Investigators in eastern France’s Alsace region on Friday announced the seizure of an enormous quantity of arms, ammunition, and gunpowder from the four suspects belonging to a violent neo-Nazi ultra-right movement.

During a raid in Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments on Tuesday, police arrested five men aged between 40 to 60. The prosecutor of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), Edwige Roux-Morizot, said in a press conference that the raid was fruitful as investigators found an impressive array of weapons of war and several Nazi objects in the houses.

The prosecutor said that these suspects were “on a hunt for Jews during a football match in Strasbourg,” without divulging further details or revealing the identity of the group.

“We found dangerous weapons and an ammunition manufacturing workshop during the house raid,” she said, adding that the crackdown was timely as it took place before any action, according to a report by RTL News.

Investigators found 167 magazines including 72 from Kalashnikovs, 120,000 munitions of all calibers, more than 35 kilograms of gunpowder, three ammunition presses, a large number of magazines for weapons of war, a casing heating machine, a banknote counter, four precision scales, more than €25,000, and two silencers, French daily Le Telegramme reported.

Four men have been indicted for arms trafficking and possession of war weapons and face 10 years imprisonment. Two have been imprisoned and two were left free under judicial supervision, while the fifth person was released without charges, the Telegramme news report said./aa

Global plastic waste is set to almost triple by 2060, with around half ending up in landfills and less than a fifth recycled, according to a new report released on Friday.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that global plastics consumption will rise from 460 million tons in 2019 to 1,231 million tons by 2060 “in the absence of bold new policies, a faster rise than most raw materials.”

“Growth will be fastest in developing and emerging countries in Africa and Asia, although OECD countries will still produce much more plastic waste per person (238 kg per year on average) in 2060 than non-OECD countries (77 kg),” the OECD said.

Plastic waste is expected to surge from 353 million tons in 2019 to 1,014 million tons in 2060, leading to plastic leakage to the environment doubling to 44 million tons a year, while the amount of plastics in oceans, rivers, and lakes will more than triple, according to the report.

“Most pollution comes from larger debris known as macroplastics but the leakage of microplastics (synthetic polymers less than 5 mm in diameter) from items like industrial plastic pellets, textiles, and tyre wear is also a serious concern,” read the report.

The world needs “much more stringent and globally coordinated action” if plastic pollution is to be eliminated, as envisaged by the UN Environment Assembly, said Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the OECD.

The OECD laid out suggestions on how actions to cut greenhouse emissions “could reduce plastic pollution given the interplay between the plastics lifecycle, fossil fuels and climate change.”

Taxes on plastics, incentives to reuse and repair plastic items, improved waste management infrastructure and increased litter collection rates are among some of the policies recommended to reduce the environmental impacts of plastics.

If implemented, these “concrete policies … could significantly curb – and even eliminate – plastic leakage into the environment,” Cormann added.​​​​​​​/agencies

Asylum seekers at an immigration detention center in the UK staged a hunger strike in a protest against the government’s plan to deport refugees to Rwanda as part of its new immigration plan.

Around 17 asylum seekers refused food from authorities for five days at the Brook House detention center. The hunger strike ended on Wednesday evening after guards stopped providing sugar to the refugees to mix with their water, according to the BBC.

The group of 17 as well as an estimated 100 refugees who recently arrived in the UK received removal notices from the Home Office reminding them of the plan to deport them to the east African country which will commence on June 14, a week later than originally scheduled.

“Directions have now been given for your removal from the United Kingdom on a direct flight to Kigali International Airport, Kigali, Rwanda on 14 June 2022. This is NOT an appealable decision,” read a notice Home Office, published by the BBC News.

“The reasons for this are: You are specifically considered an illegal entrant to the UK … you admitted to being in a private vehicle namely a RHIB (Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boat) which had recently arrived in the UK from France. You could not produce any travel document to provide evidence of lawful basis to be in the UK. You therefore had entered in breach of s.3(1)(a) of the IA 1971 - illegal immigrant,” the notice added.

In interviews with BBC News, refugees said authorities had confiscated their smartphones and provided them with phones without internet access. Others complained of not understanding the removal notices due to their lack of understanding of English while another individual noted how the notice misspelled his name.

Refugees described the atmosphere in the detention centers as those of “distress and despair” with one Syrian refugee saying he was “ready to die, but not to be moved to Rwanda.”

Although the Home Office has not confirmed how many removal notices have been issued, according to Care4Calais, a human rights group, an estimated 100 asylum seekers have been warned of their deportation from the UK.

The UK government has defended its immigration deal with Rwanda and has argued that the asylum seekers' health, care, and well-being are a top priority.

"The health and welfare of those in immigration detention is of the utmost importance. We take every step to prevent self-harm or suicide, including a dedicated welfare team on site at each immigration removal centre, responsible for identifying vulnerable individuals and providing assistance to support individuals' needs,” a spokesperson for the Home Office said.

Despite these assurances, however, refugees have complained of not being able to speak with the Home Office and of their dire situations and of the reasons as to why they fled to the UK.

"I didn't get a meeting with the Home Office without going on a hunger strike twice. I had to leave my country for family disputes. I have a mental health problem from what I've witnessed in Libya on the journey here,” an Egyptian asylum seeker at the center said.

In April, the government announced that thousands of asylum seekers and refugees attempting to enter the UK will be sent to Rwanda for reprocessing in what it said is an attempt to gain back control of the UK’s borders and to put an end to illegal people smuggling across the English Channel.

The new plan has been widely criticized as cruel and inhumane and has been denounced by leaders of the main opposition Labour Party as well as from the Liberal Democrat Party and the Scottish National Party.

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International UK and Refugee Action have also denounced the government for endangering the lives of vulnerable and persecuted people by sending them to a country that is notoriously well known for its human rights abuses./aa

Global food prices went down modestly in May for the second consecutive month, although prices of wheat and poultry rose, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities, dropped 0.6% month-on-month to 157.4 in May of 2022, yet still close to a record high of 159.7 points hit in March.


Main decreases were observed in the vegetable oil index (3.5%), amid lower prices across palm, sunflower, soy, and rapeseed oils, due to the removal of Indonesia's export ban on palm oil.

The dairy price index also went down 3.5%, the first decline in eight months.

“Prices of milk powders declined the most, linked to market uncertainties from the continued COVID-19 lockdowns in China, while robust retail sales and high demand from restaurants in the Northern Hemisphere prevented cheese prices from falling significantly despite weakened global import demand,” FAO said.

The sugar price index diminished 1.1% as a bumper crop in India buoyed global availability prospects.

“The weakening of the Brazilian real against the US dollar, along with lower ethanol prices, also pressured world sugar prices downwards,” FAO said.

Meanwhile, meat prices saw a new all-time high, increasing by 0.6% in May even as world bovine meat prices remained stable and those of pig meat fell.

The rise in prices is due to continued supply chain disruptions in Ukraine and recent cases of avian influenza amid a surge in demand in Europe and the Middle East.

"Export restrictions create market uncertainty and can result in price spikes and increased price volatility, the decrease in oilseeds prices shows how important it is when they are removed and let exports flow smoothly," FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen said in a statement.

Global cereal output likely to decrease

Also, early prospects for global cereal production in 2022 now point to a likely decrease, the first in four years, to 2.8 million tons, down 16 million tons from the record output estimated for 2021, according to FAO’s latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief.

"The largest decline is foreseen for maize, followed by wheat and rice, while barley and sorghum outputs will likely increase. The forecasts are based on conditions of crops already in the ground and planting intentions for those yet to be sown," it said.

World cereal utilization is also predicted to diminish marginally in 2022/23, by around 0.1% from 2021/22 to 2.8 million tons, marking the first contraction in 20 years.

"The decline mainly stems from foreseen decreases in the feed use of wheat, coarse grains and rice, while global food consumption of cereals is expected to increase, keeping pace with world population trends."

World trade in cereals is projected to decline by 2.6% from the 2021/22 level to 463 million tons, a three-year low, even as prospects for international trade of rice remain positive./aa

Hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continue to rise in the US.

According to Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit organization, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against AAPI residents were reported from March 19, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021.

Of the AAPI hate crimes recorded by the organization, 4,632 of those incidents happened in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic began, while 6,273 occurred in 2021, an increase of more than 35%.

There is a substantial increase in the volume of hate-related crimes against the AAPI community from 2020 to 2021, especially when compared to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics from the year before the pandemic.

According to the FBI, the number of anti-Asian hate crimes rose from 158 in 2019 to 279 in 2020, an increase of more than 76%, but a significantly smaller amount of hate crimes in total.

“It is no secret that former President (Donald) Trump often blamed the pandemic on the ‘Chinese virus,’” said Rogene Gee Calvert, an AAPI advocate with OCA Greater Houston, a non-profit organization.

“By targeting and blaming a particular group, it focuses attention and responsibility on them, whether or not it is warranted,” Calvert told Anadolu Agency.

“Anti-Asian hate is not new but with this blame by the former president, the pandemic unleashed whatever hatred and animosity that might have been under the surface, to emerge and be normalized to blame ‘Chinese.’”

Incidents

One of the first high-profile hate crimes against the AAPI community took place in Midland, Texas on March 14, 2020, just a few days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a “global pandemic.”

Jose Gomez III, 21, attacked a Burmese family with a knife at a Sam’s Club while the father and his two children were shopping. Gomez shouted “get out of America” while carrying out the knife attack because he believed they were Chinese and responsible for the pandemic.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of committing a hate crime and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“For many people, the Chinese cannot be differentiated from other Asians,” argued Calvert. “So all Asians become targets.”

One year later, on March 16, 2021, Robert Aaron Long, 21, went on a shooting spree at three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Long pleaded guilty to a litany of charges, including felony murder and domestic terrorism, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Hate crimes against the AAPI community continued in 2022.

On Jan. 15, a 40-year-old Asian woman was pushed to her death in front of an oncoming subway train in New York City.

Then, on March 29, a 65-year-old Asian woman was beaten by a man on the streets of NYC. The man kicked and punched the woman while saying “F**k you, you don’t belong here.”

And just last month, on May 11, a man went on a shooting rampage at a Dallas hair salon, injuring the owner, an employee, and a customer, all of whom were Korean.

“The horrific stories of Asians being pushed onto the subway, or our elderly who are sucker-punched or stabbed on public streets or business owners and workers who are shot to death, all because they are Asian, is both frightening and unacceptable,” said Calvert.

‘Choose kindness’

According to Stop AAPI Hate, verbal harassment made up the largest total of hate-related incidents with 63%.

Physical assault was the second-largest category with 16.2%.

Civil rights violations – which include workplace discrimination, refusal of service, and housing-related discrimination – made up 11.5% of incidents.

Some 61.8% of the victims of these hate crimes were women.

Breaking down the hate-related crimes against AAPI ethnic groups, Chinese Americans reported the most incidents with 42.8%, followed by Koreans with 16.1%, Filipinos with 8.9%, Japanese with 8.2%, and Vietnamese with 8%.

“I'm disgusted when I see Asians and Pacific Islanders being brutally beaten, attacked, and in some cases killed,” said Nate Jones, an Asian American living in Los Angeles.

“Even if someone is ignorant and blames the COVID-19 pandemic on Asians because the virus supposedly came from China, it's incomprehensible to think that it justifies pushing an Asian man to the ground in San Francisco's Chinatown,” Jones told Anadolu Agency.

“Or an Asian woman onto the train tracks in New York or yelling racial slurs at an Asian Olympian training in Southern California,” he went on to say.

“Choose kindness,” said Roxy Garrity, an Asian American woman living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I feel like we are moving backward as a society,” Garrity told Anadolu Agency, saying the best way to combat hate crimes is to make a change in government, which begins at the polls.

“We need to educate our communities and elect more Asian Americans into public office,” Garrity stressed.

“We need to speak up when we see these kinds of attacks and even intervene, if necessary,” added Jones.

“Anyone convicted of a hate crime against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders needs to be sent to prison for a long time and we need to send a message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the United States.”

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the US believe awareness is the key to reducing the number of hate-related crimes against the AAPI community, and that society must not turn a blind eye to the atrocities being committed.

“We must report these incidents when they happen,” said Calvert. “Only then can we document the extent of the injustices to get something done about them.”/aa

Speaker of Kuwait’s National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanem met on Thursday with chair of European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula Hannah Naumann – discussing the issue of lifting the Schengen visa for Kuwaiti citizens. According to the Al-Dostour news network, the two officials also touched on cooperation between Kuwait and the EU on all possible domains. Members of the Al-Ghanim’s delegation as well as Kuwait’s Ambassador to Belgium, the EU, and NATO Jasem Al-Budaiwi were present at the meeting.

Kuwait among our friends

Meanwhile, Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas has lauded reforms undertaken by Kuwait regarding the lifting of Schengen visa requirements and for siding with Europe in these “difficult times.” He made the statement to KUNA, and Kuwait State Television after a meeting with Mohammed Obaid Al-Rajhi, Kuwaiti Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, in Brussels.

“It was a pleasure to welcome the minister at our headquarters. We discussed the importance of our proposal to grant visa waiver for Kuwait. This is a very tangible very symbolic sign of the reforms that the state of Kuwait has undertaken so far in all the areas connected to the visa requirements,” he said. Schinas noted that “at the same time this is also a sign of the fact that Kuwait has been siding with the EU in these difficult times in all issues of international, political, economic and diplomatic agenda where Europe is counting our friends.”

“We are very happy to count Kuwait amongst our friends,” stressed the Greek politician. They also discussed the process of the adoption of the Commission proposal on the Schengen visa that would require further discussions with the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers, he said. “I was delighted to accept the invitation by His Excellency to visit Kuwait. I hope that by the time I will visit I will be a traveler without a visa” added Schinas.

On his part, minister Mohammed Obaid Al-Rajhi said he discussed with the European Commission Vice President the lifting of the Schengen visa obligation for Kuwaiti citizens. He expressed his thanks to Schinas for his total cooperation and for his serious work and commitment to complete this visa file “very soon.” Mohammed Obaid Al-Rajhi arrived in Brussels on Tuesday evening accompanying the speaker of the Kuwait Parliament Marzouq AlGhanim and his delegation for talks with the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and heads of other political parties in the EP. – KUNA

An official at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor said on Thursday that total donations gathered by charitable entities during the Holy Month of Ramadan last year had reached KD 53 million. In a press statement, head of the charitable societies’ administration at the ministry Abdulaziz Al-Ajmi affirmed that the aforementioned number reflected Kuwaiti society keenness on providing alms and assistance to the needy. The donations would be geared towards charitable programs within Kuwait and abroad with the latter step being coordinated with the Foreign Ministry, he indicated.

GCC humanitarian societies

Meanwhile, the national Red Crescent Societies at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries possess efficient and highly qualified cadres capable of practicing their humanitarian role, Vice Chairman of Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Anwar Al-Hasawi said on Thursday. The GCC societies are committed to their humanitarian message and practicing their responsibilities by offering aid to people in need and belief in humanitarian values and working in accordance to the international charts on that matter, Al-Hasawi told KUNA following his participating in the GCC Heads of the Red Crescent Associations 18th meeting held in Riyadh.

The conferees decided during the meeting that each GCC country Red Crescent Society or affiliated body should nominate three candidate to be honored each December, he affirmed. The two-day meeting held yesterday, attracted senior officials in Red Crescent Societies and affiliated authorities in GCC countries. – KUNA

The PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG poses a threat to not only Syria's territorial integrity but Turkey's national security as well, Turkey told the United States on Thursday.

Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal had a phone call with U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who was visiting Turkey's southern Hatay province that borders Syria, upon her request, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Washington's envoy thanked Önal for Turkey's efforts to find a permanent and sustainable solution to the Syrian crisis. During the phone conversation, Thomas-Greenfield also voiced concern over Turkey's possible fresh operation in northern Syria amid the growing threat of the terrorist YPG/PKK in the region.

Önal emphasized that the YPG/PKK terrorist group poses an existential threat not only to Syria's territorial integrity but also to Turkey's national security.

He also reminded the U.S. envoy of Turkey's separate unfulfilled agreements with the U.S. and Russia on the elimination of terrorists in northern Syria back in October 2019, according to the statement.

The Turkish official said Ankara cannot be expected to stand idle amid increased terrorist attacks recently targeting Turkey from northern Syria.

Önal further told the U.S. official that Turkey will not sit by as the terrorist group spreads its separatist agenda within the country.

"We will continue to take the necessary measures against terrorist organizations that threaten our vital national security interests," he vowed.

In October 2019, Russia expressed commitment to removing the YPG/PKK from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring.

Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be removed 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the border on the M4 road and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring area.

Likewise, then U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pledged to Turkey that the YPG/PKK terrorist group would withdraw from the region of Operation Peace Spring.

Turkey, which has mounted four operations in northern Syria since 2016, has vowed a new operation against YPG terrorists that control swathes of territory near the Turkish border.

While Turkey views the YPG forces in Syria as terrorists and a national security threat, the United States views the group as an ally that has helped drive Daesh from vast areas of Syria.

Washington, whose support for the YPG has long been a point of tension in ties with its NATO ally Turkey, has expressed concern, saying any new operation would put at risk U.S. troops – which have a presence in Syria – and undermine regional stability.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday warned NATO ally Turkey against a military operation in Syria, saying it would put the region at risk.

During a visit to the Turkish town of Hatay near the Syrian border, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations reiterated U.S. opposition to any military action.

"We have engaged with the Turkish government. We have indicated our opposition to any decision to take military action on the Syrian side of the border. We think that nothing should be done to break the cease-fire lines that have already been established," Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

She added that any such action would not only increase suffering but also the number of displaced people, including some who might try to cross the border into Turkey.

Erdoğan said on Wednesday Turkey would rid Syria's Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of terrorists, confirming the targets of the operation and saying it would continue into other regions.

"We are taking another step in establishing a 30-kilometer (19-mile) security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifaat and Manbij", he said, referring to two northern Syrian cities.

Erdoğan said they would then proceed "step by step, into other regions."

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which has been waging an insurgency since 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Western governments, including the United States and European Union, designate the PKK as a terrorist organization./DS