Airports, Wall Street, Olympics in crosshairs of climate activists

Climate activists in the United States and Europe are planning protests at airports, banks and the Olympic Games in a summer of stunts they have defended as necessary even if their tactics differ.From blocking highways to spray painting jets and the megaliths at Stonehenge, and throwing food at artworks, some climate activists have turned to more provocative tactics since the Covid-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the mass marches spurred by Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement.The last 12 months have been the hottest ever recorded and with swathes of the world blanketed in extreme heat, campaigners have heavy-polluting corporations and business interests in their sights.A22 Network, an alliance of activist groups committed to non-violent protest, said it was planning to disrupt airports in eight countries over the northern hemisphere summer.Protests are planned in the UK, Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, US, Scotland and Norway, UK-based activists from the alliance told AFP.Global aviation is responsible for around 2.5% of global carbon emissions, more than the annual carbon footprint of Brazil and France combined.“Our resistance will put the spotlight on the heaviest users of fossil fuels and call everyone into action with us,” Just Stop Oil, one of the groups that embraced more controversial forms of protests, said in a statement.UK police said they pre-emptively arrested 27 supporters from Just Stop Oil before the protest had even begun under laws that make it illegal to conspire to disrupt national infrastructure.But Gabriella Ditton, a spokesperson for the group, said the arrests hadn’t deterred them.“While we face the massive crisis that we are in, we can’t stop,” she told AFP.They are demanding governments sign the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, which seeks a halt to the expansion of fossil fuels and the phasing out of coal, oil and gas.In the US, activists have been targeting Wall Street and barricading the entrances to major banks and firms that finance, insure and invest in fossil fuel companies.Organisers of “The Summer of Heat” campaign have vowed “joyful, relentless non-violent direct action to end fossil fuel financing” over the coming months.Notably in Europe, Extinction Rebellion (XR), once notorious for shutting down bridges over the Thames River in London, have shifted their main focus from mass civil disobedience to building an inclusive grassroots movement.This summer, they are calling on governments in the UK and France to establish citizen assemblies on climate and nature, while picketing the companies insuring the fossil fuel industry.Gail Bradbrook, XR’s co-founder, told AFP their new-look approach to climate activism strived “to reach more mainstream folks” and do “the deeper work of local organising”.They are, however, planning “mass occupations” over the summer — including one at the start of the Olympic Games opening in Paris on 26 July.Organisers in France say this could last several days but would be “more visible than disruptive”, but have not offered further planning details.Which approach is best at grabbing attention — and which is better at driving change — has been the subject of debate, particularly following polarising stunts targeting famous landmarks.When two Just Stop Oil activists threw orange cornflour on Stonehenge in June “they got a heck more media attention than by spraying paint on airfields,” said Dana Fisher, a sociologist at American University in Washington DC.The goal of these “shock” actions “is to make people mad”, Fisher said. The more people talked about the protest, the more they discussed the climate issue, she added.Several studies in the UK and Germany showed that public concern about climate change stayed the same — or even increased — after acts of civil disobedience even if most people were unsupportive of such stunts.“Historically, there is substantial evidence that shows that the radical flank drives support for the cause and moderate factions,” said Fisher.But between “gluing yourself to something, blocking a bank or throwing soup, which is more effective, we do not know yet,” she added.For Jamie Henn, co-founder of campaign group 350.org and director of Fossil Free Media, “confrontational tactics work best when they’re confronting the source of the problem”.“Mainstreaming the idea that we can finally go fossil free needs to be a top priority for the climate movement,” he said.Laura Thomas-Walters, a social scientist at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, said political change was achieved “by targeting the people of power propping up the status quo, and we need to do it in a sustained way”.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686184/international/airports-wall-street-olympics-in-crosshairs-of-climate-activists

Slovak PM Fico makes first public appearance since assassination attempt

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico appeared in public on Friday for the first time since a May assassination attempt, railing in a speech against progressive ideologies and backing Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s visit to Moscow.Fico, who is recovering after being shot four times at close range in mid-May, made his appearance at an evening ceremony marking Saints Cyril and Methodius Day, a public holiday in Slovakia. He spoke standing at a podium at a castle ruins dating back over 11 centuries.Fico, a four-time leftist prime minister who returned to power after winning an election last September, was shot when he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova, leaving him needing hours of surgery. He has been recovering at home since the end of May.The attack has deepened the polarisation in the central European country of 5.4mn.Fico’s leftist-nationalist government has quickly shifted policy since taking power last year, including changing some criminal laws andcancelling a special prosecutor’s office, transforming the public broadcaster, and halting state military aid to Ukraine.Opposition parties have battled Fico’s government over the changes while the European Union has watched for any damage to rule of law or media freedoms.Fico hit back against progressive and liberal ideologies he said were “spreading like cancer” and hurting the country.“I don’t want Slovakia to be among the countries that make a caricature of Western civilisation,” he said. In a video message posted on Facebook in early June, Fico had called his attacker an opposition activist, but said he felt no hatred toward him and would not seek damages.His attacker, a man identified by prosecutors as 71-year old Juraj C., was detained and charged with attempted premeditated murder. Prosecutors this week upgraded the case to a terrorist attack.The detained man has, according to court documents, said he had wanted to hurt the prime minister, but not kill him, because he disagreed with the government’s policies.Fico has faced criticism for views leaning toward Russia while his foreign minister has met his Russian counterpart despite EU officials avoiding high-level meetings with Moscow.Fico, in his first live speech since the attack, reiterated a call for peace talks in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and said he would have joined Orban on his visit to Moscow if health allowed.Orban faced outcry from some EU leaders for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“There are not enough, I repeat, not enough peace talks, peace initiatives,” Fico said.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686183/international/slovak-pm-fico-makes-first-public-appearance-since-assassination-attempt

Record number of cabinet ministers defeated

A record number of Cabinet ministers lost their seats on Friday in Britain’s general election, leaving only a couple of obvious contenders for the party leadership if Rishi Sunak resigns.

Nine members of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s top team failed to be re-elected, beating the previous high of seven who lost out in 1997, as the ruling Conservatives suffered a mauling at the hands of the main opposition Labour party.

Grant Shapps, the UK’s defence secretary for nearly a year, was the most high-profile casualty, losing his Welwyn Hatfield seat north of London.

Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, suffered further political ignominy on Friday when she sensationally lost her seat in parliament at the general election.

Truss’s defeat came as the constituencies of all her predecessors since the Tories won power in 2010 turned either Labour or Liberal Democrat - a damning indictment on the Conservatives’ 14 years in power.

Truss, who sparked financial turmoil during her 49 chaotic days in charge in 2022, lost her Norfolk South West constituency in eastern England to Labour by 630 votes.

Labour candidate Terry Jermy overturned Truss’s massive majority of more than 26,000 which she secured at the last election in 2019 - a notional 27.85% swing.

Truss - whose shelf-life as premier was lampooned as shorter than that of an Iceberg lettuce - said she had “a lot to think about” when asked if she wanted to stay in politics.

Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, who shot to international attention as a sword carrier at King Charles III’s coronation last May, lost in Portsmouth North on England’s south coast.

A former defence secretary, she tried twice to become Tory leader, and was tipped to try again after Thursday’s election, with Sunak expected to stand down.

Other Tory casualties included education secretary Gillian Keegan, justice secretary Alex Chalk, culture secretary Lucy Frazer, transport and science secretary Michelle Donelan.

Veteran minister Johnny Mercer and Brexit champion Jacob Rees-Mogg also lost out, as voters grew fed up with the Conservatives after 14 years in power.

The defeats have already sparked soul-searching among re-elected and departing Conservatives, who said the party had been punished for a series of scandals and infighting in recent years.

“I think that we have seen in this election an astonishing ill-discipline within the party”, said former justice secretary Robert Buckland, after losing his seat.

Shapps, an MP since 2005, criticised the Tories’ “inability to iron out their differences” amid an endless political “soap opera” that saw five prime ministers since the 2016 Brexit vote.

“What is crystal clear to me - it is not so much that Labour won but that the Conservatives lost,” he added.

Right-winger Suella Braverman, sacked as interior minister by Sunak late last year for a series of incendiary comments, was re-elected and finance minister Jeremy Hunt survived a major scare to squeak victory.

Current interior minister James Cleverly also held on to his seat. Secretary of state for business and trade Kemi Badenoch and security minister Tom Tugendhat also won their races.

Most of those high-profile survivors are expected to challenge for the leadership.

Braverman apologised to voters in her victory speech, saying the Tories had failed to listen to voters.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686114/international/record-number-of-cabinet-ministers-defeated

New PM Starmer pledges to rebuild Britain after years of chaos

Labour government will act to fix BritainStarmer says change will take timeSunak stays on as Conservative leader for a whileBritain's new prime minister Keir Starmer pledged on Friday to use his massive electoral majority to rebuild the country, saying he wanted to take the heat out of politics after years of upheaval and strife.Standing outside his new office and residence at Number 10 Downing Street, Starmer acknowledged the scale of the challenge after his party's landslide victory in a parliamentary election ended 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative government.He warned that any improvements would take time, and he would need to first rebuild faith in politics.'This lack of trust can only be healed by actions, not words. I know that,' he said.'Whether you voted Labour or not, in fact, especially if you did not, I say to you directly - My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good. We will show that.'Starmer was greeted by huge cheers and took time before making his speech to shake hands with and hug aides and well-wishers who lined Downing Street - scenes that were reminiscent of Tony Blair's arrival in government in 1997.Standing behind a lectern, he said he understood that many Britons were disillusioned with politics after years of scandal and chaos under the Conservatives, who were roundly rejected in Thursday's election, suffering a historic loss.Starmer said the rejection signalled that Britain was ready for a reset: 'Because no matter how fierce the storms of history, one of the great strengths of this nation has always been our ability to navigate away to calmer waters.'The centre-left Labour won a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament, prompting Rishi Sunak's resignation on Friday morning, before Starmer went to meet King Charles and be formally named prime minister.He said he would fight every day to rebuild trust, saying Britain would have a 'government unburdened by doctrine', underlining something he had repeated during the campaign - that he would put country first, party second.'To defy, quietly, those who have written our country off. You have given us a clear mandate, and we will use it to deliver change.'The election result has upended British politics. Labour won more than 410 seats, an increase of 211, while the Conservatives, the western world's most successful party, lost 250 lawmakers, including a record number of senior ministers and former Prime Minister Liz Truss.Sunak's Conservatives suffered the worst performance in the party's long history as voters punished them for a cost of living crisis, failing public services and a series of scandals.'To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry,' Sunak said outside Downing Street, adding he would stay as Conservative leader until the party was ready to appoint his replacement.'I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss.'Despite Starmer's convincing victory, polls suggested there was little enthusiasm for Starmer or his party. Thanks to the quirk of Britain's first-past-the-post system and a low turnout, Labour's triumph was achieved with fewer votes than it secured in 2017 and 2019 - the latter its worst result for 84 years.The pound and British stocks and government bonds rose marginally on Friday, but Starmer comes to power at a time when the country is facing a series of daunting challenges.Britain's tax burden is set to hit its highest since just after World War Two, net debt is almost equivalent to annual economic output, living standards have fallen, and public services are creaking, especially the much cherished National Health Service which has been dogged by strikes.Some of Labour's more ambitious plans, such as its flagship green spending pledges, have already been scaled back while Starmer has promised not to raise taxes for 'working people'.Likewise, he has promised to scrap the Conservative's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, but with migration a key electoral issue, he will be under pressure himself to find a way to stop tens of thousands of people arriving across the Channel from France on small boats.'I don't promise you it will be easy,' Starmer said earlier at a victory rally. 'Changing a country is not like flicking a switch. It's hard work. Patient, determined, work, and we will have to get moving immediately.'Britain's election result showed growth in support for the right-wing Reform party, led by Nigel Farage, echoing recent similar results in Europe where the far right have been surging.But, unlike France where Marine Le Pen's National Rally party made historic gains in an election last Sunday, overall the British public has plumped for a centre-left party to bring about change.Starmer has promised to improve relations with the European Union after Brexit, but Labour has said rejoining the EU is not on the table.He may also have to work with Trump if he wins November's presidential election. Trump has already sent congratulations to Farage, via his social media platform Truth Social.While he has promised to bring change domestically, Starmer has vowed to continue London's unequivocal support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. On many foreign issues, his policies are similar to Sunak's.The election victory represents an incredible turnaround for Starmer and Labour, which critics and supporters said was facing an existential crisis just three years ago when it appeared to have lost its way after its 2019 drubbing.A series of Conservative scandals - most notably revelations of parties in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns - undermined then prime minister Boris Johnson and its commanding poll lead evaporated.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686083/international/ukeurope/new-pm-starmer-pledges-to-rebuild-britain-after-years-of-chaos

UK PM announces resignation from leadership of Conservative Party

The outgoing UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced his resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party following the historic defeat of his party in the general elections.The semi-final results of elections were announced on Friday. The elections resulted in a sweeping victory for the opposition Labour Party.Addressing the audience at the UK government headquarters in London, Sunak added that he will leave his position as leader of the conservatives after making the necessary arrangements to elect his successor.He added that his mission as prime minister focused on restoring economic stability, reducing inflation, and promoting economic growth, affirming that the country is now stronger, more prosperous, fairer, and more resilient than it was in 2010.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686079/international/uk-pm-announces-resignation-fromleadership-of-conservative-party

Macron says France to 'pursue cooperation' with UK after Labour win

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on his election victory Friday, saying his country would seek to cooperate with Britain on security, technology and climate.In a post on social media, Macron said he had already had a positive first exchange with Starmer, adding: 'We will continue to work with the UK on bilateral cooperation, peace and security in Europe, climate change and AI.'

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686074/international/macron-says-france-to-pursue-cooperation-with-uk-after-labour-win

Putin: Trump sincere about ending Ukraine war, but still prefer Biden

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he believed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was sincere about wanting to end the war in Ukraine, but that he did not know how Trump planned to do so if elected.Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, commented after being asked about Trump's statements that he could end the Ukraine war swiftly if he won the White House race on November 5.'The fact that Mr Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously,' Putin said.'I am not, of course, familiar with possible proposals for how he plans to do this. This is the key question. But I have no doubt that he means it sincerely, and we support it (the idea of ending the war).'*The Washington Post reported in April that Trump had privately spoken about the option of allowing Putin to keep Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the Donbas area — which Russian forces partially control — in return for peace, something Trump's campaign has not confirmed.Two key advisers to Trump presented him with a plan to end the war that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters peace talks, Reuters reported last month.Putin said last month that Russia would end the war only if Kyiv agreed to drop its Nato ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.Putin said constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington was impossible during a heated US presidential election campaign and that Moscow would wait for the result and see what the new leadership does.Asked what he made of the first televised debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, Putin said he had seen fragments.Putin has said several times said that he feels Biden is preferable as the future US president to Trump for Russia, even after Biden unflattering remarks about the Kremlin chief.Asked yesterday if his publicly stated preference for Biden had changed after the debate, Putin said: 'Nothing has changed. Did we not know what could come? We knew.''I saw some fragments,' Putin said. 'But I have enough to do.'Biden, 81, put in a stumbling performance during the debate, which brought questions about his age and mental fitness to the forefront of the campaign.Putin said that he paid little attention to partial media reports about the debate though he could not ignore it as the United States remained a great power.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/686030/international/putin-trump-sincere-about-ending-ukraine-war-but-still-prefer-biden

Flood fears as Yangtze River levels swell

Rising water levels in the Yangtze River following intense rains in southern China have prompted eastern regions downstream to prepare for possible flooding.Water levels in the Jiangsu section of China’s longest river continued to rise on Wednesday as a result of the increased flow from its upper reaches as well as the persistent rainfall. Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province issued its second highest flood warning and authorities banned various vessels, including passenger ferries, from entering or operating in the river’s Jiangsu section, state media reported.China’s Ministry of Water Resources had said on Tuesday that water levels in sections of the middle and lower courses of the Yangtze River exceeded the warning mark.Water levels at Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, where authorities had activated a second-level response for flood control since Tuesday night, were also being closely watched.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685976/international/flood-fears-as-yangtze-river-levels-swell

Philippine senator makes claim over China missile plans

A prominent Philippine senator has created a stir by saying on social media she has knowledge of a Chinese plan to target her country with hypersonic missiles, though the national security council said it was unaware of any such security threat.

Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and head of the senate foreign relations committee, made her claim in a short video that has so far had over 900,000 views on TikTok and over 100,000 on Facebook.

China’s defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the video, which Imee Marcos posted on Tuesday as the Philippines and China held talks on their South China Sea territorial dispute.

In her video, Marcos said China had set 25 targets around the Philippine archipelago that it would attack with hypersonic missiles, and the northern islands of Batanes, close to Taiwan, would be among the first targets.

Marcos provided no evidence to support her claim, which she made as part of an argument that her brother’s closer ties with the US has made China see the Philippines as a threat. Reuters could not verify her claim.

“Let’s admit the problem: that China thinks we have sided with their enemy,” she said in her video.

“As tensions escalate in the West Philippine Sea, I saw a Chinese plan that they will use a hypersonic missile,” she said, without saying where she got the information. West Philippine Sea refers to waters within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Marcos opposes some of her brother’s policies regarding China, including his decision to grant the US expanded access to Philippine military facilities it can use, including those facing Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The Philippines national security council said it would ask Marcos for more information about her statement, with spokesman Jonathan Malaya saying in a message “... we are not aware of any of the security threats she mentioned”.

“The Philippines and PRC (People’s Republic of China) maintain cordial relations and are committed to managing whatever differences there may be, thus we see no threat of any imminent attack from the PRC,” Malaya added.

Neither the Chinese embassy in Manila nor Imee Marcos’ office responded immediately to a request for comment on the video. The US embassy said it had no comment at present.

A spokesperson at the Philippine defence department said it “has no basis for a comment or reaction to senator Marcos’ video because we have not seen or read the plans she referred to”.

President Marcos’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

China accused the Philippines of “stoking the fire” of regional tensions with its military agreement with the US.

Beijing also condemned the deployment of the US’ Typhon missile in the Philippines during the allies’ joint military exercises.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685975/international/philippine-senator-makes-claim-over-china-missile-plans

Heavy rainfall triggers floods, at least 11 dead

Heavy rain continued to trigger flood and landslides in India’s north and north-east, killing at least 11 people and affecting hundreds of thousands, officials from two affected states said yesterday.In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which has been hit by torrential rain, nine people died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, an official bulletin said.Two people died on Monday in the north-eastern state of Assam, which has been hit by a second wave of flooding since June 16, affecting more than 600,000 people in 19 districts, and displacing more than 8,000, a state disaster management statement said.The Kaziranga national park in Assam - home to nearly 2,200 one-horned rhinos, or two-thirds of their world population - is also under water, with more than half of its 233 camps flooded, drowning four hog deer, officials said.“The flood water has now entered my house. The water has damaged my paddy and crops. I have a family of five and I have to take shelter here. If the situation worsens, I will lose my house,” Faizul Islam, a local resident told news agency ANI.Visuals from ANI showed inundated fields and roads across Assam, as people moved precious belongings and furniture from their water-filled homes.In the northeastern region of neighbouring Bangladesh, the flood situation was worsening rapidly due to continuous rain and upstream water flow from India, leaving tens of thousands of people marooned, officials said yesterday.

A family carries their belongings on a banana raft at the flood affected Mayong village in Morigaon district, Assam, yesterday.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685900/international/heavy-rainfall-triggers-floods-at-least-11-dead

title

Asia’s richest man, billionaire Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani, yesterday launched the start of the lavish finale of his son’s wedding celebrations with mass nuptials for 52 “underprivileged” couples.Pre-wedding parties for his son have already included multi-day galas, a European cruise for 1,200 guests, a specially-built temple, and entertainment provided by performers ranging from R&B star Rihanna to the Backstreet Boys.Ambani, 67, is chairman of Reliance Industries - India’s biggest company by market capitalisation - and took part with his family in yesterday’s ceremony with some 800 guests. “Starting with this function, the family pledged to continue supporting hundreds more such weddings across the country,” his company said in a statement.Ambani’s younger son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant, both 29, are set to marry in a three-day ceremony in India’s financial capital Mumbai from July 12.The billionaire father is no stranger to throwing a costly wedding. Ambani held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100mn and saw US singer Beyonce perform.Ambani, for his son, has already thrown two extraordinary parties ahead of the main celebrations later this month. That included a three-day gala in February for 1,500-plus guests in Gujarat state.At that party, Rihanna performed her first concert since last year’s Superbowl to guests including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and ex-US president Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka.A second leg in June was a four-day Mediterranean cruise, where singer Katy Perry performed at a masquerade ball at a French chateau in Cannes. The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment. At the wedding ceremony yesterday, at a Reliance office park in the city of Navi Mumbai, each couple was given gold and silver wedding jewellery, $1,200 in cash and groceries “sufficient for one year”, the company said.“Today marks the beginning of the festivities for our children Anant and Radhika’s wedding,” Nita Ambani, the billionaire’s wife, told reporters at the wedding venue.“As a mother, it fills me with happiness to witness the marriages here today... I pray for their happiness and well-being throughout their lives.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685899/international/title