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Sabtu, 21 Desember 2019

U.S. Sanctions Halt Work on Russia’s Gas Pipeline to Europe - The Wall Street Journal

The $10.5 billion Nord Stream 2 will run parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline... — The $10.5 billion Nord Stream 2 will run parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline and double the capacity for gas shipped directly from Russia to Germany. Photo: Alexander Demianchuk/Zuma Press

Bojan Pancevski

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@bopanc
bojan.pancevski@wsj.com

Updated Dec. 21, 2019 11:13 am ET

BERLIN—U.S. sanctions have temporarily stopped the construction of a pipeline that is set to increase the flow of natural gas directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

The sanctions would target all businesses and individuals participating in the construction of the pipeline and would effectively cut off those companies from doing business in the U.S. or with U.S.-linked companies. Washington has long opposed the project on grounds that it would increase Germany’s and Europe’s dependence on Russian energy and boost revenues for the Kremlin.

Allseas Group SA, the Swiss-based contractor that is building the pipeline on behalf of a consortium headed by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, said it would suspend activities on Saturday, hours after President Trump signed a bill that included a provision to unleash sanctions targeting any entities working on the subsea link.

The $10.5 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which runs parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline and will double the capacity for direct Russian gas exports to Germany, has long caused tensions between Washington and Berlin.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said in parliament last week that she would raise the sanctions with Mr. Trump as the pipeline was of strategic importance for Germany and Europe.

“The federal government rejects such extraterritorial sanctions that affect German and European companies and interfere in our internal affairs,” a spokeswoman for Ms. Merkel said in a statement issued in reaction to the stoppage of the work on the pipeline.

Senior aides to Ms. Merkel said that the chancellor and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had been in touch over the sanctions. Those people said that they expected Russia would finish the pipeline despite the setback caused by the sanctions.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that Washington’s sanctions wouldn’t stymie Russia’s economic projects and Moscow would move ahead with the natural-gas pipeline regardless of the U.S.’s intended obstacles. In a statement, the Russian officials accused Washington of seeking to force its pricey liquefied gas on Europe and stall the development of Europe’s economy while undermining its ability to compete.

“As a result, Europeans will lose on all fronts,” the statement said. “Washington decided that it shouldn’t spare anyone, even its closest allies in NATO, for the sake of its geopolitical ambitions and commercial profit.”

Allseas, a global leader in offshore pipeline construction, said it would stop work on the project in compliance with U.S. legislation.

Its ships Solitaire and Pioneering Spirit, the largest construction vessel in the world, will remain in the area but are no longer laying the pipes, a spokesman for Allseas said. He added that as of Thursday, when work ceased, the project was about one month from being completed.

Jens D. Mueller, a spokesman for Nord Stream 2’s parent company, said that the pipeline would be finished despite Allseas pulling out its fleet.

“Completing the project is essential for European supply security. We together with the companies supporting the project will work on finishing the pipeline as soon as possible,” Mr. Mueller told the Journal.

The pipeline is expected to boost trade relations between Russia and Germany and help turn Germany into a hub for gas exports in Europe.

In preparation for the sanctions, Gazprom has retrofitted its own ships as well as ships belonging to Russian contractors that don’t do business outside Russia and would therefore be immune to American sanctions, according to one official of the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

One contractor already involved in the project is the Russian subsea-pipeline construction firm MRTS JSC, a company that operates ships which could be used to complete the pipeline, according to Gazprom.

Gazprom is the majority owner of the pipeline, which has financial backing from five European companies: Austria’s OMV, the Dutch-British Shell, France’s Engie, and Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall.

Should the sanctions be expanded to western companies in the Nord Stream 2 consortium, Gazprom would buy out their stakes in the project and insulate the project from sanctions, the Gazprom official said.

David Bryson, Uniper’s chief operating officer, said the company was in contact with the German government regarding the sanctions. “Nord Stream 2 is an important project for gas security in Europe. We have declining sources in Europe, but increasing demand,” Mr. Bryson told the Journal.

The U.S. sanctions were a flagrant violation of international law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, but that they wouldn’t prevent the completion of the pipeline.

“We expect that this project would be completed,” Mr. Peskov said.

Write to Bojan Pancevski at bojan.pancevski@wsj.com

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2019-12-21 16:13:00Z
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'Catastrophic' Wildfires Continue To Rage Across Australia - NPR

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Rural Fire Service officers protect property from the Green Wattle Creek Fire along the Old Hume Highway near the town of Tahmoor in New South Wales. Dean Lewins/AP hide caption

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Dean Lewins/AP

A large portion of Australia is on fire after weeks of extreme heat, strong winds and drought that have created ideal conditions for hundreds of bushfires to thrive across the country. Several fires have been burning since November, particularly in the eastern state of New South Wales.

The fires threaten many of Australia's largest population centers, including Sydney, a city of more than 5 million, which has been cloaked in smoke. Blazes have destroyed hundreds of homes and almost 3 million acres of bushland, threatening the habitat of countless wildlife, including already endangered koalas. One fire in the state of Victoria has reportedly become large enough to generate its own weather.

The fires come after years of drought in parts of the country and record-breaking heat. Earlier this week, Australia had its hottest day on record — only to break that record the following day. And fire season has just begun, leaving many bracing for worse.

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Thick smoke from wildfires shroud the Sydney Opera House earlier this month. Rick Rycroft/AP hide caption

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Rick Rycroft/AP

Thousands of firefighters, many of whom are volunteers, are currently deployed. Several have been injured, and two died earlier this week when a fallen tree limb overturned their vehicle. Their deaths prompted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to return early from a family vacation to Hawaii — a vacation that was largely criticized as tone-deaf by much of the public.

"I deeply regret any offence caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time," Morrison said in a statement released Friday. Morrison was scrutinized for his unwillingness to link Australia's greenhouse gas emissions to extreme fire conditions last month.

The prime minister's return coincides with a new state of emergency issued for New South Wales, the country's most populous state, as "catastrophic" fire conditions were listed for the region, the highest fire danger rating possible in the country. Andrea Peace, a meteorologist for Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, said that Saturday could be the worst day for the area, as a front moves in from the south.

"What it's going to do is bring quite a strong, gusty southerly wind ... (which) creates a really dangerous period for the fire grounds because it rapidly changes the directions of the fires there," Peace said.

She said there could be gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 miles per hour.

The strong southerly winds are likely to have a significant impact on a number of #NSW fire grounds over nxt few hours, especially north & nth-west of #Sydney. Multiple #fires at #Emergency levels tonight & properties have been lost today. Keep monitoring https://t.co/o2h2Cyg7YZ pic.twitter.com/MFiLdip9lT
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) December 21, 2019

Julia Holman, a reporter for Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, told NPR's David Greene earlier this week that the fires are already overwhelming the area.

"New South Wales is an enormous state. It's bigger than the size of Texas. And the fires literally go from the top of the state right down to the bottom," Holman said.

She said fires are very common in Australia, but not like this.

"The problem is that it's so dry that we cannot put out these fires. And that's what's different this time around," she said.

"These fires are also in very dense bushland. They cannot be put out by human effort," Holman continued. "We're waiting for rain. But we're in the midst of the worst drought on record here in New South Wales. So there is no possible way that these fires can be put out no matter the enormous human effort that is going into it."

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2019-12-21 16:42:00Z
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UK: MPs approve first stage of PM Johnson's Brexit legislation - Al Jazeera English

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2019-12-21 04:35:40Z
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Hundreds arrested in India during days of protests over citizenship law - Reuters

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his council of ministers on Saturday to discuss security measures to end violent protests against a citizenship law, government sources said, in one of biggest crises yet for his Hindu nationalist government.

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators shout slogans behind a police barricade during a protest against a new citizenship law in Jafrabad, an area of Delhi, India December 20, 2019. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

At least 14 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters since parliament passed the law on Dec. 11, with critics saying it discriminates against Muslims and undermines India’s secular constitution.

The backlash is the strongest show of dissent against Modi’s government since he was first elected in 2014.

Demonstrations continued on Saturday despite curfews and a draconian regulation to shut down protests.

India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has seen the worst violence with nine people killed so far and several more in critical conditions in hospital.

Rights activists in Uttar Pradesh said police had raided their houses and offices to prevent them from planning fresh demonstrations. Authorities also shut schools across the state as fresh protests erupted on Saturday.

Uttar Pradesh is ruled by Modi’s nationalist party and has long seen clashes between majority Hindus and minority Muslims.

In the capital city of Delhi, family members waited outside a police station seeking the release of dozens of detained protesters.

More demonstrations are planned in several parts of the country, including in the northeastern state of Assam, where residents are angry that the law makes it easier for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who settled in India prior to 2015 to obtain Indian citizenship.

Resentment against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has simmered for years in Assam, one of India’s poorest states, where outsiders, Hindus or Muslims, are accused of stealing jobs and land.

“Thousands of women are participating in the protest across Assam. The movement against the act is gaining momentum by the day,” Sammujal Bhattacharya, a leader of the All Assam Students’ Union told Reuters.

In other parts of India, anger with the law stems from it being seen as discriminating against Muslims, and as it makes religion a criteria for citizenship in a country that has taken pride in its secular constitution.

“This piece of legislation strikes at the heart of the Constitution, seeking to make India another country altogether,” prominent historian Ramachandra Guha wrote in an Indian newspaper, The Telegraph.

“It is thus that so many people from so many different walks of life have raised their voices against it.”

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the winter session in New Delhi, India, November 18, 2019. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain

Guha was released from police custody after being detained for protesting against the law in the southern city of Bengaluru.

Political opposition against the law has swelled with state leaders from regional parties vowing to prevent its implementation in their states.

The government has said there is no chance the law will be repealed.

Reporting by Nigam Prusty and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow, Zarir Husain in Guwahati; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Stephen Coates

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-12-21 05:18:00Z
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Citizenship Act protests: 'I wait in silence as my world falls apart' - BBC News

Rikat Hashmi, a Muslim student in Delhi, explains why she feels anxious about her future as an Indian Muslim.

Like many Muslims in India, I now spend my days wondering what the future holds for us.

Will I be denied a job because of my religion? Will I be evicted from my home? Will I be lynched by a mob? Will this fear ever end?

"Be patient," my mother tells me after a night of violence at my university campus - Jamia Millia Islamia - in the capital Delhi.

Students were allegedly beaten up, tear-gassed in the library and bathrooms, and terrorised to stop their protest against a controversial new citizenship law.

This law - the Citizenship Amendment Act - paves the way to citizenship for persecuted people from three countries, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. But it offers amnesty only to non-Muslim illegal immigrants.

Muslims have been excluded, and it's this discrimination that is at the heart of the students' protests.

But why did the police launch an assault on them?

They say it was because students torched vehicles and provoked a response, but where is the evidence against us?

Police say there was no firing, but what of those who lie wounded in hospitals?

I am studying for a degree in dentistry at Jamia university, and I've witnessed several peaceful protests during my time here.

I wasn't part of the protest on Sunday, which later turned violent. But I was a victim of the aftermath as police launched a widespread attacks on students.

I remember howling in fear as the police approached our hostel. We switched off the lights and tried to hide. The night passed and luckily, we were saved. But here's what is became clear: it didn't matter if you had voiced your criticism or not, because we were the target. We, the Muslims of India.

I remember waking up to the sounds of various Hindu devotional songs as a child.

We were the only Muslim family in a predominantly Hindu neighbourhood in the eastern state of Orissa.

We always celebrated festivals together - they would apply henna on my hands during Eid, and my siblings and I went to their houses to celebrate the triumph of good over evil during the festival of Navaratri.

Some of my Hindu friends would often come over to enjoy biryani, a popular dish of rice, meat and spices that is traditionally served in Muslim households.

There was no mosque in the vicinity, but my father wasn't too bothered by this since he wasn't a practising Muslim. My mother continued offering namaz (prayers) five times a day at our home.

I attended a convent school with a very large number of Hindus, and there was never a moment of religious difference.

Only once did a friend ask me about the myth that Muslims don't shower everyday, and I laughed it off. "We - I - definitely take a shower every day," I said.

Religion was a part of our lives, but I was never made aware of my identity as a Muslim. Until now.

Forces are out to divide us and I'm not sure if I can relive such experiences again.

We are increasingly being cast as meat-eaters, as rapists corrupting society, as terrorists defending Pakistan, as lovers converting Hindus, and as minorities who will take over the country.

In reality, we are on our way to becoming second-class citizens who must learn to live in fear.

In one of his tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm during the protests against the citizenship law. He said: "This is the time to maintain peace, unity and brotherhood."

A day before, in front of thousands of people and dozens of cameras, he had said: "People who are setting fire [to property] can be seen on TV... They can be identified by the clothes they are wearing."

He didn't elaborate but this seemingly veiled attack on my religion has, ironically, only made me more religious.

I don't mean this in the physical sense. I was 16 when I started wearing the hijab.

I had moved to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to study Aligarh Muslim University, and I came across many young women wearing the headscarf.

Jumat, 20 Desember 2019

India extends controls on protests after day of deadly violence - CNN

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in at least 15 cities across the country, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata on Thursday in a show of nationwide public anger against the law considered by many to be unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims.

At least two people died in the protests, which saw violent pitched battles between police and protesters in several cities, including Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, and Lucknow. Police fired tear gas, water cannons and used batons against protesters who pelted stones, vandalized and set fire to buildings and buses. Thousands of people were arrested.

Following Thursday's violence, police in the country's largest and most populous state Uttar Pradesh, where one person died in violent protests, have enforced a law banning public gatherings of four or more people for the next 15 days.

The colonial-era restrictions -- known as Section 144 -- will be imposed across the entire state, Avnish Awasthi, senior official in the Uttar Pradesh Home Department told CNN.

Internet services in the state capital Lucknow will also remain suspended until Saturday evening, after protesters set fire to buildings and clashed with police on Thursday.

"Yesterday, internet connectivity in 73 districts was shut down," Awasthi said. "For the rest of the districts in the states, district officials are making individual decisions."

In the capital New Delhi, section 144 remained in place in three key protest areas Friday, police said.

On Thursday at least one telecoms provider said it was directed to suspend services in six areas of the capital during the protests. It was the first time mobile and internet services had been cut in the capital.

Violence, deaths and arrests

On Thursday, two people died from injuries sustained during a protest in the city of Mangalore, in the southern state of Karnataka, a senior doctor at the Highland Hospital told CNN.

One more person died from firearm injuries in Lucknow city, the capital of northern Uttar Pradesh state, according to a senior doctor at the King George Medical University in the city.

Additional Director General of Uttar Pradesh police, P.V. Ramasastry, told CNN that the death in Lucknow was not directly related to the protests.

Some 3,600 people were arrested as a preventative measure in Uttar Pradesh, police said. In Lucknow, 112 preventive arrests were made while 50 people were booked and arrested under various charges.

In the capital New Delhi, 1,200 people were detained for violating a ban on public gatherings. Police told CNN on Friday those people have been released without charge.

Despite the bans, further protests are planned on Friday at the capital's Jamia Milia Islamia University -- which was the scene of violent clashes between police and protesters on Sunday, and a march from the Jama Masjid -- one of the largest mosques in India -- to the iconic India Gate, in central Delhi.

At the center of the unrest is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed into law last week. The law that promises to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslim religious minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived before 2015.

India is a world leader in Internet shutdowns

The government, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the law will provide safe haven for religious minorities who fled persecution in their home countries. Critics say it undermines the country's secular constitution as it bases citizenship on a person's religion and would further marginalize India's 200-million strong Muslim community.

The Indian government had sought to quell any unrest over the law's passing by banning protests and shutting down the internet and mobile services in several parts of the country.

Many of who marched told CNN the government was using the bans on public gatherings to muzzle the voices of Indian people in the world's largest democracy.

"I have my freedom to protest. It is my fundamental right," said New Delhi student Sidharth Singh, 23. "This is not democracy. Why does the government think it is higher than the constitution?"

Thursday's deaths brings the total to at least seven, after five people were confirmed to have died in ongoing protests in the northeastern state of Assam.

Protests in the northeast are different from the rest of the country, however. Many indigenous groups there fear that giving citizenship to large numbers of immigrants would change the unique ethnic make-up of the region and their way of life, regardless of religion.

Troops were deployed and and internet shut down in several northeastern states amid the protests. On Friday senior Assam official G.P. Singh told CNN, "The mobile internet has been restored" there.

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2019-12-20 10:39:00Z
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LIVE: Boris Johnson says 'no more Montagues and Capulets' as MPs debate Brexit withdrawal agreement - The Telegraph

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2019-12-20 09:40:01Z
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Sabtu, 21 Desember 2019

Read more about the citizenship law

Jumat, 20 Desember 2019

Violence, deaths and arrests