Polish president criticizes government’s no-asylum-for-irregular-migrants plan as a ‘grave mistake’

Polish president criticizes government’s no-asylum-for-irregular-migrants plan as a ‘grave mistake’
A soldier stands guard near the fence on the Belarusian-Polish border in the forest near Bialowieza, Poland, Jun. 4, 2024. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 16 October 2024
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Polish president criticizes government’s no-asylum-for-irregular-migrants plan as a ‘grave mistake’

Polish president criticizes government’s no-asylum-for-irregular-migrants plan as a ‘grave mistake’
  • Duda argued in a speech in parliament that the plan would block access to safe haven for Belarusians and Russians opposed to their governments in Minsk and Moscow
  • Prime Minister Donald Tusk replied that it would not apply to dissidents

WARSAW: Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday condemned the government’s plan for a temporary suspension of the right to asylum for irregular migrants, calling it a “fatal mistake” and signaling he will not approve it.
Duda argued in a speech in parliament that the plan would block access to safe haven for Belarusians and Russians opposed to their governments in Minsk and Moscow. Prime Minister Donald Tusk replied that it would not apply to dissidents.
Tusk’s government on Thursday adopted the controversial plan intended to strengthen protection of Poland’s and the European Union’s eastern border from massive pressure from many thousands of unauthorized migrants from Africa and the Middle East. The EU says the pressure is sponsored by Minsk and Moscow as part of their hybrid war on the European bloc.
“Poland cannot and will not be helpless in this situation,” Tusk said in parliament.
Poland’s plan aims to send a signal that the country is not a source of easy asylum or visas into the EU.
It says that in the case of a ‘threat of destabilization of the country by migration inflow,” a temporary suspension of accepting asylum applications can be introduced on a given territory. The general rules of granting asylum in the EU member country will be toughened to prevent the procedure from serving as a gateway into all of the EU.
In many cases, irregular migrants apply for asylum in Poland, but before their requests are processed, they travel across the EU’s no-visa travel zone to reach Germany or other countries in Western Europe.
The plan, which failed to win support from four left-wing ministers in Tusk’s coalition government, still needs approval from parliament and from Duda to become binding. Duda has made it clear he will not back it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko “are trying to destabilize the situation on our border, in the EU, and your response to this is to deprive people whom Putin and Lukashenko imprison and persecute of a safe haven. It must be some fatal mistake,” Duda said in his emotional speech Wednesday.
Migration and Poland’s plan are to be discussed at the upcoming EU summit and on its fringes this week in Brussels.


US unveils $988m aid package for Ukraine including rockets and drones

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US unveils $988m aid package for Ukraine including rockets and drones

US unveils $988m aid package for Ukraine including rockets and drones
The package nearly halves the available $2.21 billion remaining in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative
The USAI funds will be put toward buying ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)

CALIFORNIA: The United States unveiled a $988 million aid package of new arms and equipment to Ukraine for its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion on Saturday.
The package nearly halves the available $2.21 billion remaining in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative as the Biden administration works to commit to buying weapons from industry, rather than pulling from US weapons stocks.
The USAI funds will be put toward buying ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) made by Lockheed Martin as well as drones and spare parts to maintain artillery equipment, according to the Pentagon.
Announcement of the package came on Saturday as the defense industry and policy makers meet at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California.
The Biden administration has often used Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorizes President Joe Biden to transfer excess articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency.
The USAI funds are separate and will go to purchase new weapons from industry.
The Biden administration still has about $6 billion of congressionally granted presidential drawdown authority, including funds authorized in 2024 and funds discovered by the Pentagon after overestimating the value of arms shipped to Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the US has committed more than $62 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine.

Earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city raise concerns

Earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city raise concerns
Updated 07 December 2024
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Earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city raise concerns

Earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city raise concerns

ANCHORAGE: An increase in the number of earthquakes under a volcano near Alaska’s largest city this year has geologists paying attention.

Mount Spurr, about 129 kilometers northwest of Anchorage, last erupted in 1992, spewing an ash cloud nearly 19 kilometers into the air, prompting flights to be canceled and people to don masks. Another eruption at the 3,383-meter stratovolcano could be severely disruptive to the city, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The observatory raised its alert status for Mount Spurr in October — from green to yellow — when the increase in seismic activity became pronounced and a ground deformation was spotted in satellite data. Observatory scientist David Fee said Friday there have been about 1,500 small earthquake below the volcano this year, compared to about 100 in a normal year.

While that might seem like a lot, it’s “not an enormous amount,” Fee said. It could be a precursor to an eruption — or not. Similar seismic unrest occurred from 2004 to 2006 before subsiding without an eruption.

“We don’t see any significant change in our data that would tell us that an eruption is imminent,” Fee said. “Things have been kind of this low-level unrest for a while now and we’re, of course, watching it very closely to detect any changes and what that might mean.”

Scientists are monitoring seismic stations, global satellite data and a webcam for additional changes that would signal an impending eruption. If magma is moving closer to the surface, there would be an increase in earthquakes, ground deformations, the creation of a summit lake or fumaroles, which are vents that open in the surface to vent gas and vapors. 


Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, five years after fire

Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, five years after fire
Updated 07 December 2024
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Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, five years after fire

Restored Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, five years after fire
  • The 860-year-old medieval building has been meticulously restored, with a new spire and rib vaulting
  • Tourists, who still cannot go inside the cathedral, snapped pictures with the restored building in the background as final preparations for the event went on inside

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed guests set to include Donald Trump on Saturday at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral for its reopening ceremony, five-and-a-half years after a huge fire brought the Gothic masterpiece close to collapse.
The 860-year-old medieval building has been meticulously restored, with a new spire and rib vaulting, its flying buttresses and carved stone gargoyles returned to their past glory and white stone and gold decorations shining brightly once again.
Getting US President-elect Trump to attend, and organizing a meeting between him and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace ahead of the Notre-Dame ceremony was a coup for Macron as he faces a political crisis at home, after parliament ousted his prime minister.
Zelensky joined Britain’s Prince William, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and former French presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, who were arriving for the evening ceremony.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser in Trump’s transition team, was also set to attend, a French government source said.
Earlier, tourists, who still cannot go inside the cathedral, snapped pictures with the restored building in the background as final preparations for the event went on inside.
“It was very sad to see it burnt down and all black and ashy but amazing to see it rebuilt. Yeah, it’s very special,” said 26-year-old US tourist Amanda Nguyen, from Texas.
Some Parisians were particularly thrilled.
“What does Notre-Dame mean to me? This. Look, it’s here,” said careworker Pascal Tordeux, displaying a tattoo on his arm representing the cathedral. “It means everything.”
“I saw the construction every day from my window, the spire being brought down, being brought back. I saw it burn, I saw it rise again. I followed it day by day,” said Tordeux, who lives across the river from Notre-Dame.
On the evening of April 15, 2019, dismayed Parisians rushed to the scene and TV viewers worldwide watched horrified as the fire raged through the cathedral.
“The planet was shaken on that day,” Macron said ahead of Saturday’s event. “The shock of the reopening will – I believe and I want to believe – be as strong as that of the fire, but it will be a shock of hope.”
THOUSANDS WORKED ON RESTORATION
Forecast strong winds mean the non-religious part of the celebrations, including Macron’s speech, which had been set to be held outside the cathedral, will also be held inside.
Would-be visitors can now book a free ticket online, on the Cathedral’s website. But on Saturday, the first day bookings could be made for the coming days, all tickets were gone, a message on the site said.
Group visits will be allowed next year — from Feb. 1 for religious groups or from June 9 for tourists with guides. The Catholic Church expects the cathedral to welcome 15 million visitors each year.
Thousands of experts — from carpenters and stonemasons to stained glass window artists — worked around the clock for the last five years, using age-old methods to restore, repair or replace everything that was destroyed or damaged.
“Notre-Dame is more than a Parisian or French monument. It’s also a universal monument,” said historian Damien Berne.
“It’s a landmark, an emblem, a point of reference that reassures in a globalized world where everything evolves permanently,” said Berne, a member of the scientific council for the restoration.
The cathedral’s first stone was laid in 1163, and construction continued for much of the next century, with major restoration and additions made in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Victor Hugo helped make the cathedral a symbol of Paris and France when he used it as a setting for his 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.” Quasimodo, the main character, has been portrayed in Hollywood movies, an animated Disney adaptation and in musicals.
So much money poured in for the renovation from all over the world — more than 840 million euros ($880 million), according to Macron’s office — there are still funds left over for further investment in the building.


Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region

Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region
Updated 07 December 2024
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Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region

Hundreds of thousands in Ireland and UK left without power as Storm Darragh batters the region
  • Officials sent a rare emergency alert by phone to about 3 million households
  • Major highways and bridges across the country were closed

LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of people in Britain and Ireland were left without power and millions were warned to stay indoors Saturday as high winds and heavy rain battered the region.
Gusts of up to 93 miles per hour were recorded as officials sent a rare emergency alert by phone to about 3 million households in Wales and southwest England early Saturday.
The official alert, which came with a loud siren-like sound, warned people to stay indoors and was sent to every compatible mobile phone in the areas impacted by Storm Darragh.
On Friday the UK’s weather forecasters, the Met Office, issued a red weather warning — the most serious type. Thousands of homes, many in Northern Ireland, Wales and western England, were left without power overnight.
Major highways and bridges across the country were closed because of strong winds, and multiple train services were suspended.
In Ireland, almost 400,000 homes, farms or businesses were without power as a result of the storm. Some flights at Dublin Airport were canceled.


South Korea’s Yoon survives impeachment after his party boycotts vote

South Korea’s Yoon survives impeachment after his party boycotts vote
Updated 07 December 2024
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South Korea’s Yoon survives impeachment after his party boycotts vote

South Korea’s Yoon survives impeachment after his party boycotts vote
  • Yoon Suk Yeol stunned the nation and the international community Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule
  • The probable outcome is likely to enrage crowds demonstrating outside parliament for Yoon’s ouster

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment motion in the opposition-led parliament on Saturday that was prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law this week, after members of his party boycotted the vote.

Only 195 votes were cast, below the threshold of 200 needed for the vote to count.

“The entire nation is watching the decision being made here at the National Assembly today. World is watching,” National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said with a sigh. “It’s very unfortunate that there wasn’t even a vote.”

The main opposition Democratic Party has said it will revive the impeachment motion next week if it failed on Saturday.

Yoon shocked the nation late on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers in order to root out what he called “anti-state forces” and overcome obstructionist political opponents. He later rescinded the order.

He apologized to the nation in a speech on Saturday morning but resisted calls to resign ahead of the vote.