Day: November 17, 2021

The European Commission presented on Wednesday a new package to meet the bloc’s climate protection goals, including its latest commitment at the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow to prevent global deforestation.

“If we expect more ambitious climate and environmental policies from partners, we should stop exporting pollution and supporting deforestation ourselves,” EU Commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius told reporters, calling the new drafts on deforestation and waste shipment “the most ambitious legislative attempts to tackle these issues worldwide ever.”

The EU executive body proposed an act that requires companies to prove that products of soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, and coffee are “deforestation-free” and are made legally under the rules of the country of origin if they want to import to the EU.

The idea of deforestation-free import was revealed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the COP26 summit where she stressed that “EU consumers were not willing anymore to buy products that are responsible for the deforestation.”

In a separate amendment to the already existing EU rules on waste shipments, the European Commission proposed strict control over waste export to non-EU countries.

The new regulation would ban waste shipment to non-OECD countries if the receivers are not able to manage them sustainably, and it would also demand regular audit in OECD countries to check if the bloc’s waste is managed in a way that does not harm the environment.

Also, the EU would step up stronger against illegal waste trafficking that creates around €9.5 billion ($10.7 million) turnover each year.

As the third part of the new climate protection package, the European Commission announced a strategy on renewing and restoring the soil in the EU by 2050.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Pakistan’s parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to the country’s election laws, including electronic voting and voting right to the Pakistanis living abroad in the next general polls slated to be held in 2023.

The legislation, vehemently opposed by a strong opposition, was passed in the joint session of the parliament – National Assembly and Senate – summoned by the president in the capital Islamabad.

Earlier, the amendments had been approved by the treasury-dominated lower house – the National Assembly – but rejected by Senate, the upper house, where opposition enjoys a majority, forcing the government to call a joint session.

According to the country’s Constitution, if the two houses do not agree on legislation or a bill, then a joint session of the parliament can be summoned by the president to approve or reject that.

The parliament also passed a bill providing the right to “review and reconsideration” to an alleged Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, to bring into effect the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In July 2019, the ICJ in its judgment had asked Pakistan to make effective legislation to provide the right to review, and consular access to the alleged Indian spy.

Jadhav – who Pakistan says was a serving officer in the Indian Navy – was arrested in 2016 in the town of Mashkel in the Balochistan province, a few miles from the border with Iran.

A Pakistan military court sentenced him to death in April 2017 on espionage and terrorism charges.

The ICJ, however, ruled that Jadhav be treated under the Vienna Convention, asking Pakistan to provide him consular access and continue to stay his execution.

Opposition’s protest

The opposition alliance, including the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) of the three-time Premier Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of the slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, rejected the amendments, accusing the government of planning to “steal” the next elections.

Dozens of opposition lawmakers gathered in front of the Speaker’s rostrum and near the treasury benches, and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Imran Khan who was present during the parliament’s proceedings. They later tore the copies of the bills and walked out of the session in protest.

Talking to newsmen outside the parliament, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif announced that the opposition would challenge the legislation in the Supreme Court as, according to him, the government has violated the Constitution and the parliamentary norms.

Calling the electronic voting machines to be used for the next elections “evil and vicious machines”, Shehbaz, a three-time chief minister of the country’s largest Punjab province, accused the government of “bulldozing” the legislation.

He said the government has not even consulted the opposition parties over the key legislation, which shows its nefarious designs.

Addressing the parliament, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi rejected accusations by the opposition, calling it a “historic day”.

The legislation, he contended, will make the electoral process “clean and transparent”.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has long been demanding the voting right for millions of overseas Pakistanis.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Bangsamoro peace process in the Philippines has “come a long way,” said Turkey’s ambassador to the Southeast Asian nation.

“It is not easy to implement such a peace process. It takes hard work, time and it will continue for some more time,” Ambassador Ahmet Idem Akay told Anadolu Agency.

He, however, added: “It is difficult to predict when the process is completed.”

Akay was in southern Philippines’ autonomous region last week to oversee the start of third phase of decommissioning process of former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Turkey has been chairing the Independent Decommissioning Board (IDB) since when it was established in 2014.

The ambassador said the third phase, which involves 14,000 former combatants, was delayed until Nov. 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a smooth beginning of the third phase of the decommissioning process but the main challenge has been the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

The Turkish ambassador said the IDB aims to complete the third phase before the upcoming general elections in the Philippines set for May/June next year.

Akay lauded the cooperation between Manila national government and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) led by the MILF.

“There is close cooperation and coordination between the government of the Philippines and the MILF with all relevant mechanisms on both sides and also between them and the IDB. It is a very good collaboration,” he said.

Turkey is also involved in the Bangsamoro peace process through the Organization of Islamic Conference and the International Contact Group.

Besides, Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation, popularly known as the IHH, is part of the Third-Party Monitoring Team on Bangsamoro peace process.

Akay said the IDB oversees the process that the MILF combatants and their weapons are “identified, registered and undergo a careful process.”

“It is a delicate task,” he added.

A total of 40,000 former combatants were agreed to be decommissioned in four phases.

“The first two phases have been completed while third phase involves 14,000, and same number will be decommissioned in fourth phase,” the envoy added.

– Long struggle until 2019

The MILF led the region’s struggle for autonomy since the mid-20th century, ultimately resulting in peace talks and the transitional government’s formation after a referendum on Jan. 21, 2019.

Before the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) was founded in 2019 following the referendum, the MILF, led by Murad Ebrahim, had asked for a six-year transition period during peace negotiations with the Manila national government.

But negotiations resulted in a three-year transitional government under Ebrahim as chief minister until 2022.

The two sides agreed to allow the transitional government to take control of regional governance and run affairs until 2022, when elections were agreed to be held.

However, the elections have now been pushed back to 2025 under a popular law signed by the nation’s president, extending the transitional government’s term three more years.

The law, signed by Rodrigo Duterte last month after parliamentary approval, moves the date of the BARMM parliamentary and regional elections to May 2025.

The majority-Muslim region’s first elections after an interim government was formed in February 2019 with Murad Ebrahim as chief minister had been scheduled for next year.

But public demand in the region, which gained autonomy in 2019, led to the elections being pushed back to 2025.

Bangsamoro is a region of nearly 5 million people who are ethnic Moros and mostly Muslims. It has five provinces and three cities, including a capital.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Wednesday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi for talks focusing on worsening crises in Ethiopia and Sudan.

Blinken said he told Kenyatta that “our special envoy Jeffrey Feltman is working with high representative (Olusegun) Obasanjo to press the parties to end hostilities immediately and without preconditions, to stop human rights abuses and violations, to provide humanitarian access for the millions in northern Ethiopia who are in dire need of life-saving supplies.”

A statement from the Kenyan presidency said that the closed meeting the two leaders “explored new opportunities for collaboration in resolving ongoing regional conflicts and achieving sustainable peace in the Horn of Africa.”

Kenyatta and Blinken covered an array of subjects, including the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.

Blinken and his delegation also held bilateral talks with Kenyan Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo.

Blinken and Omamo told a news conference that the two countries pledged to work closely on the UN Security Council and other regional and multilateral institutions to address sources of regional instability in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere.

“We believe in the potential of Ethiopia to find a resolution to this crisis. We believe a cease-fire is possible. We believe the other conditions regarding humanitarian access are possible,” said Omamo.

Both countries reiterated that it is important for the Ethiopian government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and all armed groups involved in the violent conflict there to commit to an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated cease-fire.

They said it is need to allow the full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to populations in need, to undertake an inclusive national dialogue and to oppose hate speech and incitement based on ethnicity, religion or regional origins.

– Military takeover in Sudan, terrorism, climate change

They also voiced serious concerns about the military takeover in Sudan and called for the restoration of a civilian-led transitional government based on the constitutional declaration and other foundational documents of the transition.

Kenya and the US said they are committed to deepening economic ties, expanding bilateral trade and advancing shared economic prosperity for the benefit of the Kenyan and American people.

They agreed to work on counter-terrorism, border security, maritime security, and professionalization of security forces.

The officials also pledged to maintain pressure on al-Shabaab and other terror groups operating in the Horn of Africa through military exercises, joint operations, provision of equipment, and security cooperation.

Regarding the environment and climate change, the two sides expressed commitment to cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally in providing institutional support and building capacity for environmental conservation, climate change, food security, weather monitoring, and implementation of multilateral environment agreements.

They pledged to increase maritime security cooperation to harness the blue economy and safeguard a free, open and prosperous Indian Ocean region.

Source: Anadolu Agency

One civilian was killed and six others wounded in a blast that hit a passenger minibus on Wednesday in the Afghan capital Kabul, an official confirmed.

Qari Saeed Khosti, the Interior Ministry spokesman for the Taliban’s interim government, said in a statement that the incident took place in the western Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, which is predominantly inhabited by the Shia ethnic Hazara community.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

At least nine people were injured, with many in critical condition, as another blast blew up a passenger minibus in the same area four days ago.

According to the local Etilaatroz daily, that incident took place during the evening rush hour in the Golai area of the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, also an area heavily populated by the Hazara community.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Drug overdose deaths in the US hit a record with coronavirus lockdowns, according to a report Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths during the 12 months ending in April 2021, said the report by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

It represented an increase of 28.5% from 78,056 deaths recorded during the same period of the previous year.

The record level came after US states imposed quarantine measures starting from March 2020 to limit the spread of the virus.

Although many restrictions were eased in the following months, some are believed to have a difficult time adapting and turned to prescription drugs.

Long isolation periods, family members and friends dying because of COVID-19, job losses and financial difficulties are major factors behind higher drug use, according to experts, as the prescription drug epidemic in the US has worsened during the pandemic.

Opioids and counterfeits — including heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone — prescribed as painkillers, have caused the death of more than 470,000 people in the US since 2000.

“As we continue to make strides to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot overlook this epidemic of loss, which has touched families and communities across the country,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Biden said his administration is committed to addressing addiction and ending the overdose epidemic, noting almost $4 billion was spent through the American Rescue Plan to expand services for substance use disorder and mental health.

“We’re working to make health coverage more accessible and affordable for all Americans, so that more people who need care can get it,” he said.

“We are strengthening prevention, promoting harm reduction, expanding treatment, and supporting people in recovery, as well as reducing the supply of harmful substances in our communities. And we won’t let up,” he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US designated 10 countries, including China, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia, as countries of particular concern on Wednesday for alleged religious freedoms violations.

In addition to the four nations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken blacklisted Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan for “having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.'”

“The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country,” the top diplomat said in a statement.

“In far too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harass, arrest, threaten, jail, and kill individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs. This Administration is committed to supporting every individual’s right to freedom of religion or belief, including by confronting and combating violators and abusers of this human right,” he added.

Nigeria, which was placed on the list last December under former President Donald Trump, was removed. Blinken is expected to visit the west African nation later this week amid his ongoing diplomatic tour of the continent.

Separately, the State Department said Algeria, Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua have been added to a religious freedom watch list.

And al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, Daesh/ISIS, Daesh/SIS-Greater Sahara, Daesh/ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Taliban were listed as entities of particular concern.

Source: Anadolu Agency

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called for a widespread booster campaign to break the country’s fourth wave of the pandemic.

Addressing a gathering of city mayors, Merkel said the country’s coronavirus situation has become dramatic, as new coronavirus infections hit a fresh record this week.

She said Germany can learn from Israel’s experience and break the current wave by offering boosters to the adult population.

“According to all scientific findings – nationally and internationally – the effectiveness of the vaccines significantly decreases six months after the second dose,” Merkel told the meeting.

“Israel has shown us how a country can break the fourth wave by administering booster vaccinations,” she added.

Israel saw a sharp increase in new infections over the summer, but managed to bring down numbers after starting a widespread booster campaign for the entire population.

Lagging jabs

Merkel also called on those who are reluctant to get vaccinated, stressing that doing so is the most effective protection against serious cases of COVID-19.

Germany started administering booster shots to healthcare workers and older people in September, but the slow pace of vaccination sparked concern and criticism.

So far, nearly 4.4 million booster shots have been administered across the country.

Germany’s overall vaccination rate also lags behind other EU member states such as Portugal, Spain and Italy.

As of Wednesday, 56.3 million people, or 67.7% of the country’s population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The government’s goal has been to vaccinate at least 75% of the population to prevent an exponential rise in new infections during the fall and winter months.

Germany’s central government and premiers of federal states are scheduled to hold a videoconference on Thursday to organize a wider vaccination campaign and introduce tougher restrictions, especially for unvaccinated people.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The head of the Russian Security Council and the US national security advisor on Wednesday had a phone conversation focusing on bilateral ties.

According to a statement by the Russian Security Council press service, Nikolai Patrushev and Jake Sullivan agreed to work to improve relations between Russia and the US, and boost trust between the two countries.

The talk between the two officials took place as part of preparations for a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, it added.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the two countries are mulling a new presidential summit.

Source: Anadolu Agency