The funds will be used to help about four million people at risk of falling victim to the epidemic, the deadliest in the country’s history, said a statement released in this city, Kenya’s capital.

Humanitarian organizations from this landlocked Southeast African country signed the petition, while the Ministry of Health reported that the number of infected has reached 45,219 cases in the 29 districts that Malawi is divided into since last March’s zero case.

The disease is showing signs of spreading to Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia, neighbors of the country once known as Nyasaland.

Last week the government of Mozambique, which borders Malawi to the south, reported 1,400 infections and 16 deaths in Niassa province (north).

Those infected with the disease are not limited to these three states, however, as World Health Organization sources reported detecting cases in Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia.

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A conversation between EU Commission President von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Sunak was seen as a sign of a possible solution to the Northern Ireland dispute. But the Leyens’ visit to King Charles upset many.

Signs of a deal in the Brexit dispute between Britain and the EU are growing. EU ambassadors in Brussels have been summoned to a special meeting this Monday afternoon, as announced by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU. There, the responsible vice-president of the EU Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, is expected to inform the ambassadors about the negotiations between the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The two politicians decided to continue working personally on practical solutions to the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.

Von der Leyen was upbeat on Twitter. She is looking forward to “opening a new chapter with our partner and friend,” wrote von der Leyen on Monday.

The meeting is expected to herald a settlement in the long-running dispute. The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit Treaty on Britain leaving the EU. It stipulates that the customs border between Great Britain and the EU runs in the Irish Sea. This prevented the introduction of border controls between British Northern Ireland and the EU member Republic of Ireland.

Dispute over visit to King Charles

Otherwise, the conflict over the unification of the two parts of Ireland was expected to flare up again. But the controls are also creating difficulties for intra-British trade, and Union-supporting Protestants in Northern Ireland feel isolated from Britain.

Von der Leyen and Sunak will appear before the press at 4.30 pm Central European Time, or so it was said on Monday afternoon. The President of the EU Commission will also meet King Charles. However, the visit is not directly related to the Northern Ireland negotiations. Former Brexit Ukip party leader Nigel Farage criticized the visit with the “unelected Urusla von der Leyen” as “absolutely disgraceful”.

Will Sunak bring DUP to his side?

Crucial to the success of a deal is therefore whether Sunak can get Northern Ireland’s largest unionist Protestant party, the DUP, behind him. In protest against the protocol, they have been blocking the formation of a government in the British part of the country for months and demanding drastic changes. The Leyens’ visit to King Charles is unlikely to go down well either. At least that’s what former party leader Arlene Foster said on Twitter on Monday: “I can’t believe the number 10 is asking His Majesty the King to interfere in the conclusion of such a controversial deal. This is blatant. and it will go down very badly on the NI.”

The hard core of Brexit supporters in the British Tory party and its predecessor, Boris Johnson, also warned Prime Minister Sunak against making too many concessions to the EU.

In various posts and interviews, Sunak has already prepared his party, his critics and the British people for the deal. “Brexit is not yet fully implemented and I want to get it over with,” Sunak said in an interview with the Sunday Times.

“We need to make Brexit work for the whole of the UK,” he wrote in the conservative Telegraph. According to the newspaper, there is already resistance in his own cabinet and the Minister of Northern Ireland, Steve Baker, is already considering his resignation. In the Sun tabloid, Sunak assured readers that he would continue to champion Brexit despite his alleged commitment to the EU.

Northern Ireland: Close contact desired with both sides

Representatives from London and Brussels have been struggling to find solutions to the problems that have arisen since the Brexit Treaty took effect in 2020. Transition phases unilaterally imposed by London ensured that the necessary controls were still not fully implemented. While former Prime Minister Johnson and his short-term successor Liz Truss have threatened to unilaterally withdraw from the protocol, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a more constructive note.

The British Parliament must still be able to vote on the agreement negotiated with Brussels. The opposition Labor Party announced its support for the Conservative government.

(APA/dpa)

Arms worth tens of billions of dollars flowed into the United States from European and North American countries Ukraine. guns. Ammunition. rockets. Artillery.

At first, these countries insisted the weapons were “defensive” and intended to help Ukraine fight an aggressive Russian army that had entered the border without provocation.

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A year later, as the battered but still powerful Russian army prepares to resume the offensive, the nature of weapons destined for Ukraine has changed dramatically. Armored vehicles, longrange missiles and advanced tanks are now arriving from the west.

The distinction between offensive and defensive weapons has always been somewhat arbitrary. But now Ukraine will have the opportunity to go on the offensive and possibly drive them away Russia of the country with some of the best weapons in the world. This means the stakes have been significantly upped for everyone involved.

And the reason for this is no secret. After successfully liberating vast areas in the south and northeast of the country in the second half of last year, Ukrainian forces are reportedly planning a new counteroffensive this year. The allied countries search their arsenals for any contribution that might give the planned counteroffensive the greatest possible chance of success.

When Russian forces invaded northern Ukraine in February last year and also advanced through the Donbass region in the east of the country US and other allies prioritized the use of ammunition, overtheshoulder antitank missiles, antiaircraft systems, and especially artillery, including hundreds of cannons compatible with Western ammunition.

Artillery, perhaps more than any other weapon, helped Ukrainian forces defend the capital, Kiev, and eventually stemmed the Russian advance east and south. After more than eleven months, Ukraine received no less than 750 artillery pieces and rocket launchers mounted on vehicles from the Allies. About 100 more such pieces are on their way.

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“Despite the importance given to antitank weapons in the public narrative, Ukraine held back the Russian attempt to take Kiev with the concentrated fire of two artillery brigades,” wrote Mikhailo Zabrodski, Jack Watling, Oleksander V. Daniliuk and Nick Reynolds Study prepared for the Royal United Services Institute in London in November.

As the Russian attack slowed or even reversed in places like Kiev province, arms transfers to Ukraine began to include more weapons geared towards offense rather than defense. In consecutive deliveries that started in the second quarter of last year, Poland donated more than 200 old tanks. Some were old Sovietera T72s. Others were local variants of the same model.

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These tanks were the first indication of a shift towards foreign offensive weapons. That shift accelerated in the middle of last year when the US and other allies began deploying armored transports, nimble tracked vehicles that bring infantry into battle so they can support tanks, which are usually the vanguard of an attack. UNITED STATES, Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, Australia and other countries donated more than 1,400 of these vehicles, mostly American M113 models.

The armored transports arrived in time to take part in Ukrainian dual offensives in the provinces of Kharkiv It is Kherson northeast and south of the country respectively which started at the beginning of the second half. Exploiting gaps in Russian lines, Ukrainian brigades charged through occupied territory, cutting off Russian supply lines and forcing dozens of Russian soldiers to retreat.

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The counteroffensives liberated thousands of square kilometers of occupied Ukraine and set the stage for another possible counteroffensive sometime in 2023. Kirilo Budanov, director of Ukraine’s military espionage agency, told ABC News early last month that Ukraine’s forces have a grand plan for a secondquarter attack. The attack would aim to liberate Russianheld Ukrainian territories “from Crimea to Donbass.” Meanwhile, Russian forces hinted at the possibility of launching their own attacks to consolidate their gains and thwart the Ukrainian offensive.

The prospect of clashing offensives has raised the stakes in Ukraine as its allies continue to adjust their weapons donations. As new weapons arrive and soldiers train in their use, “we will see that Ukrainians are also able to step forward and change the dynamics of the battlefield,” Laura Cooper, deputy deputy secretary of defense, told reporters last month . Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. “Our focus is on that.”

This new urgency seems to have pushed the US and other allied countries to offer their surplus infantry fighting vehicles. They are like armored transports, but have more offensive weapons, including automatic cannons in turrets and antitank missiles.

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With their heavy armament and speed, infantry fighting vehicles are particularly useful for offensive operations. The US and Germany each donate M2 and Marder combat vehicles to Ukraine. The donations “provide the necessary armaments to go on the offensive to liberate Russianheld Ukrainian territory,” Gen said. Markus MilleyChief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shortly after Pentagon announce the first donation of 109 M2 vehicles to Ukraine.

But the M2 and other vehicles like this were just the beginning. Other and better vehicles soon followed. O United Kingdom promised to donate 14 of his best tanks challenger 2. The US offered 31 tanks M1A2 State of the art.

Germany was slow to approve a Polish donation of about a dozen German tanks leopard 2to indicate to other European countries that they might do the same. So Germany offered Ukraine about a dozen of its own tanks.

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Agile and powerful, tanks are inherently offensive weapons. And the donations of NATOstyle tanks with sophisticated armor, optics and fire control systems represent “an important step towards victory,” Ukraine’s President Volodmir Zelenskyy tweeted.

They are also the clearest sign that the weapons being sent to the war zone by Ukraine’s allies are increasingly geared towards attack rather than defence. And that signals some big changes on the battlefield.

*David Ax is a Forbes journalist and author of nonfiction, graphic novels and filmmaker. His latest book is Drone War: Vietnam.

Deutsche Bahn meals are now served in reusable dishes, an initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. If Germany has taken the lead in managing its waste, Quebec is lagging behind in defining options for action.

Posted at 6:00 am

For a good start in 2023, Deutsche Bahn relies on green catering: Passengers in the intercity trains of the public company can snack or drink from ceramic and glass dishes.

Previously, the sustainable option was only offered in first class or in the dining car, Deutsche Bahn explained in an email. But since January 1, all restaurateurs in Germany have been obliged to offer reusable packaging for take-away products.

In trains, “the reusable version is offered free of charge, without a deposit and on request in the on-board bistro for all orders,” Deutsche Bahn specifies.

Deutsche Bahn strives to offer its customers various sustainable solutions on board. No less than 50% of the food served on trains has been vegetarian or vegan since last March. There are also 100% organic dishes on the menu.

PHOTO OLIVER LANG PROVIDED BY DEUTSCHE BAHN AG

Ceramic tableware is used to avoid the accumulation of waste.

“Deutsche Bahn is continuing its green transformation in in-flight catering. […] We not only offer our customers a [solution de rechange] sustainable down to single-use packaging, but we also create quality enjoyment just like at home,” Michael Peterson, director of long-distance passenger transport for the company, is quoted as saying in a press release.

Quebec backwards

In Quebec, “we could expect changes in this direction over the next few years, but it’s happening slowly,” says Amélie Côté, source reduction analyst at Équiterre. Rather, she has noticed a setback in dealing with residues since the pandemic.

Canada’s rail network will not overtake Deutsche Bahn anytime soon. Last December, on a trip to Toronto on a VIA Rail train, Amélie Côté was refused a refill on her reusable tea cup, she says.

“Although many of the COVID-19-related policies implemented during the pandemic have been lifted, some officials may feel uncomfortable reusing personal items provided by passengers,” the agency wrote in response to the complaint filed by Amélie Côté .

Currently, only meals in Business, Prestige and Sleeper Class are served with reusable tableware, VIA Rail confirmed via email to La Presse. “We do not plan to use reusable tableware for all other meals and products served in Economy Class due to space constraints,” the government body wrote.

However, in its Sustainable Development Plan launched in 2021, VIA Rail Canada plans to introduce a “zero waste train” between Quebec and Windsor by 2025, increase its recycling by 60% and collect compostable waste “at priority locations”.

Also according to the report, VIA Rail Canada will “strengthen greenhouse gas reduction targets to support the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.”

“Reusable should always be the priority solution if we want to reduce our ecological footprint and the amount of waste material generated,” adds Amélie Côté.

In her opinion, Quebec remains a “big producer of waste”. The Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) had set itself the goal of eliminating 525 kg of residues per inhabitant by 2023, a mission that the commission of inquiry ultimately described as “unlikely”.

As many as 9 of Quebec’s 38 engineered landfills (LET) “should have reached maximum permitted capacity by 2030,” according to the BAPE report released in January 2022. If the trend continues, 13 more locations could be added to the list by 2041.

“All you need is willpower, because the solutions exist,” says Amélie Côté.

A headache for airlines

Have you ever eaten with bamboo cutlery on board an airplane? This is what Air Transat offers to reduce its ecological footprint. This bamboo cutlery, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, “comes from responsibly managed forests that offer environmental, social and economic benefits,” promises the international NGO.

“Crockery is certainly an attractive option for a railway company, but much less relevant for an airline as it has a higher carbon footprint due to its weight,” explains Bernard Côté, Director, Marketing, Public Relations and Social Media, Air Transat.

Waste management is a constant challenge for the aviation industry, given the “asymmetric regulations” from one country to another. International legislation on catering waste “often” mandates the landfill and incineration of recyclable or compostable packaging, he admits.

Bernard Côté assures that the Canadian airline prioritizes products with minimal environmental impact while meeting the requirements of the airline industry. By the summer of 2023, travelers flying Air Transat will be served their drinks in paper glasses – recyclable but not reusable.