James Cleverly accuses Russia of new low in Africa speech

 The UK foreign secretary has accused Russia of hitting “a new low” by “deliberately burning food stocks” while millions of people are “struggling to eat”. James Cleverly is visiting Africa, as part of a mission to combat the growing influence of Russia and China.

In a speech in Lagos, Nigeria, he set out the UK’s “vision” for partnerships with African countries.

It follows last week’s military coup in neighbouring Niger.

Mr Cleverly, whose mother was born in Sierra Leone, said he was “proud” of his roots and of the UK’s contribution to the history of Africa.

“As the UK’s foreign secretary I’m not allowed to have a favourite continent. But if I did, it would be Africa,” he said.

Russian flags

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum – an ally of the West – was deposed in last week’s military coup. Some supporters of the coup were reportedly waving Russian flags.

The UK government has criticised what it calls an attempt to “undermine stability and democracy” in Niger and has advised against all travel there.

The Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who chairs the Economic Community of West African States, has also condemned the military takeover.

In his speech in Lagos, Mr Cleverly said the UK shared democratic values with Nigeria, adding that Russia’s invasion of of Ukraine was an attack on those values.

He said: “This month Russia has hit a new low. We are witnessing the grotesque spectacle of a G20 nation, deliberately burning food stocks whilst there are millions of people around the world struggling to eat.”

James Cleverly’s tour follows a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg last week, hosted by President Putin, in which he promised to provide some African countries with free grain.

Training with UK forces

The Russian private military group, Wagner, has an increasing presence in Africa and has welcomed the Niger coup. The Foreign Affairs Committee criticised the government last week for under-playing Wagner’s activities and called for a “genuinely compelling alternative” for countries in need of security partnerships.

In an interview with the Financial Times before the trip, James Cleverley said he would “look with seriousness” at any requests from African leaders “to work on capacity building and training with the British armed forces”.

James Cleverly told the FT some countries had turned to Wagner to meet an “unfulfilled need”.

During his tour, Mr Cleverly is announcing a package of financial support to help Nigeria develop crops with increased tolerance to heat and floods.

According to the World Bank Nigeria is one of the 10 countries most vulnerable to the impact of climate change due to “more intense and untimely” rainfall – with many Nigerians living in “fear and despair”.

More than 600 people were killed and at least a million displaced in Nigeria last year following the worst flooding in a decade, which also washed crops away.

Nigeria is accustomed to temperatures of 40 degrees although the forecast for the capital Abuja during the Foreign Secretary’s visit is for thundery showers and a high of 29 degrees.

By Kristiina Cooper BBC

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South Africa make Women’s World Cup history with last-gasp win over Italy

Kgatlana strikes two minutes into stoppage time to send South Africa into the knockout round for the first time, setting up a last 16 clash with the Netherlands.

Thembi Kgatlana scored a last-gasp winner to give South Africa their first-ever Women’s World Cup win as they defeated Italy 3-2, qualifying for the last-16 round of the tournament and sending the Italians home.

Striker Kgatlana struck two minutes into stoppage time on Wednesday to set up a clash with the Netherlands in Sydney on Sunday and broke the hearts of the Italians, who needed just a draw to progress.

Italy had appeared to salvage the draw they needed when Arianna Caruso scored from a corner in the 74th minute but were left to rue what could have been after a series of late missed chances.

“They fought like warriors,” said an emotional coach Desiree Ellis, who was a founding member of the South African women’s side in 1993.

“They fought like the heroines that we know that they are. They fought to be historically remembered and they’ve made history not just getting our first win, but going to the round of 16 and that is freaking amazing.”

The Italians had opened the scoring when Karabo Dhlamini tripped Italy forward Chiara Beccari just inside the box in the 10th minute and Caruso put the penalty into the bottom left corner of the net.

South Africa equalised in the 32nd minute through an own goal from Benedetta Orsi, who did not check where goalkeeper Francesca Durante was before making a back pass.

Banyana Banyana went ahead for the first time in the 67th minute when Kgatlana’s neat inside pass found Hildah Magaia free behind the defensive line and the forward swept it into the net.

Caruso grabbed her second of the match seven minutes later from a corner when the ball caught her hip in a goalmouth scramble and cannoned into the bottom right corner of the net.

It looked as though Italy might hang on for the draw in a frantic finale but Magaia’s pass found Kgatlana in the box and the striker smashed the ball into the net to secure second place in the group behind Sweden.

A much-changed Sweden side reached the Women’s World Cup last 16 with a perfect record after Rebecka Blomqvist’s second-half header and substitute Elin Rubensson’s 90th-minute penalty helped them beat Argentina 2-0 on Wednesday.

Blomqvist met Sofia Jakobsson’s cross with a fantastic header in the 66th minute to put the third-ranked Swedes firmly on course to advance as Group G winners, with Rubensson sealing the win with a superbly taken spot kick.

“We had to have some patience,” Blomqvist said.

“Argentina defended well and closed off a lot of spaces. We felt at halftime that if we just continued doing what we were doing we’d break them down, and more space opened up towards the end.”

Sweden will next face holders US in a blockbuster clash in Melbourne on Sunday – a rematch of the Olympic quarter-finals in 2021 when the Europeans won 3-0 en route to the final.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Sturgeon moon: How August supermoon was seen around the world

The ‘sturgeon moon’ rose and delighted sky-watchers ahead of another supermoon on August 30.

The first of two supermoons this August has graced the world’s skies.

A supermoon is broadly defined as a full moon that is closer to the Earth than normal. That makes it appear slightly brighter and bigger in the sky.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the “sturgeon moon” because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August hundreds of years ago.

Tuesday’s supermoon will be followed by another on the night of August 30. Because it will be the second full moon in the same month, it will be what is called a “blue moon”.

The last time two full super moons were seen in the same month was in 2018. They are not expected to happen again until 2037.

This year’s first supermoon was in July. The fourth and last will be in September. The two in August will be closer than either of those.

Source: aljazeera

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Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls 66 percent in July

Figures come as Brazil prepares to host summit with leaders of Amazonian countries to discuss ways to protect the rainforest.

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell in July to its lowest level for the month since 2017, according to preliminary government figures.

Satellite data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) on Thursday indicated that 500 square kilometres (193 square miles) of rainforest were cleared in the month, a 66 percent drop from the same period a year ago.

In the first seven months of the year, deforestation has fallen a cumulative 42.5 percent from the same period of 2022, INPE’s preliminary data showed.

The data comes after figures last month showed deforestation in the Amazon had fallen 34 percent in the first half of 2023.

Sequential drops in June and July are especially promising, as monthly data on Amazon deforestation often spikes this time of year, when the weather turns drier.

“We are seeing the deforestation growth curve invert,” Environment Ministry Secretary Joao Paulo Capobianco told reporters in Brasilia.

The fresh data come as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gathers next week with leaders of Amazonian countries for a summit in northern Brazil to discuss ways to protect the world’s largest rainforest.

President Lula said on Wednesday that the summit would seek to draw up a common policy for the first time to protect the region, which will include dealing with security along the borders and asking private businesses to help with the reforestation of 30 million hectares (74 million acres) of degraded land.

Leftist leader Lula took office in January promising to end deforestation by 2030 after destruction surged under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who slashed environmental protection efforts.

Speaking to international media on Wednesday, Lula said: “We know we have a responsibility to convince the world that investing is cheap if it’s a matter of saving the rainforest.”

“The world needs to help us preserve and develop the Amazon,” he added.

Experts praised the reduction in deforestation in the early months of the Lula administration, while calling for continued vigilance in the coming months, when fires and clear-cutting often peak in the region.

“It’s a very significant drop for a drier month,” said WWF-Brasil Science Manager Mariana Napolitano.

“That shows us that the emergency measures that were taken, especially command and control ones, have been working. But deforestation remains at high levels, and to zero it by 2030 more structural measures will be needed.”

Last month, Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva said that the fall in deforestation was a direct result of the Lula government quickly ramping up resources for environmental enforcement.

During Bolsonaro’s 2019-2022 term in office, deforestation of the Amazon shot up 75 percent compared with the average over the previous decade. The far-right former leader had called for more farming and mining on protected lands, saying it would lift the region out of poverty.

Environmental protection is a key issue as the South American trade bloc Mercosur negotiates a long-delayed free trade accord with the European Union.

The EU recently made new demands of the four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – to fight environmental crimes.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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US State Department orders evacuation of embassy in Niger following coup

The US joins European countries in calling for citizens to evacuate after Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown.

The United States has ordered all non-emergency government personnel to temporarily evacuate its embassy in Niger, as the country weathers the aftershocks of a July coup.

In a statement on Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller explained that the measure was taken “out of an abundance of caution” and that the embassy itself would remain open, though only for “limited, emergency services”.

“The United States remains committed to our relationship with the people of Niger and to Nigerien democracy,” Miller said. “We remain diplomatically engaged at the highest levels.”

The announcement follows similar moves from European countries to remove non-essential personnel from Niger.

Earlier in the day, the first of several planned military flights departed from Niger and landed in Paris, carrying 262 people on board, mostly from France and Italy.

As with those countries, the US has discouraged its citizens from making “unnecessary” travel to Niger, particularly in the capital of Niamey.

The warnings come as tensions in the region spike in the wake of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum’s removal from power.

On July 26, members of his presidential guard took Bazoum into custody, announcing they had “put an end” to his administration.

In his stead, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of the guard, named himself leader.

Bazoum’s swift removal generated international outcry, including among Western countries like the US which considered him a key ally in Africa’s embattled Sahel region.

Niger alone has experienced four successful military coups since gaining independence from France, with the latest marking a fifth.

Bazoum’s inauguration in 2021 marked the first democratic transition of power since France’s colonial rule – though, in the days leading up to his swearing-in, the Nigerien government said it had foiled another attempted military coup.

In recent days, the threat of violence has escalated, as countries and intergovernmental organisations consider intervention.

On July 30, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – a regional economic and political bloc – issued a communiqué calling Bazoum’s detention a “hostage situation” and calling for his reinstatement.

If its demands were not met within a week, ECOWAS warned, it would “take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order”, including potential “use of force”.

ECOWAS has since clarified that military intervention would only be used as a “last resort”.

But that warning prompted responses from neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, which released a joint statement saying that “any military intervention against Niger” would be considered “a declaration of war” against them as well.

Protests have also broken out in front of the French embassy in Niger, with a fire set over the weekend to one of its entrances.

Those demonstrations have been stoked by allegations the coup leaders made that Bazoum’s government authorised the French military to attack the presidential palace, a claim France denies.

The US, meanwhile, has declined thus far to term the recent events a coup. But in Wednesday’s statement, it reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Bazoum’s government.

“The United States rejects all efforts to overturn Niger’s constitutional order, and stands with the people of Niger, the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS], the African Union, and other international partners in support of democratic governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights,” Miller’s statement read.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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