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Europe
Hungary
30.09.2023 Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán said his country views Ukraine’s EU membership in the near future as unrealistic. Orbán noted that accession should be approved by all members of the bloc. “The Hungarian parliament does not have an ‘irresistible desire’ to vote on it within the next two years,” he told public broadcaster, Radio Kossuth, yesterday. Regarding the question about whether it is permissible to start negotiations with a country that is in a territorial war, he said, is not possible to know how big the territory and population would Ukraine have. But the allocation of subsidies by the Union is based on that data, said Orbán. More EU funds to Kyiv means less money for Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia as the bloc’s budget is not unlimited, he said. Orbán also argued that some in the West have globalized the war in Ukraine, which should be isolated. “The front lines don't change, yet tens of thousands die without knowing when it will end. Meanwhile, more and more dangerous weapons are deployed that can reach us, who are on the side of peace,” he added. (Source: aa)
30.09.2023 Hungary reiterated yesterday its strong opposition to the EU’s new migration pact which was adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council in June. EU member states will have to accept an initial quota of 30,000 migrants from countries that bear the pressure of irregular migration from the Middle East and Africa, including Greece and Italy, or pay about €22,000 ($23,300) per non-admitted migrant, according to the pact. The Head of the Prime Minister's Office, Gulyás, said: “The EU should change its fundamental attitude toward illegal migration. “Everybody is free to decide whom they want to live together with controlling the bloc’s external borders is the EU’s obligation,” he said. The pact does not tackle the problem of asylum and would fail to curb illegal migration, said State Secretary of the Interior Ministry Rétvari. “Hungary rejects this new pro-migration proposal by Brussels,” he said. He argued that the pact, which he called a potential migrant magnet, would open a new door to mass illegal migration to Europe. Rétvari said that the deal, currently under discussion, would define Europe’s future, security, economic competitiveness and the composition of its population in the long term, if adopted. Hungary argued that consensus-based decision-making is important on strategic issues such as the migration pact, he said. Poland and Hungary were against the new rules but were outvoted. (Source: aa)
Poland
September 30, 2023 Polish and U.S. officials signed an agreement Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 in Warsaw for the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant, part of an effort by the Central European nation to move away from polluting fossil fuels. Two weeks before the Oct. 15 vote, Polish opposition leader Tusk is facing an uphill battle to win new hearts in his efforts to unseat the conservative government in Poland’s upcoming parliamentary election. The ex-prime minister and former European Union leader returned to Polish politics several years ago. Tusk, 66, is hoping a major rally that he organized for Sunday, October 1, will energize his supporters. His electoral alliance, the Civic Coalition, trails a few percentage points behind Law and Justice in opinion polls. He faces many obstacles, including divisions among his opposition ranks and, even more importantly, powerful government forces that depict him as disloyal to the nation. Shaping the campaign is a long and bitter personal rivalry between Tusk and Law and Justice chief Kaczynski, who is the country’s 74-year-old de facto leader. Kaczynski, other government figures and state media repeatedly allege that Tusk’s time as prime minister from 2007 to 2014 was harmful to Poland. They point to the good terms he was on with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel to make unproven allegations that he represented the interests of Germany. They also accuse him of abandoning Poland when he went to Brussels in 2014 to become European Council president, a top EU post. “Herr Donald, you left Poland to serve German interests in Brussels, for big money. … I gave up a high salary in order to serve Poland,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, a former banker, recently tweeted after Tusk questioned whether he was hiding his wealth. Tusk has denied being partisan to Germany. The march, the coalition’s biggest campaign event, was inspired by the success of a similar march on June 4 that drew hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters from across Poland. Tusk's campaign symbol is a heart in the national colors of white and red to show that 'we all have Poland in our hearts." 'On June 4, you gave Poland hope, so I am asking you now: On Oct. 1, let’s give not just hope, but the full belief in victory, in our success in removing these evil people from power,' Tusk said when announcing Sunday’s march. The June 4 march was held after Law and Justice passed legislation establishing a state commission for investigating Russian influence in Poland. The law was seen as the governing party’s way of targeting Tusk and removing him from public life. Opposition groups put aside their differences and marched with Tusk then. But this time, divisions complicate Tusk’s attempts to return to power. Tusk's electoral alliance includes his Civic Platform party and three other small parties. An opposition alliance called the Third Way - a coalition of the centrist Poland 2050 party and agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL) - won’t take part in Sunday’s march. Tusk’s coalition, the Left and the Third Way together haven’t worked out a joint electoral strategy. Some analysts see the disunity in the opposition as partly Tusk’s fault. Tusk, a leader with long political experience at home and internationally has a reputation for being domineering toward others in his party, and that has led some to leave and join other groups. Tusk recently moved his centrist alliance to the left, courting women and younger voters. After a near-total ban was imposed on abortion under Law and Justice, Tusk vowed to liberalize the abortion law and has threatened to ban party members who criticize his plan from running in the election. Apart from the Third Way, there is also the Left party in the opposition camp and it’s competing for younger voters against the far-right Confederation party which gathers strength, pushing a new, less friendly course on Ukraine. Polls show the party has been growing in popularity, especially among young men. The party has already done a lot to push the government to take a more confrontational stance to Ukraine. (Source: apnews)
Sweden
30.09.2023 Sweden is facing a growing crisis as it struggles to contain a surge in gang-related violence. While the European average stands at 1.6 deaths per million people annually due to such attacks, Sweden has four deaths per million people. The country recorded 44 murders in 2023, with 13 in last 15 days, and has held the distinction of leading European nations in armed attacks and murders per capita for the past five years. Statistics provided by the Swedish police showed 283 armed attacks between rival gangs recorded in 2023. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson addressed the nation, announced a multi-faceted strategy to combat escalating gang violence, involving collaboration between the government, police and the military. He noted that a law allowing police to wiretap telephones of suspected gang members without a warrant would take effect from tomorrow. He also disclosed the possibility of deploying the military to assist police in battling criminal organizations, underlining the gravity of the situation. (Source: aa)
Kosovo
September 30, 2023 Tensions grew after about 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed the northern Kosovo village of Banjska last Sunday, September 24. A Kosovo policeman and three of the attackers were killed in gun battles. Radoicic, the vice president of Serb List, the main Kosovo-Serb political party, resigned yesterday after admitting to setting up the armed group responsible for the attack. 'We need NATO because the border with Serbia is very long and the Serbian army has been recently strengthening its capacities,' Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti told. “They have a lot of military equipment from both the Russian Federation and China,” he said. White House National Security Council spokesperson Kirby confirmed the buildup of a “large military deployment” of Serbian tanks and artillery on the border as 'a very destabilizing development' and called on Serbia to withdraw these forces. Hovenier, the U.S. ambassador to Kosovo earlier warned of potential further escalation, adding the gunmen appeared to have had military training. “The quantity of weapons suggests this was serious, with a plan to destabilize security in the region,” he said. Kirby added that U.S. Secretary of State Blinken had called Serbian President Vučić to urge “immediate de-escalation” and a return to dialogue. The White House also 'underscored the readiness of the United States to work with our allies to ensure KFOR [NATO’s Kosovo Force] remained appropriately resourced to fulfill its mission', according to a readout of a call between the U.S. National Security Adviser Sullivan and Kurti. The U.K. also said it was sending troops to support NATO’s peacekeepers on the ground. NATO said yesterday it is increasing its peacekeeping presence in northern Kosovo as a result of escalating tensions with neighboring Serbia. The EU and the U.S. have pushed for years to broker a lasting peace between Kosovo and Serbia. A deal has remained elusive amid continued divisions over the status of northern Kosovo, where a majority of the population is Serbian. (Source: politico)
Nagorno-Karabakh
Sat September 30, 2023 Though internationally seen as part of Azerbaijan, the Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karbakh had spent decades under the control of a separatist, de facto government until Azerbaijan reclaimed the territory in a lightening offensive and victory last week. The former breakaway republic will cease to exist as of next year. Azerbaijan has long been clear about the choice confronting Karabakh Armenians: Stay and accept Azerbaijani citizenship, or leave. As of today morning, 100,417 people had been “forcibly displaced,” from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karbakh – more than four-fifths of the population – the Armenian prime minister’s spokeswoman, Baghdasaryan, told. Asking the International Court of Justice, a judicial arm of the UN, Armenian authorities requested order Azerbaijan to “withdraw all military and law-enforcement personnel from all civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh,” while refraining from “taking any actions directly or indirectly” that would have the effect of displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians or preventing those who fled from returning. Azerbaijan should also allow people to leave the region “without any hindrance” if they wanted to, the Armenian authorities demanded. Armenia also asked the court to direct Azerbaijan to grant the UN and the Red Cross access to Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan should “refrain from taking punitive actions against the current or former political representatives or military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian authorities said. The rapid exodus has prompted the United Nations to send its first mission to the territory in about 30 years. The UN team on the ground would identify the humanitarian needs for both people remaining and the people that are on the move. Azerbaijani state media reported yesterday that the security services in the country had detained two former commanders of the self-proclaimed “Republic of Artsakh’s” military. Mnatsakanyan who reportedly served as defense minister from 2015 to 2018 was accused of illegally entering its territory and taken to the Azebaijani capital of Baku. Manukyan, who reportedly served as the former deputy commander of Nagorno-Karbakh’s armed forces, was detained on September 27. He was accused of engaging in terrorism, setting up illegal armed groups, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegally entering Azerbaijan. They were intercepted while attempting to cross from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia via the Lachin Corridor, the one road connecting the landlocked enclave to Armenia. The announcement of the arrests came after the indictment of prominent Nagorno-Karabakh politician and businessman Vardanyan on multiple charges in Azerbaijan on September 28, after being detained while trying to cross into Armenia the day before. A former Minister of State of the self-proclaimed republic, Vardanyan is accused of financing terrorism, participating in the creation and activities of illegal armed groups, and illegally crossing Azerbaijani borders. On September 28, local politician Babayan, an adviser to Shahramanyan, the president of the self-styled “Republic of Artsakh,” wrote on Telegram that he would hand himself over to Azerbaijan. “My failure to appear, or worse, my escape, will cause serious harm to our long-suffering nation, to many people, and I, as an honest person, hard worker, patriot and Christian, cannot allow this,” Babayan wrote. (Source: cnn)
30 September 2023 As a result of local anti-terror measures, the combat positions and support points abandoned by the Armenian armed forces' formations are liquidated, communication lines are restored in the territory, Azernews reports with reference to Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry. On September 29, the combat position on the Tartar-Aghdara road has been liquidated and the safe movement of vehicles was ensured. /photo, video/ (Source: azernews)
30 September 2023 Azerbaijan destroyed the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic by force. The first phase of the operation was the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh War, the second phase started by imposing a blockade on the Lachin corridor, and the third phase was the Azerbaijani offensive on September 19, 2023. Abandoned by all, authorities of the Republic were forced to accept Azerbaijani demands, starting the dissolution of the self-defense army and, on September 28, declaring that the Republic would cease to exist by the end of 2023. The destruction triggered a massive forced displacement of Armenians from their homeland. As of September 29, almost 90 000 Armenians left Nagorno Karabakh and entered Armenia. "In the upcoming days, all remaining Armenians will leave". Azerbaijani officials are stating that Azerbaijan is ready to provide necessary rights to Armenians within Azerbaijan's constitutional framework. Given the 35 years of the conflict history, which was full of violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, and hate speech, no one with a basic understanding of the regional context may take Azerbaijani statements seriously. The influx of refugees will put an enormous economic burden on Armenia, a less than three million country. "Armenia cannot cope with the problems without massive international assistance". The promised support from the EU, the US, and a handful of other countries must be significantly increased. The second humiliation of Armenia within three years has already triggered significant backlash among Armenians. Many are still in shock, which is why Yerevan witnessed only small protests recently. Many seek to understand the future of peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's destruction by force of the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic is seen by some as removing one of the key obstacles in the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, that will resume in the next days in Granada, Spain. The process started immediately after the end of the first Karabakh War in 1994, was paused during the 2020 war, and resumed in 2021. In 2022, three platforms were established – Moscow, Brussels, and Washington. The war in Ukraine prevented any potential cooperation between Russia and the West. There were moments in 2022 and 2023 when many hoped that the peace agreement was within reach, but escalations followed rounds of negotiations. In 2023, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers met twice in Washington, while several rounds of negotiations took place in Russia, Brussels, and Chisinau. Before the Azerbaijani latest attack, there was an agreement to have another meeting in Granada on October 5, during the third European Political Community summit, with the participation of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, as well as the President of France, the German chancellor, and the President of the European Council. On September 26, the secretary of the Armenian Security Council, Grigoryan, met with foreign policy aide to President Aliyev to prepare the Granada meeting, despite recent developments in Nagorno Karabakh. The meeting will probably take place, but the prospects of the Armenia - Azerbaijan peace agreement are still vague. In general, there are two visions concerning the impact of the destruction of the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic on the negotiations. According to the first narrative, now, as the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic will cease to exist in a few months, this may facilitate the peace process, making it easier for Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a deal. The supporters of this narrative believe that the international community should assist Armenia in coping with refugees and use this momentum to push forward for the signature of the Armenia – Azerbaijan peace agreement by the end of 2023 or early 2024. According to this scenario, recent events in Nagorno Karabakh may also significantly weaken Russia's position in the region. After the exodus of Armenians, it will be challenging for Russia to secure the extension of the peacekeepers' mandate beyond November 2025. Normalization of Armenia – Turkey relations may facilitate the further drift of Armenia away from Russia, especially as the inaction of Russian peacekeepers triggered more anti-Russian sentiments among Armenians. According to the second vision, scenario, the end of Nagorno Karabakh will mark the beginning of a new phase of the Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict, this time focused on Armenia. The enclaves, the "Zangezur corridor", and the recently emerged concept of "Western Azerbaijan" and Azerbaijani demands that tens if not hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis should settle in Armenia remain challenging barriers on the road to any agreement. The destruction of Nagorno Karabakh will allow Azerbaijan to focus all its resources on Armenia, seeking to force Yerevan to accept these demands. The lack of action by any international actor regarding the Azerbaijani attack on Nagorno Karabakh may create a temptation in Azerbaijan to launch additional attacks against Armenia, similar to incursions that happened in May, November 2021, and September 2022; while these attacks may or may not be preliminary agreed with external players. Many Armenians are fed up with permanent losses, and there is a growing feeling that Armenia, in the long–term perspective, should become stronger to reclaim its position in the region. In the current environment, any attack of Azerbaijan against Armenia, regardless of pretexts or reasons, will only strengthen this feeling among Armenians and will be a direct path to long-term instability and conflicts in the South Caucasus. (Source: commonspace)
Russia
Saturday, September 30, 2023. Russia may introduce quotas on overseas fuel exports if a complete export ban imposed last week does not bring down persistently high gasoline and diesel prices for Russians, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Novak said. (Source: aljazeera)
Saturday, September 30, 2023. Russian President Putin signed a decree setting out his country’s routine autumn conscription campaign, which will see 130,000 people called up for statutory military service. Adult men in Russia are required to do a yearlong military service between the ages of 18 and 27 or equivalent training while pursuing higher education. The new Russian conscription campaign will include the four Moscow-annexed regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. The departure of conscripts from collection points will begin on October 16, and each person will be expected to serve for 12 months, TASS said. Putin has tasked Troshev, a former aide of late Wagner chief Prigozhin, to oversee volunteer fighter units in Ukraine. (Source: aljazeera)
30.09.2023. Moscow announced that it had annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions on September 30, 2022. Russian President Putin claims residents of annexed regions 'confirmed' will to join Russia - residents of Russia-held regions in southern and eastern Ukraine expressed their desire to be part of Russia in recent local elections. Russian forces do not entirely control any of the regions Putin claims were annexed and part of Russia. Putin argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine saved people from nationalist leaders in Kyiv who unleashed a 'full-scale civil war.' (Source: dw)
30.09.2023. Russia is celebrating the first anniversary of the "accession of new regions," the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions on September 30. Russia has been giving out Russian passports in the annexed areas, it held an election there in early September and promises prosperity and stability. The Russian currency, the ruble, has now replaced the Ukrainian hryvnia in Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has minted special anniversary coins to mark the occasion, and concerts and festivals will be on show in the occupied territories. Residents of the self-proclaimed "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, which declared independence in 2014, have a different opinion of their "accession" to Russia, how their lives have changed in the past year, than those territories that were annexed after Russia's 2022 invasion. An estimated 1 million to 2 million people have fled the Russian-annexed regions this year alone. Many in the Donbas region, especially in the cities spared from the fighting, welcome the annexation, as it ended years of economic isolation and legal uncertainty that prevailed since 2014. "The water supply has worked around the clock for nine years," L., a nurse from Luhansk, tells proudly. K. is happy to see the post office again delivering items sent from outside the "Republic" after having to drive over Ukraine's border with Russia to pick up items from Russian online shops. And the mobile phone network has improved. M. worries about the devaluation of the ruble and the resulting inflation. "Gas has become 70% more expensive, and original replacement parts for foreign cars are no longer available," she complains. Real estate prices have risen sharply in Luhansk, says S. "A two-bedroom apartment that was valued at €7,500 to €9,400 ($8,000 to $10,000) in the fall of 2021 can now sell for €23,600 to 28,300 ($25,000 to $30,000)" she tells. In Donetsk and Luhansk urban beautification projects were launched after the 2022 annexation. Mariupol residents complain it is not as easy to get a replacement for a destroyed home as Russian propaganda claims. "Papers issued by the Russian administration for damaged apartments do not allow for registering ownership for new buildings. Instead, they only provide something like a right to long-term free rent," says S.. According to UN estimates, 90% of Mariupol apartment buildings and 60% of single-family homes were damaged. They are being demolished by heavy duty machines. To acquire ownership of a new apartment, you must prove that your old home is completely destroyed and that you own no other real estate in Ukraine or Russia. More and more of teachers in occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions are ready to teach the Russian school curriculum. Even though Ukrainian schools continue paying teachers to give online classes, these teachers can no longer buy anything in Ukrainian currency. Former teacher T. says there were 30 schools in her district before the war, whereas now there are only six. "There are neither teachers nor pupils in our village," she tells. "There are only two families with schoolchildren. They wanted to attend distance learning classes offered by a Ukrainian school, but the Russian occupiers forced the children to attend a 'normal' school in a village 40 kilometers away." She tried teaching online classes for a Ukrainian school until the spring of 2023, when Russian occupiers in the city began questioning unemployed educators about their sources of income and arrested one of her friends. Meanwhile, Ukrainian teachers who teach at "Russian" schools face up to three years in prison in Ukraine and a 15-year ban from teaching for collaborating with Russia. "The new Russian textbooks begin spreading propaganda from the very first page, so I prefer being unemployed," says T. Meanwhile, hospital directors appointed by Russia are regularly prosecuted by Ukraine for collaborating with the enemy. Ukrainian passport holders cannot get a job or a pension. Residents say it is extremely tough to live in the annexed regions without a Russian passport, which is often the only way to access health care. Without Russian citizenship, they also cannot register a car or real estate, cannot get a SIM card, and are not served in banks. However, it is still possible to leave the occupied territories with a Ukrainian passport, even if this is difficult. Russian occupiers vigorously check and interrogate such individuals, says O., who owns a small bus company. "Everyone is scrutinized, men are interrogated and strip-searched," he says. (Source: dw)
Ukraine
September 30, 2023 While Iran and Turkey produce large, military-grade drones used by Russia and Ukraine, the cheap consumer drones that have become ubiquitous on the front line largely come from China, the world’s biggest maker of those devices. For the better part of a decade, Chinese companies such as DJI, EHang and Autel have churned out drones at an ever-increasing scale. They now produce millions of the aerial gadgets a year for amateur photographers, outdoor enthusiasts and professional videographers, far outpacing other countries. DJI, China’s biggest drone maker, has a more than 90 percent share of the global consumer drone market, according to DroneAnalyst, a research group. In the war’s first weeks, Ukrainian soldiers relied on the Mavic, a quadcopter produced by DJI. That has given China a hidden influence in a war that is waged partly with consumer electronics. Russian and Ukrainian soldiers also began using non-drone DJI products, including one called AeroScope. An antenna-studded box, it can be set up on the ground to track drone locations by detecting the signals they send. The system’s more dangerous feature is its ability to find the pilots who remotely fly DJI drones. DJI’s products continued to have a life-or-death impact on the front. Each time the company updated its software, pilots and engineers raced to break its security protections and modify it, sharing tips in group chats. In April 2022, DJI said it would discontinue its business in Russia and Ukraine. The company shut its flagship stores in those countries, and halted most direct sales. As Ukrainians have looked at all varieties of drones and reconstituted them to become weapons, they have had to find new ways to keep up their supplies and to continue innovating on the devices. One advancement that flooded the front this year: hobbyist racing drones strapped with bombs to act as human-guided missiles. Known as F.P.V.s, for first-person view - a reference to how the drones are remotely piloted with virtual-reality goggles - the devices have emerged as a cheap alternative to heavy-duty weapons. The machines and their components are sold by a small number of mostly Chinese companies like DJI, Autel and RushFPV. Yet less than one-third of attacks are successful, pilots said. Soldiers probably need as many as 30,000 a month. Ukraine’s government has plans to secure 100,000 of the devices for the rest of the year, said Mr. Shchyhol, the Ukrainian official. Direct drone shipments by Chinese companies to Ukraine totaled just over $200,000 this year through June, according to trade data. In that same period, Russia received at least $14.5 million in direct drone shipments from Chinese trading companies. Ukraine still obtained millions in Chinese-made drones and components, but most came from European intermediaries. The country has also earmarked $1 billion for a program that supports bootstrapping drone start-ups and other drone acquisition efforts, government project overseen by the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Yet in recent months, Chinese companies have cut back sales of drones and components to Ukrainians. New Chinese rules to restrict the export of drone components took effect on Sept. 1. Ukraine loses an estimated 10,000 drones a month, according to the Royal United Services Institute, a British security think tank. Fedorov, Ukraine’s digital minister has led the effort to revamp Ukraine’s military-technology base since late last year, using deregulation and state funding to build a remote-control strike force that the country can call its own. That includes helping fund the Bober program, as well as seeding a new generation of Ukrainian companies to build a drone fleet. Part of the idea is to diversify away from foreign suppliers like China. The start-up spirit has its limits. Makers complain about small-scale contracts from the government, shortages of funds and a lack of planning. (Source: dnyuz)
30.09.2023. Authorities in the western Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia have ordered a partial evacuation, saying that an infrastructure site had been struck. "At this time there is no need for a general evacuation, apart from the immediate area around the site of the hit," Polischuk, the head of administration for the town of Kalynivka, said. Regional Governor Borzov also reported the hit on an unspecified infrastructure strike. Neither report specified what target had been struck or what weapon had been used. (Source: dw)
Europe
Sep 30, 2023 The disruption to the planet's climate systems is making extreme weather events like heatwaves, drought, wildfires and storms more frequent and intense. Scientists say the world is at around 1.2C of warming above pre-industrial levels. Higher temperatures are likely to be on the horizon as the El Nino weather phenomenon - which warms waters in the southern Pacific and beyond - has only just begun. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said earlier this month that global temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere summer were the hottest on record in a year expected to be the warmest humanity has experienced. The Alpine nations of Austria and Switzerland recorded their hottest-ever average September temperatures. French weather authority Meteo-France said the September temperature average in the country will be around 21.5 degrees Celsius, between 3.5C and 3.6C above the 1991-2020 reference period. Average temperatures in France have been exceeding monthly norms consistently for almost two years. In Germany, weather office DWD said this month was almost 4C higher than the 1961-1990 baseline, the hottest September since national records started. Poland's weather institute announced September temperatures were 3.6C higher than average and the hottest for the month since records began more than 100 years ago. A study revealed Swiss glaciers lost 10 percent of their volume in two years amid extreme warming. The Spanish and Portuguese national weather institutes warned abnormally warm temperatures were going to hit this weekend, with the mercury topping 35C in parts of southern Spain yesterday. "Until we reach carbon neutrality, heat records are going to be systematically broken week after week, month after month, year after year," UN climate report lead author Gemenne told this week. World leaders will gather in Dubai from November 30 for crunch UN talks aimed at curbing the worst effects of climate change, including limiting warming to 1.5C, a goal of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. Slashing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions - notably by phasing out the consumption of polluting gas, oil and coal - climate finance and boosting renewable energy capacity will be at the heart of the discussions. (Source: indiatoday)
Asia
Pakistan
Sep 30, 2023 Suicide bombings ripped through two religious ceremonies in Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 56 people and injuring dozens more as worshipers celebrated the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad. At least 52 people were killed and a further 50 wounded by a suicide attack at a religious procession in the Mastung district of the southwestern Balochistan province. Hours later, a separate blast took place during Friday prayers at a mosque near Peshaway City in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least four people and injuring 11. The explosion caused the roof of the mosque to collapse. It was not clear how many people remained inside. No group has yet claimed responsibility for either of the explosions, as it has weathered a surge of militant attacks in the buildup to general elections being held in January. Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, has witnessed a spate of attacks in recent months, fueled by a decades-long insurgency by separatists who demand independence from the country, angered by what they say is the state’s monopoly and exploitation of the region’s mineral resources. Last month, an attack on Chinese engineers in Balochistan was thwarted by Pakistan’s military, leaving two militants dead and the Chinese workers unharmed. In March this year, at least nine police officers were killed and 11 others injured in a suspected suicide blast. (Source: cnn)
North America
United States
30 September 2023 The US Congress is scrambling to pass a deal to avoid a disruptive government shutdown due to start at 00:01 EST (05:01 BST). A shutdown would means government employees would be furloughed without pay, and would affect everything from air travel to marriage licences to food aid. Treasury Secretary Yellen warned that "key government functions", including loans to farmers and small businesses, food and workplace safety inspections, and major infrastructure improvements would all be affected. Shutdowns take place when Congress is unable to approve the roughly 30% of the federal budget it must approve before the start of each fiscal year on 1 October. This means that, on Monday, October 2, hundreds of thousands of federal workers except those deemed "essential" will be at home without pay. Many of these employees live paycheque to paycheque, according to the American Federation of Government Employees. More than 1.4 million active-duty members of the military and tens of thousands of air traffic controllers will be among those working, without pay. It is a troubling development for any federal workers holding student loan debt. Loan repayments for over 40 million people will restart tomorrow after being paused since the start of the pandemic. The shutdown will also have an immediate impact on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides grocery assistance to seven million pregnant women and new mothers. A prolonged shutdown could also affect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a grocery benefit known as "food stamps" that serves 40 million low-income Americans, and hinder the implementation of a new programme to serve free breakfast and lunch to students in high-need school districts. Museums, national parks, research facilities and communities health centres with federal government oversight or funding are likely to suspend operations for the period of the shutdown. The government agency at the helm of relief and recovery from natural disasters is currently scrambling to conserve cash in the event a shutdown collides with an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. The House of Representatives is considering a bill to extend government funding for 45 days, which needs two-thirds of the vote to pass. Today morning, Speaker McCarthy said he would put a 45-day continuing resolution (CR) plan to the floor - a stop-gap that would keep federal agencies open until Congress can agree on a new funding bill. A rebel faction of right-wing Republicans demanded significant cuts in spending, including a call for no more US funding of the war in Ukraine. The CR would include disaster relief funding, but would not include US foreign aid for Ukraine, which Democrats have been insisting on. Faced with a rebellion by hard-line Republicans in his party, House Speaker McCarthy needs support from Democrats. Republicans control the House by a slim majority, while Democrats hold the Senate by a single seat. That means spending bills to keep the government open require buy-in from both parties in order to advance through both chambers to President Biden's desk. Mr McCarthy has also refused to take up a short-term funding bill making its way through the Senate. The bill, which includes $6bn for Ukraine and $6bn for disaster aid, is a last-ditch effort to avert a lengthy shutdown and appears to have strong bipartisan support in the upper chamber. Yesterday, House Republicans' short-term funding measure, which included strict border policies championed by the hardliners, was rejected by as many as 21 members of the party and failed to pass. But the rebel lawmakers asserted they would not budge for anything less than a long-term spending bill with their priorities addressed. Republican Congressman Gaetz has publicly threatened to oust McCarthy as Speaker. The last government shutdown, under Mr Trump in 2019, lasted a record 34 days. It erased $11bn in economic output, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and federal workers were seen standing in line at food banks. (Source: bbc)
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