.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment in Germany fell further than expected in September as concerns over the country's energy supply increasingly weigh on the outlook for Europe's largest economy.
"The prospect of energy shortages in winter has made expectations even more negative for large parts of the German industry," said Achim Wambach, president of the ZEW economic research institute.
Separately, Swedish utility Vattenfall said it had delayed the restart of the Ringhals 4 nuclear reactor by two months to Jan. 31, in a further setback to power supply in the Nordic and Baltic region.
"This worsens an already difficult power situation in southern Sweden," power market analyst Tor Reier Lilleholt at Norway's Volue said.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz said on Tuesday he hoped to restore production thanks to the recent military successes.
Naftogaz produces the lion's share of Ukraine's gas, with output totalling 13.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2021. (Reuters)
September
Putin and Xi to discuss Ukraine and Taiwan, Kremlin says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping will discuss Ukraine and Taiwan at a meeting in Uzbekistan on Thursday which the Kremlin said would hold "special significance" given the geopolitical situation.
Xi will leave China for the first time in more than two years for a trip this week to Central Asia where he will meet Putin, just a month before he is set to cement his place as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.
"The presidents will discuss both the bilateral agenda and the main regional and international topics," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said at a briefing in Moscow.
"Naturally, they will give a positive assessment of the unprecedentedly high level of trust within the bilateral strategic partnership," he added.
Ushakov said Moscow values China's position towards what he called the "Ukraine crisis", saying Beijing had struck a "balanced approach" towards the conflict.
China "clearly understands the reasons that forced Russia to launch its special military operation. This issue, of course, will be thoroughly discussed during the upcoming meeting," Ushakov said.
The meeting between Xi and Putin in Uzbekistan will take place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's summit in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
The deepening "no limits" partnership between the rising superpower of China and the natural resources titan of Russia is a geopolitical development the West is watching with anxiety. (Reuters)
September
U.N. presses Sri Lanka to advance human rights amid economic crisis
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sri Lanka should improve human rights and strengthen institutions to tackle the humanitarian challenges that have sprung from its worst financial crisis in seven decades, a top U.N. Human Rights official said on Monday.
U.N. member states and international financial institutions should support Sri Lanka as it tries to assist millions struggling with food, fuel, power and medicine shortages, said Nada Al-Nashif, U.N. Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"I encourage the new government to embark on a national dialogue to advance human rights and reconciliation and to carry out the deeper institutional, democratic and security sector reforms needed to restore the independence of key institutions, to combat impunity, to prevent the recurrence of human rights violations, and to tackle the economic crisis," Al-Nashif told the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
She also urged Sri Lanka's new government led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to end the use of security laws to arrest protest leaders who helped oust former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told the same meeting the government was committed to working with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on improving human rights, but would object to any international judicial intervention that it sees as anti-constitutional.
Al-Nashif said Sri Lanka must make more progress towards establishing a credible investigation into alleged war crimes during the civil war that ended in 2009 and promote demilitarisation of the island's north and eastern regions.
The United Nations and rights groups have accused the Sri Lankan military of killing thousands of civilians, mostly ethnic Tamils, during the final weeks of the war and have pressed for justice for the families of those who disappeared. In 2021, OHCHR launched a new 'accountability project' that could one day be used as part of a potential international judicial process.
On the latest protests following the economic crisis, Sabry said the government planned a truth-seeking mechanism to promote reconciliation, and referred to work on constitutional reform to promote anti-corruption measures and trim presidential powers. (Reuters)
September
WHO sees October COVID surge in Ukraine, cites polio concerns
Written by Nur Yasmin
The World Health Organisation expects a rise in COVID-19 in Ukraine to peak in October, possibly bringing hospitals close to their capacity threshold, WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
"We are now seeing an increase in cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine. We project that transmission could peak in early October and hospitals could approach their capacity threshold," Ghebreyesus told WHO'S Regional Committee for Europe conference in Tel Aviv.
"Oxygen shortages are predicted because major supply sources are in occupied parts of the country," he said.
Oxygen is essential for patients with a range of conditions, including COVID-19 and those with other critical illnesses stemming from complications of pregnancy, childbirth, sepsis, injuries and trauma.
Russia's February invasion of Ukraine has greatly impacted healthcare, with the WHO confirming more than 500 attacks on health infrastructure there, resulting in some 100 deaths. Ghebreyesus also said that the war could increase polio spread.
"We are also deeply concerned about the potential for the international spread of polio due to the gaps in immunization coverage and mass population movement linked to the war," he said.
Ukraine has low vaccination coverage for both COVID and polio, an infectious disease mainly affecting children that can cause paralysis and kill in rare cases. Two cases of polio were reported in Ukraine in 2021.
This year, Israel, Britain and the U.S have all reported polio transmission in major cities, raising concerns about the infection spreading more widely. (Reuters)
September
Pakistan court extends Imran Khan's bail on terrorism charges
Written by Nur Yasmin
A Pakistani court on Monday extended former Prime Minister Imran Khan's pre-arrest bail for eight more days on terrorism charges relating to a speech in which he allegedly threatened police and judicial officers, his lawyer said.
Khan, who appeared in court in person, was booked in the case by police in August. This is the fourth time he has secured pre-arrest bail in the matter.
"Bail is extended till 20th September with the same sureties," Khan's lawyer, Babar Awan, told Reuters.
Khan has denied he threatened the officials, saying his words were taken out of context.
"This amounts to making a mockery of the anti-terrorism law; making a mockery of our country," he told journalists outside the court on Monday after he secured his bail.
The terrorism case is one of a spate of legal woes for Khan, who was ousted as prime minister by a parliamentary vote in April.
The court said last week it would indict Khan in a contempt of court case in coming days in a matter that poses a threat to his future as it could see him disqualified from politics for at least five years.
Khan, who still enjoys widespread support, has been holding political gatherings across the country to pressure the government into holding snap elections. Officially, general elections are not due until November next year.
The government says the polls will take place on time and has rejected Khan's call for early elections.
It is at one of these rallies that Khan thundered against police and judicial officials. He has also targeted the top brass of the country's military, which issued a rare direct public rebuke of Khan for his statements earlier this month. (Reuters)
September
Fight against AIDS, TB and malaria bounced back post-COVID - but not enough
Written by Nur Yasmin
Efforts to tackle AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria began to recover last year after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but the world is still not on track to defeat these killer diseases, according to a report.
In its 2022 report, released on Monday, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said the numbers of people reached with treatment and prevention efforts rebounded last year after declining for the first time in almost 20 years in 2020.
However, all the ground lost has not been regained, said Peter Sands, head of the Fund, a public/private alliance based in Geneva.
"Most countries have done an impressive job of bouncing back from the terrible disruption of 2020 ... but we are not where we want to be. Far too many people are still dying of these diseases," he told Reuters last week.
For example, the numbers treated for tuberculosis fell by 19% in 2020, to 4.5 million. In 2021, this went back up by 12%, to 5.3 million - still just below the 5.5 million on treatment pre-pandemic. While malaria and AIDS programmes did exceed 2019 levels, the pandemic's impact means they are still off-track on the aim of ending the diseases by 2030.
Sands also warned that the impact of the global food crisis, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, would make the situation worse.
Infectious diseases are usually much deadlier for people whose bodies are weakened by malnutrition, and they also do not respond as well to treatment or prevention efforts. As such, Sands said it was "likely" that the Fund would have to work with partners to provide more nutritional support than it ever has before in order to continue to save lives.
The report estimates that the Fund's work with countries has saved around 50 million lives since its inception in 2002. It spent $4.4 billion to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on its key areas, and fight the pandemic, from March 2020 on.
To continue its work, the Global Fund is now aiming to raise $18 billion for its next three-year funding cycle, from governments, civil society and the private sector. It has already raised more than a third of the total and there are plans for a pledging conference next week, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. (Reuters)
September
U.N. human rights expert decries 'descent towards authoritarianism' in Afghanistan
Written by Nur Yasmin
A U.N. expert on Monday said that human rights had deteriorated under the Taliban, describing a "descent towards authoritarianism" and calling for radical changes.
"The severe rollback of the rights of women and girls, reprisals targeting opponents and critics, and a clampdown on freedom of expression by the Taliban amount to a descent towards authoritarianism," Richard Bennett, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, told a Human Rights Council meeting.
The mandate to monitor human rights violations in Afghanistan was established by the Geneva-based council almost a year ago in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover last August and is now up for renewal. (Reuters)
September
Ukraine and Russia interested in Zaporizhzhia protection zone, IAEA chief says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine and Russia are interested in the U.N. atomic watchdog's proposal that a protection zone be created around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday, describing it as a ceasefire.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at the site of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant that has damaged buildings close to its six reactors and risked nuclear catastrophe, including by cutting power lines essential to cooling fuel in the reactors even though they are all shut down.
Grossi has called both for an immediate stop to shelling and a more formal "nuclear safety and security protection zone" around the plant.
"I have seen signs that they are interested in this agreement," he told a news conference when asked about the progress of talks with Russia and Ukraine on the zone. "What I see is two sides that are engaging with us, that are asking questions, lots of questions."
Issues being discussed include the radius of the zone and the role of IAEA staff, Grossi said. Two IAEA officials are currently stationed at the plant and form what the agency calls a continuous presence there.
Asked if his proposal was for a ceasefire rather than a removal of all military equipment or personnel, Grossi said what he was suggesting encompassed a ceasefire.
"It includes that. It may include other things," he said, adding: "Basically it's a commitment that no military action will include or will imply aiming, of course, at the plant, or a radius that could be affecting its normal operation. This is what we expect." (Reuters)
September
Kim Jong Un suggests North Korea may begin COVID vaccinations
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested that the isolated country could begin COVID-19 vaccinations in November, state media reported on Friday.
In a speech on Thursday to the North Korean national assembly, Kim cited World Health Organization warnings that the winter could see a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
“Therefore, along with responsible vaccination, we should recommend that all residents wear masks to protect their health from November," he said, without elaborating.
North Korea has not confirmed administering any COVID-19 vaccinations, although customs records show that it has imported some unspecified vaccines from China this year.
Last month Kim declared victory over COVID-19 and ordered the lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May though adding that North Korea must maintain a “steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier."
North Korea has never confirmed how many people caught COVID, apparently because it lacks the means to conduct widespread testing.
Instead, it has reported daily numbers of patients with fever, a tally that rose to some 4.77 million, out of an estimated population of about 25 million. But it has registered no new such cases since July 29, and says its death toll stands at 74.
Experts, including the WHO, have cast doubt on those numbers, citing an apparent lack of testing capacity in North Korea. (Reuters)
September
IAEA 'satisfied' with AUKUS engagement on submarine plan, report says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The U.N. nuclear watchdog is satisfied with the engagement shown so far by the United States, Britain and Australia on their AUKUS alliance's plan to supply Australia with nuclear submarines, a report by the watchdog seen by Reuters showed.
So far no party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, such as Australia, has a nuclear-powered submarine, other than the five permanent (P5) members of the U.N. Security Council, also known as nuclear-weapon states: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
Nuclear submarines, which can remain at sea far longer than other submarines, pose a proliferation challenge because they operate beyond the reach of IAEA inspectors. Special arrangements must therefore be made with the IAEA for their often very highly enriched fuel to leave dry land.
"The Agency, on the basis of technical consultations and exchanges it has conducted with the AUKUS parties to date, is satisfied with the level of their engagement," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the confidential report to member states on Friday.
"Such technical consultations will continue for the foreseeable future. The Agency recognizes that AUKUS is at an early stage and that precisely how it will develop has yet to be decided by the parties involved."
Australia has said that while this is the start of a long process its submarines' nuclear reactors would essentially be a sealed box handed over to it, limiting the proliferation risk.
The report quoted Australia as stating to the IAEA: "Australia would be provided with complete, welded power units. These power units are designed so that removal of any nuclear material would be extremely difficult and would render the power unit, and the submarine, inoperable."
That material would also be in a form that cannot be used in nuclear weapons without chemical processing "requiring facilities that Australia does not have and will not seek", it added.
Australia's centre-left Labor Party, which won a general election in May, has sought closer ties with France, hoping to repair a rift after the previous government scrapped a multi-billion dollar contract with a French company to build diesel-powered submarines in favour of the AUKUS pact. (Reuters)