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Biden plans to reverse Trump’s Alaska policy. Here’s why it matters.

On Friday the Biden administration revealed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/us/politics/tongass-national-forest-alaska.html">plans to reinstate</a> environmental protections preventing logging and mining in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, which the Trump administration had discarded. The 17 million acres in southeastern Alaska — the largest national forest in the US — have been a political battleground for over two decades, bouncing back and forth between the interests of logging industries and climate activists.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton finalized the “roadless rule,” which prohibited road construction on 60 million acres of forested land across the US and heavily restricted commercial logging and mining. But in October of 2020, then-President Donald Trump reversed these protections when he made the Tongass Forest <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-23984.pdf?utm_campaign=pi%20subscription%20mailing%20list&utm_source=federalregister.gov&utm_medium=email">exempt from the rule</a>, doing what many developers and politicians in Alaska had been calling for since the Clinton era. But this reversal didn’t last for long.
Since his time on the campaign trail, President Joe Biden has been vocal about climate action, specifically in contrast with the policies that the Trump administration had passed. After the US, under Trump, <a href="https://www.vox.com/21545960/paris-agreement-accord-exit-leaves-trump-biden-election-2020-climate-change">left the Paris climate agreement</a> and engineered the largest <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6443/881">reduction of protected lands</a> in US history, Biden entered office ready to undo the damage. On the same day Biden was sworn in, on January 20, 2021, he signed <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/">an executive order</a> titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” which includes goals to reduce climate pollution, and to review and revoke action items set forth by the previous administration.
One of the most notable was the revocation of the March 2019 permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. The project, begun in 2008 and only officially <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/10/22526803/keystone-xl-oil-gas-biden-climate-change">called off this month</a>, has faced backlash at every stage of its development. Canceled by the Obama administration in 2015, and then renewed in 2017 when Trump invited TC Energy, the pipeline’s Canadian developer, to reapply for a permit, the Keystone XL is a perfect example of the back-and-forth that climate politics can have depending on who is in office.
The Tongass National Forest is yet another example. From a developer’s perspective, Alaska’s natural resources make it a gold mine. Its old growth forests make it ideal for harvesting timber, its coastal plains are plentiful in prospective drilling sites for oil and natural gas, and developing these opportunities could <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/climate/tongass-biden-climate.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage">boost the state’s economy</a>. No specifics as to how the “roadless rule” reversal will be carried out have been announced, apart from the intent to “<a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=0596-AD51">repeal or replace</a>” it, but Alaskan officials are aware of the economic loss, and have been vocal about the change.
“The Biden administration’s announcement is an unacceptable whipsaw in federal policy just months after an exhaustively-reviewed final rule was issued by the Trump administration that struck the right balance between conserving the lands we cherish and fostering opportunities for hard-working Alaskans,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said in a joint <a href="https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/alaska-delegation-responds-to-biden-administration-actions-to-suppress-se-alaskas-economy">statement</a> which also included comments from fellow Alaska Republicans Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Disappointed in the <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> latest suppression of AK economic opportunity. From tourism to timber, Alaska’s great Tongass National Forest holds much opportunity for Alaskans but the federal government wishes to see Alaskans suffer at the lack of jobs and prosperity. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/akgov?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#akgov</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alaska?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#alaska</a>
— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovDunleavy/status/1403399245130960905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, also expressed his disapproval of the Biden action on Twitter and later added, “We will use every tool available to push back on the latest imposition.”
Biden is currently attending the annual G7 summit, which is meeting this year in Cornwall, England. World leaders are expected to address environmental policy on Sunday.
While politicians paint a picture of an oppressive federal government that would deny normal Alaskans access to “jobs and prosperity,” the narrative rings a bit hollow when set against actual feedback from the public. In 2019, the US Forest Service <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USDAFS/2019/02/08/file_attachments/1152423/Alaska%20Roadless%20Rule%20-%20Scoping%20Public%20Comment%20Summary.pdf">released a summary</a> of over 140,000 comments on the “roadless rule” from the public which overwhelmingly supported the restrictions on forest development. In fact, one of the main points of rationale as to why the public thinks the “roadless rule” should remain was that it is vital to the tourism and fishing industries.
According to research by an economic development organization called the <a href="http://www.seconference.org/sites/default/files/Southeast%20Alaska%20by%20the%20Numbers%202020.pdf">Southeast Conference</a>, in 2019 Alaska’s timber industry (along with warehousing, utilities, and transport) only provided 4 percent of Alaskans with jobs in contrast to the 18 percent that were employed by tourism. Commercial fishing, tourism, and recreation are the fastest growing job sectors in southeast Alaska, according to the research. The Southeast Conference has not issued an official statement, but its executive director, Robert Venables, <a href="https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2021/06/11/dunleavy-disappointed-in-biden-administration-decision-to-suppress-alaskas-economic-opportunities/">joined Gov. Dunleavy’s statement</a>, in which he accused multiple administrations of “playing ping-pong” with Alaskans and the resources of the state.
In addition to providing jobs, as the United States’ <a href="https://alaskawild.org/places-we-protect/tongass-national-forest/">largest national forest</a>, the Tongass plays a significant ecological role in absorbing carbon produced in the US. According to <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic.com%2Ftravel%2Farticle%2Findigenous-communities-and-artists-fight-end-of-roadless-rule-in-tongass-national-forest%3Firgwc%3D1%26irclickid%3DXi2VpQQRpxyLT96wUx0Mo36YUkBwO6wOuRc1Rk0%26cmpid%3Dorg%253Dngp%253A%253Amc%253Daffiliate%253A%253Asrc%253Daffiliate%253A%253Acmp%253Dsubs_aff%253A%253A%26add%3DSkimbit%2520Ltd.&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2021%2F6%2F12%2F22530771%2Fbiden-alaska-tongass-national-forest-repeal-replace-trump-policy" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank" has-subtag="true" data-cdata='{"rewritten_url":"https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588\u0026xs=1\u0026url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/indigenous-communities-and-artists-fight-end-of-roadless-rule-in-tongass-national-forest?irgwc=1\u0026irclickid=Xi2VpQQRpxyLT96wUx0Mo36YUkBwO6wOuRc1Rk0\u0026cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Daffiliate%3A%3Asrc%3Daffiliate%3A%3Acmp%3Dsubs_aff%3A%3A\u0026add=Skimbit%20Ltd.\u0026referrer=vox.com\u0026sref=https://www.vox.com/2021/6/12/22530771/biden-alaska-tongass-national-forest-repeal-replace-trump-policy\u0026xcust=___vx__p_22294812__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder","subtag_max_length":50,"subtag_delim_length":3,"subtag_key":"xcust","subtag_data":{"id":"66960X1516588","xs":"1","url":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/indigenous-communities-and-artists-fight-end-of-roadless-rule-in-tongass-national-forest?irgwc=1\u0026irclickid=Xi2VpQQRpxyLT96wUx0Mo36YUkBwO6wOuRc1Rk0\u0026cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Daffiliate%3A%3Asrc%3Daffiliate%3A%3Acmp%3Dsubs_aff%3A%3A\u0026add=Skimbit%20Ltd.","referrer":"vox.com","sref":"https://www.vox.com/2021/6/12/22530771/biden-alaska-tongass-national-forest-repeal-replace-trump-policy","xcust":"___vx__p_22294812__m_m-placeholder__s_s-placeholder__t_w__c_c-placeholder__r_r-placeholder__d_d-placeholder"},"encode_subtag":false}'>National Geographic</a>, the temperate rainforest absorbs approximately 8 percent of the pollution produced in the US. “While tropical rainforests are the lungs of the planet, the Tongass is the lungs of North America,” Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist with the Earth Island Institute’s Wild Heritage project, told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/10/28/trump-tongass-national-forest-alaska/">Washington Post</a>. In fact, the United States Geological Survey recently estimated that if no trees were lost through logging and the land were left unmanaged in the Tongass, its carbon storage could increase by up to <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1826/pp1826.pdf">27 percent</a> by the end of the century.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1623553321_8980_552297" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22655002,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xFR3teenuJlsEIppidq2_J2Dqa0=/0x0:5000x3333/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D9mAvzrWDEvfaz6wJhapQXyH_KQ=/0x0:5000x3333/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_s-ayPajJb9kS19TKvy5S90W50g=/0x0:5000x3333/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I835F0YTcZvEL8VwnEz34kMoiHQ=/0x0:5000x3333/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kGkxTaDmjiRyDVAm9S7VC1pim2U=/0x0:5000x3333/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iS8zcwyvVU51vZxqK3kzOQY0QPI=/0x0:5000x3333/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cXoeyuQto8Uz8fvg-MQdsdoa__I=/0x0:5000x3333/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AsvVJCkfHqVqC3eBeloXBVA7c2g=/0x0:5000x3333/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0fFl--L8ExzPtv6LDwNLBEMiZnM=/0x0:5000x3333/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="Brown bears are fishing for salmon at Hidden Falls Hidden..." data-upload-width="5000" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3JgF20s3BFhBbLjswRiYOISnsZs=/0x0:5000x3333/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jm8GkYhKxMjGKCNmD10cfzziSl4=/0x0:5000x3333/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/csIF_JgRdSPU8pXKQHE2Yo9J-Xk=/0x0:5000x3333/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SlTYLWTQ6A2qYCzwiL-bqZH5FxI=/0x0:5000x3333/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2E5xeDHRRNXNw5YeVa4kJ6bu_PM=/0x0:5000x3333/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y3Nifdo4kDKzQBKe0wR6DH8IR8s=/0x0:5000x3333/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ftgAVPxwtuM0unt4DznwNDhwV9w=/0x0:5000x3333/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tGXOZ42R-QfrqoDvoC-bmTAyLj0=/0x0:5000x3333/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NlUCLEJ_t12z-v02n6g0hIieTu4=/0x0:5000x3333/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P4tPpq9doT57qSYL2lrNqR6CCeU=/0x0:5000x3333/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:5000x3333):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22655002/1176327232.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Brown bears fishing for salmon on Baranof Island in the Tongass National Forest.</figcaption>
<cite>Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images</cite></figure>
The Tongass is also home to a thriving wildlife population, but Trump’s reversal of the “roadless rule” put this in danger. On land, the state of Alaska is home to <a href="https://alaskawild.org/places-we-protect/tongass-national-forest/">95 percent</a> of America’s brown bear population, and the Tongass specifically contains the highest concentration of brown bears on the planet, while the forest’s <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5408055.pdf">17,000 miles of clean freshwater</a> provide optimal spawning conditions for wild salmon. Due to its high populations, the Tongass is sometimes called a “<a href="http://www.americansalmonforest.org/">salmon forest</a>” and, as it produces <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd554592.pdf">$60 million</a> of wild salmon annually, this name is not far-fetched. But, if not for the “roadless rule,” this might have changed. Logging around a stream causes <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/why-are-there-so-few-salmon-left?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products">runoff like silt or dirt</a> into the water, which can smother developing eggs, while dams, often used to maneuver logs down waterways, disorient the fish and disrupt their natural migratory patterns.
While this is a loss that can affect any Alaskan, to Alaskan Natives, losing wild salmon and the forests that house them means much more than a declining food source. <a href="https://www.seconference.org/sites/default/files/Southeast%20Alaska%20by%20the%20Numbers%202020.pdf">Twenty-three percent</a> of the region’s population comes from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes, who have been fighting for recognition and for better treatment of their ancestral land which includes the expansive Tongass Forest.
While logging industries threaten food sources, <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.10/indigenous-affairs-forests-eleven-alaska-native-tribes-offer-new-way-forward-on-managing-the-tongass">cultural resources</a> like Western red and Alaskan yellow cedar trees, which many communities use to make traditional regalia, baskets, and totem poles, are also threatened. “Cedar is the warp in the basket of who we are as a people. We weave our way around the cedar, keeping ourselves connected, strong and able to carry the tools and resources forward for the next generation,” Marina Anderson, a Haida and Tlingit woman who serves as the tribal administrator of the Organized Village of Kasaan, said in an article for <a href="https://www.juneauempire.com/news/resilient-peoples-and-placemonument-trees-and-cedar-stewardship-on-the-tongass-national-forest/">Juneau Empire</a>.
Anderson recently helped to organize a workshop on cultural uses of forest resources, taught by Native Alaskans, for employees of the United States Forest Service (USFS). For years, the USFS has provided manufacturers with commercial timber from the Tongass without communication with Native populations. The workshop aimed to teach USFS workers how to distinguish different types of trees that can be used to make canoes and totem poles, or trees that are rare and should be protected. While this type of cross-cultural exchange does not target the heavy hitters of industry or politics, it does make an impact on the people carrying out the work.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/12/22530771/biden-alaska-tongass-national-forest-repeal-replace-trump-policy">https://www.vox.com/2021/6/12/22530771/biden-alaska-tongass-national-forest-repeal-replace-trump-policy</a>

vox Biden plans to reverse Trump’s Alaska policy. Here’s why it matters.

On Friday the Biden administration revealed plans to reinstate environmental protections preventing logging and mining in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, which the Trump administration had discarded. The 17 million acres in southeastern Alaska — th…

G7 Leaders Take On China, Covid And Climate

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="G7 Leaders Take On China, Covid And Climate" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-06/smdug48g_g7-leadersjune-12reuters-_625x300_12_June_21.jpg" title="G7 Leaders Take On China, Covid And Climate" /></div>
The G7 leaders are expected to pledge to donate one billion vaccine doses to poor countries
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Carbis Bay, England:
G7 leaders on Saturday confronted China and the threat of future pandemics as the elite club of wealthy nations advertised a newfound Western unity at its first physical summit since 2019.
After an informal evening get-together -- featuring a Royal Air Force aerobatics display, beach barbecue, firepit marshmallows and a Cornish troupe singing sea shanties -- the leaders were to wrap up their three-day summit on Sunday.
At their concluding session in Cornwall, southwest England, US President Joe Biden and his colleagues were set to promise more financial support for developing countries on the sharp edge of climate change.
The G7 has been rallying behind collective action on the planetary crisis in the buildup to the UN's COP26 climate summit in Scotland in November.
Such action was unthinkable under former president Donald Trump, but Biden is touting a message of revived US leadership on his first foreign tour.
"We're on the same page," Biden told reporters as he met French President Emmanuel Macron on the summit sidelines, pushing to rally the West against a resurgent China and recalcitrant Russia.
Asked if other G7 leaders agreed with him about a US diplomatic renaissance, Biden pointed to Macron, who replied: "Definitely."
"Build back better"
Promising to "collectively catalyse" hundreds of billions of infrastructure investment for low- and middle-income countries, the G7 leaders said they would offer a "values-driven, high-standard and transparent" partnership.
Their "Build Back Better World" (B3W) project is aimed squarely at competing with China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which has been widely criticised for saddling small countries with unmanageable debt.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose nation has huge investments in China, called it an "important initiative" that was much needed in infrastructure-poor Africa.
Britain meanwhile hailed G7 agreement on the "Carbis Bay Declaration" -- a series of commitments to curb future pandemics after Covid-19 wrecked economies and claimed millions of lives around the world.
The collective steps include slashing the time taken to develop and license vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, while reinforcing global surveillance networks.
The G7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- will formally publish the pact on Sunday, alongside the summit communique containing further details on the B3W.
Covid vaccines
"The #CarbisBayDeclaration marks a proud and historic moment for us all," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, criticised in some quarters for being too accommodating towards China where the coronavirus originated, welcomed the health pact.
The G7 leaders are also expected to pledge to donate one billion vaccine doses to poor countries this year and next -- although campaigners say the rollout is much too slow to end the crisis now.
After briefing the leaders in Cornwall, Tedros said he had set them the challenge of vaccinating at least 70 percent of the world's population by their next summit in Germany in 2022.
"We welcome the generous announcement made by G7 nations about donations of vaccines but we need more and we need them faster," he told reporters. "Immediate donations are vital."
Aid charity Oxfam said the declaration "does nothing to address the fundamental problems that are preventing vaccines being accessible to the vast majority of humanity".
"Concrete action"
The G7 was joined Saturday by the leaders of Australia, South Africa and South Korea, with India taking part remotely, for a wide-ranging discussion about foreign policy challenges.
The regimes of Belarus and Myanmar are among those in the G7's sights. Biden pushed also for measures against China's alleged forced labour practices, including against the Uyghur minority.
A US official said Biden wanted "concrete action" on the forced labour accusations, calling them "an affront to human dignity, and an egregious example of China's unfair economic competition".
China denies allegations that it is waging "genocide" by forcing up to one million Uyghurs and people from other ethnic-Turkic minorities into internment camps in the region of Xinjiang.
Putin weighs in
The US president will also seek to address frayed relations with Moscow, in particular over its cyber activity.
Most of the G7 leaders will reconvene Monday in Brussels for a NATO meeting, before Biden heads on to his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, vowing to deliver a blunt message about Russian behaviour.
In a rare interview with US media released Friday, Putin voiced hope that Biden would be less impetuous than Trump, who notoriously sided with the Russian leader against the views of his own intelligence chiefs.
"It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting US president," Putin told NBC News.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/g7-leaders-take-on-china-covid-and-climate-2462648">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/g7-leaders-take-on-china-covid-and-climate-2462648</a>

news world G7 Leaders Take On China, Covid And Climate

The G7 leaders are expected to pledge to donate one billion vaccine doses to poor countries Carbis Bay, England: G7 leaders on Saturday confronted China and the threat of future pandemics as the elite club of wealthy nations advertised a newfound We…

Brazil's Bolsonaro Fined $100 For Maskless Motorcyle Rally In Sao Paulo

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Brazil's Bolsonaro Fined $100 For Maskless Motorcyle Rally In Sao Paulo" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-06/3dc93qqo_jairbolsonaroreuters650_625x300_11_June_21.jpg" title="Brazil's Bolsonaro Fined $100 For Maskless Motorcyle Rally In Sao Paulo" /></div>
At the rally, Jair Bolsonaro renewed his comments against face masks (File)
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Sao Paulo, Brazil:
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was fined $100 Saturday for violating Covid-19 containment measures in Sao Paulo state by failing to wear a face mask and provoking huge crowds at a motorcycle rally for supporters.
Thousands of roaring motorcycles took part in the "Accelerate for Christ" rally in Sao Paulo, led by the far-right president, who wore an open-faced helmet and no mask, in violation of state health regulations.
Bolsonaro, who has been holding such rallies across Brazil as he gears up to seek re-election next year, defied a prior warning from Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, a political rival, who had said the president would be fined if he failed to observe state regulations.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly clashed with Doria and other governors over measures against Covid-19, which has claimed nearly 485,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.
The president regularly criticizes stay-at-home measures and face masks, instead touting medications such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine despite studies showing they are ineffective against Covid-19.
Addressing a giant crowd of flag-waving supporters, Bolsonaro renewed his comments against face masks, saying he planned to order mask requirements be lifted for people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
"Anyone who's against that doesn't believe in science. There's no way a vaccinated person can transmit the virus," he said.
In fact, there is little scientific consensus yet on whether vaccinated individuals risk spreading the coronavirus. Public health officials have generally urged them to continue wearing masks in risky situations.
State officials said they had fined Bolsonaro, his congressman son, Eduardo, and Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Gomes for failing to wear masks and observe social distancing measures at the rally.
Each was fined 552.71 reais, or about $108.
The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/brazils-bolsonaro-fined-100-for-maskless-motorcyle-rally-in-sao-paulo-2462646">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/brazils-bolsonaro-fined-100-for-maskless-motorcyle-rally-in-sao-paulo-2462646</a>

news world Brazil's Bolsonaro Fined $100 For Maskless Motorcyle Rally In Sao Paulo

At the rally, Jair Bolsonaro renewed his comments against face masks (File) Sao Paulo, Brazil: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was fined $100 Saturday for violating Covid-19 containment measures in Sao Paulo state by failing to wear a face mask a…

Four-Seater Sightseeing Plane Crashes In France Killing Three

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Four-Seater Sightseeing Plane Crashes In France Killing Three" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-03/3d9746ug_dead-body-generic_625x300_03_March_21.jpg" title="Four-Seater Sightseeing Plane Crashes In France Killing Three" /></div>
The three people were bound for Belgium, the local prosecutor said (Representational)
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Lille, France:
Three people died after a sightseeing plane crashed in northern France Saturday, following what is thought to have been an engine failure, the local prosecutor said.
The four-seater Robin HR 100 had just taken off from an airfield when it crashed and caught fire near Wambrechies, near the city of Lille, said prosecutor Carole Etienne.
Air accident investigators were at the scene, and at this stage, the thinking is that it was an engine failure, said Etienne.
The three people on board, aged 29, 53 and 61, had been bound for Belgium, she added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/four-seater-sightseeing-plane-crashes-in-france-killing-three-2462645">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/four-seater-sightseeing-plane-crashes-in-france-killing-three-2462645</a>

news world Four-Seater Sightseeing Plane Crashes In France Killing Three

The three people were bound for Belgium, the local prosecutor said (Representational) Lille, France: Three people died after a sightseeing plane crashed in northern France Saturday, following what is thought to have been an engine failure, the local…

Shelling Kills 18 In Syria's Rebel-Held Afrin: War Monitor

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Shelling Kills 18 In Syria's Rebel-Held Afrin: War Monitor" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2019-10/h8ciia4o_syria-reuters_625x300_10_October_19.jpg" title="Shelling Kills 18 In Syria's Rebel-Held Afrin: War Monitor" /></div>
The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 (File)
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Beirut:
Shelling of the rebel-held city of Afrin in northern Syria killed at least 18 people on Saturday, many of them when a hospital was hit, a war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a doctor, three hospital staff, two women and two children died at Al-Shifaa hospital in the city which is held by Turkish-backed rebels.
A rebel commander also died at the hospital, the Observatory said, adding that 23 people were injured.
An AFP correspondent shot footage of white-helmeted aid workers in the hospital courtyard strewn with bodies.
"The shelling targeted several areas of the town and hit the hospital", Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP.
"Most of the victims died in shelling on the hospital," the monitoring group said in a statement, warning the casualty toll could rise further with some of the wounded in a critical condition.
The artillery fire originated from northern Aleppo province "where militia faithful to Iran and the (Syrian) regime are deployed, near the zones run by Kurdish forces", the Britain-based group said.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a statement denying any involvement in the shelling.
The region, like all areas held by pro-Turkish rebels, regularly witnesses targeted killings, bombings and shootings.
Syrian regime shelling on the opposition-held Idlib enclave killed 12 people Thursday, one of the deadliest violations of a 15-month-old ceasefire, the war monitor said.
The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/shelling-kills-18-in-syrias-rebel-held-afrin-war-monitor-syrian-observatory-for-human-rights-2462643">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/shelling-kills-18-in-syrias-rebel-held-afrin-war-monitor-syrian-observatory-for-human-rights-2462643</a>

news world Shelling Kills 18 In Syria's Rebel-Held Afrin: War Monitor

The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 (File) Beirut: Shelling of the rebel-held city of Afrin in northern Syria killed at least 18 people on Saturday, many of them when a hospital was hit, a war monitor said…

"We Need More": UN Joins Criticism Of G7 Global Covid Vaccine Pledge

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'We Need More': UN Joins Criticism Of G7 Global Covid Vaccine Pledge" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-01/qirhisf_antonio-guterresreuters_625x300_11_January_21.jpg" title="'We Need More': UN Joins Criticism Of G7 Global Covid Vaccine Pledge" /></div>
UN general secretary Antonio Guterres said the world needs "a global vaccination plan."
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London:
A Group of Seven <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/g7-to-provide-1-billion-covid-vaccine-doses-to-world-by-2023-uk-2461193" target="_self">plan to donate</a> 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries lacks ambition, is far too slow and shows Western leaders are not yet on top of tackling the worst public health crisis in a century, campaigners said on Friday.
While the head of the United Nations welcomed the move, even he said more was needed. Antonio Guterres warned that if people in developing countries were not inoculated quickly, the virus could mutate further and become resistant to the new vaccines.
"We need more than that," he said of the G7 plan. "We need a global vaccination plan. We need to act with a logic, with a sense of urgency, and with the priorities of a war economy, and we are still far from getting that."
US President <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/joe-biden-to-announce-major-covid-vaccine-sharing-plan-ahead-of-g7-summit-2460355" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had used the G7 summit in England to announce the donation of 500 million and 100 million vaccines respectively for the world's poorest nations.
Canada is expected to commit to sharing up to 100 million doses and other pledges may follow after Johnson urged G7 leaders to help inoculate the world's nearly 8 billion people against the coronavirus by the end of next year.
But health and anti-poverty campaigners said that, while donations were a step in the right direction, Western leaders had failed to grasp that exceptional efforts were needed to beat the virus. Help with distribution was also necessary, they said.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has been pushing for richer countries to share more of the cost of vaccinating developing countries, said the G7 pledges were more akin to "passing round the begging bowl" than a real solution.
"It's a catastrophic failure if we can't go away in the next week or two ... with a plan that actually rids the world of Covid now we've got a vaccine," he told Reuters.
Alex Harris at Wellcome, a London-based science and health charitable foundation, challenged the G7 to show the political leadership the crisis demanded.
"What the world needs is vaccines now, not later this year," he said. "We urge G7 leaders to raise their ambition."
'FAILURE'
COVID-19 has ripped through the global economy, with infections reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
The race to end a pandemic that has killed around 3.9 million people and sown social and economic destruction will feature prominently at the three-day summit which began on Friday in the English seaside resort of Carbis Bay.
British foreign minister Dominic Raab warned that other countries were using vaccines as diplomatic tools to secure influence. Britain and the United States said their donations would come with no strings attached.
Vaccination efforts so far are heavily correlated with wealth: the United States, Europe, Israel and Bahrain are far ahead of other countries. A total of 2.2 billion people have been vaccinated according to Johns Hopkins University data.
As most people need two vaccine doses, and possibly booster shots to tackle emerging variants, charity Oxfam said the world would need 11 billion doses to end the pandemic.
"If the best G7 leaders can manage is to donate 1 billion vaccine doses then this summit will have been a failure," Oxfam's health policy manager Anna Marriott said.
Oxfam also called on G7 leaders to support a waiver on the intellectual property behind the vaccines.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said intellectual property rights should not hinder access to vaccines during a pandemic, appearing to back Biden on the subject.
VACCINE OWNERSHIP?
But the pharmaceutical industry has opposed it, saying it would stifle innovation and do little to increase supplies. Britain, which backed Oxford-AstraZeneca's not-for-profit shot, has said a patent waiver is not necessary.
Of the 100 million British shots, 80 million will go to the COVAX programme led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the rest will be shared bilaterally with countries in need.
Johnson echoed Biden in calling on his fellow leaders to make similar pledges and for pharmaceutical companies to adopt the not-for-profit model during the pandemic. The U.S. donation of Pfizer shots will be supplied at cost.
The British doses will be drawn from the stock it has already procured for its domestic programme, and will come from suppliers Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, Moderna and others.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-we-need-more-un-joins-criticism-of-g7-global-vaccine-pledge-2462591">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-we-need-more-un-joins-criticism-of-g7-global-vaccine-pledge-2462591</a>

news world "We Need More": UN Joins Criticism Of G7 Global Covid Vaccine Pledge

UN general secretary Antonio Guterres said the world needs "a global vaccination plan." London: A Group of Seven plan to donate 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries lacks ambition, is far too slow and shows Western leaders are not ye…