PARIS: As much of Europe bakes in a third heatwave since June, fears are growing that extreme drought driven by climate change in the continent’s breadbasket nations will dent stable crop yields and deepen the cost-of-living crisis.
The European Commission on Wednesday urged EU member states to re-use treated urban waste water as irrigation on the continent’s parched farms, after France and parts of England saw their driest July on record.
In France, where an intense drought has hammered farmers and prompted widespread limits on freshwater use, there was just 9.7 millimeters (0.38 inches) of rain last month, Meteo France said.
That was 84 percent down on the average levels seen for July between 1991 and 2022, making it the driest month since March 1961, the agency added.
Farmers nationwide are reporting difficulties in feeding livestock because of parched grasslands, while irrigation has been banned in large areas of the northwest and southeast due to freshwater shortages.
Environment Minister Christophe Bechu said July’s rainfall represented “just 12 percent of what’s needed.”
France is the forth-largest exporter of wheat and among the top five exporters of maize globally. Poor harvests due to drought may heap further pressure on grain supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused global shockwaves.
“Our food system has been under stress for a while, and with the supply issues from Ukraine, that has only gotten worse,” said Shouro Dasgupta, environmental economist at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.
“These heatwaves are on top of droughts and will see crops wither faster.”
Dasgupta said that extreme heat driven by climate change is also contributing to food price inflation for consumers and harsher conditions for producers.
“Droughts and heatwaves impact people’s livelihoods. People will be less able to afford food,” he told AFP.
“And during heatwaves outdoor workers are only able to work fewer hours, which brings cascading impacts for supply.”
Britain’s Met Office this week said much of southern and eastern England had their driest July on record.
Some water providers have already announced restrictions affecting millions of people, and fruit and vegetable producers have announced several crop losses such as beans and berries.
Britain’s inflation surged to a 40-year high in June on rising fuel and food prices.
Elizabeth Robinson, director of the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said that spiralling food costs — worsened by heat-induced losses in Europe and Britain — were a sign that “food systems aren’t working for people.”
“There are some long-term, difficult conversations that need to be had, particularly about food waste and the diversion of grains away from food for people to feed animals,” she told AFP.
In Spain, already parched under a prolonged hot spell, temperatures will breach 40C in several areas this week.
The heat is worsening water shortages that have dogged Spanish agriculture since last winter, with local restrictions on water usage in the most affected regions.
The government said this week that Spain’s reservoirs are at just 40.4 percent capacity.
Juan Carlos Hervas, from the COAG farmers’ union, told AFP that Spain’s olive harvest from unirrigated land will come in at less than 20 percent of the average of the last five years.
Spain supplies nearly half the world’s olive oil.
Portugal, where temperatures yet again breached the 40C mark this week, is experiencing “the worst drought this century,” environment minister Jose Duarte Cordeiro warned last month.
Portugal along with Poland has asked its citizens to cut down on water use to ease the pressure.
“Water authorities across Europe are unprepared for what scientists have been saying for three decades,” said Dasgupta. “A high incidence of heatwaves will hit water supply .”
The European Commission in an updated assessment last month found that nearly half — 44 percent — of the EU and Britain was currently experiencing “warning” levels of drought.
It warned that exceptional low soil moisture levels meant several countries, including France, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will experience reduced crop yield in 2022.
“The unfavorable forecasts for the coming months may compromise the water supply and will likely keep the competition for this resource high,” it said.
A separate EU bulletin, also last month, said that EU yields of soybean, sunflowers and maize were already 9 percent below average.
On Wednesday Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU commissioner for the environment, fisheries and the oceans. urged EU nations to re-use more of its waste water.
“We need to stop wasting water and use this resource more efficiently to adapt to the changing climate and ensure the security and sustainability of our agricultural supply.” he said.
Driest July in memory imperils Europe’s crops
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Driest July in memory imperils Europe’s crops
- The European Commission on Wednesday urged EU member states to re-use treated urban waste water as irrigation on the continent's parched farms
- Farmers nationwide are reporting difficulties in feeding livestock because of parched grasslands, while irrigation has been banned in large areas
China will ‘crush’ foreign encroachment in South China Sea: military official
- Senior Beijing military official: We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace
- Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions
“We hope that the South China Sea will remain a sea of peace,” Chinese army Lt. Gen. He Lei told a small group of journalists at the Xiangshan forum.
But, he added, “if the United States moves its pawns behind the scenes, if it pushes countries to the front line, or if the United States itself ends up on the front line, then we in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army... will never have any patience.”
“We in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will resolutely crush any foreign hostile encroachment on China’s territorial, sovereign and maritime rights and interests with firm determination, staunch will, strong capability and effective means,” He said.
Washington and Beijing have clashed in recent months over China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, including the South China Sea.
In recent months, Chinese vessels have engaged in a series of high-profile confrontations with Philippine ships in the waters, which Beijing claims almost in its entirely despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
On Thursday, Lt. Gen. He said a resolution to those tensions “depends on the United States.”
Pope Francis says migrant workers need ‘a fair wage’
- There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world – about five percent of the global workforce
- Cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore
SINGAPORE: Pope Francis made a plea for migrant workers to be paid fairly on Thursday, as he visited the affluent city-state of Singapore on the last stop of his marathon Asia-Pacific tour.
The 87-year-old pope said “special attention” should be paid to “protecting the dignity of migrant workers,” in an address to local political leaders and dignitaries.
“These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage,” he said.
There are an estimated 170 million migrant workers around the world — about five percent of the global workforce — according to the International Labour Organization.
Most live in the Americas, Europe and Central Asia.
But cheap labor has been instrumental in the rapid growth of gleaming metropolises such as Dubai, Doha and Singapore.
About 300,000 low-wage migrant workers are estimated to work in Singapore.
Advocates say they lack adequate protection against exploitation and sometimes endure poor living conditions, charges the government denies.
The issue shot to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tens of thousands of migrant workers were forcibly locked down in dormitories.
Many migrants in Singapore come from South Asia and from the Philippines, which has a large and notably devout Catholic majority.
“I’m so happy that the pope has chosen to speak on this topic,” a 34-year-old Filipino domestic helper told AFP, asking not to be named because she did not have permission from her employer.
“Even if they don’t raise my salary, I’m still happy to know that the pope himself is fighting and praying for us” she said.
The woman said she earned $460 a month, in a nation where the median gross income is $3,985, according to Ministry for Manpower statistics for 2023.
Another South Indian worker welcomed the pope’s comments, but said he was happy after five years in the city state.
“Yes, the work is very hard and a higher salary would be better but I’m happy.”
The pope did not refer to workers in Singapore explicitly. But his comments are likely to cause unease inside a government which is fiercely protective of its image.
Still, the Argentine pontiff was otherwise glowing about his hosts, praising the “entrepreneurial spirit” and dynamism that built a “mass of ultra-modern skyscrapers that seem to rise from the sea.”
“Singapore is a mosaic of ethnicities, cultures and religions living together in harmony,” he said, painting the population of almost six million as a shining light for the world.
“I encourage you to continue to work in favor of the unity and fraternity of humanity and the common good of all peoples and all nations,” he said.
About 30 percent of Singaporeans are Buddhist, 20 percent have no religion and the rest are a mix of Catholic, Protestant, Taoist and Hindu.
Singapore is the last stop on the pope’s 12-day, four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church’s standing in the world’s most populous region.
Francis has defied doubts about his health during a journey that has taken him from a Jakarta grand mosque to a remote jungle of Papua New Guinea.
Despite recently undergoing hernia surgery and dealing with a string of respiratory issues, he has carried out dozens of public engagements, energized congregations and repeatedly sat for hours in the brutal tropical heat.
In East Timor, he held a mass for 600,000 faithful — almost half the nation’s population.
Although the crowds were markedly smaller in Singapore, groups of enthusiasts still lined the main roads trying to get a glimpse of the head of the Catholic Church.
Security was tight, with roads closed and police manning a string of roadblocks.
Welinda Elorde, a 56-year-old cancer survivor traveled from the Philippines for the occasion.
“I think I’m going to cry when I see him. I can feel the emotions now,” she said.
“I’m hoping for complete healing.”
Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon’s aftermath brings flash floods and landslides
- The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province
HANO: Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 125 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.
Vietnam’s VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people have died and 128 are still missing, while more than 800 have been injured.
The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam’s Lao Cai province Tuesday. Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.
The heavy rains also damaged factories in export-focused northern Vietnam’s industrial hubs.
War in Gaza to top UNGA agenda as 79th session begins on Sept. 24
- 87 heads of state, three VPs, two crown princes, 45 heads of government, eight deputy heads of government, 45 ministers currently due to address
- One of the longest speeches made during General Assembly was by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 who spoke for about four and a half hours
UNITED NATIONS: Every September world leaders travel to New York to address the start of the annual United Nations General Assembly session.
The six days of speeches to mark the beginning of the 79th session will start on Sept. 24.
WHO SPEAKS WHEN?
When the United Nations was formed in 1945 following World War Two, there were originally 51 members. That has since grown to 193 members. Leaders of two non-member observer states — known at the UN as the Holy See and the State of Palestine — and an observer member, the European Union, can also speak.
It is tradition for Brazil to always be the first member state to speak. This is because in the early years of the world body Brazil stepped up to speak first when other countries were reluctant to do so, say UN officials.
As host to the UN headquarters in New York, the United States is the second country to address the General Assembly.
From there the list is then based on hierarchy and generally a first come, first served basis. Heads of state speak first, followed by deputy heads of state and crown princes, heads of government, ministers, and lower-ranked heads of a delegation.
This year some 87 heads of state, three vice presidents, two crown princes, 45 heads of government, eight deputy heads of government, 45 ministers, and four lower-ranked heads of a delegation are currently due to address the General Assembly.
Last year fewer than 12 percent of those to stand at the lectern were women.
HOW LONG WILL THEY SPEAK?
Leaders are asked to stick to a voluntary 15-minute time limit.
According to UN records, one of the longest speeches made during the opening of a General Assembly was by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1960 — he spoke for about four and a half hours. More recently, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi spoke for more than one and a half hours in 2009.
WHAT WILL THEY TALK ABOUT?
Each high-level gathering to mark the start of the annual General Assembly session has a theme, which leaders tend to briefly reference before moving on to talking about whatever they want.
This year’s theme is: “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations.”
Some other topics likely to be spoken about by leaders include:
THE WAR IN GAZA
With the civilian death toll in Gaza ballooning to more than 41,000 people according to local health officials and the humanitarian situation deteriorating, many leaders are expected to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
The conflict started nearly a year ago with the deadly Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 — two weeks after world leaders had finished meeting at the last UN General Assembly.
After Israel began retaliating against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the General Assembly on Oct. 27 called for an immediate humanitarian truce. It then overwhelming demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in December.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has long accused the UN of being anti-Israel — and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 26.
UKRAINE
Many world leaders are likely to call for an end to Russia’s roughly two-and-a-half year war in Ukraine.
The General Assembly adopted six resolutions on the conflict in the first year — denouncing Moscow and demanding it withdraw all its troops. A resolution in October 2022 — condemning Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four regions in Ukraine — won the greatest support with 143 states voting yes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address the General Assembly on Sept. 25.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually addressed the General Assembly in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has not physically traveled to New York for the event since 2015. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is instead due to speak to the General Assembly on Sept. 28.
CLIMATE
As the world struggles to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, leaders of smaller island nations and other states most affected by climate changes are likely to use their speeches at the General Assembly to again make impassioned pleas for action.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
Many world leaders — particularly from Africa and key powers including Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan — are likely to call for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security.
It is an issue that has long been discussed by the General Assembly, but has gathered steam in recent years after Russia invaded Ukraine and then used its Security Council veto to block any action by the body. The United States has also long been criticized for shielding its ally Israel from council action.
Reform ideas include expanding the council’s membership — through adding more permanent veto powers or short-term elected members — to better reflect the world and limiting the veto, currently held by the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Any changes to the Security Council membership is done by amending the founding UN Charter. This needs the approval and ratification by two-thirds of the General Assembly, including the Security Council’s current five veto powers.
SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE
Before the leaders begin addressing the General Assembly, a two-day Summit of the Future will be held on Sept. 22-23. UN member states are currently negotiating three documents they hope to adopt on Sept. 22 — a pact for the future, a declaration on future generations and a global digital compact.
Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was “absolutely essential” to ambitiously use the summit to come up with “adequate governance for the world of today.”
He argued for reform of the 15-member UN Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and for global governance of artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges.
9/11 anniversary brings Biden, Harris and Trump together at ground zero
- Image was one of putting politics aside at commemoration of hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001
- Attacks altered US foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans
NEW YORK: With presidential candidates looking on, some 9/11 victims’ relatives appealed to them Wednesday for accountability as the US marked an anniversary laced with election-season politics.
In a remarkable tableau, President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together at ground zero just hours after Trump and Harris faced off in their first-ever debate. Trump and Biden — the successor whose inauguration Trump skipped — shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump.
Then the campaign rivals stood only a few feet (meters) apart, Biden and Bloomberg between them, as the hourslong reading of victims’ names began. At Trump’s side was his running mate, Sen. JD Vance.
The image was one of putting politics aside at this year’s solemn commemoration of the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. But some victims’ relatives, after reading out names, delivered political messages of their own.
“We are pleading for your help, but you ignore us,” Allison Walsh-DiMarzio said, directly challenging Trump and Harris to press Saudi Arabia about any official involvement in the attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers were Saudi, but the kingdom denies it was behind their plot.
“Which one of you will have the courage to be our hero? We deserve better,” Walsh-DiMarzio said. She’s a daughter of 9/11 victim Barbara P. Walsh, an administrative assistant.
Joanne Barbara was one of multiple readers who spoke out against a now-revoked plea deal that military prosecutors struck with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two fellow defendants.
“It has been 23 years, and the families deserve justice and accountability,” said the widow of Assistant Fire Chief Gerard A. Barbara.
Biden, on his last Sept. 11 in office, and Harris paid respects Wednesday at all three 9/11 attack sites: ground zero, the Pentagon and a rural part of Pennsylvania.
The president, vice president — and, separately, Trump — laid wreaths Wednesday afternoon at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Biden and Harris spoke with victims’ relatives and visited the local fire department; Trump and Vance went to a New York City firehouse earlier in the day.
The Flight 93 memorial stands where one of the hijacked planes crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit. Trump described the site as an “incredible place” in brief remarks from afar to reporters.
The attacks killed 2,977 people and left thousands of bereaved relatives and scarred survivors. The planes took down the World Trade Center’s twin towers and carved a gash in the Pentagon, the US military headquarters, where Biden and Harris laid a red, white and blue wreath Wednesday afternoon.
While many Americans may not observe 9/11 anniversaries anymore, “the men and women of the Department of Defense remember,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier in the day.
The attacks altered US foreign policy, domestic security practices and the mindset of many Americans who had not previously felt vulnerable to foreign extremists.
Effects rippled around the world. Victims came from more than 90 different countries, and the US responded to the attacks with a ” Global War on Terrorism.” US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and Iraqis and thousands of American troops.
Communities around the country hold events on the anniversary, which Congress has titled both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Thousands of Americans commemorate it with volunteer work — among them Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He packed meals in St. Paul for people in need.
During early anniversaries at ground zero, presidents and other officeholders read poems, parts of the Declaration of Independence and other texts.
But the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum decided in 2012 to limit the ceremony to relatives reading victims’ names.
If politicians “care about what’s actually going on, great. Be here,” said Korryn Bishop, who attended Wednesday to remember her cousin John F. McDowell Jr., who worked in finance. “If they’re just here for political clout, that upsets me.”
Brandon Jones was glad politicians weren’t on the podium.
“This should be a site for coming together to find feasible solutions and peace. This should not be a place to score political points to get brownie points to round up your base,” said Jones. He’s a cousin of victim Jon Richard Grabowski, an insurance firm technology executive.
In 2008, then-senators and presidential campaign rivals John McCain and Barack Obama jointly paid their respects at ground zero.
Eight years later, the Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, abruptly left the trade center ceremony, stumbled while awaiting her motorcade and later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. The episode stirred fresh attention to her health, which her Republican opponent — Trump, who was also at that observance — had been questioning for months.
Over the years, some victims’ relatives have used the forum to exhort leaders to prioritize national security, acknowledge the casualties of the war on terror, complain that officials are politicizing 9/11 and even criticize individual officeholders. Others bemoan Americans’ divisions or decry violence.
“It’s my prayer that this wicked act called terrorism will never occur again,” Jacob Afuakwah said Wednesday. He lost his brother, Emmanuel Akwasi Afuakwah, a restaurant worker.
But many family members stick to tributes and personal reflections. Increasingly they come from children and young adults born after the attacks killed one of their relatives.
Thirteen-year-old twins Brady and Emily Henry read names to honor their uncle, firefighter Joseph Patrick Henry.
“We promise to continue telling your stories,” Emily Henry said, “and we’ll never let anyone forget all those lost on Sept. 11.”
