News in Brief
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia has started withdrawing troops from Belarus who took part in joint "Slavic Brotherhood” military exercises, Interfax news agency cited the Ministry of Defense as saying on Friday. Russian paratroopers who parachuted into Belarus on Wednesday were loading equipment and personnel onto military trains for departure from the city of Brest, the ministry said. The joint exercises have been a symbol of Russian support for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who had himself sworn in for a new five-year term this week. Russia said on Friday that the European Union’s decision not to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus contradicted international law and amounted to indirect meddling in the country. Russia is a close ally of Belarus and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the move not to recognize him would complicate the EU’s dialogue with Belarus, but not affect Belarusian ties with Moscow.
***
TAIPEI (Reuters) -- Taiwan’s armed forces have held anti-landing drills on one of its offshore islands close to China amid rising tensions with Beijing, the island’s defense ministry said on Friday, showing images of a cannon firing and soldiers loading the guns. China has stepped up its military activities near Taiwan which it claims as its own territory, including flying fighter jets across the unofficial mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait, which combat aircraft normally don’t breach. China says it has been reacting to what Beijing has called "collusion” between Taiwan and the United States, and to protect China’s sovereignty, responding to U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach’s visit last week to Taipei. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the drills to repel a landing took place on the Matsu archipelago, which lies just offshore the Chinese city of Fuzhou. The drills took place across the archipelago involving the use of cannons and machine guns, the ministry added, accompanied by pictures of the exercises.
***
MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is likely to remain in Germany for weeks as he still requires lengthy treatment to help him recover from alleged poisoning, his spokeswoman has said. The 44-year-old Kremlin critic was discharged on Wednesday from a Berlin hospital after he fell violently ill in Siberia. "Navalny’s recovery process will naturally take a long time,” his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said in an online broadcast late Thursday. "He is staying in Germany for now, he will undergo rehabilitation there. It’s clearly not a question of a few days and probably not a couple of weeks,” she said. Navalny wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday about the after-effects of poisoning, saying he cannot throw a ball with his left hand and is struggling to write. He said he was seeing a physiotherapist every day, working to regain balance and control of his fingers, and may attend a rehabilitation center.
***
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP) -- Turkmenistan’s strongman leader approved constitutional changes on Friday including the creation of a potentially powerful new position in parliament, fueling speculation that he plans to hand power to his son. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed off on changes including the creation of an upper house of parliament, with the head of the new chamber positioned to become acting president if the head of state is unable to fulfil his duties, the state information agency said. Berdymukhamedov’s son Serdar is widely believed to be in pole position to head up the senate-like body, paving the way for a potential hereditary succession. Berdymukhamedov pledged that the new legislature would "bring the activity of democratic institutions to a new level” and said that lawmakers would be elected to the restructured parliament next year, after the changes enter force.
***
NEW DELHI (AFP) -- Angry farmers took to the streets and blocked roads and railways across India on Friday, intensifying protests over major new farming legislation they say will benefit only big corporates. The plight of farmers is a major political issue in India, with some 70 percent of rural households depending primarily on agriculture, and thousands of farmers killing themselves in recent years because of debt and drought. The legislation passed by parliament in chaotic scenes on Sunday means that farmers no longer have to sell to state-controlled markets at fixed prices, freeing them to supply to any buyer they choose and getting rid of middlemen. Critics say the changes will leave farmers at the mercy of large corporations by taking away their bargaining power. On Friday, hundreds of farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana -- the biggest producers of wheat and rice -- blocked highways and railway tracks, shouting anti-government slogans.
***
DUK PADIET, South Sudan (Reuters) -- Severe flooding in South Sudan has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes since July, the United Nations said, after months of torrential rains caused the Nile to burst its banks. The impoverished East African nation is struggling to recover from a five-year civil war and was already suffering severe food shortages. Scientists say the unusual rains are caused by a cyclical weather pattern that has been exacerbated by climate change. The coronavirus pandemic is also complicating the response, said United Nations humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Alain Noudéhou. Costs for delivering aid have risen with the need to protect aid workers and families are forced to squeeze together on thin slivers of land. "With the flooding, people had to move to higher ground and there’s not much higher ground,” he said on Thursday during a visit to flood-hit areas.
***
TAIPEI (Reuters) -- Taiwan’s armed forces have held anti-landing drills on one of its offshore islands close to China amid rising tensions with Beijing, the island’s defense ministry said on Friday, showing images of a cannon firing and soldiers loading the guns. China has stepped up its military activities near Taiwan which it claims as its own territory, including flying fighter jets across the unofficial mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait, which combat aircraft normally don’t breach. China says it has been reacting to what Beijing has called "collusion” between Taiwan and the United States, and to protect China’s sovereignty, responding to U.S. Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach’s visit last week to Taipei. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the drills to repel a landing took place on the Matsu archipelago, which lies just offshore the Chinese city of Fuzhou. The drills took place across the archipelago involving the use of cannons and machine guns, the ministry added, accompanied by pictures of the exercises.
***
MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is likely to remain in Germany for weeks as he still requires lengthy treatment to help him recover from alleged poisoning, his spokeswoman has said. The 44-year-old Kremlin critic was discharged on Wednesday from a Berlin hospital after he fell violently ill in Siberia. "Navalny’s recovery process will naturally take a long time,” his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said in an online broadcast late Thursday. "He is staying in Germany for now, he will undergo rehabilitation there. It’s clearly not a question of a few days and probably not a couple of weeks,” she said. Navalny wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday about the after-effects of poisoning, saying he cannot throw a ball with his left hand and is struggling to write. He said he was seeing a physiotherapist every day, working to regain balance and control of his fingers, and may attend a rehabilitation center.
***
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP) -- Turkmenistan’s strongman leader approved constitutional changes on Friday including the creation of a potentially powerful new position in parliament, fueling speculation that he plans to hand power to his son. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed off on changes including the creation of an upper house of parliament, with the head of the new chamber positioned to become acting president if the head of state is unable to fulfil his duties, the state information agency said. Berdymukhamedov’s son Serdar is widely believed to be in pole position to head up the senate-like body, paving the way for a potential hereditary succession. Berdymukhamedov pledged that the new legislature would "bring the activity of democratic institutions to a new level” and said that lawmakers would be elected to the restructured parliament next year, after the changes enter force.
***
NEW DELHI (AFP) -- Angry farmers took to the streets and blocked roads and railways across India on Friday, intensifying protests over major new farming legislation they say will benefit only big corporates. The plight of farmers is a major political issue in India, with some 70 percent of rural households depending primarily on agriculture, and thousands of farmers killing themselves in recent years because of debt and drought. The legislation passed by parliament in chaotic scenes on Sunday means that farmers no longer have to sell to state-controlled markets at fixed prices, freeing them to supply to any buyer they choose and getting rid of middlemen. Critics say the changes will leave farmers at the mercy of large corporations by taking away their bargaining power. On Friday, hundreds of farmers from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana -- the biggest producers of wheat and rice -- blocked highways and railway tracks, shouting anti-government slogans.
***
DUK PADIET, South Sudan (Reuters) -- Severe flooding in South Sudan has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes since July, the United Nations said, after months of torrential rains caused the Nile to burst its banks. The impoverished East African nation is struggling to recover from a five-year civil war and was already suffering severe food shortages. Scientists say the unusual rains are caused by a cyclical weather pattern that has been exacerbated by climate change. The coronavirus pandemic is also complicating the response, said United Nations humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Alain Noudéhou. Costs for delivering aid have risen with the need to protect aid workers and families are forced to squeeze together on thin slivers of land. "With the flooding, people had to move to higher ground and there’s not much higher ground,” he said on Thursday during a visit to flood-hit areas.