Germany's move to help Ukraine with weapons signals a historic shift

 Germany’s decision to send anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to Ukraine leaving its long-held refusal to export weapons to war zones is a historic break with its post-World War II foreign policy

Germany’s stunning decision to send anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine abandoning its long-held refusal to export weapons to conflict zones is nothing less than a historic break with its post-World War II foreign policy. “A new reality,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it in an uncharacteristically rousing speech on Sunday to a special session of parliament. The typically low-key Chancellor Scholz said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine required a dramatically different response from Germany than in the past.

“With his invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, President Putin created a new reality,” Scholz told the Bundestag, his speech repeatedly greeted by applause, particularly his condemnations of the Russian leader. “This reality demands a clear answer. We’ve given one.” Scholz said Germany is sending anti-tank weapons and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine. He also said the country is committing 100 billion euros (USD 113 billion) to a special fund for its armed forces and will raise its defence spending above 2 per cent of GDP, a measure on which it had long lagged…Read More

Coronavirus updates and highlights: A quick look at the major developments

In Russia, new cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time, while the death toll in Britain mounted near that of Italy, the epicenter of Europes outbreak

Globally, more than 3.5 million people have been infected by the coronavirus, and close to 2.5 lakh people have died due to the pandemic. Speaking of the nations hit most with the infectious disease, the US tops the list with more than a million cases, followed by Spain (247,122), Italy (210,717), the UK (186,599), France (168,693) and Germany (165,664).

However, the US, Italy, and Spain among others have started thinking about re-opening as the virus spread seems to have slowed down. While millions of people took advantage of easing coronavirus lockdowns to enjoy the outdoors, some of the world’s most populous countries reported worrisome new peaks in infections Sunday, including India, which saw its biggest single-day jump yet, AP reports. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India has reached 42,533, with more than 2,500 cases being reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Statewise, Maharashtra has reported the most cases in the country (12,974), followed by Gujarat (5,428), Delhi (4,549), Madhya Pradesh (2,846), Rajasthan (2,772), Tamil Nadu (2,757), and Uttar Pradesh (2,626).

In major developments, we came across the news of the US President Donald Trump claiming that a vaccine to treat corona patients could be ready by end of this year. Trump believes as many as 100,000 Americans could die in the coronavirus pandemic, after the death toll passed his earlier estimates, but said he was confident a vaccine would be developed by the year’s end…Read More

World leaders come up short at UN summit as millions demand climate action

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit new, and ideally more ambitious, climate action plans every five years. The next presentations are due in 2020

Millions of people in 170 countries took to the streets to protest. World leaders lined up at the United Nations to pledge action. A 16-year-old girl, close to tears, shamed them for robbing her of a future.

The pressure to act on climate change is mounting. Titans of global business and politics gathered in New York this week for a series of events, including the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, to acknowledge that more must be done — but fell short of saying exactly what will be done.

“Time is running out in the court of public opinion, because time is running out to address climate change,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told heads of state and business chiefs at the Global Business Forum on Wednesday. “It’s right for them to hold our feet to the fire.”

The stakes have indeed never been higher. Temperatures have already risen 1 degree Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1880s. The world must limit that warming to no more than 2 degrees above Industrial Revolution levels, the UN has warned, to avoid the most catastrophic of droughts, floods, mass migrations and conflicts. “You can just feel the groundswell of popular sentiment, that the urgency of this is elevated,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive David Solomon said during the forum.

When asked whether there’s enough information out there to determine his own bank’s exposure to climate change, Solomon said, “We’re working on it. The answer is we’re working on it.” It was a response that underscored both the heightened awareness among leaders that they will be held responsible for global warming and the work that still lays ahead of them…

G7 unity under stress as it wrestles with Iran, Amazon fires and trade

Trump arrived in Biarritz fresh from having upped the ante with increased tariffs in the escalating trade struggle with China

G7 leaders close their summit on Monday with discussion of world problems including the fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest, but overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s trade wars and questions over the group’s unity.

The G7 summit in Biarritz, a high-end surfers’ paradise in southwestern France, saw a dramatic shift of focus Saturday when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to discuss the diplomatic deadlock on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme. Zarif’s presence had not been expected and it represented a gamble by French host Emmanuel Macron who is seeking to soothe spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States.

The Iranian top diplomat didn’t meet Trump, French diplomats said, but the presence of the two men in the same place at least sparked hopes of a detente. Just this July, the US government imposed heavy sanctions seeking to hamper Zarif’s travel, and effectively banning him from the United States. “Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying,” the US-educated Zarif tweeted after meeting Macron and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as British and German representatives….

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Public functions to go vegan? PETA urges Modi to ban meat at govt meetings

Letter said Germany's ministry went meat-free because meat production contributors to climate change

 

#LATEST| Animal rights organisation PETA India on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take meat off the menu from all government events, taking a cue from the German Environment Minister's initiative to ban all meat products from public meetings.

Noting that as a vegetarian, Modi is a a role model of "compassionate, healthy, and environmentally friendly" eating, PETA said that it is time the entire Indian government should follow his lead and protect the environment by eliminating animal-derived foods from its meals.

The letter notes that Germany's ministry went meat-free because meat production is one of the leading contributors to climate change, which is causing people throughout India to suffer severe droughts and heatwaves.

In addition to producing an estimated 51 per cent of worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions, meat production also uses a massive amount of water, land, and food resources, it said.

"I hope you will agree that India should also set a good example where environmental conservation is concerned by eliminating animal-derived foods from the menus of all government or government-sponsored meetings and functions," said Nikunj Sharma, Lead - Public Policy at PETA India in the letter.

PETA said that after going vegetarian, public functions could go vegan. It said that the meat production is one of the leading causes of climate change.

Quoting a report published by the Worldwatch Institute in 2009, it said that 51 per cent of worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions may be attributable to agriculture, specifically to businesses that raise cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels, and pigs for food.

"Raising animals for food also gobbles up land and food resources. According to Global Footprint Network, it takes 14 times as much biologically productive land to produce 1 tonne of beef as it does to produce 1 tonne of grain," it said.

"PETA is calling on Prime Minister Modi to set a global example by ensuring that exclusively healthy, humane, and environmentally friendly vegan meals are served at all government functions."

Stating, "animals are not ours to eat", PETA claimed that meat production causes climate change due to which people around the nation suffer through severe droughts, heatwaves, and more.

"According to the United Nations, a global shift towards a vegan lifestyle is vital in order to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty, and the worst effects of climate change," the letter added.

"I hope you will agree that India should also set a good example where environmental conservation is concerned by eliminating animal-derived foods from the menus of all government or government-sponsored meetings and functions," the letter written by Nikunj Sharma, Lead - Public Policy, PETA said.

Animal-derived foods include those that come from animal sources such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese and yogurt.

Sharma later told PTI that although the body first wants the prime minister to "eliminate" meat from menus, on a larger note, the organisation has sought a ban on food derived from animals.

"The meat industry is heating up the planet and gobbling up our natural resources, but we can fight climate change by starting with what's on our plates.

While more than 194 million people in India are undernourished, 60 per cent of the world's grain supply is used to feed farmed animals, as it takes 10 kilograms of grain to produce just 1 kilogram of meat, the body said.

According to the United Nations, a global shift towards a vegan lifestyle is vital in order to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty, and the worst effects of climate change.

Noting that India is home to more than 280 million cows and 200 million other ruminant animals such as goats and buffaloes, it said they are bred predominantly to be used for meat or dairy production.

According to satellite data from our space programme, these animals transfer almost 12 million tonnes of methane - which traps 25 times as much heat as carbon dioxide does - into the atmosphere via flatulence every year| READ MORE