Vanuatu island chief 'very impressed' by global climate decision
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu said Thursday he was "very impressed" by a global court's declaration that countries must tackle climate change.
Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which found countries have a duty to protect against the "urgent and existential" threat of a warming planet.
"I'm very impressed," George Bumseng, the highest chief of the Pacific archipelago's cyclone-prone island of Ambrym, told AFP in the capital Port Vila.
"We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for the past two decades," he said.
The chief recalled that his island was battered by three tropical cyclones in 2023, with twin cyclones Judy and Kevin striking in March of that year, followed by Lola in October.
The storms damaged "a lot of our root crops and forests and our traditional medicines", said Bumseng, who is chairman of the Ambrym council of chiefs.
Global warming "keeps on changing our environment", the chief said.
"We no longer have fig trees. There's coastal erosion continuously. Our tide is also changing," he said.
"Some of the traditional crops are no longer growing like before," he added.
"We're very happy that this International Court of Justice has ruled in favour on this issue."
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Budapest mayor questioned as a suspect over Pride march
If eventually charged and convicted for the alleged offence, he could spend up to a year in prison Hungary's police on Friday questioned the mayor of Budapest as a suspect for having organised the city's 30th Pride parade, which in June attracted a record turnout despite an official ban. If the environmentalist mayor Gergely Karacsony is charged and convicted, he could spend up to a year in prison for organising and encouraging participation in a banned rally. "They described the accusation. I said that I considered this to be unfounded and that I will lodge a complaint against it," Karacsony told journalists after having been questioned for more than an hour. He did not answer any questions posed by investigators, but contested the accusations levelled against him on legal grounds, he added. Karacsony said he thought the investigation would likely be put to rest ahead of next year's election. Police confirmed to AFP that "an interrogation of a suspect" as part of an ongoing probe took place on Friday, but declined to say who they had questioned. Karacsony wore a T-shirt featuring the capital's coat of arms overlaid with rainbow colours when he arrived at the headquarters of Hungary's top investigative authority. He addressed a few hundred supporters gathered outside, saying Budapest Pride showed that "neither freedom nor love can be banned in Budapest. "And if it cannot be banned, it cannot be punished," he added. Pride organisers said more than 200,000 people took part in the June 28 parade in what they said was a rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection". After the nationalist leader declared his intention to ban this year's celebration, his ruling coalition in parliament passed new laws to prohibit the annual parade. Budapest city hall stepped in to co-organise the event, arguing the police cannot legally ban a municipal event. Before the march, Orban warned organisers and attendees of "legal consequences". The National Bureau of Investigation -- tasked with investigating serious and complex crimes -- later launched a probe against an "unknown perpetrator" for organising a banned rally. But police announced last month they would not take action against participants, who could have faced fines up to 500 euros ($570) for attending the Pride parade. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Zelensky urges allies to seek 'regime change' in Russia
By Sergii VOLSKYI, Daria ANDRIIEVSKA, with Anna HOLLINGSWORTH in Helsinki Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged his allies to bring about "regime change" in Russia, hours after a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed 16 people including a six-year-old boy. The overnight strikes reduced part of a nine-storey apartment block in Kyiv's western suburbs to rubble and wounded at least 150 people in the capital, authorities said. The Russian army meanwhile claimed to have captured Chasiv Yar, a strategically important hillside town in eastern Ukraine where the two sides have been fiercely fighting for months. Moscow has stepped up its deadly aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, resisting US pressure to end its nearly three-and-a-half-year invasion as its forces grind forward on the battlefield. Speaking virtually to a conference marking 50 years since the signing of the Cold War-era Helsinki Accords, Zelensky said he believed Russia could be "pushed" to stop the war. "But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries," he said. Kyiv bombarded From late Wednesday to early Thursday, Russia fired over 300 drones and eight cruise missiles at Ukraine, with Kyiv the main target, the Ukrainian air force said. One missile tore through a nine-storey residential building in the west of the capital, ripping off its facade, authorities said. AFP journalists at the scene saw rescuers scouring through a smouldering mound of broken concrete, the belongings of residents scattered among the debris. "It's a shock. I still can't get my bearings. It's very frightening," Valentyna Chestopal, a 28-year-old resident of Kyiv, told AFP. Among the victims was a six-year-old boy who died on the way to hospital, the head of the city's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, posted on Telegram. Zelensky said late Thursday that over 150 people had been injured, "including 16 children and six policemen", denouncing the "unimaginable scale of terror and brutality" of the Russian strikes. The Russian army said it had hit a military airfield, ammunition warehouse and drone production facilities with a combined overnight strike using weaponry and drones. The attack came just days after US President Donald Trump issued a 10-day ultimatum for Moscow to halt its invasion, now in its fourth year, or face sanctions. Trump on Thursday blasted Russia's actions in Ukraine, suggesting that new sanctions against Moscow were coming. "Russia -- I think it's disgusting what they're doing. I think it's disgusting," Trump told journalists. "We're going to put sanctions," he said, before adding: "I don't know that sanctions bother him," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Key capture in east Russia said Thursday that it had captured the town of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important military hub for Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region. Zelensky called Moscow's claim "Russian disinformation", saying that "Ukrainian units are defending our positions." Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said Russian forces "have full control over the entire northern and eastern part" of Chasiv Yar, including districts that had been hardest to get. But he said fighting for the western side was ongoing, with the situation "very difficult". Taking control of Chasiv Yar would be a major military gain for Russia, which has been making steady territorial gains for months. Home to around 12,000 people before the war but now largely destroyed, the town could allow Russian forces to advance on remaining civilian strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region. The Kremlin has made the capture of the Donetsk region a priority since it claimed the industrial region as part of Russia in September 2022. Anti-corruption bill overturned Thursday's attacks came just hours before Ukrainian lawmakers overturned a highly criticised law, signed by Zelensky last week, that would have curbed the powers of two anti-graft bodies. Zelensky reversed course after the legislation sparked the biggest public unrest in Ukraine since Russia's invasion began in February 2022. The original law had put the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Critics took to the streets in protest, saying the move would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes. The European Union said the bill could derail anti-corruption reforms that are key for joining the bloc. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Japan Today
Laos braced for blow of Trump tariff threat
Laos is already struggling with elevated inflation and a severe labour shortage, fuelling fears that Donald Trump's tariffs could have a devastating effect By Beatrice Siviero Hawking clothes outside the garment factory where her daughter toils inside, a Laos vendor weighs US President Donald Trump's threat of trade tariffs that may soon snarl both their livelihoods. "I just live day by day. For now, I still have my business, and the factory is operating as usual," she told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity in the capital Vientiane. "I'm not too worried about my daughter's job yet," she added. Then again, she says: "I don't know anything about what the US will decide." Landlocked Laos -- a country of only eight million -- has a gloomy outlook as it counts down to a Friday deadline when Trump says a 40 per cent levy will kick in unless a trade deal is sealed. The rate is among the highest Trump has touted in his global tariff blitz, which has yielded a handful of deals with countries including Britain, Japan and Vietnam but left dozens others scrambling for a pact. Laos has limited exports, little leverage and supply chains deeply entwined with US trade rival China. The United States had a trade deficit of more than $760 million with Laos last year -- singling it out for steep tolls alongside other nations Trump sees as imbalanced business partners. "A 40 percent tariff is just a nail in the coffin for any industry trying to ship to the United States," said John F. Somers, head of garment manufacturing firm Diep Vu Co. Only a handful of factories, mostly in the capital, supply the US market and sales make up only between three and six percent of the country's gross domestic product. But with the Southeast Asian country already suffering from high inflation and a severe labour shortage, Trump's default tariff could still have a devastating effect, industry insiders say. Cause for suspicion "We estimate about 20,000 workers or more could be impacted," said Xaybandith Rasphone, head of the Association of the Lao Garment Industry. "We're not certain about the exact number yet, but it could easily be higher if companies shut down," said Xaybandith, who is also vice-president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI). He warned between 35 and 40 factories could be affected if buyers are spooked by the tariffs. "If the tariff stays in place, some factories will definitely close," he said. "Finding alternative markets takes time, negotiations and a lot of effort. It could take years." Like neighbouring Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos is a hub of the garment industry -- producing brands for western markets including Dr. Martens. But the production of mattresses, silicone products and solar panels also stands to be impacted. Solar panel manufacturing has exploded in Laos since 2023 and driven up its export figures after Trump hit China with a 50 percent tariff on the renewable power sources. However the US trade offensive has focussed on "transshipment" -- a practice it alleges some countries use to help China dodge American tariffs by repackaging its goods for American markets. Casey Tolzman, head of the Lao-American Business Association (LABA), said the explosion of Laos' solar industry had likely been "a cause for suspicion" in Washington. A big question Rules governing the source of materials and the level of Laotian labour required to define products as domestically produced may prove the country's biggest bargaining chip. "A big question for countries like Cambodia and Laos is what they can offer the US that's attractive enough to reach a deal," Tolzman said. "Any deal would probably need to see Laos enforce stricter rules on transshipment and country of origin, to ensure products aren't just coming from China and getting a Laos label slapped on." The US may also ask Vientiane to crack down on internet scam centres targeting wealthy Americans from compounds in Laos, or seek concessions for American goods to enter the market, he added. The LABA and LNCCI say they are helping the government draft an appeal asking for tariffs to drop back to previous levels, or at least be capped at 20 percent. But Diep Vu Co boss Somers warns even if Laos manages to reach a deal with Washington, a bigger test soon lies ahead. Laos is on track to graduate from "Least Developed Country" status next year, meaning it is set to lose duty-free access to the European Union -- dealing another blow. "We'll be at a competitive disadvantage, our industry will probably collapse within a few years," Somers warned. "The real discussion is the EU relationship with Laos, not just what the US is doing." © 2025 AFP
