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The first outside legal analyses of Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’ are in, and they’re critical

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Several prominent lawyers have published stinging academic critiques and legal opinions about the Vatican’s recently concluded “trial of the century,” highlighting violations of basic defense rights and rule of law norms that they warn could have consequences for the Holy See going forward.

The opinions cite Pope Francis’ role in the trial, since he secretly changed Vatican law four times during the investigation to benefit prosecutors. And they call into question the independence and impartiality of the tribunal since its judges swear obedience to Francis, who can hire and fire them at will.

The critiques underscore the growing problems on the international stage for the peculiar microstate that the Holy See calls home: an absolute monarchy where Francis wields supreme legislative, executive and judicial power.

The legal opinions are likely to feature in the appeals within the Vatican court system of the nine people who were convicted in December of several financial crimes linked to the Vatican’s bungled 350 million euro ($380 million) investment in a London property. And they could also be raised during the current review of the Holy See’s compliance with European norms at the Council of Europe.

During two years of hearings, defense attorneys highlighted many of the same issues now raised by outside analysts. But the tribunal led by Judge Giuseppe Pignatone repeatedly rejected their motions.

After the first verdicts were issued, the Vatican’s editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, insisted that the process had been fair, that the judges acted independently and that the trial was carried out “in full respect of the guarantees for the suspects.”

Geraldina Boni, a professor of canonical and ecclesiastic law at the University of Bologna and an adviser to the Vatican’s legal office, disagreed in an article published Monday in the peer-reviewed legal journal of the University of Milan.

Writing with church legal experts Manuel Ganarin and Alberto Tomer, Boni described the four secret executive decrees that Francis penned during the investigation as giving prosecutors “essentially, and a bit surreally, ‘carte blanche’” to pursue their case without any judge overseeing them.

The decrees, which were never published, gave prosecutors authorization to intercept suspects’ communications and take “whatever” precautionary measures against them were necessary, including deviating from existing Vatican law. The defense only learned about their existence once the trial was underway.

Boni, who said she was asked to provide a legal opinion for the defense of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was convicted of embezzlement, said the decrees represented a clear violation of the right to a fair trial, which calls for “the equality of arms” between defense and prosecution.

“It’s obvious that the people under investigation in the case were placed in a situation of substantial and onerous disadvantage, given they were completely unaware of the prosecution’s new investigative powers and thus unable to reasonably foresee the effects of their actions,” she wrote in “State, Church and Confessional Pluralism.”

Francis has seemingly sought to justify the measures taken to get the trial off the ground, telling tribunal staff in 2023 that they should “avoid the risk of confusing the finger for the moon,’” or allowing obstacles to stand in the way of a greater good.

But Boni argued that in criminal and procedural law, the ends cannot justify the means. Such an attitude, she warned, “could end up justifying any conduct and any use of sovereign power in the search at all costs for the guilty.”

Even though the tribunal tried to compensate for such “unacceptable abuses,” she wrote, the anomalies were so grave as to have “invalidated the entire justice of the trial, prospecting a violation of divine law to which even the pope is subject.”

Paolo Cavana, a professor of canonical and ecclesiastic law at the Vatican-affiliated LUMSA University, argued that the Holy See is beholden to European norms guaranteeing a fair trial “by an independent and impartial tribunal,” even though it technically never signed the European Convention on Human Rights.

Writing in the same journal as Boni, Cavana argued that the Holy See committed to upholding the convention’s fundamental principles when it concluded a monetary agreement with the EU in 2009 allowing the Vatican to use the euro as its official currency.

But he said it is a matter of debate whether the Vatican’s judges are truly independent “given the pervasive character of the pontiff’s powers.”

It’s clear that the papal decrees exercised on the judges “a strong pressure about the outcome of the trial itself,” he wrote.

Cavana, who since 2019 has also served as an adviser to the Italian premier on church and Vatican matters, warned that Italy and other states may not recognize sentences pronounced by a tribunal if the judges are not considered independent and impartial.

Rodney Dixon, a veteran British international and human rights lawyer, said as much in a legal opinion prepared at the request of defendant Raffaele Mincione. Dixon said countries should refuse to cooperate with the Vatican tribunal, and should refuse to respect its verdicts, since the trial had been “marred by substantial violations of well-established international legal obligations applicable to all criminal proceedings.”

Dixon, who has served as counsel before the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, cited the four papal decrees, the tribunal’s refusal to allow Mincione to call seven witnesses as well as prosecutors’ refusal to turn over all evidence to the defense.

Tribunal head Pignatone repeatedly rejected defense claims that the suspects weren’t getting a fair trial, and even went so far as to exclude the testimony of defendant Gianluigi Torzi, who was arrested and detained for 10 days without being charged as a result of the special powers given to prosecutors by the pope.

In a March 1, 2022 ordinance, Pignatone said that while the Vatican had not adhered to any international human rights conventions, its own laws incorporated their principles fully.

He noted that both Italian and Swiss courts have previously recognized the independence and impartiality of Vatican judges and recalled that in the actual exercise of their work, Vatican judges are “subject only to the law.”


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Notre Dame Cathedral’s restoration has been a 5-year journey of dedication and recovery

PARIS (AP) — The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a tragic blaze in April 2019 is a story of dedication and recovery.

The iconic medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature has been gradually rebuilt over the past five years, through challenges that have included delays during the pandemic and the loss of the project’s leader.

It’s slated for completion by the end of 2024. Here is a timeline of events in the restoration:

April 2019 — A fire ravages Notre Dame, collapsing its roof and spire and destroying its interior, unleashing a global wave of solidarity. A monumental effort to restore the cathedral’s grandeur is launched, and French President Emmanuel Macron pledges to complete it within five years.

June 2020 — The pandemic delays work at the cathedral, but removing charred scaffolding that had encased the spire amid previous restoration works marked a significant step.

August 2020 — Efforts begin to restore the organ that once thundered through the cathedral — France’s largest musical instrument. The 8,000-pipe organ survived the fire, but was coated in toxic lead dust. Dismantling, cleaning and reassembling it is expected to finish this year.

March 2021 — The first of an expected 1,000 historic French oak trees destined to rebuild the spire are selected from the Bercé forest in the French Loire region.

September 2021 — Work to secure the structure is finally completed, after carpenters, scaffolding experts, climbers and others help build temporary structures and a special enormous ‘’umbrella” to protect the towers, vaults and walls of the roofless building. Bidding starts on the rest of the reconstruction.

Spring 2022 — Workshops of master glassmakers and locksmiths from across France begin the laborious process of cleaning and restoring the cathedral’s famed stained glass windows. Help also comes from abroad: Germany’s Cologne Cathedral restores four windows.

July 2023 — Massive oak trusses are hoisted onto Notre Dame, drawing Parisians to witness what is described as a magical moment, intertwined with preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

August 2023 — France mourns the sudden death of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, the French army general who had been appointed to oversee the restoration. President Macron hails him as the “greatest soldier” dedicated to restoring Notre Dame “stone by stone.”

December 2023 — A golden rooster, reimagined as a phoenix, is returned to the top of the cathedral’s spire, symbolizing Notre Dame’s rebirth. Religious relics, including pieces of what is said to be Jesus Christ’s Crown of Thorns, are placed in a time capsule inside the golden bird.

February 2024 — Scaffolding is removed to unveil the cathedral’s new spire, adorned with the golden rooster and a cross. It offers a glimpse into the future as Notre Dame nears its grand reopening.


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Hong Kong lawmakers hold special session, nearing vote on law that could further quash dissent

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s lawmakers met in a special session to resume debate on a proposed national security law Tuesday, paving the way to grant the government more power to quash dissent in the southern Chinese city.

The legislation is widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2019. It would come on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago that has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub.

The special session, which came a day before the Legislative Council’s regular Wednesday sessions, is a sign of the government’s desire to pass the law as quickly as possible.

The legislature, which is packed with Beijing loyalists following an electoral overhaul, has expedited debate. Since the bill was unveiled on March 8, a committee held daily meetings for a week, following an appeal by Hong Kong leader John Lee to push the law through “at full speed.”

The proposed law threatens stringent penalties for a wide range of actions authorities call threats to national security, with the most severe — including treason and insurrection — punishable by life imprisonment. Lesser offenses, including the possession of seditious publications, could also lead to several years in jail. Some provisions allow criminal prosecutions for acts committed anywhere in the world.

During Tuesday’s meeting, legislators expressed staunch support for the law. Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said he believed all lawmakers were honored to have taken part in this “historic mission.”

“I fully agree with what the Chief Executive said: the sooner the legislation is completed, the sooner national security will be safeguarded,” he said.

Critics worry the new law will further erode civil liberties that Beijing promised to preserve for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Hong Kong’s political scene has changed dramatically since the massive 2019 street protests that challenged China’s rule over the semi-autonomous territory, and the imposition of Beijing’s National Security Law.

Many leading activists have been prosecuted, while others sought refuge abroad. Influential pro-democracy media such as Apple Daily and Stand News were shuttered. The crackdown prompted an exodus of disillusioned young professionals and middle-class families to the U.S., Britain, Canada, and Taiwan.

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, requires the city to enact a home-grown national security law. A previous attempt in 2003 sparked a massive street protest that drew half a million people, and forced the legislation to be shelved. Such protests against the current bill were absent largely due to the chilling effect of the existing security law.

Both Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the Beijing-imposed law restored stability after the 2019 protests.

Officials insist the new security law balances security with safeguarding rights and freedoms. The city government said it’s necessary to prevent a recurrence of the protests, and that it would only affect “an extremely small minority” of disloyal residents.

The measure targets espionage, disclosing state secrets, and “colluding with external forces” to commit illegal acts, among others. Its provisions include tougher penalties for people convicted of endangering national security by certain acts if they’re also found to be working with foreign governments or organizations to do so.

Those who damage public infrastructure with the intent to endanger national security could be jailed for 20 years, or, if they colluded with external forces, for life. In 2019, protesters occupied Hong Kong’s airport and vandalized railway stations.

Businesspeople and journalists have expressed fears that a broad law against disclosure of state secrets and foreign interference could affect their day-to-day work.

Observers are closely watching to see if the authorities will extend enforcement to other professional sectors and its implications on liberties for Hong Kongers.


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Blinken to underline ‘ironclad’ support for Philippines as it clashes with China in disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its alliance with the Philippines on Tuesday, as clashes between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea turn more hostile, the U.S. State Department said.

Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the U.S. treaty ally, met his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo Tuesday, before planned meetings with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top officials in Manila.

Next month, President Joe Biden will host Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a White House summit amid growing concerns over increasingly aggressive Chinese actions in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear program.

The Chinese coast guard blocked and used water cannons against Philippine vessels in a confrontation two weeks ago that slightly injured a Filipino admiral and four of his sailors near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

The March 5 faceoff in the high seas also caused two minor collisions between Chinese and Philippine vessels and prompted Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs to summon China’s deputy ambassador to convey a protest against the Chinese coast guard’s actions, which the Philippines said were unacceptable.

Washington renewed a warning after the hostilities that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack anywhere in the South China Sea.

The Chinese coast guard said that “it took control measures in accordance with the law against Philippine ships that illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef,” the name Beijing uses for Second Thomas Shoal.

The Second Thomas Shoal, which is occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent but surrounded by Chinese coast guard ships and other allied vessels, was the site of several tense skirmishes between Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships last year. But Filipino officials said the confrontation earlier this month was particularly serious because of the injuries sustained by its navy personnel and damage to their vessel.

In his meetings with Marcos and Manalo, Blinken will “advance shared economic priorities and underscore the United States’ ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Philippine alliance,” the State Department said.

They will “discuss areas to deepen U.S.-Philippine cooperation on a range of bilateral and global issues, including on regional peace and stability, human rights and democracy, economic prosperity” among others, the State Department said.

Outside the presidential palace, dozens of left-wing activists tore a mock U.S. flag in a noisy rally Tuesday to oppose Blinken’s visit and U.S. involvement in the long-simmering territorial disputes.

Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich and busy waterway, a key global trade route.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea. In the last decade, China has turned barren reefs into seven islands that now serve as missile-protected island bases, including three with runways, that have bolstered its capability to fortify its territorial claims and patrols.

In response, Washington has been strengthening an arc of military alliances and security relationships in the Indo-Pacific, including with the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries at odds with China in the disputed sea.

After China effectively seized another disputed atoll, the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines, in 2012, Manila brought its disputes with Beijing to international arbitration and largely won. China, however, rejected the 2016 ruling of the U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds and continues to defy the decision.

___

Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.


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Israelis evacuated from the Lebanese border wonder if they’ll ever return

KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel (AP) — For four years, Sivan Shoshani Partush recruited families for Kibbutz Malkiya, a community of around 400 that she calls her “little slice of heaven.” It wasn’t a hard sell: spacious homes, beautiful nature, paths winding through manicured lawns, and a slower pace of life than in Israel’s frantic cities.

The border with Lebanon is just 200 meters (650 feet) away. Partush would pass it on her daily runs, a feature of the landscape just like the view of the snow-topped Hermon Mountain in the winter.

“There was fear, but I got over it, because that’s the choice I made, because someone was protecting me,” said Partush. “But now there’s a feeling that no one is protecting us.”

Among approximately 60,000 Israelis evacuated from northern Israel after months of cross-border fighting, Partush and her children are staying temporarily in another kibbutz, and she isn’t sure if she wants to return to Malkiya. Nearly 91,000 people from south Lebanon have also been displaced.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group began launching rockets towards Israel one day after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. More than 31,000 people have been killed in Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. There has been near-daily violence along the Lebanon-Israel border and international mediators are scrambling to prevent an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The fighting has killed eight civilians and 11 soldiers in Israel. More than 200 Hezbollah fighters and about 40 civilians have died in Lebanon.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said the Israeli military is concentrating on Gaza, but that Israel has a simple aim in Lebanon: to push Hezbollah away from the border, either by diplomacy or force.

So far, that hasn’t happened.

Israel said it has targeted 4,500 Hezbollah sites in the past five months. But Hezbollah’s well-stocked and deeply entrenched militants continue to launch rockets, and Israel said the militants have attempted to or have actually crossed the border half a dozen times.

Partush is grimly resigned to the reality that it may be a year before she can return home, if she ever goes back, and she struggles to explain what would make her feel safe in the post-Oct. 7 world. The reality of living next to Lebanon has irrevocably changed, she said.

“They need to create a security belt, we need to have an Israeli army presence always, and they need to strengthen the emergency squads so not even a mouse can pass through the border,” she said.

Some in her kibbutz are doubtful about returning, and it’s hurting their tight-knit community, said Partush.

“We want to go home, but on the other hand, where will we go? It’s very scary,” she said.

Many Israelis who evacuated from the Gaza border after the Hamas attack have returned home in recent weeks. Those from the hardest-hit kibbutzim are moving to semi-permanent housing while their homes are rebuilt.

In Sderot, the largest city near Gaza with some 30,000 residents, life is starting to return to normal. Schools reopened this month. City streets, deserted in the early days of the war, are bustling again. Stores and cafes are doing brisk business, even as the conflict continues just a few kilometers away.

Some 30,000 displaced Israelis are living in hotel rooms across the country as the war enters its sixth month, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Others have moved to rented apartments or are staying with family.

From their cramped hotel rooms, evacuees from Israel’s north have been watching news reports showing Sderot’s residents return home with mixed feelings, aware their journey is far from over.

Israelis who have grown up under the shadow of rockets from Lebanon no longer find it tolerable.

“I don’t want my daughters to grow up like I did,” said Michal Nidam, a high school counselor from Kiryat Shmona, the largest city in Israel’s north, which has suffered rocket fire from Lebanon for decades. “I have had anxiety since I was little. I used to sleep with my fingers in my ears, under the bed, and many times I slept with shoes and clothes on.”

After the Hamas attack, Nidam and her children bounced between rented apartments for a few months and they now live in a hotel in Tiberias. Her two teenage daughters have one room, while her two youngest daughters stay with her in another crammed with clothes, snacks and their small dog.

Some families are struggling with the transitory living arrangements. Bored teenagers are tempted by drugs, alcohol and other acts of rebellion, while their parents are overwhelmed with the challenges of evacuation, Nidam said. The city of Kiryat Shmona has employed her to serve as a trusted adult presence in the lobby in the evenings, talking with the teens and making sure their parents are kept in the loop about their comings and goings.

Another challenge: “Families have been broken up,” Nidam said.

Nidam’s mother is in Jerusalem, while her 85-year-old father refuses to leave the city and — wearing army fatigues — volunteers for an emergency preparedness squad. Nidam’s husband and some of her brothers also remained to serve as emergency personnel. Other displaced siblings are spread across the country.

Despite the violence, the city of Kiryat Shmona says an estimated 3,000 residents stayed — either through choice or because they perform essential roles. Drivers now steer empty buses down deserted streets in the former northern economic hub. A hardware store is among a handful of shops still open.

Haim Menus, 70, a baker who was wounded in 1998 while serving as a tank driver during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, said he will not leave and that he trusts God to protect him. His hours at the bakery have been slashed because they have so few customers, and he tries not to spend too much time outside in case a siren warns of incoming rockets.

Menus said his neighbors want to return but that fear keeps them away.

“Who doesn’t want to return to his family, his home, the children, schools, kindergartens?” he asked, just moments after a siren wailed and he dashed inside the hardware store for shelter. “But it’s dangerous.”

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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war


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Google, Meta and others face tough questions in Australia over cyber extremism threats

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s online safety regulator has put social media giants on notice, requiring them to explain what they are doing to to protect people from violent extremists and terrorists.

The country’s eSafety regulator announced Tuesday that it had issued legal notices to Google, Meta, X, WhatsApp, Telegram and Reddit requiring each company to report on steps they are taking to protect Australian users of their platforms from extremist material online.

Accessing violent and extremist content on social media has been blamed for the radicalization of the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosques shootings, which killed 51 people, and also a gunman who murdered 10 black Americans at Buffalo in New York in 2022. Both shooters also livestreamed parts of their attack online.

According to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant the risk of terrorism and online radicalization remains high both in Australia and internationally.

“The tech companies that provide these services have a responsibility to ensure that these features and their services cannot be exploited to perpetrate such harm and that’s why we are sending these notices to get a look under the hood at what they are and are not doing,” Inman Grant said in a written statement.

“We remain concerned about how extremists weaponise technology like live-streaming, algorithms and recommender systems and other features to promote or share this hugely harmful material.”

The Commission said it had issued the notices under transparency powers granted under Australia’s Online Safety Act, which will require the six companies to answer a series of detailed questions about how they are tackling the issue.

“It’s no coincidence we have chosen these companies to send notices to as there is evidence that their services are exploited by terrorists and violent extremists. We want to know why this is and what they are doing to tackle the issue,” Inman Grant said.

“And, disappointingly, none of these companies have chosen to provide this information through the existing voluntary framework – developed in conjunction with industry – provided by the OECD.”

The companies have 49 days to respond and face financial penalties of around 780 thousand Australian dollars ($510,000) per day if they don’t comply.

According to a recent OECD report, Telegram is the top ranked mainstream platform when it comes to the prevalence of terrorist and violent extremist material, with Google’s YouTube ranked second and X, formerly known as Twitter, third. The Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram round out the top five.

WhatsApp is ranked 8th while a 2022 report by the New York State Attorney General confirmed the Buffalo supermarket shooter’s ‘manifesto’ cited Reddit as a platform that played a role in his radicalization towards violent white supremacist extremism.

The eSafety Commission will also be asking Telegram and Reddit about measures they have in place to detect and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Commission said it will publish further information on the findings later in the year.


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Bangladesh, Pakistan and India bottom in air quality rankings in 2023, data shows

By David Stanway

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Pakistan remained one of the world’s three smoggiest countries in 2023, as Bangladesh and India replaced Chad and Iran, with particulate matter about 15 times the level recommended by the World Health Organization, data published on Tuesday showed.

Average concentrations of PM2.5 – small airborne particles that damage the lungs – reached 79.9 micrograms per cubic metre in Bangladesh in 2023, and 73.7 micrograms in Pakistan. The WHO recommends no more than 5 micrograms.

“Because of the climate conditions and the geography (in South Asia), you get this streak of PM2.5 concentrations that just skyrocket because the pollution has nowhere to go,” said Christi Chester Schroeder, air quality science manager at IQAir, a Swiss air-monitoring organisation.

“On top of that are factors such as agricultural practices, industry and population density,” she added. “Unfortunately, it really does look like it will get worse before it gets better.”

In 2022, Bangladesh was ranked as having the fifth-worst air quality, and India was eighth.

About 20% of premature deaths in Bangladesh are attributed to air pollution, and related healthcare costs amount to 4%-5% of the country’s GDP, said Md Firoz Khan, an air pollution expert at Dhaka’s North South University.

Indian pollution also increased last year, with PM2.5 levels about 11 times higher than the WHO standard. India’s New Delhi was the worst-performing capital city, at 92.7 micrograms.

China also saw PM2.5 rise 6.3% to 32.5 micrograms last year, after five consecutive annual declines.

Only Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand met WHO standards in 2023.

The IQAir report was based on data from more than 30,000 monitoring stations in 134 countries and regions.

Chad, the world’s most polluted country in 2022, was excluded from the 2023 listings because of data issues. Iran and Sudan were also taken off the 2023 list.

Christa Hasenkopf, director of the Air Quality Life Index at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, said 39% of countries have no public air quality monitoring.

“Considering the large potential benefits and relatively low cost, it’s stunning that we don’t have an organised global effort to deploy resources to close these data gaps, especially in places where the health burden of air pollution has been largest,” she said.

(Reporting by David Stanway)


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Taiwan’s vice president-elect makes Czech visit after US trip

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s vice president-elect and former de facto ambassador to Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, is on a visit to the Czech Republic following a low-key trip to the United States, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Hsiao, who takes office with president-elect Lai Ching-te in May, is detested by China which calls her a “diehard Taiwan independence separatist” and has placed sanctions on her.

China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei strongly rejects.

Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu said Hsiao had been invited to the Czech Republic by the Sinopsis think-tank and will speak to them, as well as meet other “friends” in the country to exchange views ahead of her inauguration.

Czech Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil, who visited Taiwan in 2020, on Tuesday posted a picture on his X social media page of him meeting and chatting with Hsiao.

Taiwan has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican.

But Central and Eastern European countries have been particularly keen to show support for Taiwan – especially following Russia’s attack of Ukraine – defying Beijing’s anger about such contacts and lessening Taiwan’s international diplomatic isolation.

China expressed anger last week about Hsiao’s U.S. trip, on what both Taiwan and the United States termed a private visit.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Miral Fahmy)


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Indonesia fishing village grapples with piles of trash brought in by tides

By Willy Kurniawan

TELUK, Indonesia (Reuters) – Solikah, an Indonesian housewife living in the fishing village of Teluk, was in tears as she pointed to piles of trash strewn on a beach close to her home of 40 years.

Teluk, in the Indonesian province of Banten on the western edge of Java island, has one of the country’s dirtiest beaches as villagers said that heavy rain has led to stronger tides, bringing more trash to shore.

“You can’t predict the weather,” 58-year-old Solikah said.

Indonesia is expecting a milder dry season this year, its meteorological agency said, starting later than usual in May and June for Java.

Fikri Jufri, who leads a community focus on cleaning beaches in Teluk, said the rain had led to the pile-up of trash.

“Every year, the rain and wind carries trash from the sea to the shore,” he said, adding mountains of plastic waste have for years made their way to the sea through rivers, but the tides bring them back ashore.

Biscuit and toothbrush cases, instant noodle packages or even sandals are regularly strewn on the beach, where villagers live on the shore.

Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest contributors of plastic waste that ends up in the sea.

A video of a group of young environmentalists raking up tons of trash in Teluk last year went viral on social media app TikTok.

Despite the waste, the biggest complaint of local fishermen is how the weather unpredictability affects their livelihood.

Jayadi, 33, said high tides during the rains have prevented him from going fishing, lamenting that income will be hit just as his family prepares to celebrate the Islamic Eid al-Fitr festival next month.

“Many villagers will cry because they cannot buy rice if the weather continues like this,” he said. “Last year around this time the sea was calmer, so we could find fish, squids.”

(Additional reporting by Yuddy Cahya Budiman; Writing by Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)


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Drones are key to gain advantage over Russia, Ukraine army chief says

(Reuters) – The development of unmanned systems, or drones, is key to give Kyiv an advantage over “a numerically superior” Russian forces, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said late on Monday.

“The development of the use of unmanned systems is my priority,” Syrskyi said on Telegram after meeting his deputy, Vadym Sukharevskyi. “We are looking for asymmetric solutions to gain a qualitative advantage over a numerically superior opponent.”

The increased use of drones by both sides has been shifting the conflict away from the battlefield to strikes on each other’s military, energy and transport infrastructure.

As the Ukrainian military is outgunned and outmanned on the battlefield, Moscow’s forces have been increasing pressure along the entire frontline and making gradual gains.

President Vladimir Putin, who on Sunday was granted another six years in power after winning Russia’s presidential election, said Moscow forces have an advantage on the Ukraine battlefield and vowed to press on with his military operation.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as part of his military reforms ordered in February the creation of a separate branch of Ukraine’s armed forces devoted to drones. Sukharevskyi was put in charge of development of unmanned systems and their use by soldiers.

Military analysts say drones could potentially give Ukraine a technological edge over Moscow, given its shortages in artillery shells and other more traditional weapons. But Russia’s drone industry is also developing rapidly.

As the drones are becoming smaller, more lethal and can travel further, Ukraine has used a barrage of them to attack oil refineries inside Russia in recent months, knocking out an estimated 7% of its refining capacity in the first quarter.

Ukraine’s air and sea drone attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, some of which have been successful, have also prompted the Russian defence ministry to vow over the weekend to shield the fleet from future attacks.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than two years ago and has since killed thousands on both sides and displaced millions of Ukrainians.

(Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)


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