At least 11 people were killed when soldiers tried to overthrow Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the government confirmed Wednesday. 

Embalo said Tuesday evening that many members of the security forces had been killed during the shootings, which lasted five hours.

The dead included military and paramilitary forces and four civilians, including a senior official from the Agriculture Ministry, the Minister of Tourism and spokesman for the government, Fernado Vaz, told a news briefing in the capital Bissau.

He also denounced what he described as a “violent and barbaric” attack aimed at decapitating the state.

Vaz said the attempted coup was planned and perpetrated by people with “ulterior motives" with the support of "people with financial capabilities.”

Heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Bissau on Tuesday, leading to reports of a coup attempt in a country with a history of military takeovers.

While it was not clear whether the attackers were members of the security forces, reports indicated that Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were holding a Cabinet meeting in the building at the time.

Embalo, who late Tuesday assured that the situation in Guinea-Bissau was “under government control,” described the coup attempt as an attack against democracy attributed to “the work of isolated elements” linked to drug trafficking.

The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres both expressed grave concern over the situation.

Media reports said Wednesday that spy chiefs had launched investigations to help identify the attackers.

Soldiers patrolled streets, but businesses had resumed their operations.

A commission of inquiry has also been set up.

Guinea-Bissau has had nine coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

For more than four decades, no elected head of state had finished a five-year term until Jose Mario Vaz saw out his full tenure in June 2019.

In 2009, then-President Joao Bernardo Vieira was assassinated in what was said to be an apparent revenge attack by soldiers for the killing of the country’s then-army chief, who was at odds with Vieira./aa

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest saw its worst level of deforestation for the month of January, with around 360 square kilometers (139 square miles) of forest lost, according to data released Wednesday by Brazil's national space research institute, INPE. 

It is not the first increase under President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called for more mining and commercial farming on protected rainforest land.

​​In 2021, the Brazilian Amazon had its worst year in a decade. Deforestation grew 29% with 10,363 square kilometers (around 4,001 square miles) of native forest destroyed between January and December, according to INPE.

From August 2020 to July 2021, the rainforest lost 13,200 square kilometers (5,097 square miles) of vegetation, the largest area since 2006.

Environmentalists worry that if the trend continues, 2022 will be another devastating year for the Brazilian Amazon.

Since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, progress on deforestation in Brazil has reversed, with the deforestation rate rising to a 12-year high.

Although ​​Bolsonaro's government made efforts last November at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland to show​​ that it is protecting the Amazon by pledging to end illegal deforestation by 2028, data shows that no efforts have been made to address the problem.

According to some scientists, in the last 36 years, the region has lost 17% of its native vegetation due to deforestation. Brazil is home to the majority of the world’s largest rainforest.

They warn that if 20% to 25% of the forest is destroyed, it could cross a tipping point, dry out and it would be impossible to save it./aa

At least 17 people have died and 50 others have been hospitalized in Argentina after consuming adulterated cocaine, authorities said Wednesday. 

Buenos Aires Province Security Minister Sergio Berni has called on anyone who has bought the substance to throw it away immediately.

The first of the dead to be identified were Hernán Castro, 45, Martín López, 36, Dino Melgarejo, 33, and Fernando Yacante, whose age was not revealed, according to local newspaper Pagina 12.

Local authorities have since issued a warning to the general public of "a substance marketed as cocaine" which they describe as having "high toxicity" and is in circulation.

Pagina 12 reported that both the sick and the dead have been transferred to hospitals across the Buenos Aires districts of Hurlingham, Tres de Febrero and San Martín.

Provincial security forces have carried out arrests in the aftermath, suspecting that the cocaine may have been mixed with toxic substances amid a war between rival street gangs, reported the local daily La Nación.

Ten people were arrested this afternoon during raids carried out in the Puerta 8 shanty town.

As details continue to emerge, authorities suspect that the victims may have purchased the cocaine from the same dealer.

According to La Nación, doctors asked some of those who were hospitalized what they had taken, with some reportedly admitting to consuming cocaine./aa

The US stock market closed higher Wednesday for the fourth consecutive day with gains in technology companies' stocks. 

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 224 points, or 0.63%, to close at 35,629.

The S&P 500 rose 42 points, or 0.94%, to 4,589. The Nasdaq added 71 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 14,417.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, saw its shares jump 7.5%. Microsoft, IBM and Intel shares added more than 1% apiece.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 5.4% to 20.77 but managed to stay above the critical level of 20.

The dollar index lost 0.4% to 95.98 and the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 1.3% to 1.777%.

Precious metals gained with gold adding 0.33% to $1,807 per ounce and silver rising 0.1% to $22.66.

Crude oil prices rose around 0.3% with Brent crude trading at $89.59 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $88.33./agencies

The UN migration agency said Wednesday that it is "horrified" by news of the reported deaths of 12 irregular migrants on the Turkiye-Greece border after they were pushed back from Greece. 

“We are following up with relevant authorities about the circumstances of this tragedy,” International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokeswoman Safa Msehli said in response to a query by Anadolu Agency.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Wednesday announced the deaths of 12 irregular migrants pushed by the Greek authorities.

Twelve of 22 migrants "pushed back" by Greek border forces and stripped of their clothes and shoes "have frozen to death," Soylu said on Twitter.

"As stated previously by IOM on numerous occasions, mounting reports of pushbacks against people on the move at some European borders and many parts of the world are extremely concerning and should be investigated, and action taken," said Msehli on behalf of the UN organization.

"We reiterate that such practices are prohibited under international law and should not happen under any circumstances."

The IOM spokeswoman said that the obligation and primacy of saving lives and prioritizing the well-being and human rights of migrants are vital to the integrity of any border.

Soylu said the EU "is remediless, weak and void of humane feelings."

He added that while Greek forces acted as a "thug" against people made "victims," they were tolerant toward members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, which was behind a 2016 defeated coup in Turkiye. 

Search, rescue missions

Soylu shared several photos of the site where the irregular migrants were found, with the victims blurred.

Earlier, the governor's office of Edirne province in northwestern Turkiye released a statement saying that the bodies of nine migrants were found in the Pasakoy village of Ipsala District, less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Greek border.

"Another migrant at risk of frostbite was rescued and transferred to the Kesan State Hospital," the statement added.

It added that Turkish teams continue to conduct search and rescue missions in the area for migrants who may need medical assistance.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, it said.

Turkiye has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

It already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any other country globally, and is taking new security measures on its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants humanely.

Turkiye and international human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable people, including women and children./aa

At least two-thirds of young women in the Netherlands are subjected to "sexual harassment" on the street, the country's statistics institute announced on Wednesday.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) released the findings of a survey of young men and women aged 12 to 25 in the country about "sexual harassment."

The study, which included data from February 2020 to April 2021, showed that 67% of young women were subjected to "sexual harassment" on the streets, while the men's ratio was one-third.

It was revealed that half of the young women participating in the study were abused by whistling, and 40% were victimized by phone calls, talking and shouting.

According to CBS, 21% of the women were followed by their abusers, and 85% of those who were followed stated that they did not feel safe.

The sexual harassment rate among young women aged 18-21 was 75%, while 70% of girls aged 14-18 reported being sexually assaulted at least once during the study period.

It was stated that in cases of sexual harassment, the victims mostly ignored the situation by not reacting.

On Saturday, a demonstration was organized against sexual harassment and abuse incidents in the country with the competition program The Voice of Holland. The Dutch government was asked to make legal changes that protect women in business life./agencies

The Northern Ireland’s minister for agriculture has ordered Wednesday post-Brexit checks on goods coming from the rest of the UK at ports to be halted from midnight.

Edwin Poots said his decision came after receiving legal advice on the issue. The advice, according to Poots, said that there is presently “no Executive approval” for those checks.

The checks have been in place as a necessity of the Northern Ireland Protocol signed between the UK and the EU as an addition to the Withdrawal Agreement.

Poots said “a decision to initiate or continue such checks could not be validly taken in the absence of Executive approval.”

He added: “The advice concluded that I can direct the checks to cease in the absence of Executive approval.

“I have now issued a formal instruction to my permanent secretary to halt all checks that were not in place on December 31st 2020 from midnight tonight.”

He further said: “I will prepare a paper for Executive consideration in the near future to seek agreement on a way forward.”

The protocol aims to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney described Poots’ move as “a breach of international law.”

“The protocol is part of an international agreement,” Coveney told the Irish lawmakers on Wednesday evening.

“It was agreed and ratified by the EU and the UK and its implementation is not only it’s part of an international treaty, it’s part of international law,” he said.

“To deliberately frustrate obligations under that treaty would be a very serious matter indeed,” he added.

“It would be essentially playing politics with legal obligations.”

Coveney underlined that the protocol was “designed and conceived to protect the Good Friday Agreement” and that it “fully recognizes the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.”

The UK and EU have held talks to reduce the number of checks required by the protocol, however, the latest move, if it goes ahead, may result in a collapse of those negotiations./aa

The European Commission approved an act Wednesday that labels gas and nuclear projects as green for investment, prompting criticism about its commitment to climate protection.

The European Commission presented an amendment to its transparency tool called taxonomy, adding certain gas and nuclear activities to the list of environmentally sustainable economic activities, EU Commissioner for Finance Mairead McGuinness said at a news conference.

McGuinness called it “another step in a transition to climate neutral economy” and defended the controversy around the classification, calling it an “imperfect” solution to reach “a low carbon future powered by renewable energy.”

She said that gas and nuclear activities can only be included in the taxonomy with “strict conditions” of contributing to the transition to climate neutrality.

Nuclear activities have to prove high environmental and safety standards, while gas projects can only be approved if they support the transition from highly polluting coal plants to renewables, she said.

The changes are likely to affect private investors across the bloc since the taxonomy transparency system was created to attract more funds for registered companies.

Criticism on greenwashing

Several EU lawmakers, as well as Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden denounced the amendment during preparations, arguing that classifying fossil fuels as sustainable are against the spirit of the Green deal initiative and the original regulation.

The European Commission has also been criticized for passing the controversial amendment with a legal procedure that requires an absolute majority from EU lawmakers or at least 20 of 27 member states to block.

The Ursula von der Leyen-led European Commission was appointed in 2019 with the promise of fighting climate change and transitioning the EU to climate-neutral by 2050.

As part of the EU executive body’s European Green Deal initiative, the bloc adopted the so-called taxonomy regulation in 2020, setting up the classification system on environmentally sustainable economic activities.

The purpose of the regulation was to channel private funds into environment-friendly economic investments and prevent companies from “greenwashing” -- pretending to be eco-friendly -- by listing precisely what activity qualifies as sustainable.

At the same time, big countries, such as France, which derives 70% of its energy from nuclear plants, or Germany that recently completed the construction of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline, have been in favor of the changes./aa

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games kicked off with mixed doubles curling competitions on Wednesday, two days prior to the opening ceremony.

The Czech Republic claimed a 7-6 win over Norway in the opening draw of mixed doubles curling at the Beijing National Aquatics Center.

Host nation China defeated Switzerland 7-6, while Great Britain beat Sweden with a 9-5 score.

Also, team USA clinched a 6-5 victory against Australia.

The Winter Olympic Games will continue until Feb. 20, when the medal games and closing ceremony will take place.

Alpine skiing, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating will be among the 15 disciplines featured in Beijing.

Nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries will compete in this year's Winter Olympics./agencies