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world news Diaranson 30 Juni 2021

Brazil redeploying troops to Amazon rainforest, bans fires

(AP) — Brazil’s president 2018 election of Bolsonaro, work of nonprofits, univer-
is sending troops back to who repeatedly called for de- sities and technology com-
the Amazon to bolster po- velopment of the rainforest. panies that studies Brazilian
licing against logging and The destruction has elicited land use. Brazil’s environ-
other illegal land clear- an international outcry and, mental regulator levied fines
ance, acting amid interna- more recently, an effort by in just 5% of these cases, the
tional criticism of a surge U.S. President Joe Biden’s group found.
in deforestation and just administration to urge Bol-
two months after with- sonaro to get tough on illegal Márcio Astrini, executive
drawing a similar military logging. secretary of the Climate Ob-
mission. servatory, a network of envi-
This will mark the third ronmental nonprofit groups,
President Jair Bolsonaro’s de- time that Bolsonaro has dis- called the latest military de-
cree calls for soldiers to go to patched troops to the Ama- ployment a “smokescreen″
the states of Para, Amazonas, zon, following two “Opera- that will allow the govern-
Mato Grosso and Rondonia tion Green Brazil” deploy- ment to claim to be fighting
through the end of August. ments, the most recent of deforestation. He noted a
The order, which was pub- which ended in April. Each previously successful initia-
lished Monday in Brazil’s of- mission involved thousands tive, largely funded by the
ficial gazette, didn’t provide of soldiers. Still, environ- Norwegian and German tion in order to help arrest ity because they weren’t au-
details about the number of mental experts have said the governments, has been sus- climate change. Bolsonaro thorized to speak publicly.
troops to be deployed nor the military was ill-prepared and pended since 2019. has said Brazil lacks enough
cost of the operation. had limited efficacy. funds to do so on its own, The decision to deploy troops
“The government has ad- despite the fact the nation did is partially meant to demon-
Vice President Hamilton In 2020, deforestation in Bra- opted a series of measures so at the start of this century. strate the government’s good
Mourão told reporters ear- zil’s Amazon reached a level that simply destroys the intentions to the U.S., one of
lier this month that the de- unseen since 2008, according state’s monitoring capacity, The U.S. has made clear it the officials added.
ployment could be extended to official data. like stopping environmental would only be willing to con-
beyond two months with fines,″ Astrini said. He add- tribute once Brazil registers On June 23, Environment
the arrival of the dry season, And 98.9% of deforestation ed that the regulator has also concrete progress, of which Minister Ricardo Salles an-
when people burn forest to had indications of illegal- ceased destroying machinery there has so far been no sign. nounced his resignation, giv-
clear land for farming and ity, either done near springs, used for illegal logging. Talks between the U.S. and ing up his post amid sharp
ranching. in protected areas or carried Brazil’s environment minis- criticism of his tenure and
out without requisite autho- Bolsonaro’s plan to send sol- try have stalled, three Brazil- two investigations into his
Amazon deforestation had rization, according to data diers comes as the US. ad- ian government officials told actions involving allegedly
edged upward for several released this month by the ministration has called for The Associated Press, speak- illegal timber operations. He
years, then it surged after the MapBiomas Project, a net- curbing Amazon deforesta- ing on condition of anonym- has denied all wrongdoing.

G-20 talks in Italy yields pledge to fight hunger in Africa

(AP) — A meeting of G-20 for- The Italian minister announced that Maas was referring to China and
eign ministers on Tuesday has Italy would host a conference in Oc- Russia providing or selling their own “To bring the pandemic to an end, we
wrapped up with officials vowing tober in Rome focused on Africa, produced vaccines to less developed must get more vaccine to more plac-
to boost efforts to fight hunger which has “enormous possibility of countries, although some European es,” Blinken said. “Multilateral coop-
in the world in the wake of the growth.″ He urged the G-20 coun- countries, including Hungary and eration will be key to stop this global
pandemic, especially in Africa, as tries to “act together to unleash this San Marino, were eager to get the health crisis.”
well as climate change. enormous potential.” Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Some in
the West believe China and Russia Blinken took the occasion to tout
But there were also notes of discord, In what Di Maio described as a “con- have been supplying their vaccines to U.S. contributions to COVAX, the
with Germany and China taking jabs crete” declaration, a final document poorer countries in order to bolster U.N.-backed program to get vac-
at each other over vaccine policy for emerged from the day’s sessions, their power. cines to needy nations, which include
developing countries. one of which was held jointly with around 500 million Pfizer doses and
development ministers. He said the Neither China nor Russia sent their 80 million other doses.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di participants reiterated “the common foreign ministers. China’s minister,
Maio, who hosted the meeting, said commitment against food insecurity” Wang Yi , addressed the G-20 meet- Germany’s Maas signaled urgency
the nations have a duty to battle hun- in much of the world. ing remotely and jabbed back at Maas. on the vaccine front. “I think the
ger in Africa, arguing that assistance main thing now is to quickly create
projects will also impact migration “Beyond the differences and distanc- China, he said, “has supplied more alternatives so that countries, regions
from the continent to Europe. es among some countries present at than 450 million doses of COVID-19 like Africa, for example, are able to
the G-20 table, we are all in agree- vaccines to 100 countries.” The Chi- be supplied with more vaccine more
“The G-20 has the duty to sustain ment on climate change, sustainabil- nese minister took a swipe at Western quickly,” he told AP.
Africa in emerging from a difficult ity, on the great issues that today can nations, adding that countries able
period,” Di Maio told a closing news only be resolved with global coopera- to supply vaccines ought to ”avoid Maas added that “the focus now defi-
conference. tion,” he said. restrictions on exports and excessive nitely has to be on providing the sup-
hording” of vaccines, ply chains, but also the production fa-
“We must do it in a way so that in Af- But there were some sharp exchanges cilities, with new possibilities,” Maas
rica, people aren’t forced any more to involving some of the major powers Di Maio, in welcoming the ministers, said.
abandon their country and their ter- during the day. declared that “in an interconnected
ritory, and I don’t think anyone can world, multilateralism and interna- The decision earlier this year by Pres-
carry out this battle alone,” Di Maio Arriving, German Foreign Minister tional cooperation are the only ef- ident Joe Biden’s administration to
said. Heiko Maas said it was “important fective instruments in facing global return to the climate change fight and
that we sit together in this round with challenges. We have had an example help lead it has heartened advocates
Italy currently holds the rotating pres- countries like Russia and China, and of that with the vaccines.” pressing for urgent tackling of cli-
idency of the Group of 20, which ac- that we openly address the fact that mate change threats. Last year, under
counts for more than half the world’s we do not think much of their vac- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blink- the Trump administration, the Unit-
population and some 80% of its GDP. cine diplomacy.” en built on Di Maio’s premise in his ed States became the only country to
opening remarks. leave the 2015 agreement.