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Top story – Animal welfare and protection – Protecting animals from cruelty and extinction
Stay up to date on how the EU ensures animals’ welfare and promotes preservation and conservation.
Liverpool crowned Premier League champions for first time
EURONEWS – Liverpool have been crowned Premier League champions, winning their first domestic league title in 30 years.
Celebrations lasted late into the evening with red smoke engulfing the sky near Anfield Stadium despite limits on gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The victory comes after Manchester City, ranked second in the league, lost to Chelsea 2-1, leaving Liverpool 23 points ahead.
Liverpool have seven games left in the league, making them the earliest title winners in terms of matches.
But they’re also the latest title winners after the season was delayed for over three months due to the ongoing pandemic.
“I have no words, it’s unbelievable. It’s much more than I ever thought would be possible. Becoming champion with this club is absolutely incredible,” said the club’s German manager Jürgen Klopp in an emotional reaction to the win.
The 2019/2020 season just restarted last week with games played in empty stadiums, broadcast only on television. Coronavirus testing is conducted twice weekly in order for the season to continue.
“It’s a relief because of the 3-month interruption,” Klopp added. He and the players were able to watch the game together.
But Liverpool fought hard, winning against every single team they faced this season.
Klopp took over the team in October 2015 in what was called a new era for it. Last year, Liverpool won their sixth Champions League title.
The last time Liverpool were English champions was after the 1989/1990 season.
PES declaration strongly urges the European Council to agree on an ambitious Recovery Plan for COVID-19
The members of Europe’s socialist and democratic family call on the European Council to endorse the Commission’s “Next Generation EU” plan, and adopt documents on fighting racism and on affordable healthcare
Meeting by videoconference, the PES Presidency today adopted a declaration calling for an ambitious Recovery Fund so the EU can overcome the COVID-19 crisis and move towards a green, social, digital, gender-equal, inclusive and sustainable future.
After the Declaration was adopted, PES President Sergei Stanishev said:
“Three months ago, no one would have expected that this pandemic would become the biggest stress test of European societies in decades. It is the duty of Europe’s leaders to live up to this historic moment, to do their duty and to act together and set the recovery in motion.
“Socialists and democrats want to see the recovery in action, and fast. Our member states cannot afford to wait. The European Council must back the recovery plan at its next meeting. Further delay will be damaging for the citizens, businesses and communities which have been hit hard.
“Our political family is clear: the recovery must pave the way for a fairer and more sustainable society. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of 2008. Our societies will not survive further rounds of austerity. We need a proper recovery which protect jobs and moves us towards a carbon-free, digital, democratic and gender equal future.”
The declaration adopted by the Presidency – Saving lives, saving jobs – PES strategy to contain and recover from the COVID-19 crisis – summarises the collective ambitions of the socialist and democratic family to achieve a fair and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Alongside a fair and sustainable recovery, affordable and quality healthcare for all and the fight against racism were also on the agenda of today’s PES Presidency meeting.
The Affordable quality healthcare for all declaration focuses on the important lessons that must be learnt from COVID-19, including guaranteeing universal access to affordable and quality healthcare to all citizens. The final declaration – The PES stands strong against racism, xenophobia and discrimination – reaffirms the socialist and democratic family’s commitment to the fight against racism.
At the Presidency PES Women reiterated its call for the creation of a formal Council configuration for Gender Equality.
Religious scholar laments: Turkish Christians ‘a welcome scapegoat’
CNA Staff, Jun 25, 2020 / 05:41 pm MT (CNA).- According to a scholar of comparative religion, Christians in Turkey are being persecuted by the Turkish government, in part to distract attention from its recent setbacks in foreign policy.
Alexander Görlach, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs a distraction from his failures, and Christians can provide just that.
“While the world is busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with mass unemployment and a global recession, the Turkish government is taking advantage of the situation to further pressure minorities,” Görlach said in a June 23 opinion piece for Deutsche Welle, a German public broadcaster.
His assessment of the plight of Turkish Christians, one of the oldest populations of Christians in the world, comes after years of systemic discimination against minorities. Minorities make up 0.2% of the Turkish population, according to the 2020 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Turkey. The vast majority of the population, including Erdogan, are Sunni Muslims.
Although the Turkish constitution “guarantees the freedom of conscience, religious belief, and conviction” and designates the country a “secular state,” according to USCIRF Erdogan’s administration uses an Islamic nationist rhetoric to discriminate against minorities.
Contrary to Turkey’s claim to a secular status, the government includes both the Directorate of Religious Affairs, which supervises Muslim practices in the country, and the General Directorate of Foundations, which manages the activities of minority religious groups.
Precipitating the USCIRF designation of Turkey to the “Special Watch List” for offenses against religious freedom, the Turkish government barred the elections of non-Muslim groups from taking place, leaving some religious groups without leaders.
One such group, the Armenian Apostolic Church, was left without a functioning Patriarch of Constantinople for 11 years while the government blocked their elections, according to the USCIRF report.
Religious rights groups were also alarmed when officials arrested Fr. Sefer Bileçen, a Syriac Orthodox priest, on terrorism charges after he gave bread and water to members of an illegal Kurdish separatist group, in January. Although the priest said that he felt it was his Christian duty to help those who come to the monastery door, he faced charges of “helping and abetting” terrorists, and at least seven and a half years in prison.
In addition, the Turkish government has appropriated many Chirstians’ land after they fled from the area during the recent Turkish military offensive. As they return, they find that they have nowhere to settle.
Turkish leaders said that Turkey’s designation to the USCIRF Special Watch List is unwarranted.
Hami Aksoy, a spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claimed that the designation itself reveals an anti-Muslim bias underlying USCIRF.
“The report contains baseless, unaccredited and vague allegations as in the past years while trying to portray isolated incidents as violations of religious freedoms through far-fetched accusations,” Aksoy said. “It is clear that the Commission, which has been accused of being anti-Muslim in the past, has drawn up this report based on its unwarranted agenda and priorities under the influence of circles that are hostile to Turkey, rather than objective criteria.”
When the United States retreated from Syria in 2019, Christians in the Middle East feared threats from Turkey.
“We are gravely concerned regarding the recent draw down of the U.S. presence in Iraq,” Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Ebril said. He was one of the leading voices on behalf of displaced Christians in the Middle East. Without the U.S. presence in Iraq, he and many others feared persecution by Islamic nationalist groups.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was confident that even without the U.S. presence in Iraq, the U.S. would be able to continue to protect religious minorities in the Middle East.
“The United States will work hand in hand from this day forward with faith-based groups and private organizations to help those who are persecuted for their faith. This is the moment, now is the time, and America will support these people in their hour of need,” Pence said.
Görlach, who wrote the opinion piece detailing the threat that the Turkish government poses to Christians, is not so confident.
“Step by step, using a nationalist and Islamic rhetoric, Turkey’s Christians are becoming a welcome scapegoat for Ankara,” said Görlach. “Erdogan has miscalculated on various fronts in Syria and Libya, and is now looking for someone to serve as a distraction.”
CSW calls for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy on FoRB
EU FoRB Day – A call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief outside of the European Union
By CSW’s Europe Liason Officer Alessandro Pecorari
Seven years ago, the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) were adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council. Today, the FoRB community celebrates this informally as ‘EU FoRB Day’ and civil society take this opportunity to call for the renewal of the mandate of the Special Envoy.
This past April came and went with no decision by the Commission on the future of the mandate of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) outside the EU, which ended on 30 November 2019.
In January 2019, one of the last resolutions by the last EU Parliament was to lend its support to the renewal. The COVID-19 crisis notwithstanding, the Commission’s hesitation despite letters by MEPs and civil society calling for the renewal of the mandate, sends a signal to Europeans and the international community about its reticence to continue to promote this fundamental right.
Freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It protects the right of individuals to practise the religion or belief of their choice, or none at all – a freedom which is under threat in many parts of the world.
Against this backdrop, the Special Envoy role matters a great deal.
The mandate has had time to show that it is an effective tool in the EU’s diplomatic arsenal. On this very day in 2013 the EU Member States approved the ‘EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief’ which provide the policy framework for the Special Envoy’s mandate and are essential tools promoting FoRB in the EU’s external relations and in the EU’s international cooperation and development.
Dr Figel has supported the implementation of these Guidelines, making 17 official country visits to a wide range of countries. Whilst in country, the Envoy would regularly engage with national authorities and institutions, civil society, human rights organisations, as well as religious leaders and communities.
Moreover, the Special Envoy has illustrated to governments how FoRB can be promoted and protected effectively through the EU’s external action, for example, Asia Bibi, who spent years on death row in Pakistan on unfounded charges of blasphemy, acknowledged the role of the Special Envoy in securing her freedom in her first public appearance following her release. Likewise, Czech national Petr Jašek, who was jailed alongside two Sudanese pastors, also acknowledged Dr Figel’s role in securing his freedom.
Key to such success is the manner in which the EU Special Envoy is viewed as a neutral broker by many countries, which in turn has been critical in fostering dialogue among opposing actors. As a result, the European Commission had sent a strong signal to all international and multi-lateral partners about the efficacy and concrete results the Special Envoy yields for the EU and the wider international human rights-based approach. Not renewing the mandate would send mixed messages and forgo four years of constructive work.
Today, as the FoRB community commemorates the seven-year anniversary of the EU Guidelines on FoRB, the EU should honour this fruitful diplomatic post by renewing the mandate; it owes it to itself, Member States and to its founding fathers, whose principles of human dignity and common good are ever-relevant in the continual promotion of FoRB.
Statement on racial prejudice spurs vital conversation in the US
The statement comes at a moment when recent tragedies and long history have intersected to bring anti-Black racism and other forms of prejudice to the forefront of public consciousness in the United States and across the world.
The message reads in part: “To create a just society begins with recognition of the fundamental truth that humanity is one. But it is not enough simply to believe this in our hearts. It creates the moral imperative to act, and to view all aspects of our personal, social, and institutional lives through the lens of justice. It implies a reordering of our society more profound than anything we have yet achieved. And it requires the participation of Americans of every race and background, for it is only through such inclusive participation that new moral and social directions can emerge.”
The statement was released on 19 June, a date traditionally dedicated to commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Initially published in the Chicago Tribune, it has also appeared in dozens of other publications, reaching a wide range of people.
Youth across the country have been examining how the statement can assist them in their efforts to contribute to greater harmony and understanding among their fellow compatriots. Participants in a recent national forum on race unity drew on ideas from the statement to illuminate their discussions.
The message voiced by the National Assembly is one of hope, speaking about what is required to address the root causes of racism: sustained and concerted effort guided by the recognition of the fundamental truth that the human family is one.
This view is informed by the experience of a national Baha’i community in which, since its inception at the turn of the 20th century, people of African and European descent and eventually of all origins have joined hands to labor towards the elimination of racial prejudice.
May Lample of the country’s Baha’i Office of Public Affairs says that this message addresses profound questions that people are raising. “Americans are asking who we are as a society. What do we believe, and what will we tolerate? How much longer will we allow suffering to continue before we take action to make substantive change?”
P.J. Andrews, also of the Office, says: “In the culture of ‘othering’ in which we’re embedded, diversity can be seen as a source of weakness. But in truth diversity is a source of wealth. Unity in diversity is something that strengthens us spiritually as a society.”
Speaking about current circumstances, Anthony Vance, Director of the Office of Public Affairs, states: “It is remarkable that in just a short span of weeks, demands for racial justice have not only been strongly renewed but are made with a much broader base of support throughout the US population. With smart phones everywhere to record events, injustices that the Black community has spoken about for generations have become indisputable fact. Large segments of society have become conscious of this reality to a degree where inaction becomes untenable. In seizing this opportunity to act, Baha’is seek to undertake or expand activities, learn, think systematically, and, perhaps most importantly, persist over the long term to make a lasting advance toward justice and unity.”
Novak Djokovic: Serbian tennis star and wife test positive for COVID-19
EURONEWS – Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organised in Serbia and Croatia.
The World No 1 ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar. His wife also tested positive.
“The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena’s, while the results of our children are negative,” Djokovic said in a statement.
Djokovic has been criticized for organising the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country.
Fellow Serb Viktor Troicki said earlier on Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife had both been diagnosed with the virus. Current world No 19 Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said on Sunday he had tested positive. The fourth player diagnosed with COVID-19 was Borna Coric (ranked 33rd), who played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar.
Djokovic was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar. He left Croatia after the final was cancelled and he was tested in Belgrade.
He said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologised to anyone who became infected as a result of the series.
The tennis star defended his reasons for holding last week’s tournament, despite the subsequent coronavirus outbreak.
“Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions. Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region”, his statement said.
Djokovic added that it was aimed at helping up and coming players from southeastern Europe deprived of competitive play during the pandemic.
“It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this.
“We organised the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met,” Djokovic said.
“Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.”
ALDE President welcomes French-Dutch dialogue
On Tuesday 23 June, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, where they discussed the next EU budget.
Recent discussions on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) have split the EU into two sides and to prepare for the next round of negotiations, Macron and Rutte discussed the proposed recovery package of €750 billion in grants and loans. This package is an important part of the proposed European budget amounting to €1 850 billion for the 2021-2027 period.
ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen welcomes the dialogue between two state leaders as an important step to rebuild the EU.
President of the European Council Charles Michel will host the next discussion on this topic on 17-18 July in Brussels.Hans van Baalen✔@hansvanbaalen
Climate change: Global sports ‘playing against the clock’
A new report warns that the sporting industry is “playing against the clock” and confronts major disruptions due to climate change.
Changing meteorological patterns have already affected the Summer and Winter Olympics, premier football divisions, tennis, athletics, golf, and cricket, according to a report from the Rapid Transition Alliance. However, the worst is yet to come, according to the report.
It warns that within the next three decades, one-fourth of English league football grounds will be at risk of flooding each season, one-third of British Open golf courses will be damaged by rising sea levels, and one-half of previous Winter Olympic host cities will no longer be able to reliably conduct winter sports.
It underscored the fact that climate change has already disrupted a number of prominent sporting events.
Some contests at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan were cancelled due to unprecedented pacific typhoons; the New York triathlon and multiple horse races were also cancelled in 2019 due to a heatwave in the Northern Hemisphere.
During the 2014 Australian Open, when four days of temperatures above 41C were recorded, over a thousand spectators were treated for heat exhaustion, Caroline Wozniacki’s plastic bottle dissolved, and Wilfred Tsonga’s shoes melted.
Earlier in the year, the tournament was interrupted by haze from devastating bushfires.
Five competitors retired from the 2018 US Open due to heat-related issues. Temperatures on the court reached 49 degrees Celsius, necessitating the first application of the tournament’s extreme heat policy, which calls for extended breaks between games.
Organizers of the 2010 Vancourter Winter Games commented that “the warmest weather on record… hampered our ability to prepare fields of play for athletes at the venues in Cypress Mountains,” whereas competitors in Sochi, in 2014, complained of a dearth of snow.
As for the Summer Games, Tokyo 2020 organizers had to relocate long-distance running events nearly 1,000 kilometres north of the capital due to the city’s humid summer climate.
“Sport is not merely a victim of change, but also a significant contributor,” the report states.
“The IOC’s [International Olympic Committee] carbon footprint is comparable to that of Barbados, while global football’s imprint is even larger. “Sporting events are responsible for massive amounts of aviation, carbon-heavy stadium construction, and mountains of non-recycled waste, all of which contribute significantly to the catastrophe we face today,” the report continues.
Andrew Simms, the coordinator of the Rapid Transition Alliance, emphasized that “sport offers some of the most influential role models in society.”
“More will follow if sport can alter its operations with the pace and scope required to halt the climate emergency. If its participants also state that they believe clean air and a stable climate are important, millions more will recognize the potential for change, he added.
The first step for the organization would be to stop accepting sponsorships from fossil fuel companies. It then urges all global sporting federations, professional sports leagues, and tours to sign the UN Sport for Climate Action Framework and demands the Framework to be more stringent.
It was proposed that by 2030, any global sporting events or excursions that are not carbon-neutral should be cancelled or postponed until they are and that carbon-neutral sports federation should be excluded from the Olympics.
In addition, fewer tournaments and competitions may be part of the solution, the report stated.
Bertrams Goes Bankrupt
The drawn-out saga of the potential sale of the Bertram Group, one of two major U.K. wholesalers, came to a conclusion today with the news that the business has gone into administration. A statement on behalf of administrators Turpin Barker Armstrong (TBA) was received by the U.K. publishing newsletter BookBrunch confirming the company had gone bankrupt.
“We can confirm that Bertram Trading Limited, the global book wholesaler, has entered administration along with Education Umbrella Limited, a supplier of textbooks and digital education resources and Dawson Books Limited, an academic and professional library supplier,” the statement reads. “Book wholesalers have suffered from falling demand in recent years due to changes in the distribution model for literature and the rising popularity of e-books. These factors, combined with the Covid-19 related closure of many public libraries and educational facilities, meant these businesses could no longer operate viably.”
According to TBA, it has reached agreements with two parties to sell “the tangible assets and unencumbered stock of Bertram Trading Limited and for the intangible assets of Education Umbrella Limited and it is hoped that these will be completed shortly.”
TBA said that with the bankruptcy and asset sales, the majority of Bertrams’ employees have been let go, “with a small number retained to manage the winding down of operations. We are liaising with all employees impacted regarding their statutory rights and to direct them to support from the relevant government agencies.”
There is no word yet on how much money will be repaid to creditors. Publishers are believed to be owed considerable sums, but they will come behind the taxman and staff.
The wholesaler was advertised for sale by its parent company, equity group Aurelius, in mid-May, with Middleton Barton Asset Valuation handling the disposal. It was described as ‘a leading B2B Books wholesaler’ with a 185,000 sq ft leasehold warehouse, 200,000 titles in stock and an annual turnover of £250 million.
In late May, the Bertline online sales system was bought out of the business by the Booksellers Association. Also in May, Elliott Advisors, owner of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, bought Wordery, Bertrams’ online bookselling division. Wordery will be a separate business from Waterstones.
Bertram had escaped earlier brushes with closing. In March 2009 it was rescued in a deal with Smiths News, which paid £9 million for the business and agreed to settle publishers debts of £16 million, after Bertram was dragged down by the collapse of parent company Woolworths in the autumn of 2008. At that stage the wholesaler’s revenue was about £125 million. In 1999, Kip Bertram had sold the company he and his late mother, Elsie, had founded for between £35 million and £40 million.
Similar to what happened in the U.S. when Baker & Taylor’s decision to exit the trade wholesaling market left Ingram has the only national wholesaler, Bertram’s collapse leaves Gardners as remaining national wholesaler in the U.K.
A version of this story first appeared in BookBrunch.
