BELARUSIAN PROTEST LEADER DETAINED BY MASKED MEN - TUT.BY NEWS PORTAL

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020  - by Reuters News Service

Politician and representative of the Coordination Council for members of the Belarusian opposition Maria Kolesnikova

Unidentified masked men detained prominent Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova in central Minsk on Monday morning and drove her off in a minivan, the Belarusian Tut.By media outlet cited a witness as saying.

Kolesnikova, a member of the opposition coordination council, is the last of three female politicians left inside Belarus who joined forces before an Aug. 9 presidential election to try to challenge veteran incumbent Alexander Lukashenko.

A vocal critic of Lukashenko, she has played an important role in weeks of mass demonstrations and strikes by protesters who accuse Lukashenko of rigging his re-election.

He denies that allegation and has accused foreign powers of trying to topple him in a revolution.

Three European Union diplomats told Reuters that the EU is preparing to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarus officials, including the interior minister, later this month in response to the election and subsequent crackdown.

Facing the deepest crisis of his 26-year rule, Lukashenko retains the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has promised to send in police to support him if needed.

Kolesnikova’s abduction, if confirmed, comes as Belarusian authorities appear to be stepping up their efforts to try to halt the protests and obstruct the work of the opposition’s coordination council which they have accused of plotting to overthrow Lukashenko.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country demanding Lukashenko step down. Security forces detained 633 protesters, Belarusian authorities said.

MASKED MEN

An eyewitness, Anastasia, was cited by the Tut.By media outlet as saying she had seen Kolesnikova pushed into a dark-coloured van by masked men in plain clothes in central Minsk.

She said Kolesnikova’s mobile phone had dropped to the ground during the tussle and that one of the masked men detaining her had picked it up before the van sped off.

Kolesnikova’s allies said they were checking the report of her detention, and that they were unable to get in touch with some other members of her team too and were concerned about their safety.

Police in Minsk were cited by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying they had not detained Kolesnikova.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius likened what had happened to Kolesnikova to something that the Stalin-era secet police in the Soviet Union would have done.

“Instead of talking to the people of Belarus, the outgoing leadership is trying cynically (to) eliminate (them) one by one,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The kidnapping…is a disgrace. Stalinist NKVD methods are being applied in 21st century Europe. She must be released immediately”.

Before the election, Kolesnikova had joined forces with opposition presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who later fled to Lithuania, and with Veronika Tsepkalo, who has since left for Poland.

Another leading activist, Olga Kovalkova, arrived in Poland on Saturday, saying she had been told she would face arrest if she stayed in Belarus.

The crisis is hitting the Belarus economy. Central bank figures published on Monday showed the former Soviet republic had burned through nearly a sixth of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, or $1.4 billion, in August, as it fought to prop up its rouble currency during the wave of unrest.

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NAVALNY OUT OF COMA AND RESPONSIVE, SAYS GERMAN HOSPITAL

 pa media 7 September 2020 - by Associated Press Reporter

© Pavel Golovkin Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

The German hospital treating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said he has been taken out of an induced coma and is responsive.

Mr Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany on August 22, two days after falling ill on a domestic flight in Russia.

German chemical weapons experts say tests show that 44-year-old Mr Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent, prompting the German government last week to demand that Russia investigate the case.

Berlin’s Charite hospital said on Monday that Mr Navalny’s condition has improved, allowing doctors to end the medically induced coma and gradually ease him off mechanical ventilation. It noted that he was responding to speech but “long-term consequences of the serious poisoning can still not be ruled out”.

He has been in an induced coma in the Berlin hospital since he was flown to Germany for treatment.

German authorities said last week that tests showed “proof without doubt” that he had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. British authorities identified the Soviet-era Novichok as the poison used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018.

Earlier, chancellor Angela Merkel’s office indicated she might be willing to rethink the fate of a German-Russian gas pipeline project in a sign of Berlin’s growing frustration at Moscow’s stonewalling over the poisoning of Mr Navalny.

© Provided by PA Media German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Markus Schreiber/Pool/AP)

Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas said in an interview on Sunday that the Russian reaction could determine whether Germany changes its long-standing backing of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

“The chancellor also believes that it’s wrong to rule anything out,” Mrs Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters after being asked about Mr Maas’s comments.

Previously, Mrs Merkel had insisted on “decoupling” the Navalny case from the pipeline project, which the US strongly opposes.

In early August, three Republican senators threatened sanctions against the operator of a Baltic Sea port located in Mrs Merkel’s parliamentary constituency over its role as a staging post for ships involved in building Nord Stream 2.

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WHAT IS THE UK INTERNAL MARKET BILL AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

 Sky News 7 September 2020 - by Alix Culbertson, news reporter

The UK Internal Market Bill is causing friction between the UK and the EU after reports said it will override key parts of the Brexit agreement.

© Getty The UK Internal Market Bill will set out how the four nations will trade after Brexit

Due to be published on Wednesday, the bill was proposed in July and sets out the UK government's plans to ensure trade between all four home nations remains barrier-free after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020.

One of the major issues is how that can apply to Northern Ireland when it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland, which will remain in the EU.

People with knowledge of plans for the bill told the Financial Times that sections of it will legally override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, which was signed alongside the Withdrawal Agreement last October.

© PA Northern Ireland will have to stick to some EU rules after the transition period

Sky News explains what the UK internal market is, what the plans are for it and what the Northern Ireland protocol involves.

What is the UK internal market?

Dating back to 1706 and 1707, when the Union between England, Wales and Scotland was created, the internal market ensures there is "open and unhindered trade" across the UK's four nations.

© Getty The UK's devolved nations, including Scotland, have been able to make their own decisions on some trade issues but under the EU's overarching rules

When the UK joined the then-European Economic Community in 1973, most of the British trade laws were replaced by European laws.

The devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the 1990s was made within the context of EU membership, so they had power over some policy areas, such as agriculture, but they could not contravene EU law.

What is the purpose of the UK Internal Market Bill?

The Internal Market Bill aims to maintain the joined-up market to ensure all four of the UK's nations are not limited by regulations determined by each devolved government.

© Getty The bill means all four home nations will be able to trade freely with each other

It also aims to guarantee the international community has access to the UK as a whole, knowing the standards and rules are the same throughout.

© Getty The Northern Ireland protocol aims to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland

When the UK leaves the EU, the devolved powers will have no constraints from the EU so could set up their own rules on issues like food safety.

The bill aims to create common rules that apply across the whole of the UK - essentially replacing the EU's role as the ultimate arbiter of most trade policies.

What are the bill's proposals?

The bill proposes to bring forward legislation that will enshrine "mutual recognition and non-discrimination".

Mutual recognition is defined in the bill as making sure any goods, services and qualifications that can be sold or used in one part of the UK can also be in another part of the UK - with some exceptions for Northern Ireland as laid out in the protocol (scroll down to read more on the protocol).

Non-discrimination laws would make it unlawful for any of the four nations' governments to introduce rules or regulations that would favour goods or services in one part of the UK over another.

An independent body to monitor how the UK's internal market is functioning is also proposed in the bill to oversee the implementation of these principles and to consult with businesses and consumers.

But, the bill says this could not lead to the body directly overturning the decisions of a devolved government.

It also promises Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff will be given new powers to create their own laws in 160 policy areas once the transition period is over.

What is the Northern Ireland protocol?

A crucial part of the Internal Market Bill, and therefore the Withdrawal Agreement, the Northern Ireland protocol aims to avoid the introduction of a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

It states that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK's customs territory so if the UK signs a free trade deal with another country, Northern Irish goods would be included.

However, Northern Ireland will have to stick to some EU rules to allow goods to move freely into the Republic.

Goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland will not be subject to a tariff unless they are "at risk" of being moved into the EU afterwards.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said there will need to be "some checks on some goods" and "some customs processes but not customs checks" at the border with the Republic.

Goods coming from Northern Ireland to Great Britain can have "unfettered" access, according to the proposed Internal Market Bill.

This means that goods sold in Northern Ireland will be accepted everywhere else in the UK, but the reverse may not be true.

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BERLIN CHAIR PROTEST TO BACK CALLS FOR GREEK CAMP EVACUATION

 Associated Press 7 September 2020

© Provided by Associated Press Activists place chairs as part of a protest against racism and for the admission of more migrants by the European Union in front of the Reichstags building in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

BERLIN (AP) — Activists are setting up thousands of chairs outside the German parliament in Berlin to underline their calls to take in migrants from an overcrowded camp on a Greek island.

The 13,000 chairs being set up in front of the Reichstag building on Monday are meant to symbolize the inhabitants of the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, as well the readiness of some German cities and states to take migrants in.

Sea-rescue activist groups that back Monday's action say the first confirmed coronavirus case at Moria adds urgency to long-standing calls for the camp's evacuation.

Greek authorities last week imposed a 14-day quarantine on Moria after one man who had been living in a tent outside the camp fence tested positive for the virus. As of Aug. 31, the Moria camp housed 12,714 people, several times its capacity of 2,757.

Germany's federal government has agreed to take in a total of 243 children from camps in Greece who need medical treatment, as well their closest relatives. So far, 99 of the children have arrived. It also has taken in 53 unaccompanied children evacuated from the camps.

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DOWNING STREET DEFENDS BREXIT PLANS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND

 The Guardian 7 September 2020 - by Jessica Elgot and Lisa O'Carroll

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Downing Street has defended plans to give British ministers unilateral powers over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, putting them on a collision course with the EU and Irish leaders in a week of crunch negotiations.

A No 10 spokesman said the measures were “limited and reasonable” and insisted the UK would remain compliant with the Northern Ireland protocol – despite anger from Brussels and Dublin at the plans leaked overnight.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, warned Boris Johnson not to break international law and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, also reiterated that the EU “demand quite simply, and calmly, and until the end, that the political commitments in the text agreed by Johnson be legally translated into this treaty”.

Johnson’s spokesman said the peace process or the UK’s internal market could be “inadvertently be compromised by unintended consequences of the protocol”.

He said the steps taken in two forthcoming bills would “clarify specific elements of the Northern Ireland protocol in domestic law to remove any ambiguity” and said it would deliver on a manifesto commitment to ensure Northern Ireland’s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the UK.

Government sources said they needed legislation to give ministers powers to fully implement the protocol after Brexit, something that has astonished the Irish government, which is 100% happy that the protocol is legally watertight.

A UK official admitted this would set Britain on a collision course with the EU with “some debate in the EU legal professional who will want clarity on how it will work vis a vis direct effect”.

This is a reference to the EU laws that allow individuals or companies to sue, which will disappear in the UK after Brexit but will continue to apply in Northern Ireland under the special Brexit protocol.

“This is politics over law. I think they are trying to make it clear to the EU that they need to make some movement in the talks and they are using something as sensitive as the Northern Ireland protocol in order to precipitate that. But it is a very high-stakes gamble,” said Catherine Barnard, a professor of European law at Cambridge University.

A UK official briefed on the new powers, which will be set out in the internal market bill and the finance bill over the coming weeks, said Westminster did not believe the new powers undermined the NI protocol agreed in December – a statement likely to be hotly contested in Brussels.

“The government is completely committed, as it always has been, to implementing the NI Protocol in good faith,” a UK official said. “If we don’t take these steps we face the prospect of legal confusion at the end of the year and potentially extremely damaging defaults, including tariffs on goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland.

“We are making minor clarifications in extremely specific areas to ensure that, as we implement the protocol, we are doing so in a way that allows ministers to always uphold and protect the Good Friday peace agreement.”

It is understood officials have advised that these powers must be introduced in the internal market bill and the finance bill, before negotiations conclude, in order to complete the legislation before the transition period finishes at the end of the year.

Under the withdrawal agreement, Northern Ireland will stay in the EU’s single market regardless of whether there is a new deal with the EU on trade and security by the end of the year, including its rules on state subsidies for businesses, known as state aid.

The bloc’s customs code will also be implemented in full on goods coming into the province from the rest of the UK, requiring checks.

However, the legislation planned by the UK government seeks to very narrowly define the obligation to notify Brussels of subsidy decisions for it to approve. Clauses in the bill could also dispense with the requirement for local businesses to file customs paperwork when sending goods into the rest of the UK.

A Downing Street spokesman said the UK was committed to the protocol regardless of achieving a deal and that Johnson had been consistent about how he would proceed.

“The PM has always been publicly clear about what our interpretation of both the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol was, he publicly set out there would be no export summary declarations on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and he also ruled out tariffs on goods moving from GB to NI on several occasions,” the spokesman said. “He set out those positions in advance of the EU signing agreement.”

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EU RECOVERY FUNDS HELD UP OVER ORBAN'S 'RULE OF LAW' ISSUE

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020 - Reuters News Service

Orban holds up EU recovery fund

Agreeing the exact conditions on respecting democracy to attach to the disbursement of European Union funds is a key challenge for implementing the bloc’s plan to revive the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official said on Friday.

The package would also link access to EU funds to respecting democratic principles, which Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to ensure would not hurt him before granting Hungary’s final approval.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits, spoke to Reuters and five other European news agencies after Hungary refused to grant its final approval to the EU recovery plan without guarantees on a linked mechanism on the rule of law.

“There is a difficulty with this topic, it’s not new. But we made a big step on that in July and we must now continue,” Michel said of a deal between the 27 national EU leaders this summer on the economic recovery stimulus.

“When there is a problem, we need to find a solution. And we will find a solution,” he said, without giving details.

Under the deal, the EU’s executive would borrow 750 billion euros ($888 billion) on the market to top up a trillion euros worth of spending under the bloc’s joint budget in 2021-27 to help revive growth.

That still requires approval by the European Parliament, as well as many national, and even some regional parliaments across the EU.

Orban, like his eurosceptic allies in Poland, has long been at loggerheads with the EU over undercutting democracy, and stands accused of undermining the independence of the judiciary, media, academics and advocacy groups in Hungary.

The July agreement was left vague on the rule-of-law conditions to avoid a Polish or Hungarian veto, but the European Parliament wants stronger democratic safeguards.

The question is set to dominate the bloc’s political agenda this autumn, with Spain and Italy that have been hit hardest by the pandemic and hope to secure funds quickly.

“In the end, it all comes down to a question of priorities. Do you want to help southern Europe quickly or do you want an ideal rule of law mechanism?,” said a senior EU diplomat, suggesting the latter was more likely to be sacrificed.

“Given the political realities, it is not very likely that both objectives can be met at the same time,” the person told Reuters under condition of anonymity. “The rule of law will be the most difficult part of the negotiations with the European Parliament.”

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DOCUMENTARIES, ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY ALL IN ONE FESTIVAL - Online 10-13 September

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020 - by Eleni Philippou

A total of 23 documentaries will be screened as part of the 3rd Cyprus Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Documentary Film Festival taking place later this week. Short documentaries from Cyprus, Greece, Chile, the Czech Republic and more will be screened, while parallel activities take place.

It will be the first hybrid Film Festival in Cyprus, as except for the screenings at the Athalassa park, films will also be screened online, through a special platform (https://watch.eventive.org/aei-filmfestival2020).

In this way, the A.E.I. Festival 2020 obtains an international dimension since it will be possible for audiences from all around the world to attend it virtually.

Despite the documentary-focus, other diverse activities will take place from Thursday to Sunday. Two thematic excursions are planned. The first one is on Friday and includes a tour to five important geological points that belong to Troodos Geopark accompanied by officials of the Geological Survey Department. The second will take place on Sunday, a tour by licensed guides to two archaeological sites and two cultural sites that are part of the Aphrodite Cultural Route.

Three photographic exhibitions will also be open to the public during the festival. The first is by Mustafa Ongun, a Turkish Cypriot artist-photographer; the second by the Department of Forests, with archive photos; and the third will include photos that belong to the iLife Troodos program including beautiful landscapes of the National Forest of Troodos.

And that’s not all. On Saturday and Sunday four interactive workshops aimed at children from six to 12 years old are scheduled and will concern archaeology, the environment, the arts, and the musical tradition. For the older crowd and those interested in the art of documentary creation veteran Greek director Dimitris Traggalos will hold a masterclass on Saturday.

 

3rd Cyprus Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Documentary Film Festival

September 10-13. Environmental Information Centre in Athalassa National Forest Park, Nicosia. Online: https://watch.eventive.org/aei-filmfestival2020 Free. Tel: 99-694407

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CORONAVIRUS - 24 ESTABLISHMENTS, INDIVIDUALS BOOKED

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou

Police booked 24 establishments and individuals for not complying with coronavirus measures from Sunday until Monday.

A total of 18 people and six premises were fined while 634 inspections were carried out to limit the spread of the virus.

In Nicosia, four people were booked, in Larnaca seven, in Famagusta three and in the Morphou region four.

One establishment was fined in Nicosia, two in Limassol, one in Larnaca and two in Paphos.

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BREXIT SHOWDOWN AS UK THREATENS TO UNDERMINE DIVORCE TREATY

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020 - by Reuters News Service

Brexit trade talks plunged into crisis on Monday after Britain warned the European Union that it could effectively override the divorce deal it signed unless the bloc agrees to a free trade deal by Oct. 15.

In one of the most startling turns of the 4-year Brexit saga, Britain is planning new legislation that will override key parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement – a step that, if implemented, could threaten a treaty signed in January and stoke tension in Northern Ireland.

Sections of the internal market bill, due to be published on Wednesday, are expected to “eliminate the legal force of parts of the withdrawal agreement” in areas including state aid and Northern Ireland customs, the Financial Times said, citing three people familiar with the plans.

Britain has set a deadline of Oct. 15 to strike a free-trade deal with the European Union, and if none is agreed both sides should “accept that and move on,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say on Monday.

Johnson will say there is no sense in thinking about timelines beyond Oct. 15.

“If we can’t agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on,” he will say, according to comments released by his office.

Britain left the EU on Jan. 31 but talks aimed at clinching a new trade deal before the end of a status-quo transition arrangement in December have so far snagged on state aid rules and fishing.

Without a deal nearly $1 trillion in trade between Britain and the EU could be thrown into uncertainty with rules over everything from car parts and medicines to fruit and data.

BREXIT SHOWDOWN

The reported plan to undermine the Withdrawal Agreement – disclosed on the eve of a new round of talks in London – was condemned by parties on both sides of the Irish border.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, who played a key role in negotiating the withdrawal agreement and Northern Ireland protocol, said on Twitter that the reported move “would be a very unwise way to proceed.”

Senior members of Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein and SDLP parties, the region’s two largest Irish nationalist groups, also criticised the British government’s plan, as reported by the newspaper.

If no deal is agreed, Britain would have a trading relationship with the bloc like Australia’s, which would be “a good outcome”, Johnson will say on Monday.

“As a government we are preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it,” he will say. “We will have full control over our laws, our rules, and our fishing waters.”

In that case, Britain would be ready to find sensible accommodation with the bloc on practical issues such as flights, lorry transport or scientific cooperation, according to the excerpts.

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MINISTRY CAMPAIGN DRAWS ATTENTION TO POISONOUS PLANT

 Cyprus Mail 7 September 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou

A beautiful but poisonous plant, the Colchicum troodi, will bloom from September until November in many areas of Cyprus, the agriculture ministry announced on Monday as it continues its campaign to draw people’s attention to the island’s indigenous plants.

According to the announcement, Colchicum comes from Colchis, an ancient region on the coast of the Black Sea, while troodi was added due to the fact that it was originally found in central Troodos.

“All parts of the plant, especially the seeds, are toxic because they contain colchicine, a poisonous substance which, however, in small doses has medicinal properties and acts as a laxative and diuretic,” the ministry explained.

The genus Colchicum includes about 70 species, distributed in Europe, West Asia and Africa. In Cyprus it is represented by three species, one of which is endemic.

It can be found in several areas in Cyprus, from sea levels to the top of the Troodos mountains.

Many of the plants grow in protected areas of the Natura 2000 network and in forested land.

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