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June
EU countries splinter in hunt for deal on new climate laws
Written by Nur Yasmin
European Union countries struggled to agree on new legislation to help combat climate change on Tuesday, with disagreements over how tough the laws would be and how to help poorer citizens shift away from fossil fuels.
Environment ministers from the EU's 27 members met on Tuesday in Luxembourg to negotiate their joint positions on more ambitious laws to reduce planet-warming emissions, including reforms to the EU carbon market and a 2035 phase-out of new fossil fuel-powered cars.
"Nobody's going to leave the room without a bit of pain," EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said, adding that he was hopeful the ministers would reach a deal.
The raft of new laws is designed to deliver the EU's 2030 target of reducing net emissions by 55% from 1990 levels. What ministers agree will set their position for negotiations with the EU Parliament on the final laws.
But countries were at odds over the plans, with talks set to resume in the afternoon after a first round of negotiations did not yield a deal. One point of contention is a fund to shield poorer households from CO2 costs under a new EU carbon market.
Brussels' proposal would introduce costs on polluting fuels used in transport and buildings from 2026. It has faced resistance from countries such as Poland who fear it could add to soaring energy bills.
Ministers disagreed on Tuesday over the size of the new fund. The Commission proposed it contain revenues from a quarter of the CO2 permits sold in the new carbon market - expected to yield roughly 72 billion euros ($76 billion) from 2025-2032.
Wealthier states, who would receive less from the fund than they pay into it, say that is too big. Germany made a compromise proposal on Tuesday of 48.5 billion euros, which won support from Denmark and the Netherlands but was opposed by countries including Poland - who along with other central and eastern countries, wants a bigger fund.
France, which is chairing the ministers' meeting, proposed delaying the new carbon market's launch to 2027, in a bid to win support from sceptics. Any deals need to win support from a majority of EU countries, who must together represent at least 65% of EU citizens.
An EU plan to effectively ban new combustion engine car sales from 2035 got a boost on Tuesday when Germany, the bloc's biggest car market, backed the proposal, despite opposition expressed by the German finance minister last week.
Environment minister Steffi Lemke told the EU meeting Germany would back the goal if a separate proposal is made to allow cars running on "CO2 neutral" fuels to be sold after 2035.
Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania want the car target delayed to 2040, however, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The average lifespan of new cars is 15 years, and Brussels has warned a later ban would stop the EU reaching net zero emissions by 2050, the global milestone scientists say would avert disastrous climate change. (Reuters)
June
G7: China must press Russia to stop Ukraine war
Written by Nur Yasmin
G7 leaders urged China on Tuesday to use its influence with Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine and drop "expansive maritime claims" in the South China Sea, in unprecedentedly tough criticism of Beijing's policies and human rights record.
They called on China to press Russia to pull forces out of Ukraine immediately and unconditionally, citing a ruling by the International Court of Justice that Moscow suspend its military operation, and related U.N. General Assembly resolutions.
In a communique concluding their three-day summit in the Bavarian Alps, the Group of Seven rich industrial democracies took aim at what they called coercive Chinese non-market policies that distorted the global economy.
The Chinese section of the communique, highlighted by the United States, referred to China's "non-transparent and market-distorting interventions" and other forms of economic and industrial directives.
The G7 leaders committed to work together to ensure a level playing field for their businesses and workers.
The communique further voiced serious disquiet about the situation in the East and South China seas and unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.
"We stress that there is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea," it said.
Italso the G7 was now "gravely concerned" - a term not used in their summit a year ago - about the human rights situation in China, including forced labour in Tibet and Xinjiang. China should also honour its commitments to uphold rights, freedom and a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong, they said.
A NATO summit starting immediately after the G7 summit will tackle China's deepening ties with Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and what is seen as Beijing's growing inclination of China to flex geopolitical muscle abroad. (Reuters)
June
Ukraine mourns shopping mall attack victims, war crimes team on the scene
Written by Nur Yasmin
War crimes investigators on Tuesday inspected the charred remains of a shopping mall devastated by a Russian missile strike as Ukraine mourned the victims of what the Ukrainian prosecutor general called "crimes against humanity".
A day after the attack in which at least 18 people were killed, the city of Kremenchuk in central Ukraine declared a day of mourning and fire fighters cleared away rubble.
Residents left flowers in black vases on a wall near what was left of the mall. A small yellow and blue national flag jutted out of one of the vases, and a row of stuffed toy animals sat beside them.
Exhausted fire fighters sat on a curb alongside another of the shopping centre's walls. Others lay on a grass embankment, smoking and scrolling on their phones.
"We pulled out five bodies. We didn’t find anybody alive," said a fire fighter who gave his name only as Oleksandr.
Members of a team of international legal experts gathered beside the mall and briefed Ukrainians wearing uniforms identifying them as "war crimes police."
"It's a question about crimes against humanity," Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told Reuters in Kremenchuk.
She said one missile had struck a factory near the shopping centre but that it was closed and could not be considered a military target.
Wayne Jordash, a British lawyer working with an international initiative to assist Ukraine's war crimes investigations, said the first indications were that the factory that was hit had "nothing to do with the military".
"On the face of this, this looks like a war crime. It looks like it's a deliberate attack on a civilian object," Jordash, speaking from Kremenchuk, said.
Russia said the incident was caused by a strike on a legitimate military target. Its defence ministry, quoted by the RIA state news agency, said Russian forces had fired missiles at a storage depot for Western weapons in Kremenchuk, and the detonation of stored ammunition there had caused the fire at the nearby mall.
Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians in its "special military operation" in Ukraine which has destroyed cities, killed thousands of people and driven millions from their homes. (Reuters)
June
ASEAN envoy appeals to Myanmar junta to spare Suu Kyi jail
Written by Nur Yasmin
A special Southeast Asian envoy for the crisis in Myanmar on Monday urged its military rulers not to hold deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi in prison, appealing for leniency ahead of a visit later this week.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn will make his second trip to Myanmar from Wednesday, a spokesperson for his ministry said, as part of the junta's peace commitment with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Suu Kyi, who has been on trial accused of at least 20 crimes since a coup against her elected government last year, has been moved to a prison in the capital Naypyitaw and kept in solitary confinement. She denies all charges.
The 77-year-old had until last week been spared jail and was held in an undisclosed location, despite having several convictions for relatively minor offences.
Prak Sokhonn in a letter to the junta urged compassion.
"Aung San Suu Kyi is regarded internationally and by many in Myanmar as having a critical role in your country's return to normalcy and national reconciliation through a peaceful political solution," he wrote, according to a statement.
Activists denounced Prak Sokhonn's last visit in March as a failure that favoured the junta and overlooked its opponents, criticism that he said he understood.
In his letter, he said a successful peace process was impossible with one side excluded.
"A peaceful political resolution to a conflict, no matter how complex it is, must involve the sharing of political space by all involved," he added. (Reuters)
June
Pakistan orders masks on domestic flights as COVID numbers rise
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan’s aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, it said a statement.
The order comes a day after Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, reported that its COVID-19 positivity ratio, or the rate of positive cases out of all tests conducted, rose to 21% compared with a national rate of 2.8%.
"With immediate effect, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights,” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said in the statement late on Sunday.
Pakistan has had very few COVID cases over recent months and had done away with almost all precautions.
But over the past 24 hours, the national COVID positivity ratio had risen to 2.85% with 382 positive cases and two deaths, according to data released on Monday by the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH).
A month ago, the positivity ratio was 0.54% with 79 positive cases and no deaths. According to the NIH, 85% of eligible Pakistanis have been fully vaccinated against COVID.
Pakistan disbanded the National Command and Operations Center, which was overseeing the COVID response, on March 31 as infections fell to the lowest since the outbreak began in 2020. (Reuters)
June
North Korea says U.S. is setting up Asian NATO; vows stronger defence
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea has accused the United States of setting up a military alliance like NATO in Asia, saying the unwavering U.S. aim to oust North Korea's government compelled it to develop stronger defences.
The North Korean criticism comes amid concern it could be preparing its first nuclear test in five years and after a recent agreement between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden to deploy more U.S. weapons if deemed necessary to deter the North.
"While blatantly holding joint military exercises with Japan and South Korea, the United States is making a full-fledged move to establish an Asia-style NATO," North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website on Sunday.
It was referring to recent military exercises conducted by U.S., South Korean and Japanese forces. The United States also held exercises with South Korean forces that involved a U.S. aircraft carrier, for the first time in more than four years.
North Korea, which has been conducting regular missile tests this year, repeated its assertion that such drills were preparation for war aimed at overthrowing it.
"This proves the hypocrisy of the U.S. rhetoric of 'diplomatic engagement' and 'dialogue without preconditions', while at the same time revealing again that there is no change in the U.S. ambition to overthrow our system by force," the North Korean ministry said.
It did not refer explicitly to its nuclear or missile programmes but said U.S. hostility compelled it to develop its defences.
"The reality ... makes us feel the need to make all-out efforts to develop even stronger power to be able to subdue all kinds of hostile acts by the United States," it said.
The United States is insisting that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons and has repeatedly offered to meet North Korean officials "at any time without preconditions" to discuss the issue. North Korea has rebuffed the offers.
The North Korean criticism came a day before South Korea's president left to attend a NATO summit in Spain, the first South Korean leader to do so.
South Korea, aiming to strengthen its partnership with NATO and play a bigger global security role, plans to set up a delegation to NATO at its Brussels headquarters, South Korea's national security adviser said last week. (Reuters)
June
NATO to massively increase high-readiness forces to 300,000 - Stoltenberg
Written by Nur Yasmin
NATO will increase the number of its forces at high readiness massively to over 300,000, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.
"We will transform the NATO response force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000," he told reporters ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid later this week in Madrid.
NATO's quick reaction force, the NATO response force, so far has some 40,000 troops.
At the Madrid summit, NATO will also change its language on Russia that in the alliance's last strategy from 2010 was still described as a strategic partner.
"That will not be the case in the strategic concept that we will agree in Madrid," Stoltenberg said.
"I expect that allies will state clearly that Russia poses a direct threat to our security, to our values, to the rules-based international order." (Reuters)
June
Ecuador could stop pumping oil within 48 hours due to protests
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ecuador could suspend oil production completely within 48 hours over "acts of vandalism, taking over wells and closing roads", the Energy Ministry said on Sunday, amid anti-government protests in which at least six people have died.
The former OPEC country, which was pumping around 520,000 barrels per day before the protests, may halt oil operations as "it has not been possible to transport the supplies and diesel necessary to maintain operations," the ministry said in a statement.
Ecuador has been embroiled in mass anti-government protests since June 13, with calls for lower prices for fuel, food and other basics, which have led to its oil production falling by more than half.
President Guillermo Lasso said on Sunday he would cut prices for gasoline and diesel by 10 cents a gallon, a day after the government and indigenous leaders held their first formal talks since the protests began. (Reuters)
June
G7: we will stand with Ukraine 'for as long as it takes'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies on Monday pledged to stand with Ukraine "for as long as it takes" by cranking up sanctions on Russia and backing security commitments for Kyiv in a post-war settlement.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the global economic fallout such as soaring energy and food prices has dominated this year's summit of the leaders of Germany, the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Britain.
"We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," said the statement.
The statement was issued on the second day of the summit taking place at a castle in the Bavarian Alps, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed G7 leaders on the war via video link.
In that address, which was not broadcast to the public, Zelenskiy asked for anti-aircraft defence systems, more sanctions on Russia and security guarantees, a European official said. He also said he wanted Russia's war in Ukraine ended by the end of the year before the winter sets in.
The G7 leaders said they would continue to coordinate efforts to meet Ukraine's urgent military needs and were ready to work with interested countries and institutions on sustained security commitments.
It was up to Ukraine to decide on a future peace settlement, free from external pressure or influence, they said, but they stood ready to support an international reconstruction plan, drawn up and implemented by Ukraine in coordination with partners.
This year's G7 host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said last week the country needed a "Marshall Plan", like the U.S. programme that rebuilt Europe after World War Two.
"We welcome the Presidency’s initiative to convene with Ukraine an international high-level experts conference, to make progress on a comprehensive reconstruction plan," the statement read.
The G7 leaders were ready to grant, or had already pledged or provided up to $29.5 billion in 2022 to help Ukraine close its financing gap, the statement said. Between 2014 and 2021, the group had already provided more than $60 billion of support.
The leaders were committed to cranking up the economic pressure on Russian "President (Vladimir) Putin’s regime and its enablers in Belarus, depriving Russia of the economic means to persist in its war of aggression against Ukraine".
They would also impose targeted sanctions on those responsible for war crimes, exercising "illegitimate authority" in Ukraine or helping Russian efforts that they said increased global food insecurity.
Russia denies committing war crimes in what it calls a special military operation, aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and removing dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and its allies in the West say this is a baseless excuse for a war of aggression. (Reuters)
June
Ukraine's richest man sues Russia at Europe's top human rights court
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine's richest man filed a lawsuit against Russia at Europe’s top human rights court on Monday, seeking compensation over what he has said are billions of dollars in business losses since Russia's invasion.
Rinat Akhmetov, owner of the Azovstal steelworks in the city of Mariupol where Ukrainian fighters defied weeks of Russian bombardment, sued Russia for "grievous violations of his property rights" at the European Court of Human Rights, his System Capital Management (SCM) holding company said.
It said Akhmetov was also seeking a court order "preventing Russia from engaging in further blockading, looting, diversion and destruction of grain and steel" produced by his companies.
"Evil cannot go unpunished. Russia's crimes against Ukraine and our people are egregious, and those guilty of them must be held liable," SCM quoted Akhmetov as saying.
"The looting of Ukraine’s export commodities, including grain and steel, has already resulted in higher prices and people dying of hunger worldwide. These barbaric actions must be stopped, and Russia must pay in full."
Asked about the suit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was no longer under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.
"We left the (jurisdiction of) relevant documents. Therefore, here the answer is absolutely obvious," he said.
Russia has previously dismissed Ukrainian allegations of stealing from territories it has occupied during what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine.
Forbes magazine put Akhmetov's net worth at $15.4 billion in 2013. Since then, his business empire has been hit by Russia's Feb. 24 invasion and by years of fighting in Ukraine’s east since Russia-backed separatists seized territory there in 2014.
Akhmetov said last month his company Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steelmaker, had suffered $17 to $20 billion in losses because of Russia's bombardment of its steel plants in Mariupol. The final amount would be determined in a lawsuit, he said. (Reuters)