HELSINKI: Latvia is growing worried over the increasing number of migrants attempting to cross over into the Baltic nation through the border with Belarus and has called up the military to assist border guards.
Latvia’s State Border Guard said on Tuesday that 103 people had been stopped in the previous 24 hours for trying to illegally cross the Latvia-Belarus border that runs a total of 173 kilometers (108 miles). A total of seven persons were allowed in Latvia, a European Union and NATO nation of 1.8 million, for humanitarian reasons.
Most migrants are from Africa and the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan and Syria.
The number of people turned away at the Belarus border has exceeded 100 on several days since the end of August — a substantially higher daily figure than earlier in the year, officials said. Nearly 900 migrants were stopped from crossing over last week alone. This year’s cumulative figure is almost 7,800, up from 5.826 in full year 2022.
Guntis Pujats, head of the border guard, told Latvian television on Tuesday that the large number of illegal border crossing attempts was fueled what he called a state-sponsored international people smuggling operation by Belarus’ authoritarian President Aleksander Lukashenko.
Pujats said that, from time to time, Lukashenko targets either Latvia, Lithuania or Poland, which all share borders with Belarus, to test their abilities to deal with “hybrid attacks” from Minsk including pushing migrants to border areas.
In 2021, thousands of migrants, many from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, flocked to Belarus’ border with Poland, where they were stranded for weeks. The EU accused Lukashenko, of aiding illegal border crossings in retaliation for sanctions imposed after an election the West described as a sham. Lukashenko denied encouraging migration to Europe.
Due to the recent surge in illegal migration, Pujats said Latvia’s border guard was proposing to close the Silene crossing point on the border with Belarus that is also the EU’s external border.
Defense Minister Inara Murniece told the Latvian broadcaster that the government had decided to reschedule a local military exercise and instead ask the Latvian army to send soldiers to assist border guards at the eastern border with Belarus.
In addition, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — all NATO members — have signaled that if the situation continues to deteriorate, they reserve the right to completely close their borders with Belarus.
Lithuania said it would send 20 border guards to Latvia, its northern neighbor, to tackle the increasing flows of migrants from Belarus.
“We see that Latvia is facing a serious challenge right now,” Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told reporters on Tuesday. “The traffic and the attempts to enter have increased significantly. Considering that Latvia has not yet secured its state border with a physical barrier and surveillance systems ... it is difficult for them to manage this process.”
In early August, the interior ministers Poland and the Baltic states, including also Estonia, warned that the nations were prepared to seal off their borders with Russia’s ally Belarus in the event of any military incidents or a massive migrant push by Minsk.
The Polish government said at the time it was planning to deploy an additional 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the number the country’s Border Guard agency had requested, as fears of illegal migration rise.
Latvia grows worried over a surge of migrants attempting to cross from Belarus
https://arab.news/gb6d5
Latvia grows worried over a surge of migrants attempting to cross from Belarus
- Latvia’s State Border Guard said on Tuesday that 103 people had been stopped in the previous 24 hours for trying to illegally cross the Latvia-Belarus border
- Most migrants are from Africa and the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan and Syria
Kosovo prosecutors charge 45 people over a deadly incursion by Serb gunmen
Prosecutor Naim Abazi said he is considered the leader of the group who “has played an important role in coordinating and in the criminal activity”
PRISTINA: Kosovo prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges against 45 people over a gunfight following an incursion by heavily armed Serb gunmen last year, as tensions rise between Serbia and its former breakaway province.
A Kosovo policeman and three Serb gunmen were killed in the shootout in the village of Banjska in September. Kosovo has accused Serbia of involvement, but Belgrade denied it.
Among those charged in absentia is Milan Radoicic, a politician and wealthy businessman with ties to Serbia’s ruling populist party and President Aleksandar Vucic. Prosecutor Naim Abazi said he is considered the leader of the group who “has played an important role in coordinating and in the criminal activity.”
Last year Serbia briefly detained Radoicic after he fled back into Serbia on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of weapons and explosives and grave acts against public safety. Radoicic denied the charges although earlier admitted he was part of the paramilitary group involved in the gunfight.
Radoicic also has been under US and British sanctions for his alleged financial criminal activity. Serbia said that Radoicic and his group acted on their own.
The 45 people face charges of violation of the constitutional and legal order, terror activities, funding terrorism and money laundering. They carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Abazi considered the case as the “most complex they have ever had,” adding they cooperated closely with international institutions, the European Union and the United States to build up the “powerful charges.”
EU and US officials have demanded that Serbia bring the perpetrators to justice.
Brussels and Washington are pressing both sides to implement agreements that Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached in February and March last year. They include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities. Serbia is also expected to deliver on the de-facto recognition of Kosovo, which Belgrade still considers its province.
The US and EU have urged Kosovo to refrain from unilateral actions, like closing the so-called parallel state institutions in the Serb-majority north, the full reopening of a bridge in the flashpoint city of Mitrovica, and the closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank earlier this year.
The NATO-led international peacekeepers known as KFOR have increased their presence in Kosovo after last year’s tense moments.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 13,000 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out. Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008.
Thousands of industry players gather at India’s top green hydrogen forum
- PM Narendra Modi seeks to position India as ‘global hub’ for green hydrogen exports
- Government targets producing 5 million tons of green hydrogen a year by 2030
NEW DELHI: The Indian government opened the International Conference on Green Hydrogen in New Delhi on Wednesday, bringing together thousands of energy transition leaders, industry experts and innovators to discuss strategies to scale-up green hydrogen production.
Green hydrogen is emerging as a future alternative to fossil fuels throughout the world, and developing technologies to produce it is part of India’s flagship initiatives.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a video speech opening the three-day conference that India sought to position itself as a “global hub for the production, utilization and export of green hydrogen” under its National Green Hydrogen Mission.
“India is fully committed to building a cleaner, greener planet. We were the first among G20 nations to meet our Paris Agreement commitments on green energy, well ahead of schedule. While we continue to strengthen existing solutions, we are also focused on embracing new and innovative approaches,” Modi said.
“Green hydrogen is one such breakthrough, with the potential to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors like refineries, fertilizers, steel and heavy-duty transportation.”
Also known as renewable hydrogen, green hydrogen can be used as fuel and is produced from the electrolysis of water. The process does not generate polluting carbon emissions but is currently very expensive.
India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in 2023, aims to reduce production costs and increase the scale of the industry by 2030, as it targets the production of 5 million tons of green hydrogen generating 125 GW of power a year.
It is expected to cut about 50 million tons of annual carbon emissions, as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The plan is also forecast to help reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels.
New and Renewable Energy Minister Prahlad Venkatesh Joshi said during the conference that India would also cut fuel import costs.
“This mission not only has the potential to attract INR 8 lakh crore ($95.3 billion) in investments and generate 6 lakh jobs (600,000) but will also significantly reduce reliance on imported natural gas and ammonia, leading to savings of INR 1 lakh crore ($11.9 billion),” he told the audience.
The conference, first held last year, aims to be a forum connecting all those involved in creating the ecosystem of green hydrogen — users, producers, policymakers and financiers.
Dr. Umish Srivastava, executive director for alternative energy at the Indian Oil Corporation, an Indian multinational under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, displayed a model bus powered by green hydrogen developed at the company’s research center.
“We produced this hydrogen using electrolysis. In our research center, we also have a project where we are converting compressed biogas into green hydrogen. We’re also putting up a plant for converting biomass directly to hydrogen,” Srivastava told Arab News.
“Green hydrogen is a very promising fuel of the future.”
Another clean-energy vehicle — a heavy-duty, long-haul truck powered by hydrogen gas — was showcased by Abhilash Savindhan from Reliance Industries.
“Exhaust gas from this vehicle is primarily water, water vapor, and some traces of nitrogen,” he said. “If you compare this with a diesel vehicle, this is near zero emissions, and it’s also very silent.”
Ronak Sani, manager of ReNew, one of India’s largest independent power producers, presented the company’s first project producing green ammonia, scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.
“We are effectively decarbonizing the world, ensuring the future of new generations,” he said. “This conference allows us to initiate those discussions.”
Varun Desai, manager of Xynteo, which runs the Energy Leap platform connecting green hydrogen companies with the commercial market, saw India’s potential in the field.
India is very well positioned in terms of access to renewable resources, especially solar, wind, hydro ... There’s a lot of potential to generate clean electricity at a low cost, which inputs into the hydrogen production environment as well,” he said.
“I think the policy is there in terms of enabling the adoption of green hydrogen. I think they’re heading in the right direction.”
Taylor Swift says she will vote for Kamala Harris
- In a post on Instagram, Swift told her over 280 million followers that she will vote for the US vice president in the Nov. 5 election
- “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift said in her post
WASHINGTON: Pop megastar Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris on Tuesday after her debate against Republican rival Donald Trump, calling the Democratic presidential nominee a “steady-handed, gifted leader” who could lead the country with calm rather than chaos.
In a post on Instagram, Swift told her over 280 million followers that she will vote for the US vice president in the Nov. 5 election, in the biggest celebrity endorsement yet for Harris. Polls show the race essentially tied between the two candidates.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift said in her post.
Swift was pictured with her cat in the post, which she signed as “childless cat lady,” in a dig at Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who in a 2021 interview called some Democrats “a bunch of childless cat ladies.” He has since said it was merely a “sarcastic remark.”
Swift also said she was impressed by Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, who the singer described as someone “who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Walz, who was on air on MSNBC when the endorsement was announced, said he was “incredibly grateful” and urged the singer’s large fan base of “Swifties” to “Get things going.”
Trump on Wednesday dismissed her endorsement, saying he “was not a Taylor fan.”
“It was just a question of time,” Trump told Fox News in an interview. “She’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it ... in the marketplace.”
Reproductive rights have become a key issue for voters since the US Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion two years ago. IVF fertility treatments have also been pushed into the spotlight since an Alabama court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos were people.
Harris, who supports abortion rights, has cast Trump as a threat to reproductive rights in the country after he appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the Roe v Wade ruling in 2022. Trump has defended the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling but has said a federal abortion ban is unnecessary and that the issue should be resolved at the state level.
In August, Trump posted a fake social media image of Swift asking people to vote for him in the November election.
Swift made a reference to that in her post late on Tuesday, saying Trump’s move “really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.”
She added: “It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.”
Swift has supported Democrats in the past and backed President Joe Biden in 2020. Her endorsement is the latest for Harris from the entertainment industry. Many Hollywood actors, producers and filmmakers have said they viewed Harris, a native Californian, as their hometown candidate.
Harris shares a home with her husband, Doug Emhoff, a former entertainment lawyer, in the celebrity enclave of Brentwood on the west side of Los Angeles.
Shortly after Swift’s endorsement, the Harris-Walz campaign announced pre-orders for its latest campaign wear: Swift fan inspired friendship bracelets.
Russian strategic bomber planes overfly Barents and Norwegian seas, RIA says
- The flights were part of the “Ocean-2024” drills that Russia launched a day earlier
MOSCOW: Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber planes flew over the Barents and Norwegian seas as part of a major naval exercise, the state-run RIA news agency quoted the defense ministry as saying on Wednesday.
It said the flights were part of the “Ocean-2024” drills that Russia launched a day earlier.
The exercises, the biggest since the Soviet era, will involve more than 90,000 servicemen, over 400 vessels and 125 aircraft and will run until Sept. 16 across a vast area including parts of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Caspian seas.
Gunmen kill a polio worker during a vaccination campaign in Pakistan
- Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement condemning the attack
- No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur
KHAR, Pakistan: Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire Wednesday on police escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan, killing an officer and a polio worker, police said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, according to local police chief Abdul Aziz.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement condemning the attack.
Pakistan on Monday launched a nationwide polio campaign amid a spike in militant attacks. The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.
That same day, a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying officers assigned to protect health workers conducting polio immunization in the northwestern South Waziristan district, in the same province, wounding six officers and three civilians.
The militant Daesh group later claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.
Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Since January, Pakistan has reported 17 new cases of polio, jeopardizing decades of efforts to eliminate polio in the country. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in which the spread of polio has never been stopped.
