COPENHAGEN: A Greenland court on Wednesday extended the detention of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson for three more weeks, pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan where he is wanted over an altercation with whalers.
This marks the fourth extension of his detention since Watson was arrested in July in Nuuk, capital of the Danish autonomous territory.
“The court in Greenland has today decided that Paul Watson shall continue to be detained until November 13, 2024 in order to ensure his presence in connection with the decision on extradition,” Greenland police said in a statement.
Police added that Watson had immediately appealed the decision.
Watson’s lawyer Julie Stage told AFP ahead of the hearing that her team would ask for his immediate release, adding: “But unfortunately, realistically, that may not happen.”
Stage also said she was preparing an appeal to be filed with Denmark’s Supreme Court over the Nuuk court’s earlier ruling on October 2 to keep the 73-year-old in custody.
Watson was arrested on July 21 when his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, docked to refuel in Nuuk on its way to “intercept” a new Japanese whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the CPWF.
He was detained on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship in the Antarctic in 2010 and injuring a whaler.
Watson, who featured in the reality TV series “Whale Wars,” founded Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF) and is known for radical tactics including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.
In a rare public comment on the case, Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya recently insisted the extradition request was “an issue of law enforcement at sea rather than a whaling issue.”
Tokyo accuses Watson of injuring a Japanese crew member with a stink bomb intended to disrupt the whalers’ activities, during a clash with the Shonan Maru 2 vessel on February 11, 2010.
Watson’s lawyers insist he is innocent and say they have video footage proving the crew member was not on deck when the stink bomb was thrown. The Nuuk court has refused to view the video.
The custody hearings are solely about Watson’s detention, with the extradition request being reviewed by Denmark’s justice ministry.
In September, Watson’s lawyers contacted the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, claiming that he could be “subjected to inhumane treatment” in Japanese prisons.
Watson had been living in France at the time of his arrest and has written to French President Emmanuel Macron to ask for political asylum.
World-respected British conservationist Jane Goodall told AFP last week she hoped France would accept his plea, calling him a “brave man.”
As Watson’s hearing got underway on Wednesday, several dozen supporters demonstrated outside city hall in Paris, chanting “Free Paul Watson” and holding signs reading “A hero doesn’t belong in prison” and “Saving whales is not a crime.”
French officials have previously urged Copenhagen not to extradite him, but have said offering asylum is complicated as a person must be in France to file a claim.
Japan, Norway and Iceland are the only three countries that still allow commercial whaling.
Greenland extends detention of anti-whaling activist Watson
https://arab.news/nvn43
Greenland extends detention of anti-whaling activist Watson
- This marks the fourth extension of his detention since Watson was arrested in July in Nuuk, capital of the Danish autonomous territory
- Police added that Watson had immediately appealed the decision
ICC to sentence Mali jihadist in November over war crimes
The Hague-based court will sentence Al Hassan on November 20 from 2 p.m. local time
THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court on Wednesday said it would sentence in November a Malian militant police chief convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Timbuktu.
Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, 46, was found guilty in June of crimes including torture and outrages upon personal dignity during a reign of terror in the fabled Malian city.
Al Hassan played a “key role” overseeing amputations and floggings as police chief when militants from the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine groups seized control of Timbuktu for almost a year from early 2012, a judge previously said.
“The judges may impose a prison sentence of maximum 30 years or, when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person, life imprisonment,” the ICC said in a statement.
“They may also add a fine or forfeiture of the proceeds, property and assets derived directly or indirectly from the crime committed.”
The Hague-based court will sentence Al Hassan on November 20 from 2 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), according to the statement.
Notices of appeal against verdict were filed in September by both the defendant’s legal team and the prosecutor.
Al Hassan was also convicted of “contributing to the crimes perpetrated by other members” of the militant groups including mutilation and persecution.
He told investigators that the people of Timbuktu were “scared out of their minds,” according to the prosecutor.
The militant was however acquitted of the war crimes of rape and sexual slavery, as well as the crime against humanity of forced marriage.
Founded between the fifth and 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, Timbuktu is known as the “Pearl of the Desert” and “The City of 333 Saints” for the number of Muslim sages buried there during a golden age of Islam.
But militants who swept into the city considered the shrines idolatrous and destroyed them with pickaxes and bulldozers.
The militants from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine exploited an ethnic Tuareg uprising in 2012 to take over cities in Mali’s volatile north.
The ICC in June made public an arrest warrant for one of the Sahel’s top militant leaders over alleged atrocities in Timbuktu from 2012 to 2013.
Iyad Ag Ghaly, is considered to be the leader of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which operates in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The International Criminal Court on Wednesday said it would sentence in November a Malian militant police chief convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Timbuktu. (Reuters/File)
Thousands flee homes as fierce tropical storm batters Philippines
- Trami, locally called Kristine, is the 11th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year
- Southeastern parts of the country’s main island declare state of calamity
MANILA: The Philippines braced itself on Wednesday for the impact of Tropical Storm Trami, with thousands of people evacuated from their homes as authorities warned of an unprecedented volume of rainfall and flooding in the coming days.
The 11th cyclone to hit the country this year, Trami — locally known as Kristine — is affecting nearly all the Luzon and Visayas islands, as well as parts of Mindanao.
It has caused severe flooding and landslides in the country’s east even before making landfall, which is forecast to take place on Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.
“The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid ... The volumes of water are unprecedented,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a briefing with disaster management authorities and the military.
“I’m feeling a little helpless here ... All we can do is sit tight, wait, hope, pray that there’s not too much damage, that there are no casualties. And then go in as soon and as quickly as possible with as much as we can to alleviate the effects, especially first to the population. And then, afterwards, we will take care of all the other infrastructure: the power, the roads.”
Government offices and schools across Luzon, the country’s largest island, have been temporarily shut down, and four provinces — Quezon and three in neighboring Bicol Region — have declared a state of calamity.
In Bicol alone, more than 47,500 people had to leave their homes and were evacuated to safety. At least two people have been reported dead and five missing.
“Because of the 24 hours of almost non-stop rains, we had 12,226 families or 47,583 people evacuated here in the Bicol region. So far, what has been reported to us are two dead,” Office of Civil Defense in Bicol spokesperson Gremil Naz said in a radio broadcast.
“We also have one reported injured and five reported missing fishermen.”
The Philippines is the country most at risk from natural disasters, according to the 2024 World Risk Report.
Every year millions of people are affected by storms and typhoons, which have lately been more unpredictable and extreme due to the changing climate.
Last month, more than a dozen people were killed when Typhoon Yagi hit the country’s east.
UK’s Birmingham Airport returning to normal operation after security incident
- Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh busiest hub with 11.5 million passengers last year
LONDON: Operations at Birmingham Airport in central England will be returning to normal after reports of a suspicious vehicle on Wednesday had earlier led to canceled flights.
“Following a police investigation, some passengers were evacuated and we had to suspend departing flights for a couple of hours. That investigation has now concluded, and operations will slowly be returning to normal,” an airport spokesperson said in a statement.
“All passengers are advised to check latest flight information from their airline.”
Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh busiest hub with 11.5 million passengers last year.
NATO says has ‘confirmed evidence’ N.Korea troops in Russia
- “Allies have confirmed evidence of a DPRK troop deployment to Russia,” Farah Dakhlallah said
BRUSSELS: NATO countries have confirmed evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia, an alliance spokeswoman said Wednesday, warning it would be a major escalation if they head to Ukraine.
“Allies have confirmed evidence of a DPRK troop deployment to Russia. If these troops are destined to fight in Ukraine, it would mark a significant escalation in North Korea’s support for Russia’s illegal war and yet another sign of Russia’s significant losses on the front lines,” Farah Dakhlallah said in a statement.
Indian state signs $35 billion renewable energy deal with UAE
- India aims to have 500 GW of renewable energy installed by 2030
- UAE investment is expected to add 60 GW of renewable energy in Rajasthan
NEW DELHI: Rajasthan, India’s largest state by area, has signed a $35 billion investment agreement with the UAE government to explore the development of a 60 GW solar, wind and hybrid energy project.
Rajasthan’s Principal Secretary of Industries Ajitabh Sharma and UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Al-Suwaidi signed a memorandum of understanding for the investment on Tuesday in the state capital of Jaipur.
Under the deal, the UAE will help set up renewable energy projects in the western district of Rajasthan, the state government said in a statement. India’s largest desert, Thar, is located in the area.
“This venture will be a milestone in fulfilling the energy needs of Rajasthan by installing a long-term power generation project in which modern cutting-edge technology would be used,” the government of Rajasthan said.
The UAE will also appoint a developer to coordinate with Rajasthan officials to launch the project within the agreed timeline, which was not specified.
India, the world’s third-largest consumer of electricity, currently has installed about 200 GW of renewable energy. It is aiming to install 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 to meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.
“To achieve this target, Rajasthan will have to install 250 GW of solar plants. This partnership with the UAE will prove to be an important step in achieving this goal,” said Rajasthan’s Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who was present during the signing ceremony.
He is also expecting the new agreement to help boost the local economy.
“I am confident that this MoU will pave the way for employment generation, economic development, industrial progress and overall prosperity in Rajasthan,” Sharma said.
During his meeting with Rajasthan officials, Al-Suwaidi said that energy transition was a key pillar of the UAE’s diversification agenda.
“This project highlights our unwavering commitment to advancing clean energy solutions,” Al-Suwaidi said, as quoted by Emirati state news agency WAM.
“Rajasthan, with its favorable climate and vast landmass, offers the ideal environment for this initiative, serving as a testing ground for innovative technologies that will shape the future of energy,” he said.
India and the UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022, which has since significantly advanced bilateral exchanges.
The UAE is the largest Middle Eastern investor in India, with investments amounting to about $3 billion in the financial year 2023-24, according to Indian government data.
