International
Climate change effect on Peruvian glaciers debated in German court
AFP
German judges and experts have arrived at the edge of a melting glacier high up in the Peruvian Andes to examine a complaint made by a local farmer who accuses energy giant RWE of threatening his home by contributing to global warming.
The visit by the nine-member delegation to the region is the latest stage in a case the plaintiffs hope will set a new worldwide precedent.
Leading the demand for “climate justice” is 41-year-old Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya, who lives in the mountains close to the city of Huaraz.
He has filed suit against the German firm RWE, saying its greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the melting of nearby glaciers.
The trip was ordered by the Higher Regional Court in the northern German city of Hamm, where Lliuya submitted his claim against RWE, having previously had his case dismissed by another court in Essen.
The delegation must determine what risk the melting glaciers pose to the city of Huaraz and its 120,000 inhabitants below the Palcacocha glacier.
“We want the RWE company to be held responsible for environmental damages,” Lliuya, a farmer and tourist guide supported by the German environmental NGO Germanwatch, told AFP.
“In general they have polluted all over the world and with this claim we are trying to do something,” added Lliuya.
RWE operates in 27 countries in the world, including Chile and Brazil, but not Peru.
The claim “was rejected in the first instance because it did not have any legal basis and did not respect German civil law,” RWE spokesman Guido Steffen told AFP.
“We are confident this will happen again with the appeal.”
RWE insists that “according to law, individual emitters are not responsible for universal processes, that are effectively global, such as climate change.”
Lliuya and Germanwatch met during the COP20 climate change conference in Lima in 2014, after which the German NGO’s activists traveled to Huaraz to discuss a potential claim in Germany.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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