Month: April 2021

Party leaders with Germany’s Christan Democratic Union (CDU) party voted late Monday to make North Rhine-Westphalia State Governor Armin Laschet their candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor in elections later this year.  
 
CDU party senior leaders selected Laschet over Bavarian Governor Markus Soeder after six hours of debate. Soeder is the leader of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), and the two parties make up the Conservative Union bloc, which has supported Merkel for the past 16 years.  
 
The vote puts Laschet a step closer to being formally named as the candidate for the conservative alliance.
 
Monday’s CDU vote came after Laschet and Soeder each expressed interest in succeeding Merkel. Soeder has much better overall poll ratings, but Laschet was elected in January to lead the CDU, by far the bigger of the sister parties. It was primarily a conflict of personality and style rather than policy.
 
Soeder said the bigger party of the coalition should decide the matter and that he would respect a “clear decision.” He did just that Tuesday, telling reporters, “The die is cast; Armin Laschet will be the chancellor candidate of the Union.” Soeder said he and his party would support him “without grudge” and with all its strength.
 
Laschet called Tuesday for unity and said he and the CDU were grateful for the CSU’s fair dealings in the decision. He said the two parties must work as a team going into the election campaign.  
 
Laschet is widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, although he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions.
 
While the conservatives’ popularity has been sagging in recent months, due to perceptions it has mishandled the pandemic and allegations of corruption among some Union members, recent polls show they hold a slight lead over main rival, the Green party.
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Greece has lifted quarantine restrictions for travelers from the United States and a number of other countries as it prepares to reopen tourism services next month. But with the COVID pandemic still raging across the country and cases once again rising in parts of the United States, critics worry the Greek government may be acting too quickly.Greece’s new measures were effective immediately after they were announced Monday.  It is the first time U.S., British and EU travelers are allowed to visit this sun-kissed nation and its white-washed islands without quarantine requirements since March 2020 when the global pandemic brought international travel to a grinding halt.Travelers from Israel, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, as well as all European Union member states nationals will be allowed to vacation here, bypassing strict seven-day quarantine rules on the condition that they have either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested negative 72 hours before their arrival here.The move makes Greece one of the first major European destinations to reopen to tourists ahead of the summer season — a crucial head start the country wants in its bid to secure a sizeable slice of the travel market, to boost its battered tourism industry.But with intensive care facilities still close to capacity, just over 10 percent of the country’s 11 million people inoculated, and the pandemic still raging here, pundits and political opponents are already accusing the government of ignoring warnings by the nation’s health commission to proceed with caution.Government spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni denies accusations that officials are acting recklessly.Any such suggestion she said is insulting. But speaking to reporters at a daily government press briefing, Peloni said it was the administration that was responsible for instituting the COVID rules, not the health commission overseeing the pandemic in the country. She said Greece’s decision to allow U.S. travelers and others to visit the country from this week would be closely monitored.Peloni described the exercise as a trial run and said qualifying visitors will be able to check into hotels to enjoy Greece’s sun, sea, and fun but they will also be subject to the same restrictions and lockdowns as locals, meaning restaurants and bars will remain off limits, except for takeaways.Nearly 200 Dutch tourists are already here as part of an experiment.They are part of an ambitious exercise in which they traded lockdown in their country, in exchange for eight days of voluntary confinement at a hotel resort on the island of Rhodes.Dutch tourists, who will spend a week long holiday in isolation in their tourist resort as part of an experiment, arrive at the Rhodes International Airport on the island of Rhodes, Greece, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, April 12, 2021.The setup allows participants to access the pool, restaurants, and other facilities at the resort only, but many, like this young man, are ecstatic. He said he does not have a pool at home and cannot go to his local pub for a beer, so this deal is great.But for a country growing increasingly frustrated from months of on-again, off-again lockdowns and restrictions, many Greeks are watching such experiments and defying local lockdowns, taking to the streets and staging so-called “corona-parties.”Many of those who are staying away from the block parties and observing restrictions say they find it unfair the government is allowing foreigners to come and visit, while keeping Greeks confined and unable to travel even beyond the counties they live in, even briefly for the upcoming Greek Orthodox Easter break.Health officials warn a nationwide easing of restrictions could spark a fresh spike in covid infections.To appease the growing resentment and lockdown fatigue, Greek government officials are now suggesting they may move to lift local restrictions by mid May – around the same time they hope the first big waves of tourists will start to arrive. 
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The hulking, horned bison has long been an iconic symbol for people from the United States to eastern Europe. They were worshipped as deities by the Native Americans and for the Polish, they are the most important animal after the double-headed eagle which adorns the national flag. Cave paintings in Spain show they were an essential part of life on the Iberian Peninsula about 1.2 million years ago. After being hunted nearly to extinction in the United States and Europe alike, the bison is undergoing a resurgence in terms of numbers. Conservationists now believe that far from being a historical symbol, the bison may play a role in tackling some of the side-effects of the biggest problem facing mankind in the future– climate change. Bison are herbivores that naturally feed on the undergrowth which fuels forest fires, a natural hazard as the world heats up. Rising temperatures and rural depopulation among factors which are driving a rise in forest fires. In Spain, wildfires have destroyed about 741,000 hectares of forest over the past ten years, according to government estimates. FILE – A military police officer stands by his motorcycle next to flames from a forest fire near Mazagon in southern Spain, June 25, 2017.Huge blazes are also becoming more common elsewhere in Portugal, California and Australia. Since the 1950s, Spain has seen a slow drain of population from rural to urban areas that has left fewer flocks of sheep to eat the highly flammable scrubland as farms have been abandoned. However, a new program to reintroduce bison, which were driven into extinction about 10,000 years ago, may hold out hope of a way to reverse this trend. There are 18 centers breeding bison in Spain and over the past ten years their numbers have risen from 22 to just over 150. The way the bison eats shrubs helps to open up dense parts of the forest, which lets in light and allows grass to grow instead of scrub which helps forest fires spread. “These animals naturally eat the vegetation and this could act as a natural fire break. With less and less flocks of sheep or cows being farmed in open ground, bison would fill this gap,” Fernando Morán, a veterinarian who is director of the European Bison Conservation Center of Spain, told VOA. European bison can weigh up to one ton and eat around 30 kilograms of vegetation per day. When they were released into a 20-hectare oak forest in 2010, seven bison cleared the undergrowth, saving about $72,000 which it would have cost to pay engineers to do the same job. No status But, as bison have been extinct for so long, they are not recognized as an endangered species and so there is no state funding in Spain for these schemes which depend on donations. The animals are also not permitted to roam wildly as they are not considered as an indigenous species in Spain so are kept in large parks. Morán says politicians in Spain and beyond should realize the potential of the bison to restore the ecosystem and change the law so they can roam free once more. “At present there is not the political will to make this change at present despite the pressure we have put on the government to do this,” he said. Jesús Gonzalez was a miner who worked in the coalfields of northern Spain but now dedicates himself to promoting the cause of the bison at a reserve in San Cebrián de Muda, a tiny village of 162 inhabitants. “This part of Spain has changed from an area which used to produce coal — which damages the environment – to one which nurtures animals like the bison which could play a role in helping the environment,” he told VOA in an interview from the reserve. In eastern Europe, the bison is allowed to roam freely in Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Lithuania. There is also state funding for its nurture in Romania and Poland. FILE – Britain’s Prince Charles views bison at a reserve in Poland’s Bialowieza forest in Bialowieza, Poland, March 16, 2010. Seven young bison females were sent from Białowieża to farms in northern Spain to boost the herd there.Wanda Olech, a founder of the European Bison Friends’ Society based in Warsaw in Poland, believes this animal, like all grazing animals, could help combat climate change. She said the European bison has made such a recovery from the face of extinction that she advocates planned culls to prevent disease spreading. “In Poland alone there are 2,300 bison alone, of which about 50 are blind so we must control these animals with professionally organized culls,” Olech, who is a professor of animal genetics, told VOA. “This is not cruelty but should be professionally organized with hunters who could pay as they do in African countries.” Projects to export the European bison to Chile were rejected as it was believed the animal would not adapt, so bison are not present in Latin America or Africa.  
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The U.S. ambassador in Moscow said Tuesday he will head home for consultations — a move that comes after the Kremlin prodded him to take a break as Washington and Moscow traded sanctions. Ambassador John Sullivan said in a statement that he is returning to the United States this week to discuss U.S.-Russian ties with members of President Joe Biden’s administration. He emphasized that he would come back to Moscow within weeks. “I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia,” Sullivan said in a statement issued by the embassy. “Also, I have not seen my family in well over a year, and that is another important reason for me to return home for a visit.” Sullivan’s departure comes after Russia on Friday stopped short of asking Sullivan to leave the country, but said it “suggested” that he follows the example of the Russian ambassador to Washington who was recalled for consultations last month after President Joe Biden’s description of President Vladimir Putin as a “killer.” Russia has set no time frame for Anatoly Antonov’s return to Washington. On Thursday, the Biden administration announced sanctions on Russia for interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies — activities Moscow has denied. The U.S. ordered 10 Russian diplomats expelled, targeted dozens of companies and people and imposed new curbs on Russia’s ability to borrow money. Russia denounced the U.S. move as “absolutely unfriendly and unprovoked” and retaliated by ordering 10 U.S. diplomats to leave, blacklisting eight current and former U.S. officials and tightening requirements for the U.S. Embassy operations. While ordering the sanctions, Biden also called for de-escalating tensions and held the door open for cooperation with Russia in certain areas. Biden emphasized that he told Putin that he chose not to impose tougher sanctions for now and proposed to meet in a third country in the summer. Russia said it was studying the offer. “I will return to Moscow in the coming weeks before any meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin,” Sullivan said in Tuesday’s statement. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that “we are in the very beginning of analyzing the situation” regarding Biden’s summit proposal and no specifics have been discussed yet. “A big question is what course the U.S. will take,” Ryabkov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. While the new U.S. sanctions further limited Russia’s ability to borrow money by banning U.S. financial institutions from buying Russian government bonds directly from state institutions, they didn’t target the secondary market. The Biden administration held the door open for more hard-hitting moves if need be. Fyodor Lukyanov, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy expert, said while the Kremlin’s advice to Sullivan to leave for consultations stopped short of expulsion, it reflected Moscow’s dismay about the new sanctions. “If the political contacts have been reduced to zero, and economic ties never were close enough, why have so many people in the embassies?” Lukyanov said in a commentary. He predicted that ties will continue to deteriorate despite Biden’s offer to hold a summit. “During the past Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States at least shared a certain mutual respect and a recognition of each other’s political legitimacy, and it’s no longer the case,” Lukyanov observed. “Each party sees the other as heading toward decay and lacking the moral and political right to behave as it does.” 
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The European Union says roughly 150,000 Russian troops are massed along the border of Ukraine and in Crimea — calling it the highest such military deployment.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described Russia’s military buildup on the Ukraine border and annexed Crimea as very worrying.”The military deployment of Russian troops, with all kinds of materials — deploying campaign hospitals and all kinds of warfare — has been continuing. I cannot tell you where this figure comes from, but it is my reference figure. It is the highest military deployment of Russian army in Ukrainian borders ever,” he said.But Borrell said for now — and despite separate accusations by the Czech Republic that Russia was behind explosions in 2014 at an ammunition depot— the 27-member bloc is not planning more sanctions against Moscow.”At the time being there is no move on the field of more sanctions to Russia. Things can change, but the situation is the way I am explaining,” he said.A Ukrainian soldier is seen at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk, Ukraine, April 19, 2021.The Czech Republic has expelled 18 Russian diplomats accused of being spies in the case related to the explosion. In a tit-for-tat move, Moscow ordered 20 Czech diplomats out of Russia.The EU has followed Washington in warning Moscow about another key issue — the deteriorating health of opposition activist Alexey Navalny, who began a hunger strike last month demanding better medical care. Navalny reportedly has now been moved to a military hospital.“They are responsible for Navalny’s safety and health, and we will hold them to account for it,” said Borrell.The prison service said at the present time, Navalny’s health is deemed satisfactory, and that he is being examined daily by a physician. Officials also say he agreed to take vitamin therapy.FILE – Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny stands inside a defendant dock during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 20, 2021, in this still image taken from video. (Press Service of Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow/Handout)Russia was the top item at Monday’s EU foreign ministers meeting — held by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic. Experts say tensions between Russia and the West are at their highest point since the Cold War. Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France also held four-way talks in Kyiv.Senior analyst Amanda Paul, of the Brussels-based European Policy Center, said she is not surprised the EU isn’t taking bolder action against Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014.“The problem is, like always, you don’t have one voice. Obviously, there’s some member states that would like the EU to respond with a much tougher narrative or tougher steps. But you have the other part that is more cautious and wants to wait and see,” she said.On other hotspots, the EU adopted a new round of sanctions against Myanmar following the February coup there. It also criticized the lack of progress on Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where fighting between the federal government and the region’s former ruling party erupted last year.A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021.The EU says troops from Eritrea have not withdrawn and human rights violations continue. Eritrea had been fighting on the side of the Ethiopian federal forces. Eritrea previously denied being in the Tigray region.On a positive note, Borrell was upbeat about progress between Washington and Tehran at indirect nuclear talks in Vienna.“I think both parts are really interested in reaching an agreement,” she said.The Reuters news agency cites a Russian diplomat saying negotiations to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal were in a drafting stage, although solutions to issues were still far away.
 
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Russia is continuing to build up its naval presence in the Black Sea, and The Sunday Times newspaper, quoting British naval sources, said Britain is also deploying two warships to beef up NATO’s presence, as tensions over Ukraine escalate.Access to the Black Sea is through Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles waterways which are controlled by the 1936 Montreux Convention.Retired Turkish Ambassador Mithat Rende, a maritime law analyst, said the current tensions underlines the treaty’s importance.“Maritime powers, which are not are riparian states, they have limited access to the Black Sea,” Rende said. “Because of the limited tonnage that each country cannot keep more than thirty thousand of tonnage capacity in the Black Sea and for a period for only 21 days. So, it probably desirable for certain countries, like the United States to have an alternative to Montreux.”Earlier this month, news reports said Russian President Vladimir Putin pressed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ensure NATO fully comply with the Montreux convention.Huseyin Bagci of the Foreign Policy Institute in Ankara said Moscow sees the convention as key to Russian Black Sea hegemony.“This is (the) only way which makes Black Sea at the same time a Russian sea, because the Russian navy is there dominating,” Bagci said. “And the American warships are limited there. And so, it’s good for Russia to have Montreux, maybe more than Turkey.”But the future of the 80-year-old convention could be in question.A Turkish commercial extolls the virtues of the Istanbul canal that would run parallel with the Bosphorus, offering a faster and safer passage for ships. The canal — whose construction is due to start in the coming months — is causing concern in Moscow.Erdogan said this month the canal is not covered by Montreux, opening the door to potential unlimited use by any nation’s warships. Turkey-Russia relations analyst Zaur Gasimov at Bonn University said deliberations over Montreux gives Ankara leverage over Moscow.“The Montreux agreement and how Turkey deals with it, that gives also a new possibility for Ankara to promote its interests in its interaction with Russia,” Gasimov said. “That gives also certain leverage for Ankara to influence the situation the dynamics around the Black Sea region and even also to deepen the cooperation with the United States.”But Erdogan’s plan is facing pushback. More than 100 retired Turkish admirals issued a statement this month, defending Montreux, claiming it guarantees Turkish control over the Bosphorus. The Turkish authorities put the admirals under investigation, accusing them of threatening the government.
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