Germany vows millions for Amazon as Scholz meets Lula in Brazil

Germany vows millions for Amazon as Scholz meets Lula in Brazil
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) during a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on January 30, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 31 January 2023

Germany vows millions for Amazon as Scholz meets Lula in Brazil

Germany vows millions for Amazon as Scholz meets Lula in Brazil
  • The package includes a brand-new $33.6 million in aid for Brazilian states for rainforest protection

BRASÍLIA: Germany on Monday outlined more than $200 million in contributions for environmental projects in Brazil as Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the South American giant reeling from Amazon destruction under ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
The package includes a brand-new $33.6 million in aid for Brazilian states for rainforest protection, on top of another $38 million already announced for an Amazon protection fund to which Germany and Norway had halted payments under climate-skeptic Bolsonaro.
Protection of the Amazon — a crucial sink for planet-warming carbon dioxide — was high on the agenda for talks between Scholz and Brazil’s leftist new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that also aimed to “deepen the resumption of relations,” according to the Brazilian presidency.
Scholz was the first German chancellor to visit Brazil since 2015, and the first Western leader to meet Lula since he became president on January 1 after four years of frosty relations with Brazil under far-right Bolsonaro.
Shortly before Scholz’s arrival in the capital Brasilia, German economic cooperation minister Svenja Schulze announced her country would make additional funds available for Amazon preservation after “difficult years.”
“Brazil is the lung of the world. If it has problems, we all have to help it,” Schulze said at a press conference in Brasilia with Lula’s new environment minister Marina Silva.
Bolsonaro’s four-year term was marked by a surge in fires and clear-cutting in the rainforest.
Average annual deforestation on his watch rose by 59.5 percent from the previous four years, and by 75.5 percent from the previous decade, according to government figures.
German funds for Brazil would also include $32 million for energy efficiency projects for small and medium companies, $9.7 million for “sustainable supply chain projects,” $5.7 million for renewable energy use in industry and transport and $14.2 million for reforestation of degraded areas, according to a Germany embassy statement.
$87 million would go toward low-cost loans for farmers to “reforest their land.”
Amazon destruction was a major sticking point in a trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur grouping comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The blocs reached an agreement in 2019 following 20 years of talks, but it has not yet been ratified.
Scholz, who visited Chile and Argentina before heading to Brazil, said in Buenos Aires on Saturday a “quick conclusion” was needed to the trade deal impasse, adding that with Lula in place, “we are in a better position.”
Lula had presided over a sharp drop in deforestation when he previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, and has vowed to reboot environmental protection.
He has said it was “urgent” for a deal to be concluded, but stressed on the campaign trail that further negotiation was needed to ensure Brazil can pursue “our interest in reindustrializing.”
Energy is also on the agenda for talks between the leaders of Europe and South America’s biggest economies.
German business is seeking new opportunities overseas following the economic shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and as concerns grow about reliance on China.
All three countries on Scholz’s itinerary — Argentina, Chile and Brazil — are rich in natural resources and “very interesting partners,” a government source in Berlin said.
In an interview Saturday with the Grupo de Diarios America (GDA) consortium of South American newspapers, Scholz said Germany wanted to boost cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean on “renewable energies, green hydrogen and responsible trade in raw materials.”
A Berlin government source said Germany would use the Latin American tour to drum up further international support against Moscow as the war in Ukraine drags on.
Argentina, Chile and Brazil have criticized the invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations but have not adopted sanctions against Moscow.
Lula caused shock last year when he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “as responsible as” Russian President Vladimir Putin for the conflict.


Pakistan militants kill 4 police officers, hurt 6 in attacks

Pakistan militants kill 4 police officers, hurt 6 in attacks
Updated 15 sec ago

Pakistan militants kill 4 police officers, hurt 6 in attacks

Pakistan militants kill 4 police officers, hurt 6 in attacks
  • Group known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP is separate but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban
  • TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Taliban militants killed four police officers by targeting a police vehicle with a roadside bomb and wounded six in an attack on a police station in northwest Pakistan early Thursday, police and the insurgents said.
The bomb killed four officers in a police vehicle carrying reinforcements sent to respond to the attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Six officers were wounded in the attack at the police station.
Local police officer Ashfaq Khan said a search was underway for the militant suspects who attacked the police station in Lakki Marwat and later targeted the police vehicle with a bomb.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. The group known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP is separate but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. There has been an uptick in attacks in Pakistan after the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with the government of Pakistan.
TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 when US and NATO troops were leaving the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
Pakistan has seen innumerable militant attacks in the past two decades but there has been an uptick since November, when the TTP ended a monthslong Afghan Taliban-brokered cease-fire with the government of Pakistan.

Philippine ferry fire leaves 12 dead, at least 7 missing

Philippine ferry fire leaves 12 dead, at least 7 missing
Updated 30 March 2023

Philippine ferry fire leaves 12 dead, at least 7 missing

Philippine ferry fire leaves 12 dead, at least 7 missing
  • MV Lady Mary Joy 3 enroute to Jolo island from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire midway off Basilan close to midnight, says governor

MANILA, Philippines: A ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew caught fire between Philippine islands and at least 12 people were killed with seven still missing, a provincial governor said Thursday.
Many of those rescued had jumped off the ferry in panic at the height of the fire and were plucked from the sea by the coast guard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen, said Gov. Jim Hataman of the southern island province of Basilan. The search and rescue effort was continuing Thursday.
The governor said most of those onboard the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 were rescued overnight but authorities were double-checking the numbers from different rescue teams, suggesting the figures could change.
The ferry was enroute to Jolo town in Sulu province from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire midway off Basilan close to midnight, he said.
The dead included at least three children, who apparently were separated from their parents, and at least 23 passengers were injured and brought to hospitals, he said.
“Some of the passengers were roused from sleep due to the commotion caused by the fire. Some jumped off the ship,” Hataman told The Associated Press by telephone.
Most of those who died drowned and were recovered at sea, officials said.
The burned ferry has been towed to Basilan’s shoreline and an investigation was underway, Hataman said.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.


Taiwan president welcomed, denounced by Chinese community in New York as she arrives for a stopover

Taiwan president welcomed, denounced by Chinese community in New York as she arrives for a stopover
Updated 30 March 2023

Taiwan president welcomed, denounced by Chinese community in New York as she arrives for a stopover

Taiwan president welcomed, denounced by Chinese community in New York as she arrives for a stopover
  • China has threatened reprisals if Tsai meets with US House speaker Kevin McCarthy
  • Tsai is stopping over in the US en route to Guatemala and Belize to shore up ties

NEW YORK: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York Wednesday for a visit that has triggered threats of reprisal by China if she meets with House speaker Kevin McCarthy — and US warnings for Beijing not to overreact.
Tsai is stopping over in the United States en route to Central America, where she will meet with the leaders of Guatemala and Belize to shore up ties with those diplomatic allies. On her way back to Taiwan she will stop in California, where McCarthy had said he would meet her.
China claims the democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day and, under its “One China” principle, no country may maintain official ties with both Beijing and Taipei.
Beijing warned Wednesday that it was vehemently opposed to any meeting between Tsai and McCarthy and vowed to take “resolute measures to fight back” if it goes ahead.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen acknowledges well-wishers in New York on March 29, 2023. (AP Photo)

The United States responded by saying China should not use Tsai’s stopover as a pretext to act aggressively around the Taiwan Strait.
Tsai was seen arriving at her hotel in New York, where dozens of pro-Beijing demonstrators waving China’s red flag gathered boisterously while nearby a similarly sized group of pro-Taiwan people cheered and waved their banner and the US stars and stripes.
Xu Xueyuan, the charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said she had spoken directly to US officials numerous times and warned them that Tsai’s trip would violate China’s core interests.
“We urge the US side not to repeat playing with fire on the Taiwan question,” she told reporters, alluding among other things to last year’s visit to Taiwan by then House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Tsai’s trip follows Honduras’s decision this month to open diplomatic relations with Beijing, leaving Belize and Guatemala among just 13 countries that have official ties with Taipei.
After first visiting New York, Tsai will meet her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei and Belize Prime Minister John Briceno in their respective countries, her office said.
She will then stop in Los Angeles on her way home.
McCarthy has said he will meet Tsai in his home state, although the talks are yet to be confirmed by Taiwanese authorities.
Pelosi’s visit triggered an angry response from Beijing, with the Chinese military conducting drills at an unprecedented scale around the island.

A supporter holds a sign welcoming Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen as she arrives at the Lotte Hotel in Manhattan, New York City, on March 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Analysts say the US stopover comes at a key time, with Beijing having ramped up military, economic and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan since Tsai came to power in 2016, poaching nine of its diplomatic allies.
“Beijing’s attempts to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic partners will lead to Taiwan developing closer ties with the United States,” said James Lee, a researcher on US-Taiwan relations at Academia Sinica.
The United States remains Taiwan’s most important ally — and its biggest arms supplier — despite switching its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979.
“The loss of official relations with third countries will be offset by a deepening of Taiwan’s unofficial relations,” Lee said.
Recent visits by a Czech delegation and a German minister were met with rebukes from Beijing.
One of Tsai’s most prominent domestic opponents, ex-president Ma Ying-jeou, was in China on Wednesday, the first such trip by a former Taiwanese leader.

China has increased investment in Latin America, a key diplomatic battleground between Taipei and Beijing since the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war.
Taiwan accused China on Sunday of using “coercion and intimidation” to lure away its allies after Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang officially launched relations in Beijing.
Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the region, made the switch due to economic necessity, Reina had said earlier.
The move continued a trend in Latin America, with Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica all switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in recent years.
In addition to Guatemala and Belize, Taiwan still has official ties with a handful of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Paraguay and Haiti.


UK military chiefs call for stop to deportation of Afghan war hero to Rwanda

UK military chiefs call for stop to deportation of Afghan war hero to Rwanda
Updated 30 March 2023

UK military chiefs call for stop to deportation of Afghan war hero to Rwanda

UK military chiefs call for stop to deportation of Afghan war hero to Rwanda
  • Home Office: Because veteran did not enter Britain via legal route, his asylum claim may be denied
  • Ex-international development secretary: Govt ‘shirking’ its responsibilities toward Afghans who fought alongside UK

LONDON: Senior military chiefs, politicians and diplomats in the UK have urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to prevent the deportation of an Afghan veteran to Rwanda, The Independent reported on Wednesday.

The war pilot flew 30 combat missions against the Taliban and was forced to flee to Britain. Because he could find no safe and legal route, he traveled on a small boat to reach the country. He was praised by his coalition forces supervisor as a “patriot to his nation.”

However, the Home Office said because he traveled through Italy, Switzerland and France in order to enter England, his claim for asylum in the UK may be denied. 

The Home Office informed the pilot that he “may also be removable to Rwanda,” and that his personal information could be shared with Rwandan authorities, The Independent reported.

Former International Development Secretary Rory Stewart called the pilot’s story “profoundly shocking” because it contradicts the government’s promises made to those in Afghanistan. 

“We are shirking our responsibilities towards Afghans who risked their lives to fight alongside us and who are now at risk of their lives,” he told The Independent. 

Sir Laurie Bristow, who was British ambassador to Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul, said the lives of Afghans who fought for the UK “are at risk as a result.”

He told The Independent: “Many of our own service people owe their lives to Afghans who worked and fought alongside them in Afghanistan.”

Sir Richard Barrons, a former chief of joint operations who served in Afghanistan, said the pilot’s route to Britain should not impact his asylum claim “considering the mess the government made with the evacuation process.”

When confronted on Wednesday about the Afghan veteran’s threatened deportation to Rwanda during the “Today” program, British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the government is determined to crack down on “criminal gangs who feed the illegal asylum trade” by bringing people to the UK on small boats.

But Col. Simon Diggins, who served as a defense attache in Afghanistan, told The Independent: “We shouldn’t accept the terminology that he got here ‘illegally’; that is not the right language for people like him who have no other means of getting here safely. It is appalling that this man who was in our allied forces is being treated in this way.”

Maj. Gen. Tim Cross, who served in Iraq, the Balkans and Northern Ireland, said: “If this man was a member of Afghan forces fighting alongside the coalition then the risks to him are obvious.

“The whole Afghanistan withdrawal was terribly done, and cases like these are the human consequences of mistakes we made in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Former Defense Minister Kevan Jones told The Independent: “We have a huge debt to these people. This is no way to treat them. It’s a stain on Britain’s great reputation of supporting its friends.

“We always stick by our friends. We should continue to do that. This government is clearly not doing that in this case and many others.”

Sunak has promised to review the veteran’s case. On Monday, he asked the Home Office to look further into his situation.


Fate of Russian girl separated from father over Ukraine unclear

Fate of Russian girl separated from father over Ukraine unclear
Updated 29 March 2023

Fate of Russian girl separated from father over Ukraine unclear

Fate of Russian girl separated from father over Ukraine unclear
  • Maria was taken away from him in early March and placed in a local "rehabilitation centre" for minors, with the pair denied contact
  • The case has garnered national attention, as Moscow cracks down on criticism of the offensive in Ukraine

MOSCOW: The fate of a Russian child who drew a pro-peace sketch was unclear Wednesday, a day after her father fled house arrest to avoid prison time over criticism of Moscow's assault on Ukraine.
Single father Alexei Moskalyov fled house arrest just before a court in the town of Yefremov south of Moscow handed him a two-year sentence for "discrediting" the Russian army.
Since early March Moskalyov has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter Maria as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies, a first in modern Russia, experts say.
Maria was taken away from him in early March and placed in a local "rehabilitation centre" for minors, with the pair denied contact.
The case has garnered national attention, as Moscow cracks down on criticism of the offensive in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Moskalyov's lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko said he had visited the "rehabilitation centre" the day earlier but the girl was not there.
"It seems that they are hiding Masha," he told AFP, referring to the girl by her diminutive name. He said a lot of supporters wanted to see her, too.
The lawyer also said he was not aware of her 54-year-old father's whereabouts.
"I hope he's alive and well," he added.
Biliyenko said it was now "difficult to predict" what will happen to Maria.
Moskalyov is at risk of losing parental rights in a separate trial set to begin on April 6.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday defended Moskalyov's sentencing, describing the father's parenting as "deplorable".
But in a letter published on social media Maria called her father "the bravest person in the world".
"I love you very much and know that you are not guilty of anything," the letter read.
"Everything will be ok and we will be together. You are my hero," the letter said.
Moskalyov's lawyer confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
The lawyer also criticised Russia's children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova and rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova for not getting involved in the case.
"The fate of a child is being decided here and they are not interested," he said.
A local rights activist, Yelena Agafonova, said she was prepared to take the girl in.
"We will apply for custody of Masha, we are preparing the documents," she told AFP.
She believed the case was a "show case to demonstrate what will happen to those who do not agree" with Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
Russia's top human rights organisation Memorial, which has been outlawed by the authorities, said it considered Moskalyov a "political prisoner".
Memorial said that his case was "an attempt to intimidate all opponents" of the conflict.