Sunday, February 27, 2022

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UN body weighs a global treaty to fight plastic pollution

Posted: 27 Feb 2022 11:27 PM PST

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Delegates from United Nations member countries are considering proposals for a binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution.The UN Environment Assembly, meeting February 28 to March 2 in Kenya's capital Nairobi, is expected to propose an international framework to address the growing problem of plastic waste in the world's oceans, rivers and landscape."For the first time in history, we are seeing unprecedented global momentum to tackle the plague of plastic pollution," said UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen.During preparations for the session, Andersen implored member states to take the opportunity to reshape humanity's "relationship with plastic once and for all" by developing a comprehensive global agreement to combat the problem.Two major proposals have emerged during years of international discussions about ways to reduce single use plastic.The first, by Peru and Rwanda, calls for a full spectrum approach to plastic pollution, covering raw materials extraction, plastic production, as well as plastic use and disposal. It urges creation of "an international legally binding agreement ... to prevent and reduce plastic pollution in the environment, including micro plastics."The proposal is co-sponsored by Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Norway, the Philippines, Senegal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uganda along with the European Union.A second proposal, sponsored by Japan, calls for an international agreement "to address marine plastic pollution covering the whole life cycle and promoting resource efficiency and circular economy," including reuse.The key difference is that Japan's approach concentrates on marine plastic pollution, while the Peru-Rwanda proposal covers plastic pollution in all environments.Both proposals envision establishment of a negotiating committee to complete the new plastic treaty by 2024.If such a plastics treaty is endorsed by the UN Environment Assembly, Andersen said it "would be the most significant global; environmental governance decision since the Paris (Climate) Agreement in 2015."The environmental group Greenpeace supports the Peru-Rwanda proposal's full lifecycle approach to addressing plastic pollution."Over 140 countries have declared support for opening negotiations on a global plastic treaty," said Erastus Ooko, the plastics engagement lead for Greenpeace Africa."However, support for negotiations is not enough," Ooko said. "These countries should be calling for a legally binding treaty that will match the scale and depth of the plastics crisis." (AP)

Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, escalating tensions

Posted: 27 Feb 2022 05:07 PM PST

KYIV, Ukraine — President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday, while Ukraine's embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin's troops and tanks drove deeper into the country, closing in around the capital.Citing "aggressive statements" by NATO and tough financial sanctions, Putin issued a directive to increase the readiness of Russia's nuclear weapons, raising fears that the invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war, whether by design or mistake.The Russian leader is "potentially putting in play forces that, if there's a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous," said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss rapidly unfolding military operations.Putin's directive came as Russian forces encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders. Despite Russian advances across the country, U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.Amid the mounting tensions, Western nations said they would tighten sanctions and buy and deliver weapons for Ukraine, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, meanwhile, announced plans for a meeting with a Russian delegation at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border.It wasn't immediately clear when the meeting would take place, nor what the Kremlin was ultimately seeking, either in those potential talks on the border or, more broadly, from its war in Ukraine. Western officials believe Putin wants to overthrow Ukraine's government and replace it with a regime of his own, reviving Moscow's Cold War-era influence.The fast-moving developments came as scattered fighting was reported in Kyiv. Battles also broke out in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country's south came under assault from Russian forces.By late Sunday, Russian forces had taken Berdyansk, a Ukrainian city of 100,000 on the Azov Sea coast, according to Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Zelenskyy's office. Russian troops also made advances toward Kherson, another city in the south of Ukraine, while Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov that is considered a prime Russian target, is "hanging on," Arestovich said.With Russian troops closing in around Kyiv, a city of almost 3 million, the mayor of the capital expressed doubt that civilians could be evacuated. Authorities have been handing out weapons to anyone willing to defend the city. Ukraine is also releasing prisoners with military experience who want to fight, and training people to make firebombs.In Mariupol, where Ukrainians were trying to fend off attack, a medical team at a city hospital desperately tried to revive a 6-year-old girl in unicorn pajamas who was mortally wounded in Russian shelling.During the rescue attempt, a doctor in blue medical scrubs, pumping oxygen into the girl, looked directly into the Associated Press video camera capturing the scene."Show this to Putin," he said angrily. "The eyes of this child, and crying doctors."Their resuscitation efforts failed, and the girl lay dead on a gurney, her jacket spattered with blood.Nearly 900 kilometers (560 miles) away, Faina Bystritska was under threat in the city of Chernihiv."I wish I had never lived to see this," said Bystritska, an 87-year-old Jewish survivor of World War II. She said sirens blare almost constantly in the city, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Kyiv.Chernihiv residents have been told not to switch on any lights "so we don't draw their attention," said Bystritska, who has been living in a hallway, away from any windows, so she could better protect herself."The window glass constantly shakes, and there is this constant thundering noise," she said.Meanwhile, the top official in the European Union outlined plans by the 27-nation bloc to close its airspace to Russian airlines and buy weapons for Ukraine. The EU will also ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.The U.S. also stepped up the flow of weapons to Ukraine, announcing it will send Stinger missiles as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday. Germany likewise plans to send 500 Stingers and other military supplies.Also, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly scheduled an emergency session Monday on Russia's invasion.Putin, in ordering the nuclear alert, cited not only statements by NATO members but the hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including Putin himself."Western countries aren't only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country," Putin said in televised comments.U.S. defense officials would not disclose their current nuclear alert level except to say that the military is prepared all times to defend its homeland and allies.White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC that Putin is resorting to the pattern he used in the weeks before the invasion, "which is to manufacture threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression."The practical meaning of Putin's order was not immediately clear. Russia and the United States typically have land- and submarine-based nuclear forces that are on alert and prepared for combat at all times, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not.If Putin is arming or otherwise raising the nuclear combat readiness of his bombers, or if he is ordering more ballistic missile submarines to sea, then the U.S. might feel compelled to respond in kind, said Hans Kristensen, a nuclear analyst at the Federation of American Scientists.Earlier Sunday, Kyiv was eerily quiet after explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one airport. A main boulevard was practically deserted as a strict curfew kept people off the streets. Authorities warned that anyone venturing out without a pass would be considered a Russian saboteur.Terrified residents hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault. Food and medicine were running low, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said."Right now, the most important question is to defend our country," Klitschko said.In downtown Kharkiv, 86-year-old Olena Dudnik said she and her husband were nearly thrown from their bed by the pressure blast of a nearby explosion."Every day there are street fights, even downtown," with Ukrainian fighters trying to stop Russian tanks, armored vehicles and missile launchers, Dudnik said by phone. She said the lines at drugstores were hours long."We are suffering immensely," she said. "We don't have much food in the pantry, and I worry the stores aren't going to have anything either, if they reopen." She added: "I just want the shooting to stop, people to stop being killed."Pentagon officials said that Russian troops are being slowed by Ukrainian resistance, fuel shortages and other logistical problems, and that Ukraine's air defense systems, while weakened, are still operating.But a senior U.S. defense official said that will probably change: "We are in day four. The Russians will learn and adapt."The number of casualties from Europe's largest land conflict since World War II remained unclear amid the confusion.Ukraine's Interior Ministry said Sunday that 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including 14 children. It said an additional 1,684 people, including 116 children, have been wounded.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov gave no figures on Russia's dead and wounded but said Sunday his country's losses were "many times" lower than Ukraine's.About 368,000 Ukrainians have arrived in neighboring countries since the invasion started Thursday, according to the U.N. refugee agency.Along with military assistance, the U.S., European Union and Britain also agreed to block selected Russian banks from the SWIFT system, which moves money around thousands of banks and other financial institutions worldwide. They also moved to slap restrictions on Russia's central bank.Russia's economy has taken a pounding since the invasion, with the ruble plunging and the central bank calling for calm to avoid bank runs.Russia, which massed almost 200,000 troops along Ukraine's borders, claims its assault is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighborhoods have also been hit. (AP)

West unleashes Swift bans, more crushing penalties on Russia

Posted: 26 Feb 2022 11:00 PM PST

WASHINGTON — The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network.The decision, announced as Ukrainian forces battled Saturday to hold Russian forces back from Ukraine's capital and residents sheltered in subway tunnels, basements and underground garages, has potential to spread the pain of Western retaliation for President Vladimir Putin's invasion to ordinary Russians far more than previous rounds of penalties."Putin embarked on a path aiming to destroy Ukraine, but what he is also doing, in fact, is destroying the future of his own country," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.The European Union, United States, United Kingdom and other allies have steadily stepped up the intensity of their sanctions since Russia launched the invasion late last week.While US and European officials made clear they still were working out the mechanics of how to implement the latest measures, and intend to spare Russia's oil and natural gas exports, the sanctions in total potentially could amount to some of the toughest levied on a nation in modern times. If fully carried out as planned, the measures will severely damage the Russian economy and markedly constrain its ability to import and export goods.The US and European allies announced the moves in a joint statement as part of a new round of financial sanctions meant to "hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin."Central bank restrictionsThe central bank restrictions target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal, and are meant to block Russia's ability to support the ruble as it plunges in value amid tightening Western sanctions.US officials said Saturday's steps were framed to send the ruble into "free fall" and promote soaring inflation in the Russian economy.The decline of the ruble would likely send inflation soaring, which would hurt everyday Russians and not just the Russian elites who were the targets of the original sanctions. The resulting economic disruption, if Saturday's measures are as harsh as described, could leave Putin facing political unrest at home.Analysts predicted intensifying runs on banks by Russians, and falling government reserves as Russians scrambled to sell their targeted currency for safer assets.The US officials noted that previously announced sanctions have already had an impact on Russia, bringing its currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history and giving its stock market the worst week on record.Swift disconnectionSaturday's move also includes cutting key Russian banks out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) financial messaging system, which daily moves countless billions of dollars around more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions around the world.The fine print of the sanctions was still being ironed out over the weekend, officials said, as they work to limit the impact of the restrictions on other economies and European purchases of Russian energy.Allies on both sides of the Atlantic also considered the Swift option in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia declared then that kicking it out of Swift would be equivalent to a declaration of war. The allies—criticized ever after for responding too weakly to Russia's 2014 aggression—shelved the idea back then. Russia since then has tried to develop its own financial transfer system, with limited success.The US has succeeded before in persuading the Belgium-based Swift system to kick out a country — Iran, over its nuclear program. But kicking Russia out of Swift could also hurt other economies, including those of the US and key ally Germany. (AP)

President refuses to flee, urges Ukraine to 'stand firm'

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 08:20 PM PST

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to "stand firm" against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: "The fight is here."Hundreds of casualties were reported in the fighting, which included shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools. There also were growing signs that Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine's government, which U.S. officials have described as Russian President Vladimir Putin's ultimate objective.The assault represented Putin's boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow's Cold War-era influence. It triggered new international efforts to end the invasion, including direct sanctions on Putin.As his country confronted explosions and gunfire, and as the fate of Kyiv hung in the balance, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a bleak statement that multiple cities were under attack."This night we have to stand firm," he said. "The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now."Zelenskyy was urged to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation. The official quoted the president as saying that "the fight is here" and that he needed anti-tank ammunition but "not a ride."For their part, U.S. defense officials believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding slower than Moscow had envisioned, though that could change quickly.The Kremlin accepted Kyiv's offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of the embattled Zelenskyy instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution.The Russian military continued its advance, laying claim Friday to the southern Ukraine city of Melitopol. Still, it was unclear in the fog of war how much of Ukraine is still under Ukrainian control and how much or little Russian forces have seized.As fighting persisted, Ukraine's military reported shooting down an II-76 Russian transport plane carrying paratroopers near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Kyiv, an account confirmed by a senior American intelligence official. It was unclear how many were on board. Transport planes can carry up to 125 paratroopers.The U.S. and other global powers slapped ever-tougher sanctions on Russia as the invasion reverberated through the world's economy and energy supplies, threatening to further hit ordinary households. U.N. officials said millions could flee Ukraine. Sports leagues moved to punish Russia and even the popular Eurovision song contest banned it from the May finals in Italy.Through it all, Russia remained unbowed, vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that it stop attacking Ukraine and withdraw troops immediately. The veto was expected, but the U.S. and its supporters argued that the effort would highlight Moscow's international isolation. The 11-1 vote, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining, showed significant but not total opposition to Russia's invasion of its smaller, militarily weaker neighbor.The meeting exposed Russia-Ukraine frictions, including when Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya requested a moment of silence to pray for those killed and asked Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia to pray "for salvation." Nebenzia retorted that the remembrance should include people who have died in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. Pro-Russian separatists there have been fighting the Ukrainian government, which Russia accuses of abuses. A moment of tense silence did ensue.NATO, meanwhile, decided to send parts of the alliance's response force to help protect its member nations in the east for the first time. NATO did not say how many troops would be deployed but added that it would involve land, sea and air power.Day Two of Russia's invasion, the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, focused on the Ukrainian capital, where Associated Press reporters heard explosions starting before dawn. Gunfire was reported in several areas.A large boom was heard in the evening near Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square in central Kyiv that was the heart of protests which led to the 2014 ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president. The cause was not immediately known.Five explosions struck near a major power plant on Kyiv's eastern outskirts, said Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. There was no information on what caused them, and no electrical outages were immediately reported.It was unclear how many people overall had died. Ukrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side from the first full day of fighting and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures.U.N. officials reported 25 civilian deaths, mostly from shelling and airstrikes, and said that 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes. They estimate that up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates.Zelenskyy tweeted that he and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone and discussed "strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an antiwar coalition."His whereabouts were kept secret after Zelenskyy told European leaders in a call Thursday that he was Russia's No. 1 target — and that they might not see him again alive. His office later released a video of him standing with senior aides outside the presidential office and saying that he and other government officials would stay in the capital.Zelenskyy earlier offered to negotiate on a key Putin demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. The Kremlin said Kyiv initially agreed to have talks in Minsk, then said it would prefer Warsaw and later halted communications. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said later that Kyiv would discuss prospects for talks on Saturday.The assault was anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and denied to be in the works just as long by Putin. He argued the West left him with no other choice by refusing to negotiate Russia's security demands.In a window into how the increasingly isolated Putin views Ukraine and its leadership, he urged Ukraine's military to surrender, saying: "We would find it easier to agree with you than with that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have holed up in Kyiv and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage."Playing on Russian nostalgia for World War II heroism, the Kremlin equates members of Ukrainian right-wing groups with neo-Nazis. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, angrily dismisses those claims.Putin has not disclosed his ultimate plans for Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a hint, saying, "We want to allow the Ukrainian people to determine its own fate." Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia recognizes Zelenskyy as the president, but would not say how long the Russian military operation could last.Ukrainians abruptly adjusted to life under fire, after Russian forces invaded the country from three sides as they massed an estimated 150,000 troops nearby.Residents of a Kyiv apartment building woke to screaming, smoke and flying dust. What the mayor identified as Russian shelling tore off part of the building and ignited a fire."What are you doing? What is this?" resident Yurii Zhyhanov asked Russian forces. Like countless other Ukrainians, he grabbed what belongings he could, took his mother, and fled, car alarms wailing behind him.Elsewhere in Kyiv, the body of a dead soldier lay near an underpass. Fragments of a downed aircraft smoked amid the brick homes of a residential area. Black plastic was draped over body parts found beside them. People climbed out of bomb shelters, basements and subways to face another day of upheaval."We're all scared and worried. We don't know what to do then, what's going to happen in a few days," said Lucy Vashaka, 20, a worker at a small Kyiv hotel.At the Pentagon, press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. believes the offensive, including its advance on Kiev, has gone more slowly than Moscow had planned, noting that Ukraine forces have been fighting back. But he also said the military campaign is in an early stage and circumstances can change rapidly.The Biden administration said Friday that it would move to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, following the European Union and Britain in directly sanctioning top Russian leadership.Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, called the sanctions against Putin and Lavrov "an example and a demonstration of a total helplessness" of the West. (AP)

Authorities seize nearly $3M worth of methamphetamine in onion shipment

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 07:01 PM PST

SAN DIEGO — Authorities seized nearly $3 million worth of methamphetamine, hidden among a shipment of onions, during a tractor-trailer's inspection at federal facility in San Diego, officials announced Friday.A K-9 unit for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted to the trailer's shipment of onions on Sunday and officers found nearly 1,200 small packages of meth, the agency said Friday in a news release.The 46-year-old driver, a Mexican national who was not named, was arrested for the alleged narcotic smuggling attempt at the Otay Mesa port-of-entry commercial vehicle facility, officials said.The packages of meth — more than 1,336 pounds (606 kilograms) — were shaped into small globes with a white covering, the agency said, and meant to blend into the onions. The drugs are estimated to be worth $2.9 million on the street."This was not only a clever attempt to try and smuggle in narcotics, one I haven't seen before, but also time consuming to wrap narcotics into these small packages, designed to look like onions," said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations in San Diego, in the news release. "While we have certainly seen narcotics in produce before, it's unusual for us to see this level of detail in the concealment." (AP)
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