Today, tensions between the EU and Latin America, Israel recognises Morocco's claim over Western Sahara, the world experience is record-breaking extreme heat, and the UK's controversial illegal migration bill becomes law. From till the unused, this is your daily briefing for Tuesday the 18th of July, 2023. The EU has pledged more investment for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at a major summit, however tensions between the two sides of the Atlantic are complicating the EU's attempt to revamp its relationship. The ongoing summit in Brussels has brought together more than 50 litres from the European Union and the community of Latin American and Caribbean states, or CLAC for short.
It's the first EU CLAC summit in eight years, and comes as the EU looks to revamp its international relationships and diversify its supply lines while also countering growing Chinese influence. But, while European Commission President Ursula von Deline says that Europe ispires to be the partner of choice for Latin America and the Caribbean, the summit has exposed cracks and tensions between the two regions. One point of contention is the joint communique, in which European officials want to include a proper condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, a number of CLAC countries do not necessarily hold the same position.
Cuba, Bolivia, and El Salvador, for example, abstained on UN motion calling for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops, while Nicaragua voted against. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz in Asiolula de Silva, who previously faced criticism of his comments on Ukraine, says resources essential for economic and social programs are being channeled to war purposes instead. CLAC President Ralph Consalves, who is also the Prime Minister of St Vincent in the Grenadines, said the summit ought not to become another unhelpful battleground for discourses about the war. Another issue is that of slavery and reparations.
Consalves says he hopes for a mature conversation on the historical legacies of European countries and something towards reparatory justice to be included in the communique. However, according to Reuters, diplomats have said that a number of European governments are wary of the proposed language. Finally, another major topic is a potential trade deal between the EU and Mercosaur, an economic trade bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Negotiations were technically completed in 2019, however, the deal has basically been on ice since then, as EU member states grew increasingly concerned with the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest taking place under then-Brazilian President Jaya Bolsonaro.
Despite Luiz's environmental credentials being much better than Bolsonaro's, and the fact that he has already seen a reduction in deforestation, Lula has pushed back against the EU's demands for greater and more binding commitments to be included in the deal. While this trade deal may be stagnating, the EU has signed memorandums of understanding with Argentina and Chile on essential raw materials like lithium. CLAC members have expressed some frustration that European countries have seemingly neglected the relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean, and are only now reviving things out of a need for natural resources, and in response to Chinese investment in the region. Dutch Prime Minister Margarita did concede that Europe had been arrogant and not been responsive enough to the concerns of the region in recent years.
There's more on the way, but be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to make the daily briefing part of your daily routine. Or just search for us on your podcast app of choice to listen along. Israel has recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region and is considering opening a consulate there. The Israeli Prime Minister's office and Moroccan royal palace have announced.
The move means that Israel joins the United States and becomes just the second country in the world to recognise Morocco's claim. For some context, Morocco has controlled most of the region since the mid-1970s after Spain's withdrawal, but has fought a long-running conflict against the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, who wants independence from Morocco in the form of the Sarawi Arab Democratic Republic. Israel's decision to recognise Morocco's claim over Western Sahara comes just a few years after the two countries established formal diplomatic ties in 2020 as part of the US-broke at Abrahamicords. It was then that US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco's claim as well.
The United Nations considers Western Sahara to be a non-decolonised territory and has run a peacekeeping operation there since 1991, with the goal of holding a referendum that, as of yet, has never happened. There has been some growing international momentum behind Morocco's autonomy plan for the region, which would grant Western Sahara a degree of autonomy but ultimately under Moroccan sovereignty, something that is opposed by separatists in the region. So that's the latest from Israel and Morocco. Let's move on now to some climate news.
Many parts of the northern hemisphere are undergoing an extreme heatwave, sparking wildfires, prompting health warnings and more. A heat dome in the western United States pushed the temperature in Death Valley, California to 53 degrees Celsius on Sunday, which is one of the highest temperatures recorded on Earth in the past 90 years, according to Reuters. In Phoenix, Arizona, the past 18 days have seen temperatures surpassed 43 degrees, and the forecast suggests this could continue for at least another week. Meanwhile, in China's western province of Xinjiang, the temperature reached 52.2 degrees Celsius, shattering a previous record of 50.3 degrees.
Elsewhere in Europe, authorities have issued heat health warnings in countries including France and Italy, while Greece has evacuated thousands as firefighters battle wildfires near the capital Athens. World Meteorological Organisation says this kind of extreme heat is unfortunately becoming the new normal. As human-induced climate change makes heatwave more frequent, more intense and longer. But climate change doesn't just mean high temperatures.
It means more extreme weather events in general. For example, more than 40 people have been killed by flooding and landslides in South Korea in recent days. President Yoon Suk-Yol said climate change is causing extreme natural disasters. We cannot respond to this unprecedented abnormal weather the way we have been doing until now.
The UK government's controversial illegal migration bill has passed all its stages in Parliament and is now set to become law, after the government won a series of votes in House of Lords and defeated attempts to amend the bill. The new law is central to the government's stated goal of stopping people crossing the English Channel in small boats and claiming asylum in the UK. It makes anyone who enters the UK through a regular means, such as by small boats, inadmissible from claiming asylum, and places illegal duty on home secretary to arrange the detention and removal of those people to their home country or a safe third country. The government says this will break the business model of human traffickers and deter people from crossing the channel.
However, the bill has been widely criticised by opposition politicians, refugee charities and human rights organisations as being inhumane, illegal and unworkable. Reacting to the bill's passing, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the UN Human Rights Office put out a statement condemning it for, among other things, extinguishing access to asylum in the UK for anyone who arrives irregularly, creating sweeping need-attention powers with limited judicial oversight and denying access to protection in the UK for anyone falling within its scope, including unaccompanied and separated children, regardless of whether they are at risk of persecution. As usual, we'll end the daily briefing with some positive news. Scientists have hailed a landmark in Alzheimer's treatment after a global trial confirmed a drug on Anamab slows down cognitive decline.
Pharmaceutical Giant Eli Lilly reported the findings of its Phase 3 clinical study, which showed that the treatment slowed progression of the early stages of the disease by about 35%. It comes just eight months after A's Eye and Biogen announced that their drug, called Lacanamab, was effective at slowing cognitive decline too. While I do come at the risk of adverse effects, including brain swelling, the developments have been celebrated as great news. The Alzheimer's Society said the past eight months have been a real turning point after decades of work with no positive findings.
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