World

A fast-heating world “cannot afford a single gunshot”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN climate summit on Tuesday, arguing that Russia’s invasion threatened international efforts to tackle global warming.

Speaking by video-link to the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, Zelensky itemised the environmental fallout from the Russian assault on his country — from compelling countries to increase their use of coal to the disruption of grain supplies, worsening food crises stoked by drought.

“We must stop those who, with their insane and illegal war, are destroying the world’s ability to work united for a common goal,” he said.

Zelensky added world leaders must tell those who do not take climate change seriously that “they are making a catastrophic mistake.”

“They are the ones who start wars of aggression when the planet cannot afford a single gunshot, because it needs global joint actions.”

Zelensky said Ukraine was introducing a plan at the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to assess the impact of military actions on climate and the environment.

The fighting has destroyed at least five million acres (two million hectares) of forest in Ukraine, according to Zelensky, while threatening “a radiation disaster” from the occupied Zaporizhzhia facility, Europe’s largest atomic power plant.

– Renewables ‘good for security’ –

In their statements to the summit, European leaders lined up to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine since February as a dangerous distraction from the severe and accelerating threats posed by climate change.

Speaking earlier at an event linked to the climate conference, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the transition from fossil fuels to renewables was “good for our security” as well as in tackling climate change.

He accused Russia of trying to use “energy as a weapon”.

“It is a stark reminder of the need to transition from dependence on fossil fuels to renewables,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that effective military activities in the future would also be green, suggesting armies should align their activities with the need to tackle warming.

Estimates of planet-warming emissions from the world’s militaries range between one and five percent of the global total, according to a commentary published in the journal Nature last week.

That is comparable to shipping or aviation — both around two percent, according to the paper led by researchers in Britain.

But they warned that armies are largely exempt from proper oversight, meaning efforts to cut emissions globally risked being “guesswork”.

International pressure mounted Tuesday for the “immediate release” of Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, whose family fears for his life after he escalated his hunger strike by refusing water too as COP27 opened.

After a seven-month stint during which he consumed only “100 calories a day”, the 40-year-old British-Egyptian stopped drinking water on Sunday as world leaders gathered for the opening of the global climate summit in Egypt.

On Tuesday, a day after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron met with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and raised his plight, UN rights chief Volker Turk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz demanded his release.

Abdel Fattah, currently serving a five-year sentence for “spreading false news” for reposting a Facebook post about police brutality, has been leading headlines during the UN summit, intensifying international attention on Egypt’s rights record.

A key figure of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Abdel Fattah gained British citizenship this year through his UK-born mother, Laila Soueif.

– ‘Dreadful consequences’ –

Soueif — who has been camped out in front of the prison for two days in the hope of receiving a letter as proof of life, according to daughter Mona Seif — warns her son many only have “a day or two or three at most”.

In a message posted on Facebook, Soueif directed an appeal to world leaders at the COP27 summit rather than the Egyptian authorities, who she accused of already having “so much blood on their hands.”

Seif tweeted on Tuesday that the family had received “No letter, no explanation, nothing to assure us Alaa is alive and present.” 

Activists at COP27 have posted prolifically on Twitter under the hashtag #FreeAlaa and several speakers have ended their speeches with the words “you have not yet been defeated” — the title of his book, prefaced by Canadian author Naomi Klein.

Sunak said Monday that the case is “a priority”, demanding it be “resolved as soon as possible.”

Macron said he had received an assurance that Sisi is “committed to ensuring that (the) health of Alaa Abdel Fattah is preserved” and that the situation will be resolved “in the coming weeks and months.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday said that “his release must be possible, so that this hunger strike does not end in death,” adding that “we should be afraid that this could lead to dreadful consequences”.

Turk said he “deeply regrets” Egypt had not released Abdel Fattah, warning that his “life is in great danger”.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association Clement Voule echoed calls for Abdel Fattah’s immediate release, noting his “life is at risk”.

“I remind Egypt authorities that civic participation is key to advancing climate justice,” Voule said.

On Tuesday, a press conference led by Abdel Fattah’s sister Sanaa Seif — on the sidelines of the COP27 summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh — was disrupted by an Egyptian parliamentarian.

“We are talking about an Egyptian citizen detained for a criminal offence, he is not a political prisoner,” said pro-government lawmaker Amr Darwish, who was escorted out of a COP27 hall by UN security. “Do not try to use the West against Egypt.”

– ‘Force fed’? –

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the COP27 president, told CNBC television that Abdel Fattah — whose dual citizenship Cairo does not recognise — has access to “all the necessary care in prison”.

Sanaa Seif said Shoukry’s talk of “care” raises concerns her brother is potentially being “force fed” with intravenous drips.

“Is he handcuffed to a bed, on IVs against his will?” she said.

Cairo has faced intensifying criticism of its long deplored human rights record since it was announced as the host of the COP27 climate summit last year, a move rights groups said “rewards the repressive rule” of Sisi.

Three Egyptian journalists also continued a hunger strike for a second day, demanding “the release of all political prisoners in Egypt”.

Rights groups say such prisoners number some 60,000, a claim denied by Cairo.

Abdel Fattah’s continued detention comes despite Egypt having granted presidential pardons to a total of 766 political prisoners since the reactivation of a pardon policy in April this year, according to data compiled by Amnesty. 

But over the same period close to double that number have been jailed for their activism, Amnesty says.

Spain’s former king, Juan Carlos I, on Tuesday appealed to a UK court to grant him immunity from harassment allegations by his former lover, just as a new podcast featuring her claims is released.

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 57, is seeking personal injury damages from the 84-year-old, who ruled Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014.

The British resident has accused Juan Carlos, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, of spying on her and harassing her after their relationship soured in 2012.

She filed a harassment suit in London in 2020, alleging he pressured her to return gifts worth 65 million euros ($65 million), including works of art and jewellery. She is seeking an injunction and damages.

Juan Carlos has not appeared at any hearings so far and strenuously denies any wrongdoing.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London heard legal arguments from both sides on Tuesday and said that they would deliver a ruling at a later date.

Juan Carlos is appealing after the High Court in March threw out his claim that a 1978 UK law meant English courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case because he has state immunity as a royal.

Judge Matthew Nicklin ruled that Juan Carlos “was no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’ so as to entitle him to personal immunity”.

– ‘Ruling date’ –

The former king’s lawyers appealed and won permission for a legal challenge concerning the period when Juan Carlos was on the throne.

Setting out his position, Juan Carlos’s lawyer, Tim Otty, argued that immunity is “a procedural bar” and says “nothing about the lawfulness or the morality of the conduct alleged”. 

However, zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn’s lawyer, James Lewis, argued the appeal should be dismissed, claiming the alleged harassment had involved “intelligence and surveillance” personnel acting as the former king’s “agents”.

The hearing came as zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who was also not present in court on Tuesday, has been discussing the relationship in a new podcast series called “Corinna and the King”.

Its release has stirred fresh controversy in Spain. Its creators — two London-based journalists — defend its timing and independence from zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.

“Imagine that someone who says they love your children — and that you’re the love of their life — would frame you in a criminal investigation,” she alleges in the first episode, released Monday.

– Shots fired –

Court submissions have claimed that Juan Carlos, who is married, was in an “intimate romantic relationship” with the divorcee of a German prince from 2004 to 2009 and showered her with gifts.

Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn has alleged that Juan Carlos began harassing her after their relationship broke down.

Juan Carlos “demanded the return of gifts”, she claimed, and she suffered “trespass and criminal damage” at her home in rural central England.

Gunshots were fired at and damaged security cameras at her front gate, she alleged, accusing the former king of being angry at her refusals.

Her lawyers argued that Juan Carlos had a “more sinister” motive — transferring money to her from secret bank accounts, on the understanding he could still access it.

The couple’s relationship became public knowledge in 2012, when the monarch broke a hip while on holiday in Botswana with zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and had to be flown home. 

The revelation of the luxury trip, which came at the height of a recession in Spain, sparking public anger there.

Two years later, dogged by scandals and health problems, Juan Carlos abdicated at the age of 76 in favour of his son, Felipe VI, who has distanced himself from his father.

Juan Carlos went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. 

He and his son attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September and were seated together.

Juan Carlos was protected for decades by his huge popularity as a key figure in Spain’s transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

The excesses of the monarch only came to light in the last years of his reign, triggering a string of investigations over corruption scandals.

Millions of Americans voted Tuesday in midterm elections that will decide the balance of power in Congress, determine the future of President Joe Biden’s agenda and test the viability of another White House run by Donald Trump.

Biden’s Democrats are facing a gargantuan struggle to hang on to Congress, after a race the president has cast as a “defining” moment for US democracy — while Trump’s Republicans campaigned hard on kitchen-table issues like inflation and crime.

“It’s Election Day, America,” the 79-year-old Biden tweeted. “Make your voice heard today. Vote.”

Casting his ballot in Florida, Trump again teased a potential announcement next week of a 2024 presidential run, telling reporters that November 15 “will be a very exciting day for a lot of people.”

At stake in Tuesday’s election are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and a slew of state and local posts. Five states are holding referendums on abortion.

Democrats currently hold a slim majority in the House and control of the evenly split Senate thanks to the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

But Republicans are heavily favored to win the House and possibly also flip the Senate.

First results will begin trickling in after 7:00 pm (0000 GMT) but, with razor-thin margins in key races, a full picture may not be available for days or even weeks, setting the stage for acrimonious challenges.

The bitter political divide in the country was on the minds of many voters as they cast their ballots.

“Politicians, a lot of them, are playing games to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, the little people,” said Kay Georgopolous, who recently retired from her sales job, as she cast her vote in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For others, it was abortion or the state of the economy.

“Abortion is probably the biggest issue for me,” said Alexandra Ashley, a 30-year-old lawyer as she voted in Pittsburgh. “I want to make sure it’s available for everybody and safe.”

Voting in Phoenix, Arizona, Kenneth Bellows, a 32-year-old law student, said the chilly economy is “hurting Americans who are just trying to get by.”

– ‘Giant red wave’ –

On election eve, Biden made a final appeal to Democrats to turn out en masse.

“The power’s in your hands,” Biden told a rally near Washington. “We know in our bones that our democracy is at risk and we know that this is your moment to defend it.”

Biden said he believed Democrats would hold on to the Senate but it would be “tough” to retain the House and his life may become “more difficult.”

If both the House and Senate flip, Biden would be left as little more than a lame duck and his legislative agenda would be paralyzed as Republicans launch aggressive investigations and oppose his spending plans.

That would raise questions over everything from climate policies, which the president will be laying out at the COP27 conference in Egypt this week, to Ukraine, where some Republicans are reluctant to maintain the current rate of US military support.

An influx of far-right Trump backers in Congress would also accelerate a shift inside the Republican Party since the former real estate tycoon stunned the world by defeating Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016.

Despite facing criminal probes over taking top secret documents from the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has used the midterms to cement his status as the de facto Republican leader.

In a typically dark, rambling speech to supporters in Dayton, Ohio, the 76-year-old Trump said, “if you support the decline and fall of America, then you must, you absolutely must vote for the radical left, crazy people.”

“If you want to stop the destruction of our country, then tomorrow you must vote Republican in a giant red wave,” he said.

– 44 million early votes –

More than 44 million ballots have been cast through early voting options, meaning the midterms outcome had already begun to take shape before election day.

Senate races in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Ohio are expected to be close and any one of them could swing the balance of power in the chamber.

Trump has already claimed — baselessly — that swing state Pennsylvania “rigged” the midterms — reprising his playbook from the 2020 election which he falsely asserted was stolen by Biden.

Citing growing support for voter conspiracy theories among Trump and his Republicans, as well as their push to curb abortion access, Biden has warned that basic rights are at stake on Tuesday.

Republicans have countered that a vote for Democrats means more soaring inflation, rising violent crime and loose border controls.

The outcome will likely determine whether Biden, who turns 80 this month and is the oldest president ever, will seek a second term in 2024 — or step aside.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been uncharacteristically quiet since his election loss to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last month, all but disappearing from public view and even his beloved social media accounts.

The far-right president, who remains in office until January 1, responded to his defeat in the October 30 runoff election with a nearly 48-hour silence, raising fears he could try to fight the result as his supporters blocked highways in protest and urged the military to intervene to keep him in power.

Bolsonaro finally made a brief statement on November 1, saying he would respect the constitution — but neither conceding defeat nor congratulating Lula. 

He followed that up with a video posted on social media the following night, urging supporters to stop blocking highways — though he encouraged “legitimate demonstrations.”

Bolsonaro, 67, has remained silent since.

According to his official agenda, he has been at his official residence since November 1, when he met with cabinet ministers at the presidential offices.

Newspaper O Globo reported Bolsonaro was home with “health issues,” had a fever and appeared exhausted, citing sources close to the president.

Bolsonaro’s office did not immediately respond to questions about his health.

His Twitter account, usually a hive of activity, has not been posted to since the runoff, except last Wednesday’s video and an enigmatic picture posted Tuesday, showing the president standing before a crowd of supporters, a Brazilian flag at his back.

Bolsonaro has even stopped giving his weekly live address on Facebook, one of the main communication channels he has relied on to speak to his base throughout his presidency.

The rest of the Bolsonaro clan has also been unusually quiet online since the election.

The day after, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the president’s eldest son, posted a message saying, “Dad, I’m with you no matter what.”

Sunday, he posted two other messages condemning alleged “censorship” of his father’s supporters on social media.

Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flavio’s younger brother, meanwhile shared a post from new Twitter owner Elon Musk promising to “look into” claims that pro-Bolsonaro users’ accounts were unfairly suspended over alleged disinformation.

The US Powerball jackpot grew to a mind-boggling $2.3 billion Tuesday -– the largest prize in world history -– leaving countless Americans clinging to hope of winning big.

There were no winners in Monday’s drawing, Powerball USA announced on Twitter Tuesday morning, soon after a delayed drawing took place.

The drawing was postponed after a participating lottery needed more time to complete security protocols due to high demand for tickets.

Powerball tickets are sold in nearly all states — 45 of 50 — as well as Washington DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The last time someone claimed the Powerball jackpot was August 3, when a lucky ticket holder in Pennsylvania raked in an estimated $206.9 million. 

Since then, 40 consecutive draws have produced no winner, and the Powerball jackpot has grown and grown.

The latest winnerless drawing for a prize of $1.9 billion actually came out to a final figure of $2.04 billion following massive ticket demand.

Tickets cost $2 and a winner can choose either a lump sum payment, calculated for the next drawing at $1.124 billion, or opt to be paid in installments over 29 years.

Most winners choose the lump sum payout.

The next drawing will occur Wednesday evening.