United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that climate change has made the world uninhabitable.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Guterres made a written statement on the occasion of World Meteorology Day. Stating that the inability to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees brings the world closer to a “climate disaster”, Guterres noted that everyone should fulfill their responsibilities for future generations.

Emphasizing the need to change energy and transportation systems, Guterres pointed out that renewable energy should be embraced by reducing the dependency on fossil fuel use.

Guterres stated that financial and technical support should be provided to developing countries to reduce carbon emissions.

Guterres underlined that 2023 should be “the year of transformation, not of distraction” and said, “Climate change is making our world uninhabitable. Now we have to end our senseless war against nature.” used the phrases.

Switzerland expects the number of asylum applications to be high in 2023 due to the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine War and the effects of the war on other regions.

According to the news in the Swiss press, Christine Schraner Burgener, Head of the Swiss State Secretariat of Migration, stated that they expect the number of people seeking asylum in the country to be around 27 thousand this year, and that the number could reach 40 thousand in the worst scenario.

Noting that there has been no increase in the number of Ukrainians applying for asylum in Switzerland in recent weeks, Burgener said, “The economic consequences of the war are expected to keep the asylum demands high. It also depends on the course of the war and how it affects other regions.” made its assessment.

Switzerland accepted 24,500 asylum seekers last year, an increase of 64 percent compared to the previous year. The country also accepted about 75,000 Ukrainian asylum seekers last year through an expedited registration process and special protection status.

The number of Ukrainians seeking asylum in Switzerland dropped to 500 per week. Stating that they are facing an extraordinary situation, Burgener emphasized that they are pushing the limits with such a high number of asylum seekers.

“So far the asylum system has passed the stress test, but all levels of government are under pressure,” Burgener said. she used the phrase.

Burgener stated that the rate of repatriation of asylum seekers was 54 percent last year, adding that this was a “clear signal” to asylum seekers who came to the country and were not persecuted. “If you’re coming to Switzerland for economic reasons, your chances of getting a positive result are very low,” Burgener said. she said.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Some cantons in Switzerland requested shelter support from the federal government earlier this month due to the rising number of refugees. The cantons of Bern and Geneva suspended the process of accepting refugees.

Swiss Minister of Justice Karin Keller-Sutter announced in December that they were suspending the resettlement program in place to accept refugees in need of special protection.

Keller-Sutter stated that they took this decision on the grounds that the country’s capacity to receive refugees has been exhausted.

It has been reported that the TikTok application will be banned on all electronic devices belonging to the Scottish government and the UK parliament.

In the statement made by the parliament, it was reminded that the government banned the use of TikTok on electronic devices used by all public employees on March 16.

Emphasizing that cybersecurity is one of the parliament’s priorities, the statement said, “After the government’s decision to ban the use of TikTok on public devices, both the House of Commons and the House of Lords committees decided to block TikTok from all parliamentary devices and parliamentary networks.” expression was used.

Scottish Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister John Swinney also said the app would be banned on devices used by the government.

Swinney stated that the decision was taken in line with the decision announced by the UK government on March 16.

PROHIBITED IN EU AND US

TikTok faces severe restrictions due to security and privacy concerns, fears that user information can be accessed and used to spread pro-Chinese views.

While the European Union Commission and the European Parliament banned TikTok due to security concerns, many government institutions in the USA, including the White House, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Homeland Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, banned TikTok without waiting for the vote in Congress in December 2022.

The US House of Representatives also banned the download and use of the TikTok application on official devices used by its members and employees on December 28, 2022.

In the UK, it was announced that TikTok will be banned on devices belonging to all public employees with the decision taken on March 16.

In France, more than 1 million French people took to the streets to oppose the reform, which envisages raising the retirement age gradually to 64.

Demonstrations were held across France with the call of trade unions against the reform, which includes raising the retirement age by 2 years to 64.

The demonstrators demanded that the government abandon the reform, which was adopted as final, without a vote in parliament.

Tensions broke out between police and demonstrators in Dijon, Rennes and Rouen.

In the protest, which was approved by the police in the capital, Paris, a clash broke out between the police and the demonstrators.

Some of the demonstrators set fire to garbage and garbage bins on the streets of Paris, destroyed bus stops. Unauthorized demonstrations in the city continue.

THE UNIONS SAID “CONTINUE” THE SHOWS

In a joint statement, the country’s leading labor and student unions called for demonstrations against the reform over the weekend and on Tuesday, March 28, and to strike on Tuesday.

In a statement to the local press, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin stated that at least 172 people were detained and 149 policemen and gendarmes were injured during the demonstrations.

Darmanin noted that 140 fires had been extinguished across the country, and 50 fires continued in Paris.

According to the organizers, 3.5 million people attended the demonstrations in France, and 1 million 89 thousand people according to the Ministry of Interior.

Opponents of the reform set fire to the gate of the town hall in the city of Bordeaux.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, in a statement on Twitter, stated that the violence and destruction that occurred during the demonstrations was “unacceptable”.

In Germany, the public transport workers’ union Verdi and the railway union EVG are going on a general strike Monday.

With the participation of Verdi, the largest union in the country, all transportation in the country will be stopped. Trains, subways, buses and planes will not take off.
In Germany, eyes are locked on Monday next week… Verdi, the union of public transportation workers, and EVG, the railway union, decided to go on a general strike on Monday.

Especially at Frankfurt and Munich airports, flights are completely cancelled. There will no longer be normal passenger traffic in these cities on Sunday and Monday. Vehicle traffic is expected to intensify, especially on Monday, as public transportation stops and sectors serving in transportation join the strike.

EXCEEDING INFLATION

Verdi union, stating that there is 6.9 percent inflation in the country, wants a raise of approximately 10.5 percent. Verdi, who decided to strike on behalf of 2.5 million people in this sector, also demands a monthly additional fee of at least 500 Euros.

The railways union, on the other hand, has set the hike rate it has requested as 12 percent, and is also demanding an additional monthly salary of 650 Euros for its 180 thousand employees.

After warship tensions between the US and China in the South China Sea, China has warned the US of serious consequences.

Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Tan Kefei made assessments on the arrival of the US Navy missile destroyer USS Milius in the territorial waters of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Friday.

Tan Kefei said the ship “injures China’s sovereignty and security, and Beijing demands that Washington stop such provocations.”

“The missile destroyer USS Milius again illegally entered China’s Paracel Islands territorial waters on March 24 without permission from the Chinese government, thereby undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Tan said.

Stressing that the actions of the US military are a grave violation of China’s sovereignty and security and a serious violation of international law, Tan said, “We demand that the US side immediately stop such provocative actions, otherwise the US will take full responsibility for the serious consequences it causes.” .

Tan stressed that the People’s Liberation Army of China will take all necessary measures to protect the country’s sovereignty and security and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Tian Junli, spokesperson of the Southern Region Combat Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, announced that the destroyer USS Milius entered the territorial waters of the Paracel Islands on March 23 and was removed from the region by the Chinese Navy.

The US 7th Fleet in the Pacific, on the other hand, denied China’s claim that “the US warship was removed from the region”.

In the protests of raising the retirement age to 64 in France, the town hall in the city of Bordeaux was set on fire.

Footage of the incident shows that the front door of the town hall caught fire.

More than 1 million people across the country took to the streets on Thursday to protest the retirement age. According to the data of the Ministry of Interior, 120,000 people attended the march in the capital, Paris.

According to the French General Confederation of Labor, 800,000 people took part in the demonstrations in Paris.

Speaking to the BBC in Paris, firefighters said they had been involved in the protests from the beginning and will continue to do so until Macron withdraws “pension reform”.

One of the firefighters said, “I listened to the President yesterday. People don’t care. Therefore, the crowd has no legitimacy. We will exert pressure at the highest level, if necessary, we will erect barricades.”

It was announced that 80 people were detained during the demonstrations in the capital. Barricades were set up in the city, clashes broke out between the police and the activists.

In France, the government of President Emmanuel Macron narrowly won the no-confidence vote in the Parliament on Tuesday.

After the failure of the first vote of confidence at the initiative of the left parties, the deputies of these parties opened banners with the words “See you on the street”.

Street protests continue to intensify after the law is no longer an obstacle.

In the city of Nantes, the police responded with tear gas to the demonstrators.

In Rennes, security forces fired water cannons against the protesters to disperse the crowd.

Thousands of protest marches also took place in Marseille and Nice.

In France, 300 people, including the world-famous actress Juliette Binoche, wrote an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron, who is still in Brussels for the EU Summit, expressing that they are against the law.

The French government had also disabled the Assembly, using a special article in the constitution, in order to pass the controversial law that would raise the retirement age to 64.

After the strikes and protests, the government did not take a step back. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that raising the retirement age is “not open to discussion”.

The French government argues that the current system cannot be sustained financially any longer and wants to lower the retirement age from 62 to 64.

At the same time, the duration and amount of the contribution to the pension is increased, and pensions are prevented before they are completed.

According to public opinion polls, two-thirds of the public are against this change.

France has the lowest retirement age among major European economies.

(source: The Guardian)

Opponents of the controversial pension reform in France have blocked the entrance to Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) Airport.

According to reports in the French press, the 9th of mass strikes and protests are being held against the controversial reform that includes extending the retirement age by 2 years in the country.

Protesters who took to the streets to protest the reform in Paris blocked the entrance to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Roissy.

The CDG branch of the General Employment Union announced on its Twitter account that union employees have closed the road to Terminal 1 of the airport to crossings as of 10:00.

On the other hand, students in Paris, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Roubaix and Nanterre protested at many universities.

While 50 percent of the teachers in the country participated in the strikes, students in more than 40 high schools in Paris and its surroundings began to protest.

In many cities, including Lille and Saint-Nazaire, demonstrators set up barricades on highways and bridges, cutting off traffic.

In addition, museums in Paris were closed to visitors as part of the strikes.

On the other hand, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) requested that 30 percent of flights at Orly Airport in Paris be canceled for tomorrow and the next day.

Similar requests for other airports are expected to be made during the day.

PENSION REFORM CRISIS

The pension reform, which is among the most important election promises of French President Macron, envisages raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2 years.

The French have been organizing mass strikes and demonstrations since January against the reform, which has not been agreed upon in the National Assembly.

The government, on the other hand, chose to directly accept the reform bill in line with the 3rd paragraph of Article 49, without putting it to a vote in the parliament, since it did not receive sufficient support in the parliament.

Following the decision taken on March 16, protests began in France. Nearly 900 demonstrators were detained during the protests, where the police intervened harshly.

The images in which some journalists and observers were beaten by the police during the demonstrations caused reactions.

Opposition parties applied to the Constitutional Council for the annulment of the reform, which was accepted without a vote in the parliament.

In the statement made by the British National Statistics (ONS), it was stated that house prices increased by 6.3 percent on an annual basis in January, and it was recorded that the average house prices in the country reached 290 thousand pounds with an increase of approximately 17 thousand pounds in the last year.

It was reported that house prices in England increased by 6.3 percent in January compared to the same month of the previous year.

In the statement made by the British National Statistics (ONS), it was stated that house prices increased by 6.3 percent on an annual basis in January, and it was recorded that the average house prices in the country reached 290 thousand pounds with an increase of approximately 17 thousand pounds in the last year.

In the ONS statement, it was reported that house rents in the UK increased by 4.6 percent on an annual basis, the steepest increase since 2016.

In the statement of the statistics agency, it was recorded that house prices in England decreased by 0.6 percent on a monthly basis in January.

Housing prices decreased by 0.4 percent in December 2022 compared to the previous month.

Aimee Nortn, Head of ONS Housing Markets, whose evaluations were included in the statement, said, “The rents continue to increase in the UK. As of February, the sharpest increase in housing rents in the country was recorded on an annual basis since 2016. used the phrases.

The Swedish parliament has passed the bill allowing the country to become a member of NATO.

NATO membership was approved by 269 votes to 37 in the parliamentary vote today.

The Left Party and the Greens Environment Party voted against NATO membership.

In order for Sweden to become a NATO member, it must get the approval of Turkey and Hungary. Currently, 28 NATO countries have accepted the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden.

“A HISTORIC EVENT”

Foreign Minister Tobias Billström described the parliamentary vote as a “historic event” and said, “Sweden is in the most serious situation in terms of security after the Second World War. NATO membership is the best way to ensure Sweden’s security and strengthen the security of the entire European Atlantic region and contribute in solidarity.” used the phrase.

“Sweden has unique capabilities to contribute to NATO in areas such as cyberattacks, new technology and space studies,” Billström said. Sweden will be a reliable ally.” said.

Defense Minister Pal Jonson also said they are working hard to integrate Sweden militarily into NATO.

Defending that Sweden’s NATO membership will make a great contribution to Europe, Jonson said, “Sweden’s NATO membership is a historical event that will have security, defense and political consequences in the world.” he said.