Russia threatens Europe with strikes while gnawing at Ukraine’s east
The United States on Tuesday provided the first official confirmation that its long-range Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) were in use in Russia, as Europe absorbed the ramifications of Russia’s retaliatory response with an intermediate ballistic missile that could strike “anywhere in Europe”. As the question of strategic escalation swirled around NATO capitals and Moscow, Russian forces continued a dogged advance through Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, seizing more villages. “Right now, they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves, you know, in an immediate-need basis,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “And right now, you know, understandably, that’s taking place in and around Kursk, in the Kursk oblast.” In a change of communications tactics, the Russian Ministry of Defence, too, acknowledged Ukrainian ATACMS strikes. Moscow authorities have often fudged Ukrainian missile and drone hits, claiming “falling debris” from a destroyed incoming missile has struck infrastructure and inflamed it. (Al Jazeera) But on Tuesday Russia’s Defence Ministry acknowledged that ATACMS struck an S-400 air defence radar at Lotarevka on Saturday and the Khalino airfield on Monday. Both objects are about 90km (560 miles) from Ukrainian front-line positions in Kursk. Geolocated footage confirmed the hits. The apparent reason for Russian acknowledgement is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promise to retaliate as appropriate when ATACMS or other long-range weapons are used. Britain and France have licensed Ukraine to fire 200km-range (120-mile) SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. Russia fired a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile at the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro last Thursday, in retaliation against the first ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes earlier in the week. The missile, dubbed Oreshnik and carrying six warheads, was aimed at a missile and aerospace factory. Ukrainian officials said it caused no serious damage. (Al Jazeera) In a television address after the Oreshnik strike, Putin threatened those European countries whose weapons were used against Russia: “We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities.” “It can hit targets throughout Europe,” said Sergei Viktorovich, commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces in a staged meeting with Putin on Friday. In a more menacing tone, Putin suggested a cluster of Oreshnik missiles would have the effect of a nuclear weapon. “Due to its striking power, especially when used in a massive, group manner, and in combination with other high-precision long-range systems that Russia also has, the results of its use against enemy targets will be comparable in effect and power to strategic weapons.” Can Russia fire many of these missiles? “We have a reserve of such products, a reserve of such systems ready for their use,” Putin said. Vasily Petrovich, first deputy chairman of the Military Industrial Commission, said the Oreshnik had been built “entirely on Russian technologies”, adding that “the issues of import substitution have been resolved” and that Russia’s defence industrial base “allows for the serial production of this type of weaponry”. (Al Jazeera) Non-Russian observers were not so sure. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, told RBC-Ukraine that Russia did not have mass production capacity. “The missile is experimental. We knew for sure that two prototypes were supposed to be made by October, maybe a little more. But this is a prototype,” Budanov said. Oreshnik, which means hazelnut tree, was the codename for the research programme that produced the missile, he added. The missile itself was called Kedr, or cedar. Observers were also unsure that the Kedr represented a new Russian technology, as Putin was eager to suggest. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said it was based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Weapons analysts said it had been in development “for some time”. Kedr warheads were capable of travelling at speeds of 2.5 to 3 kilometres (1 to 2 miles) per second on their final approach to their target, said Putin, making them impossible to intercept with existing technologies. But Russia has used ballistic weapons on Ukraine already. The Kedr used on Thursday was part of a cluster of missiles that included a Kh-47 Khinzal ballistic missile and six Kh-101 cruise missiles. Ballistic missile warheads are very difficult to intercept because of their terminal speed and because they are unguided in their final stage, making them impossible to jam or disorient using electronic warfare. They can best be intercepted at the launch and ascent stages, but Budanov said the Kedr’s entire flight lasted only 15 minutes from launch to impact, leaving a very small interception window. (Al Jazeera) Ukraine and Russia traded more conventional aerial attacks during the past week. Ukraine’s general staff said their forces had struck a Russian oil depot in the Kaluga region on Monday. Russia launched a record number of drones and missiles into Ukraine on Tuesday, including four Iskander ballistic missiles and 188 drones. Russia’s advance in Donetsk was also speeding up, according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank. “The frontline in Donetsk Oblast is becoming increasingly fluid as Russian forces recently have been advancing at a significantly quicker rate than they did in the entirety of 2023,” said the ISW. Russian troops had accelerated their advance in Ukraine and had effectively disrupted Kyiv’s 2025 military campaign, Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov said last week. Russian forces had reportedly seized a string of villages north of Vuhledar, a town they had lost to last year’s Ukrainian counteroffensive but reconquered in October, partly thanks to the use of Starlink satellite communication terminals, which helped them to speed up their counterbattery fire. “Russian forces have significantly increased the tempo of their advances in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, Vuhledar, and Velyka Novosilka directions since September 1, having gained at least 1,103 square kilometres (426 square miles) in these areas,” said the ISW, in contrast with gains of just 387 square kilometres (150 square miles) in all of 2023. The ISW assessed that Russian gains in September averaged 14 square kilometres a day (5.4 square miles), but
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holds as UN chief sees ‘ray of hope’
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has appeared to hold on its first day as thousands of displaced people set out to return to their homes in southern Lebanon despite Israel’s military announcing restrictions on movement in the area. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X on Wednesday that residents would be barred from travelling south of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) from the Israeli border, from 5pm (15:00 GMT) until 7am (05:00 GMT) on Thursday. He said displaced residents would not be allowed to return to villages the army had ordered them to leave as Israeli forces were still present in the area. The ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States and came into effect on Wednesday morning, gives Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military not to allow residents back into the Lebanese villages near the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanon’s army, which has been given the responsibility of ensuring the ceasefire lasts and will take control of southern Lebanon as Israel gradually withdraws its forces, said it has begun deploying additional troops south of the Litani. Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel’s enforcement of the ceasefire would be determined by whether Hezbollah keeps to the agreement. “Hezbollah operatives who approach our troops, the border area and the villages within the area we have marked will be struck. … We are preparing, getting ready for the possibility that this [ceasefire] approach won’t succeed,” he said. Hezbollah claims ‘victory’ In its first public statement since the truce came into effect, Hezbollah said it achieved a “victory” over Israel. “Victory from God almighty was the ally of the righteous cause,” the statement from the Iran-algned group said. Hezbollah fighters “will remain in total readiness to deal with the Israeli enemy’s ambitions and its attacks”, the statement added. Earlier, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for unity after what he said was the “most cruel phase in Lebanese history”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that his government had approved the ceasefire and that he appreciated his “understanding that Israel will maintain its freedom of action in enforcing it”, his office said. Biden released a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, emphasising that both countries “will work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure this arrangement is fully implemented and enforced”. Hezbollah began launching rockets towards Israel on October 8, 2023, in what it said was solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Cross-border attacks persisted for months. Israel’s military escalated the fighting in September, bombarding areas across the country and then launching a ground offensive in October. At least 3,823 people have been killed and 15,859 wounded in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities. ‘Ray of hope’ Despite Israel’s warning of restrictions on movement, displaced Lebanese residents piled into cars carrying mattresses and drove through the heavily bombed southern city of Tyre to go back to areas they had been forced to leave. Shams Fakih, a resident from Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, told Al Jazeera: “Once they let us return to our village, we will go there, but now we’re going to another village [in] Debeen, where my brother who was fighting for the resistance was killed.” Others were not able to return to their home villages as Israeli forces had yet to withdraw from the area. Hussam Arrout, a father of four, told the Reuters news agency that he was desperate to go home, but Israeli forces were still in southern Lebanon. “The Israelis haven’t withdrawn in full. They’re still on the edge. So we decided to wait until the army announces that we can go in. Then we’ll turn the cars on immediately and go to the village,” he said. Displaced Lebanese Assaad Bzih is driving with his belongings piled on top of his car near his destroyed home in Zibqin in southern Lebanon [Aziz Taher/Reuters] After the ceasefire announcement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the agreement was the “first ray of hope” in the regional war. “It is essential that those who signed the ceasefire commitment respect it in full,” he said in a televised statement during a visit to Lisbon, adding that UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon were ready to monitor the ceasefire. “I received an auspicious sign yesterday, the first ray of hope for peace amid the darkness of the past months,” he said, adding: “It is a moment of great importance, especially for civilians who were paying an enormous price of this spreading conflict.” Guterres also reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
FBI confirms Trump cabinet picks targeted with bomb threats, ‘swatting’
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States has issued a statement confirming that several picks for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration have been the subject of threats in the days since their nominations. “The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners,” the bureau said on Wednesday. “We take all potential threats seriously and, as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.” The short statement echoed reports from within the Trump transition team itself. Earlier in the day, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt indicated that cabinet nominees such as Lee Zeldin and Elise Stefanik were among those targeted. “Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she wrote in a press release. Zeldin, a former congressman from New York, posted about his experience on social media, confirming he and his family were safe. “A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message,” said Zeldin, who has been tapped by Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Stefanik, a US representative from New York and Trump’s pick to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, issued a statement through her office explaining that she too had been the subject of a bomb scare. “This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband, and their three year old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence,” the statement said. “New York State, County law enforcement, and US Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism.” Citing an anonymous law enforcement official, The Associated Press news agency also reported that incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, former attorney general pick Matt Gaetz, and his replacement Pam Bondi were targeted as well. The FBI cited instances of “swatting”, in which law enforcement is called to a home or office under false pretences, creating a potentially dangerous situation for the person inside. Recent incidents like the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, have heightened concerns about the threat of political violence in the US. That riot saw thousands of Trump supporters storm the US Congress in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. A 2023 investigation from the news agency Reuters found 213 cases of political violence happened in the years since the Capitol riot. Concerns over political violence continued into the 2024 election cycle, when Trump faced two apparent assassination attempts. One, in July, resulted in a bullet grazing Trump’s ear while he stood on stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. An audience member, firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed in the attack. A second attempt on Trump’s life was averted outside his golf resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September, when a gunman was discovered hiding in the bushes. Also in September, the city of Springfield, Ohio, also received hoax bomb threats at its government buildings, after Trump depicted the local Haitian American population as a threat. In the aftermath of those threats, politicians on both sides of the aisle called for voters to “turn down the temperature” on hostile political rhetoric. One study even found that tolerance for “partisan violence” declined among Republicans after the assassination attempts. “We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer,” President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said in a speech. Then-candidate Donald Trump greets Lee Zeldin at a campaign event at a Pennsylvania farm on September 23 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo] Trump, meanwhile, accused Democrats of spurring the violence, though critics point out he has shown little aversion to painting political opponents as dangerous enemies. “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” Trump wrote on social media in September. He also told Fox News that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his rival in the presidential race, were to blame. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out,” he said. There is, however, no evidence that any of the attacks against Trump were motivated by his Democratic rivals. Still, on Wednesday, Leavitt pointed to Trump as a role model for how to handle the recent threats. “With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us,” Leavitt said. Adblock test (Why?)
Will the US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon hold?
Agreement ends more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli military. At least 3,823 people killed, more than 1.2 million displaced and estimated economic losses of $8.5bn. Lebanon’s prime minister is calling Hezbollah’s nearly 14-month conflict with Israel the “cruellest phase” in the country’s history. The ceasefire offers hope for a return to peace and a chance for people to rebuild their lives. But the agreement has raised questions: Is the underfunded Lebanese army in a position to enforce the terms of the deal? And how fragile will the situation be in the next 60 days, when Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters withdraw from southern Lebanon? Presenter: Tom McRae Guests: Jamal Ghosn – Political commentator Randa Slim – Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at the Middle East Institute Drew Mikhael – Non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute of Middle East Policy Adblock test (Why?)
US slaps sanctions on Venezuelan officials over post-election crackdown
The US says its sanctions target 21 individuals involved in anti-democratic practices and the repression of protests. The United States has announced sanctions against 21 allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, citing alleged involvement in the suppression of protests following a contested July election. Officials with the US Department of the Treasury said on Wednesday that the harsh crackdown, in which at least 25 protesters were killed, was an effort to stifle dissent. More than 2,400 protesters were arrested during the demonstrations. “Maduro and his representatives’ repressive actions in the wake of the Venezuelan presidential election are a desperate attempt to silence the voices of its citizens,” Bradley Smith, the acting undersecretary of the Treasury Department, said in a statement. The sanctions come months after a July 28 presidential election in which Maduro claimed victory, despite pre-election polling showing him losing by an insurmountable margin. When the election results were announced without the usual breakdown of votes, the opposition denounced the tally as fraudulent. It published copies of ballot sheets online that it said proved opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won the race. International observers also questioned the election results. “Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic,” The Carter Center, a US-based nonprofit, wrote in a news release afterwards. Last week, the administration of US President Joe Biden recognised Gonzalez as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. It is unclear what effect that announcement, along with the new round of sanctions, will have on Venezuela. A separate news release from the US Department of State said that the sanctions target “members of the security forces and cabinet-level officials” who “undermined a competitive and inclusive electoral process in Venezuela or are responsible for acts of repression”. “Maduro’s security apparatus has engaged in widespread abuses, including killings, repression and mass detention of protestors,” the State Department wrote. The release also said that such sanctions have been applied to a total of 180 current and former Venezuelan officials, including today’s batch. Nearly 2,000 people face visa restrictions for their alleged role in the electoral repression as well. The Maduro government has faced growing diplomatic isolation following the election, which awarded the bus-driver-turned-president a third term in office. Some leaders in the region, including Brazil’s Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, had previously expressed a desire for stronger ties with Venezuela. But both men have since cast doubt on the legitimacy of Maduro’s victory and called for the release of voting tallies that could confirm the government’s claims. Maduro’s government has yet to release such documentation. Gonzalez, meanwhile, left Venezuela after the government issued a warrant for his arrest, part of a wider campaign against members of the opposition. He is currently in Spain. Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu says Israel to appeal against ICC arrest warrants over Gaza war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel urged the court to suspend the warrants against him and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pending the outcome of the appeal. Israel has told the International Criminal Court that it will appeal against arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over their actions in the war on Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said, as France said it believes the Israeli officials have “immunity” from the warrants. Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that Israel also urged the ICC to suspend the warrants against him and Gallant for alleged “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” pending the appeal. The court said last week there were reasonable grounds to believe the officials were responsible for using “starvation as a method of warfare” in Gaza by restricting supplies of humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory. “The State of Israel denies the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and the legitimacy of the arrest warrants,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office read. “Israel today submitted a notice to the International Criminal Court of its intention to appeal to the court, along with a demand to delay the execution of the arrest warrants,” it added. The move has come after France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said it believed the officials benefit from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court. France’s view, issued a day after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah brokered by the US and France, was criticised by rights groups. Other countries, including Italy, have also questioned the legality of the mandate. France’s stance Paris has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position, after the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on November 21 for the Israeli officials and a leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas. After initially saying it would adhere to the ICC statutes, France’s Foreign Ministry fine-tuned that in a second statement on November 22 amid concerns that Israel could scupper efforts for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it noted that the court’s decision merely formalised an accusation. On Wednesday, the ministry pointed out that the Rome Statute that established the ICC provided that a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations “with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC”. “Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers and will have to be taken into consideration should the ICC request their arrest and surrender.” It said France intended to continue to work closely with Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities “to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East”. ‘Deeply problematic’ Rights groups suggested France had tempered its response to maintain a working relationship with Netanyahu and his government. “Some shocking nonsense from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office – not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one,” Andrew Stroehlein, European media director at Human Rights Watch wrote on X. Rights group Amnesty International said France’s position was “deeply problematic”. “Rather than inferring that ICC indictees may enjoy immunity, France should expressly confirm its acceptance of the unequivocal legal duty under the Rome Statute to carry out arrest warrants.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday that Rome had many doubts about the legality of the ICC mandates and clarity was needed on whether high state officials had immunity from the arrest. “Netanyahu would never go to a country where he can be arrested … The arrest of Netanyahu is unfeasible, at least as long as he is prime minister,” he said. France has been involved in efforts to end fighting in the Middle East and, with the United States, helped broker the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire that came into effect on Wednesday. Adblock test (Why?)
Video: Namibians vote in contested presidential and parliamentary elections
NewsFeed Namibian voters waited in long queues to cast their votes in one of the nation’s most competitive elections. The governing SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation) party faces growing frustration among voters over high unemployment and inequality. Published On 27 Nov 202427 Nov 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
China launches corruption probe against Defence Minister Dong Jun: Report
Investigation is part of a broader probe into military corruption that unseated Dong’s two predecessors. China has launched an investigation of Defence Minister Dong Jun due to suspicion of corruption, according to reports. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper The Financial Times said on Wednesday that Dong is the latest official to be caught up in a broad crackdown on corruption in the country’s military. For the meantime, the report is unconfirmed. Chinese officials failed to respond to requests for comment or confirmation from news agencies on Wednesday morning. China’s military has undergone a sweeping anticorruption purge since last year, with at least nine People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals and several defence industry executives removed from the national legislative body to date. Dong would be the third Chinese defence minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption, unnamed US officials told the FT. ‘The trust of the party’ Dong, a former PLA Navy chief, was appointed defence minister in December 2023. He is responsible for China’s military diplomacy with other nations. He oversaw a recent thaw in US-China military ties, with both nations holding theatre-level commander talks for the first time in September. Dong’s predecessor, Li Shangfu, was removed after seven months into the job, and then expelled from the Communist Party, for offences that included bribery, according to state media. He has not been seen in public since. Li’s predecessor, Wei Fenghe, was also kicked out of the party and passed on to prosecutors for alleged corruption. A Communist Party statement at the time said the pair “betrayed the trust of the party and the Central Military Commission, seriously polluted the political environment of the military, and caused great damage to … the image of its senior leaders”. They were found to have received huge sums of money in bribes and to have “sought personnel benefits” for others, the statement said. According to experts, this is a blow to the party and the role. “It’s certainly a blow … because one would imagine they will be super careful to have someone very clean in this role,” Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told the AFP news agency. “Graft probes are very commonly targeted at the military because of the long historical ties between the business world and the PLA,” he said. At least two other high-ranking officers connected to the Rocket Force, a relatively new unit of the Chinese military, have also been removed for corruption. Victor Shih, an expert on China’s elite politics, told AFP that Dong “likely had authority over tens of billions in procurement per year” during his time in the navy. “The problem is that competition for top positions is so fierce that there might be some mutual recriminations between officers, which would lead to endless cycles of arrests, new appointments and recriminations,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Is Russia poisoning Namibia’s water in its hunt for uranium?
Windhoek and Leonardville, Namibia – Impo Gift Kapamba Musasa holds a hose pipe in one hand and gestures to a garden of cabbages, onions and turnips with the other. He is a teacher in the crumbling village of Leonardville in rural Namibia, where water is becoming scarce. The vegetables, grown for children at the primary school where he teaches, are watered from one of the largest aquifers on earth. The groundwater nourishes tens of thousands of people and is the lifeblood of the Kalahari Desert, which stretches across Namibia, as well as neighbouring Botswana and South Africa. Around Leonardville, 386km (240 miles) from the capital, Windhoek, scrubland meets ochre-coloured dunes known as the “red fingers of the Kalahari” for the way they reach out across the vast desert. Leonardville is a village of cattle farmers subsisting off meagre government handouts and homegrown vegetables, but it also sits on top of vast deposits of uranium – the fuel for nuclear reactors. That has brought the village of a few thousand people some unlikely attention in recent years. Impo Gift Kapamba Musasa grows vegetables for schoolchildren in Leonardville, Namibia [Tom Brown/Al Jazeera] On shop windows and village waypoints, posters appear, bearing the name and logo of a foreign company: Rosatom – Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, one of the world’s largest uranium companies. Rosatom has spent years attempting to set up a mine in eastern Namibia after the country lifted a temporary ban on uranium mining in 2017. The isolated African village has since seen an influx of investment from companies linked to the Russian government. A Rosatom subsidiary, known as Headspring Investments, in 2011 proposed to use a controversial drilling method to extract the uranium, known as “in situ” mining, which involves injecting a solution that includes sulphuric acid down into the aquifer. While Australian miners frequently use the drilling method, it has never been attempted in Africa, and is not usually done around aquifers, mining experts said. While the prospect of financial reward has some locals supporting a potential mine in the area, Rosatom’s proposal has also raised concerns among others in the country. Calle Schlettwein, the minister of agriculture, water and land reform, told Namibia’s National Assembly on February 29 that Headspring’s activities could “endanger the groundwater” in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, “destroying the economic basis for the entire region”. Additionally, because of the need to cool down equipment during uranium mining, the process is also one of the most water-intensive operations. Namibia is becoming hotter and drier because of climate change, leaving residents more dependent on aquifers to grow their food as rainfall decreases. With the prospect of a uranium mine and its effects dangling over their heads, local farmers worry their livelihoods will disappear – for good. “Pollution is going to change people’s livelihoods,” says school teacher Impo, looking at his crops. Some local landowners have even started campaigning against the planned uranium mine, asking the government to consider the risks to their water supply. “Should uranium mining be allowed, it could render the water in the southeastern region of Namibia unfit for human and animal consumption, effectively bringing agriculture to a total and permanent standstill in the area,” said former Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) president, Piet Gouws, speaking to the Namibian Sun in 2022. Just as it seemed that Rosatom was on the cusp of achieving its goal of building the uranium mine, the Namibian government cancelled the drilling permits in November 2021, citing non-compliance with the licence terms. Many farmers hoped this was the last they would hear of Headspring. But Rosatom doubled down – on the ground in Leonardville and by trying to win supporters through softer means. The inauguration of the Rosatom-funded school kitchen in Leonardville, Namibia [Justicia Shipena/Al Jazeera] Trips, truck and influence operations Since 2021, Rosatom has been accused of running an influence campaign in Namibia, sponsoring trips for government officials and reporters to visit Russia, Al Jazeera has found. In April this year, Rosatom subsidiary Uranium One invited Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula to Sochi, Russia, to attend Atomexpo 2024, a nuclear industry event organised by Rosatom, where he spoke about rising cancer cases in his country. Uranium One had earlier donated a four-wheel drive to the Namibian Ministry of Health. Pijoo Nganate, the governor of the Omaheke region where Leonardville is located, has also visited Russia multiple times in trips he confirmed were at least partially funded by Rosatom. Nganate at first refused to answer whether Rosatom sponsored his trips to Russia. “Let them make those claims,” he said when informed via phone of accusations that the leadership in the region was aligning itself with the Russian-state entity, adding: “That’s immaterial, you lose the bigger picture.” He went on to tell Al Jazeera that it was Namibian ministries that had requested some donations in the form of food and medicine from Rosatom, not the other way around, and pointed out the severe unemployment and poverty in Omaheke. The Omaheke region has the smallest population in Namibia, but one of its highest poverty rates, at 51 percent of the population. Other government officials are listed on travel documents, seen by Al Jazeera, as attending multiple sponsored trips to Russia and Kazakhstan between 2022 and 2023. Namibian government officials appearing on these documents include Governor Nganate; Obeth Kandjoze, the director of the National Planning Commission; Hardap regional Governor Salomon April, who said he could not attend; and the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on natural resources, Tjekero Tweya. Phone calls to Kandjoze and Tweya by Al Jazeera, seeking their response, went unanswered. Responding to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the accusations of the company trying to gain influence through donations and sponsored trips, Rosatom spokesperson Riaan van Rooyen said: “It is disheartening to see and hear that there are those cynical people that label Uranium One’s community upliftment efforts as ‘greenwashing’ and even ‘bribery’.” “Those privileged ones have had numerous opportunities and time
Celebrations and heavy traffic as Lebanon ceasefire begins
NewsFeed People in Lebanon celebrated and thousands of cars filled the roads to return home after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. Published On 27 Nov 202427 Nov 2024 Adblock test (Why?)