Barack Obama Meets Angela Merkel at Chancellery in Berlin

BERLIN, LELEMUKU.COM - Chancellor Angela Merkel has received former U.S. President Barack Obama at her office in Berlin for a meeting characterized by German officials as a routine private encounter with a former international peer.

Obama could be seen waving as he left the chancellery alongside Merkel Friday. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said she has met repeatedly with ex-heads of state and government "with whom she worked together closely and well for a time."

He said the meeting has no implications for current German-U.S. relations. Asked whether it was a signal to President Donald Trump, with whom Germany has a sometimes-complicated relationship, Seibert replied: "I would firmly reject that impression."

Merkel and Obama have already met in Berlin since the former president left office, participating in a discussion at a May 2017 conference. (VOA)

One Dead, Multiple People Wounded in Dutch Tram Shooting

AMSTERDAM, LELEMUKU.COM - Police in the Dutch city of Utrecht say there were One person is dead and multiple injuries in a shooting incident in a tram in residential neighborhood.

Police said that several trauma helicopters had been deployed to the scene to assist the wounded and appealed to the public to stay clear of the area to allow first responders to provide the necessary help.

“The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter," Utrecht police said.

A police spokesman is quoted as saying that all possibilities are being considered, including a terrorist motive,  the shooter remains at large. They have advised schools in the area to keep their doors closed.

“At 10:45 a.m. local time, multiple shots fired inside a tram near 24 Oktoberplein in Utrecht,” police told Arab News, adding that “there were multiple shots causing multiple, heavy injuries.”

The head of the Dutch national counter-terrorism service, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, said on Twitter that he was having “crisis consultations”, adding: “Terrorist motive not excluded. Information not yet full.

NCTV is monitoring the situation in #Utrecht. In close contact with local authorities. We cannot rule out terrorist motive. Crisis team is activated. Local media reports have said counter-terrorism police were seen at the scene.

“Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started,” the Utrecht police Twitter account said. “It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help.”

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was "deeply concerned" about the incident.

The 24 Oktoberplein is a busy Utrecht traffic junction, with a tram stop. Tram traffic was temporarily stopped due to the incident, but the trams are currently running again between Zuilenstein, Nieuwegein and IJsselstein.

Local media have reported that counter-terrorism police were at the scene and showed images of masked, armed police and emergency vehicles surrounding a tram that had stopped near a road bridge. (Albert Batlayeri/VOA)

Students Worldwide Skip School to Protest Global Warming

STOCKHOLM, LELEMUKU.COM - They're angry at their elders, and they're not taking it sitting down.

Students worldwide are skipping class Friday to take to the streets to protest their governments' failure to take sufficient action against global warming.

The coordinated "school strikes," being held from the South Pacific to the edge of the Arctic Circle, were inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who began holding solitary demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament last year.

Since then, the weekly protests have snowballed from a handful of cities to hundreds, driven by social media-savvy students and dramatic headlines about the impact of climate change.

Thunberg, who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was cheered for her blunt message to leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this year, when she told them: "I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day."

Friday's rallies are expected to be one of the biggest international actions yet. Protests were under way or planned in cities in more than 100 countries, including Hong Kong; New Delhi; Wellington, New Zealand; and Oulo, Finland.

In Berlin some 10,000 protesters, most of them young students, gathered in a downtown square, waving signs with slogans such as "There is no planet B" and "Climate Protection Report Card: F" before a march through the capital's government quarter. The march was to end with a demonstration outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's office.

Organizer Carla Reemtsma, a 20-year-old university student, said social media had been key in reaching people directly to coordinate the massive protests in so many different locations, noting that she was in 50 WhatsApp groups and fielding some 30,000 messages a day.

"It's really important that people are getting together all over the world, because it's affecting us all," she said.

Critics, supporters

Some politicians have criticized the students, suggesting they should be spending their time in school, not on the streets.

"One can't expect children and young people to see all of the global connections, what's technically reasonable and economically possible," said the head of Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner. "That's a matter for professionals."

But scientists have backed the protests, with thousands signing petitions in support of the students in Britain, Finland and Germany.

"We are the professionals and we're saying the young generation is right," said Volker Quaschning, a professor of engineering at Berlin's University of Applied Sciences.

"We should be incredibly grateful and appreciative of their bravery," said Quaschning, one of more than 23,000 German-speaking scientists to sign a letter of support this week. "Because in a sense, it's incredibly brave not to go to school for once."

Scientists have warned for decades that current levels of greenhouse gas emissions are unsustainable, so far with little effect. In 2015, world leaders agreed in Paris to a goal of keeping the Earth's global temperature rise by the end of the century well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Yet at present, the world is on track for an increase of 4 degrees Celsius, which experts say would have far-reaching consequences for life on the planet.

"As a doctor, I can say it makes a big difference whether you've got a fever of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) or 43 C (109.4 F)," said Eckart von Hirschhausen, a German scientist who signed the call supporting striking students. "One of those is compatible with life, the other isn't."

Other action

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have publicly welcomed the student protests, even as their policies have been criticized as too limited by environmental activists.

In France, activist groups launched legal action this week for failing to do enough to fight climate change, citing a similar successful effort in the Netherlands.

In Germany, environmental groups and experts have attacked government plans to continue using coal and natural gas for decades to come. Activists say that countries like Germany should fully "decarbonize" by 2040, giving less-advanced nations a bit more time to wean themselves off fossil fuels while still meeting the Paris goal globally.

Other changes needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions include ramping up renewable energy production, reining in over-consumption culture now spreading beyond the industrialized West and changing diets, experts say.

"The fight against climate change is going to be uncomfortable, in parts, and we need to have a society-wide discussion about this," said Quaschning.

That conversation is likely to get louder, with several U.S. presidential hopefuls planning to campaign on climate change.

Luisa Neubauer, one of the Berlin group organizing Fridays for Future, said politicians should take note of the young.

"For the European elections in May, we're urging everyone to think about whether they want to give their vote to a party that doesn't have a plan for the future and the climate," she said. (VOA)

British Parliament to Vote on Revised Brexit Deal

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Britain's parliament is holding the first of what could be three days of votes Tuesday in order to decide how to proceed with its divorce from the European Union.

Members are voting Tuesday on Prime Minister Theresa May's latest version of her plan, based on an agreement her government reached with the EU last year.

It initially got little support when first put to a vote, but May made a last-ditch trip to Strasbourg on Monday to secure altered terms in talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that she hopes will win over her opponents.

May said Juncker announced "legally binding changes" that in part address the longtime sticking point involving what to do with the border between Britain's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

The original deal calls for a so-called backstop agreement that keeps Britain and the EU in a customs union until they agree on a new trade agreement. Opponents in Britain's parliament are concerned about being locked into EU rules instead of being able to gain full control of trade policies.

May said the new terms agreed to Monday would ensure the backstop deal is not a permanent part of Britain's exit from the EU.

The opposition Labour Party rejected the plan, saying it still does not go far enough to allay their concerns.

Juncker warned that Britain is running out of options for Brexit, which is set to take place March 29.

"It is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all," he said.

If the Brexit agreement fails the Tuesday vote, another would be held on Wednesday to see if lawmakers approve of exiting the EU at the end of the month with no terms in place. If that fails too, a third vote would come Thursday on whether to ask the EU for more time. (VOA)

Benjamin Netanyahu Campaign Draws Accusations of Incitement

JERUSALEM, LELEMUKU.COM - When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel's Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base.

Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in on prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi.

The Israeli leader, slumping in the polls after the dramatic announcement of his pending corruption indictment, is portraying Tibi as a threat to national security in a charged campaign that critics say questions the loyalty of the country's Arab citizens.

Using his own nickname, Netanyahu has been repeating a campaign mantra: “Bibi or Tibi.” The snappy slogan, eagerly parroted by his hard-line allies, highlights Netanyahu's efforts to paint his challengers as weak “leftists” conspiring with Arab Israelis and a hostile media to oust him.

It also shines a spotlight on Tibi — an affable, media-savvy political veteran who speaks fluent Hebrew. Tibi is known for his harsh criticism of government policies toward the country's Arab citizens and toward Palestinians who live under Israeli control in territories Israel captured in 1967.

“Until this week, I didn't know that against my will I was a leading candidate for prime minister,” he said with a smile from his home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Despite the humor, Tibi said he is concerned about what he views as Netanyahu's attempt to demonize Israel's Arab minority.

“He is delegitimizing the Arab parties, the Arab lawmakers and the Arab public in general,” he said. “He's trying to transmit that it is either me, the supposed patriotic Jewish leader, or the Arabs will take over the country and decide who will be the prime minister. And he portrays this as a nightmare.”

Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's 9 million residents. They hold full citizenship rights but have faced decades of discrimination.

The outgoing Netanyahu-led government further stoked tensions by passing a controversial law that defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. A parliamentary panel recently recommended banning an Arab party from running in the election, while Netanyahu has courted anti-Arab extremists in hopes of improving his re-election chances.

Part of Netanyahu's typical stump speech these days alleges that his prime challenger, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, will be unable to build a ruling coalition without the backing of Arab parties. Arab parties never sat in an Israeli coalition government, and they say they have no interest in doing so now.

Gantz has been quick to reject the association, flaunting his tough military record of pounding Gaza militants and saying he would not rely on the Arab bloc in parliament to stabilize a future government.

The charge nonetheless is part of the Netanyahu campaign playbook that has worked before.

Fearing a possible loss on election day in 2015, Netanyahu mobilized his supporters by releasing a frantic midday video in which he warned that Arab voters were heading “in droves” to the polls. The move, for which he later apologized, appeared to help turn the tide and secure another term for him.

If he wins again, he's expected to walk back his rhetoric once more, said Yohanan Plesner, president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.

Plesner said Netanyahu tends to speak in two voices about the Arab minority.

He said Netanyahu has earmarked unprecedented budgets to Arab communities to try to close the wide economic gaps between Arabs and Jews.

But during election campaigns, Netanyahu attempts to mobilize his base, Plesner said. Netanyahu “recruits the ultimate `other' of Israeli life, which is the Arab minority,” he said. “It is cynical, and it is effective.”

Such rhetoric will encourage more Arab voters to sit out the election, said Thabet Abu Rass, co-director of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, a non-profit dedicated to promoting equality in Israel.

“A lot of people are now saying we cannot continue to play the game and pretend Israel is a state for all its citizens,” he said. “And they'll say we have to highlight this by boycotting the election.”

At the same time, many Israeli Jews, especially among Netanyahu's right-wing base, consider the Arab minority disloyal for sympathizing with the Palestinians and other Arab adversaries. A decade ago, Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara fled into exile after he was accused of spying for Hezbollah — a charge he denied.

The 60-year-old Tibi illustrates many of the contradictions faced by Israel's Arabs. He's worked as a gynecologist in Israeli hospitals and served for years as a member of parliament, but also advised Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.

For the past two decades, Tibi has advocated for Arab rights in Israel and for a Palestinian state. Hard-line lawmakers frequently brand him a fifth-column in the Israeli legislature.

But he is also considered the most popular Arab lawmaker, even among Israeli Jews. He is a regular on their television screens, known for his witty quips.

In parliament, he's earned praise for his environmental and consumer legislation and for his promotion of Holocaust commemoration that touched many Jews.

In the current election campaign, he has refrained from endorsing any of Netanyahu's challengers, wary of playing into the prime minister's hands. Tibi said he is ill at ease with the leadership of the Blue-and-White party, which includes Gantz and two other former chiefs of what he calls the “occupation army.”

But he makes no qualms about wanting to unseat Netanyahu, whom he accuses of “Arab hatred” and of leading Israel down a dangerous path by deepening control over the occupied West Bank and its millions of Palestinians.

“It's possible that Benjamin Netanyahu is leading us toward a binational state, and then it will either be an apartheid state in which only the Jews can vote or a democratic country in which there is one person, one vote,” he said. “If that happens, tomorrow I will run against Bibi. Then it will really be Bibi or Tibi.” (VOA)

US-Allied Syrian Kurds Reportedly Sell Oil to Damascus Government

WASHINGTON, LELEMUKU.COM - The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been selling oil from fields that it controls in the east of Syria, despite U.S. economic sanctions. The Syrian government and the Kurds have been discussing possible autonomy conditions with Damascus in light of the expected U.S. pullout from the north of the country in April, and Arab media reports that oil resources are one of the main topics of negotiation.

Arab media reports say Kurdish negotiators from the U.S.-allied SDF in the north of Syria and Syrian government officials, including intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, have been holding autonomy talks since mid-January, in Damascus and at the Russian Hmeimem Airbase in Latakya.

The Syrian government is reportedly discussing control of oil fields in the northeast of the country, now under Kurdish control, along with Kurdish demands to continue an education program in Kurdish, which Damascus rejects.

The U.S. daily Wall Street Journal reported Friday the Syrian-owned Qatirji Group is purchasing oil from the SDF and refining it for use in areas of the country that it controls. The head of the group was recently placed under U.S. economic sanctions.

University of Paris Professor Khattar Abou Diab tells VOA he thinks the oil sales are mostly "black market" deals and the Islamic State group had also sold oil from the same fields to the Syrian government when they controlled them.

He says U.S. forces are planning to complete their withdrawal by April, and that (all parties) are preparing for that moment in order to fill the void to the east of the Euphrates River. In this race against the clock, he stresses, Turkey is negotiating with both the United States and Russia, while the Kurds are negotiating with the United States and the Syrian government.

American University of Beirut Political Science Professor Hilal Khashan said the parties in the Syrian conflict are involved in "pragmatic business dealings", rather than issues of "morality."

"The war in Syria is a proxy war and everyone there is fighting on behalf of someone else. The Kurds need cash. If they do not get it from the Syrian government through the sale of oil, then they might be asking the United States for the money. So, I do not see any ideological issue for the United States. Politics is about pragmatism. These people are selling oil. If Assad does not get oil from the Kurds, he will get it from another source," said Khashan.

Lebanese economist and former finance minister Georges Corm told VOA he believes the Kurds in the north of Syria have an "interest in establishing a constructive dialogue with the Syrian government," given the "threats by Turkish President Erdogan to set up a security zone in northern Syria."

He said Syria is being aided by powerful countries with economic resources like China, Russia and Iran, so he does not think U.S. economic sanctions will have a major effect on the Syrian government. He also argues the Syrian economy has traditionally been self-sufficient, so it is less dependent on outside forces.

Arab media, however, reported in recent weeks the Syrian currency has lost more of its value to the dollar, currently trading on the black market at between 600 and 700 Syrian lira to the dollar, causing increasing economic hardships for many people.. (VOA)

French Airstrikes in North Chad Affirm Support for President Idriss Deby

NDJAMENA, LELEMUKU.COM - When French fighter jets bombarded 40 pickup trucks of suspected insurgents last week in Chad, the former colonial power signaled an unprecedented willingness to engage openly in joint military operations in Northern Africa.

But observers, including Chadian opposition leaders, are questioning whether the airstrikes were intended to fight terrorism or prop up President Idriss Deby, who has led Chad for nearly 30 years.

“The French launched the airstrikes themselves, and they did not even try to make it seem as if they were not interfering with Chadian politics,” said Marielle Debos, an associate professor at Paris Nanterre University. Debos, who has researched the country for more than a decade, told VOA in the past the French army’s support has been more discreet.

On February 3, French jets attacked a convoy of heavily armed pickup trucks that had entered Chad from neighboring Libya. The strikes lasted four days.

France said it had responded to a request for assistance from the Chadian government, calling the country an essential partner in the fight against terrorism.

Chadian officials said the attacks were legal and necessary to prevent terrorist activity.

“Both the French and the Chadian governments were portraying this as a decision that they undertook together,” said Alex Thurston, an assistant professor in political science and comparative religion at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio.

Joint operation

The planes flew from N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, where France headquarters its 4,500-person anti-terror mission, Operation Barkhane.

“There are agreements between states. Operation Barkhane covers a number of countries, and their role is precisely to fight terrorism,” said Mahamat Zen Bada, the secretary general of Chad’s ruling party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, or MPS.

“If a column [of fighters] enters Chad, and that column is not a column of the Chadian army, it is normal for people to intervene,” VOA’s French-to-Africa service reported Bada as saying.

But others are questioning why France would attack a rebel group on behalf of Chad, an ally with a spotty record on human rights and democracy.

The opposition party denounced the airstrike.

“We condemn the intervention of France in the internal affairs of Chad,” said Célestin Topona, the first vice president of the National Union for Development and Renewal.

“We want a truly inclusive dialogue to know why, 30 years after the MPS took power, the instability continues,”Topona added.

Historical ties

France has intervened on behalf of Deby before.

In 2006 and 2008, when rebels based in Sudan advanced to the capital, France helped the Chadian Army repel the attacks with logistics and intelligence support.

“It’s possible —highly possible — that without French support that he would’ve been overthrown at the time,” Thurston said. “I think the French government sees a strong interest in keeping him in power.”

Although Barkhane has been operational since 2014, France established another military operation in Chad, Épervier, in 1986, under former President Hissène Habré.

At the time, France was backing Habré, before Déby and his supporters threw him from power.

“What is striking in this history is the fact that the French never left Chad. There has been a succession of military interventions in Chad, and Barkhane is the latest of this military intervention,” Debos said.

'French interests'

After years of instability, Chad has gained a newfound stature as an important regional player, especially in joint security operations.

“Chad has long been considered as a very unstable and conflict-ridden country, but for the past eight years, it has acquired a new regional and global status,” Debos said. “It is now considered as a regional power.”

That’s raised the stakes for France.

“The French tend to point to issues of border security and stability and so forth and to say that the Chadian regime should not be overthrown by rebels and that it’s a key partner for them,” Thurston said.

“This does raise questions about what is the French government’s understanding of so-called counterterrorism in the region, and what are the French interests in Chad,” he added. (Andre Kodmadjingar/VOA)

Bulgaria to Check Sergei Skripal Suspect Link to 2015 Poisoning

SOFIA, LELEMUKU.COM - Bulgaria will investigate reports that a new suspect in the Skripal nerve agent attack in Britain may also have been involved in a 2015 poisoning in Bulgaria, a ruling party lawmaker said Saturday.

A parliamentary committee will on Thursday seek information from the intelligence services following a new investigation into the attempted poisoning of local businessman Emiliyan Gebrev, said Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the parliamentary leader of the ruling GERB party.

"I am certain that the necessary coordination has already been set up between the Bulgarian, British and European authorities on the case and they are working actively on it," he added.

The statement was the first official reaction in Bulgaria to a report issued last week by the investigative website Bellingcat.

That report identified a hitherto unknown third suspect in last year's attack in Salisbury, England, on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Russian role alleged

Skripal and his adult daughter were discovered unconscious on a Salisbury park bench after they had been poisoned by the highly toxic nerve agent Novichokin an attack the British government said was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state.

Although they both recovered, a British woman died last June after her partner picked up a discarded perfume bottle that investigators believe was used to carry the Novichok.

British-based group Bellingcathas already used open-source techniques to identify two Russian military intelligence officers, Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, accused by Britain of carrying out the attack.

Despite Russian denials that they were involved, both men are now the subject of EU sanctions.

Bellingcat'slatest report identifies a third man — named by his alias "Sergey Fedotov" — as being involved in the British attack, having arrived in Britain two days before the Skripals were poisoned.

They concluded that the same man may also have been involved in the attempted poisoning in April 2015 ofGebrev, a veteran of the Bulgarian arms industry.

Presence in Sofia

"Fedotov" is said to have flown into Sofia from Moscow just days before Gebrevcollapsed at a reception there on April 28, 2015, and fell into a coma with symptoms of severe poisoning.

His son and one of his company executives were treated with similar symptoms, although all three recovered.

On Friday, the Bulgarian weekly newspaper Capital cited Interior Ministry sources as confirming Fedotov's itinerary in Bulgaria.

The Salisbury attack, the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II, caused an international outcry and prompted a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by Western nations — but not by Bulgaria. (VOA)

Britain's Prince Philip, 97, Gives Up Driver's License After Crash

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Prince Philip has decided to stop driving at age 97, less than a month after he was involved in a collision that left two women injured, Buckingham Palace said Saturday.

The palace said in a statement that "after careful consideration,'' Queen Elizabeth II's husband "has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving license.''

Philip was behind the wheel of a Land Rover near the royal family's Sandringham estate in eastern England when he smashed into another car on Jan. 17. Philip had to behelped outof his overturned vehicle but wasn't injured. Two women in the other car were injured, though not seriously, and a 9-month-old baby boy was unhurt.

Philip was photographed driving again two days later, without a seat belt. Police said they offered him "suitable words of advice'' after that.

The prince was not charged in the crash. Police said he and the other driver were both given breath tests for alcohol and passed.

In a letter of apology to one of the injured women, Philip said he was dazzled by the sun when he pulled onto a main road near the royal retreat, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of London.

He told Emma Fairweather, who suffered a broken wrist in the crash, that "I can only imagine that I failed to see the car coming, and I am very contrite about the consequences.'' The letter was published by a newspaper.

There is no upper age limit for licensing drivers in Britain, although drivers over 70 are required to renew their licenses every three years and tell authorities about any medical conditions that might raise safety issues. (VOA)

Ex-PM, Yulia Tymoshenko Accuses Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko of Corruption

KIEV, LELEMUKU.COM - Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is running for president in next month's election, accused the incumbent of corruption — charges his office rejected as a lie as the race was heating up.

Tymoshenko told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that President Petro Poroshenko has used his position to enrich himself. She also alleged that Poroshenko's associates have engaged in a sprawling effort to bribe voters to ensure his re-election in the March 31 presidential vote.

Tymoshenko, 58, claimed that voters are being offered 1,000 hryvnia ($37) in exchange for supporting the 53-year-old Poroshenko, adding that she asked the Interior Ministry to investigate.

“They are setting up that network of bribery across the entire country,” she said. “I hope that the Interior Ministry will not allow that to be the basis of the president's campaign. How can a ‘democratic’ president treat his nation like that?”

Poroshenko's office quickly dismissed Tymoshenko's claims.

“Tymoshenko has been invariably leading the ratings of liars, and she obviously tries now to strengthen her positions,” Poroshenko's press service said in a written statement in response to AP requests for comment.

The statement sought to turn the tables on Tymoshenko, charging that it was her political movement that engaged in bribing voters, noting that one of its activists has recently been convicted on those charges.

Recent opinion polls have shown 41-year-old comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who played the nation's president in a popular TV series, surging ahead of Tymoshenko and Poroshenko.

A survey conducted jointly by four respected polling agencies that was released Monday had 21.9 percent of respondents supporting Zelenskiy while Tymoshenko had 19.2 percent and Poroshenko was third with 14.8 Percent. Other candidates were trailing behind.

The poll of 10,000 people in face-to-face interviews was completed last week and had a margin of error of 1 percentage point.

Zelenskiy's high rating reflects both his popularity as a widely-recognizable TV persona and the public disillusionment with current leaders.

Ukraine has been hit by economic troubles and a sharp plunge in living standards after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and a separatist insurgency in the east.

Tymoshenko pointed at Poroshenko's personal fortune and alleged that the president, a multimillionaire with assets including a chocolate maker, media and other businesses, has profited from the fighting.

“The president has made some of those earnings by lending his own money to the country at fantastically high interest rates during the war,” she told the AP. “This is an example of a conflict of interests. This is an example of how people abuse their senior position to engage in politicized, corrupt business.”

In 2014, Forbes estimated Poroshenko's fortune at $1.3 billion. The value of his assets has shrunk since then.

Tymoshenko promised to track down “every copeck” and show “how the country has been robbed during the war under the cover of patriotic slogans” if she wins the vote.

She also promised to initiate constitutional amendments to increase the powers of parliament.

Tymoshenko served as the country's prime minister in 2007-2010. She later spent two-and-a-half years in prison for signing a gas deal with Russia, which was largely viewed as retribution by her political rival, then-President Viktor Yanukovych.

She narrowly lost to Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential vote and to Poroshenko in 2014 after Yanukovych was driven from power by massive protests.

Tymoshenko, a native of the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine, has been positioning herself as a pro-NATO, pro-European Union candidate and a staunch supporter of the troops who are fighting Russia-backed separatist in the industrial Donbas region. (VOA)

Nissan Cancels Plans to Make SUV in UK

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Nissan announced Sunday it has cancelled plans to make its X-Trail SUV in the UK — a sharp blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who fought to have the model built in northern England as she sought to shore up confidence in the British economy after it leaves the European Union.

Nissan said it will consolidate production of the next generation X-Trail at its plant in Kyushu, Japan, where the model is currently produced, allowing the company to reduce investment costs in the early stages of the project.

That reverses a decision in late 2016 to build the SUV at Nissan's Sunderland plant in northern England, which employs 7,000 workers. That plant will continue to make Nissan's Juke and Qashqai models. The announcement Sunday made no mention of any layoffs relating to the X-Trail SUV decision.

"While we have taken this decision for business reasons, the continued uncertainty around the UK's future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours to plan for the future," Nissan Europe Chairman Gianluca de Ficchy said in a statement.

Less than two months before Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29, Britain still doesn't have an agreement on what will replace 45 years of frictionless trade. This has caused an enormous amount of concern among businesses in Britain, which fear the country is going to crash out of the vast EU trade bloc without a divorce deal, a scenario economists predict would hurt the U.K. economy.

The Nissan decision, first reported by Sky News, is a major setback for May's Conservative government, which had pointed to Nissan's 2016 announcement that Sunderland would make the SUV — months after the country's Brexit referendum — as proof that major manufacturers still had confidence in Britain's economic future.

Nissan's announced its plans to build the X-Trail and Qashqai models in Sunderland after the government sent a letter to company officials offering undisclosed reassurances about its ability to compete in the future.

British politicians have sharply criticized May's Brexit deal and voted it down in Parliament.

May's government has refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit, saying the threat strengthens her hand with EU negotiators. Parliament voted last week to give May more time to try to iron out a compromise with the bloc.

Nissan's change of heart comes just days after Britain's carmakers issued a stark assessment about Brexit's impact on the industry, warning that their exports are at risk if the U.K. leaves the EU without an agreement.

Investment in the industry fell 46 percent last year and new car production dropped 9.1 percent to 1.52 million vehicles, in part because of concerns over Brexit, the Society of Motor Manufacturing said.

The group's chief executive, Mike Hawes, described the threat of a no-deal Brexit as "catastrophic."

He says the drop in investment is only a foreshadowing of what could happen if the U.K. leaves the EU on March 29 without a deal.

"With fewer than 60 days before we leave the EU and the risk of crashing out without a deal looking increasingly real, UK Automotive is on red alert," Hawes said Thursday. "Brexit uncertainty has already done enormous damage to output, investment and jobs." (VOA)

Pope Travels to UAE in Support of Tolerance, Interfaith Dialogue

VATICAN, LELEMUKU.COM - Pope Francis is seeking to turn a page in Christian-Muslim relations while also ministering to a unique, thriving island of Catholicism as he embarks on the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

While Francis is building on two of his priorities with his Sunday-Tuesday visit to the United Arab Emirates — promoting interfaith dialogue and visiting the Catholic peripheries — diplomatic protocol will likely dictate that he leaves other concerns behind.

The Emirates’ support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, which has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and the UAE’s problematic record on human rights and labor violations at home will likely will get a pass, at least in public.

Interreligious dialogue

Francis is traveling to Abu Dhabi to participate in a conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored by the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, an initiative that seeks to counter religious fanaticism by promoting a moderate brand of Islam. It’s the brainchild of Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the revered 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world.

It will be the fifth meeting between Francis and el-Tayeb, evidence that Al-Azhar’s freeze in relations with the Holy See sparked by Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 comments linking Islam to violence has thoroughly thawed.

In a video message to the Emirates on the eve of his trip, Francis paid homage to his “friend and dear brother’’el-Tayeb and praised his courage in calling the meeting to assert that “God unites and doesn’t divide.’’

“I am pleased with this meeting offered by the Lord to write, on your dear land, a new page in the history of relations among religions and confirm that we are brothers despite our differences,’’ Francis said.

In a statement Saturday, Al-Azhar described the upcoming meeting as “historic’’ and praised the “deeply fraternal relationship’’ between its imam and the pope, which it said even includes birthday greetings.

Openness to other faiths
Francis and el-Tayeb are to address the “Human Fraternity Meeting’’ Monday that has drawn not only Christian and Muslim representatives but hundreds of Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other Christian faith leaders. It’s all part of the Emirates’ “Year of Tolerance’’ and its effort to show its openness to other faiths in a region otherwise known for severe restrictions on religions outside of Islam.

“It’s something new for the Muslim world, that within the discussion of dialogue, they’re talking about interreligious dialogue across the board,’’ beyond basic Christian-Muslim relations, said Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Sant’Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic organization active in interfaith relations who will be attending the conference.

Mass for thousands

Francis’ other main initiative in Abu Dhabi is a giant Mass on Tuesday in the city’s main sports arena that is expected to draw some 135,000 people in what some have called the largest show of public Christian worship on the Arabian Peninsula. There, Francis will see firsthand a Catholic community that is big, diverse and dynamic, at a time when the wider Mideast has seen an exodus of Christians fleeing persecution at the hands of the Islamic State group and others.

Of the more than 9 million people now living in the UAE, around 1 million are Emirati while the rest are foreigners drawn to the oil-rich federation to work in everything from white-collar finance to construction.

The Catholic Church believes there are about 1 million Catholics in the UAE. Most are Filipino and Indian, many of whom have left behind families for work and can face precarious labor conditions, which human rights groups regularly denounce.

“The church has a unique role because it becomes home,’’ said Brandon Vaidyanathan, chair of the sociology department at Catholic University in Washington, who grew up in Dubai. “It becomes a place of belonging’’ in a country where foreigners can live, work and practice their faith but will never gain citizenship.

Vaidyanathan, who converted from Hinduism to Catholicism while living in Dubai, said the Emirates’ religious tolerance is commendable given the trends of the region. He noted the “unprecedented” nature of the government’s invitation to Francis, its donation of lands for churches and even a recent decision to rename a mosque “Mother Mary of Jesus.’’

Religious freedom vs. freedom to worship

Yet he pointed to the difference between freedom to worship and true religious freedom. Crosses, for example, can only be displayed inside churches, proselytizing for faiths other than Islam is banned and Muslims are forbidden from converting.

Francis will likely focus on issues of religious freedom and fraternity in his public remarks. Unlike all his other foreign trips, he will not deliver a political speech.

Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the reason was to give greater emphasis to his speech to the interfaith conference. He dodged a question about whether Francis would raise Yemen’s yearslong war in his private talks with the sheikh. The UAE is deeply involved in the Saudi-led war in the Arab world’s poorest country, where tens of thousands have been killed and millions face food and medical shortages.

“I don’t know if the Holy Father will confront it publicly or privately, but certainly on many occasions, even recently, he has underlined the need to search for peace in particular to guarantee the humanitarian rights of the population, especially children,’’ Gisotti said.

Aid groups working in Yemen hope Francis won’t just rely on his past appeals, but will use his visit to bring his message to the Emirati leadership. (VOA)

UK Minister: ‘Irresponsible’ of EU to Not Reopen Brexit Deal

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - It would be irresponsible for the European Union to refuse to reopen negotiations over Britain’s exit deal, British trade minister Liam Fox said in an interview aired Sunday.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is seeking changes to the Withdrawal Agreement she agreed to with Brussels last year in order to win the support of parliament.

The EU has said the deal cannot be renegotiated.

“Are they really saying that they would rather not negotiate and end up in a ‘no-deal’ position?” Fox told Sky News in a prerecorded interview. “It is in all our interests to get to that agreement and for the EU to say we are not going to even discuss it seems to me to be quite irresponsible.”

With less than two months until Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29, the opposition Labour Party has said it is now inevitable that the government will have to request an extension to the Article 50 exit negotiation period.

Fox, who has previously spoken out strongly against delaying the exit date, said extending the negotiations without a deal in place would not solve anything, but it was “a very different argument” if Britain just needed more time to get the necessary legislation in place for a smooth exit.

He is the second senior minister to suggest such a delay may be needed, after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Thursday Britain may need time to get legislation through.

“There is a big difference between if we had an agreement and we need some time to get the legalities done, that is one thing,” Fox said. “I think to extend simply because we hadn’t reached an agreement would not provide any impetus for that agreement to be reached.”

Fox said Britain would “be able to deal” with leaving the bloc without an agreement but it would not be in the country’s interests. (VOA)

UN Need $162 Million to Protect and Aid Most Vulnerable in Eastern Ukraine This Year

NEW YORK, LELEMUKU.COM - The United Nations is appealing for $162 million to provide protection and life-saving assistance to 2.3 million of the most vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine, which is in its fifth year of civil war.

The United Nations reports more than 3,300 people have been killed and up to 9,000 injured since 2014 when civil war broke out in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and the government.

The conflict remains active and potentially deadly for millions of civilians who are liable to be hit by daily shelling and sniper fire. Nearly 2 million of the 2.3 million people the U.N. plans to assist this year are located on both sides of the contact line. This is the 500-kilometer line of separation between Ukrainian Government and rebel forces.

Spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, tells VOA the increasingly protracted nature of the conflict is having a particularly severe impact on the elderly. He says they comprise one-third of people in need, the highest proportion of elderly affected in the world.

“That is a special problem not least because they have limited mobility. They cannot go and collect their pensions," said Laerke. "They cannot go to health centers. They cannot get out of their homes and houses. So, they are suffering alone in their homes. These days it is extremely cold. They may not have fuel. They do not have access to the food that they need. They do not have access to the medicine that they may require.”

Laerke says this grim picture is magnified by the risks people encounter along the contact line. He says large stretches of populated areas in the buffer zone dividing the warring factions are littered with landmines and explosive remnants of war. The United Nations reports these weapons caused 270 deaths and injuries last year.

Money from the appeal will provide food, shelter and household items, access to clean water, education and health. It also will support winterization activities, such as supplying people with warm blankets, kerosene for heating and other relief needed to help them survive the harsh winter. (VOA)

Poland’s Political Divide Widens More After Mayor Pawel Adamowicz Is Slain

WARSAW, LELEMUKU.COM - Krzysztof Strzemeski watched with unease as a high school friend voiced support for Poland’s nationalist government on social media, followed by hate-filled extremist posts. But when the liberal mayor of Gdansk was stabbed to death in public in January, he could no longer hold back his anger.

“Congratulations for your perseverance sharing right-wing filth,” the 58-year-old university lecturer wrote to his former classmate. The two haven’t communicated since.

Poland’s political fissures have widened in recent months, pitting conservatives — many of them government supporters — against liberal critics who accuse the ruling party of threatening the country’s hard-won democracy by undermining the independence of the judiciary and the media.

In this toxic atmosphere, there has been an increase in hate speech, political threats and, most stunningly, the assassination of popular Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz, a critic of the ruling Law and Justice Party’s anti-immigrant policies.

After stabbing Adamowicz during a Jan. 13 charity event, the attacker grabbed a microphone and said that was his revenge against an opposition political party that Adamowicz had once belonged to.

Although there have been suggestions the assailant also had psychological problems, some government critics blamed Poland’s heated political discourse, some of it from state television. Commentators had often vilified Adamowicz for his open acceptance of refugees and gays, and his widow said he had been getting death threats, causing the family to live in fear.

Poles have long spoken of “two tribes” in their central European country. Now, increasingly there is talk of a “Polish-Polish war” — a divide that is greater than at any time since the 1980s, when the Soviet-backed Communist regime tried to crush the Solidarity freedom movement by imposing martial law.

The wedge issues that Poland faces are familiar in many other places: immigration and borders, abortion, the relationship of the nation’s mostly Catholic society to Jews, Muslims and other faiths, and the rights of gays and women.

On one level, it seems to be a microcosm of the political struggles elsewhere in Europe and in the United States. But Poland is also one of the European Union’s largest and most economically dynamic countries, and its course will help shape the continent’s future.

Poland’s current government has aligned itself with other populist, conservative or nationalist figures — U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The Law and Justice Party won the 2015 election amid Europe’s migration crisis and a weariness with the centrist government that had been in power for eight years. Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski vowed more help for the poor, a tough anti-corruption stance and a hard line against Muslim migrants, who he said carried “parasites and protozoa” dangerous to the native European population.

After mass street protests against his party’s plans to overhaul the judicial system, Kaczynski turned his language against internal critics, referring to protesters as “the worst sort of Poles” and “national traitors.” His language was widely denounced as reminiscent of the worst of the last century in Europe.

Last year saw a surge in anti-Semitic rhetoric in Poland after the passage of a controversial Holocaust speech law. Some of that was spoken even by public officials and TV commentators, creating a new normal in what seems to be acceptable speech.

On Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a far-right activist who had been imprisoned for burning an effigy of a Jew in 2015 staged a protest outside the Auschwitz memorial site, saying it was time to “fight Jewry.” Holocaust survivors had gathered for solemn observances not far away.

Muslims, while only a tiny percentage of Poland’s population, have increasingly been taunted, spat on and even assaulted, according to the Never Again association, which monitors such crimes.

Since Adamowicz’s killing, prosecutors have faced criticism for failing to investigate death threats against politicians. Two weeks before his death, the public prosecutor halted proceedings into symbolic “political death notices” that the far-right group All-Polish Youth issued for Adamowicz and 10 other mayors who had pledged support for the integration of migrants.

There also have been dramatic calls on all sides for reconciliation. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has met with opposition leaders and urged more “mutual respect” in public debate.

But state television continues to vilify ideological opponents.

Last week, journalists on a talk show lashed out at Rafal Pankowski, a sociologist and the head of Never Again. One of them called him a “terrible” person, among those “who live from a hatred of their own fatherland.”

Pankowski, who will be honored by the Anti-Defamation League next week for his work fighting anti-Semitism, decried the “climate of hatred in the air” and the fact that taxpayer money was going to fund such “crass propaganda.”

Marcin Makowski, a conservative journalist and commentator, said he believes it’s unfair to put all the blame on the government, recalling instances of harsh political rhetoric used by its opponents that fanned hatred and in some cases seemed to call for violence. When Kaczynski’s brother, President Lech Kaczynski, died in a plane crash in 2010, some even joked about it, Makowski recalled.

“None of them are saints and pretending as such is pure hypocrisy,” Makowski said. (VOA)

Gloom Lifts in Elysee as Townhall Debates Re-energize Emmanuel Macron

PARIS, LELEMUKU.COM - At the peak of France's "yellow vest" crisis, President Emmanuel Macron's wife and close aides were shown the Elysee Palace's nuclear-proof bunker in case the anti-government protesters attempted an assault on the presidency.

The startling revelation by Journal du Dimanche, which the president's office has not denied, shows just how anxious Macron's inner circle were over the challenge to his authority, as he sought a way to quell popular anger.

Six weeks on, Macron is back on the offensive and opinion polls point to a recovery in his battered popularity. Successful outings to a trio of townhall debates with local mayors and disenchanted voters have re-energized the president and lifted the gloom in his office.

In Bourg-de-Peage in the southern Drome region, Macron turned up unannounced at a local debate, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, and for several hours explained his policies aimed at spurring growth and creating jobs.

"This was the Emmanuel Macron I remembered, the spirit from the campaign was back," one aide who worked with Macron during the 2016-2017 presidential campaign told Reuters.

The yellow vests, named after high-visibility vests French drivers must keep in their cars, had thrown Macron onto the defensive late last year. Their initial protests— against fuel tax hikes that Macron then scrapped— spiraled into a broader movement against the political elite and inequality, triggering some of the worst street violence in Paris in decades.

Despite the recovery in his fortunes, Macron told reporters on a flight to Egypt on Sunday that he still felt like he was "walking on thin ice."

That same day, however, 10,000 pro-government supporters marched in the rain in a riposte to the yellow vest protests.

It was a far cry from the million citizens who rallied in support of General Charles de Gaulle at a march that helped end the May 1968 uprising, but still a welcome sight for Macron supporters who had questioned whether he could bounce back.

'A rather beautiful moment'

In another small victory for Macron, he appears for now to have changed the narrative coming out of France's influential 24-hour news channels.

BFM TV's ticker, which Macron's PR team obsesses over, went from "Macron pushed to the wall" in December to "Will Macron emerge from this victorious?" last weekend.

Even Macron's opponents acknowledge that he has performed well in the townhall sessions, part of a two-month long national debate Macron promises will influence policymaking, appearing self-assured and confident as the audiences grilled him.

"In terms of form, the performance was a success," Damien Abad, a lawmaker for the center-right Les Republicains party told Reuters. "It was a rather beautiful moment. But the French expect more than unanswered questions."

An Ifop poll last week showed Macron's popularity up 4 points at 27 percent. Surveys have also shown his party back ahead of the far-right in voting intentions for the May European Parliament elections.

But there is no guarantee that trend will continue, and the yellow vest protests rumble on. Some want to channel their energy into becoming a political force and aim to contest the May EU elections, though that decision has revealed deep splits within their amorphous movement.

Macron, a former investment banker, has been told by advisers to avoid some of the cutting remarks that angered voters and made him look arrogant, but he is still prone to faux pas.

Moreover, further tough reforms lie ahead. Plans for stricter rules on unemployment benefits, a leaner public sector and a merging of varying pension plans into a single system could push voters back onto the streets.

The polls suggest that Macron's increasingly tough response to the violent street marches has reassured conservative voters unnerved by the scale of the unrest.

"In my constituency, I'm told 'we're not always for your policies, but we want this whole saga to end'," Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, a lawmaker in Macron's La Republique En Marche, told Reuters.

"The French don't like chaos. The grand debate is a smart way to get out of this through the front door."

Analysts warn, however, that Macron's national debate also risks raising expectations.

"Giving people a chance to speak is a big decision, and he'll have to show that it served a purpose," Ifop's Frederic Dabi said. (VOA)

5 Killed in Collision of Helicopter, Plane Over Val d'Aosta Italy

ROME, LELEMUKU.COM - Five people were killed Friday when a helicopter and a small tourist airplane collided near the border between France and Italy.

Italy's mountain rescue service said rescue workers found two people injured at the crash site and evacuated them.

Officials said the helicopter was carrying skiers to a glacier in the northwestern Italian region of Val d'Aosta when it collided with the tourist airplane about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) over the Rutorglacier.

It was not immediately clear how the crash happened. The identities and nationalities of the victims had not yet been released.

Italy's Val d'Aosta regionis popular with skiers. A website for the region says skiers frequently access the area by helicopter during winter. (VOA)

Queen Elizabeth II Urge Britain to Find Common Ground on Brexit

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Queen Elizabeth II urged Britain to seek the common ground and grasp the big picture, a coded plea to the political class to resolve the Brexit crisis that has shocked investors and allies alike.

With the clock ticking down to March 29, the date set in law for Brexit, the United Kingdom is in the deepest political crisis in half a century as it grapples with how, or even whether, to exit the European project it joined in 1973.

While Elizabeth, 92, did not mention Brexit explicitly in a speech to her local Women’s Institute in Norfolk, the monarch said every generation faced “fresh challenges and opportunities.”

“As we look for new answers in the modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture,” the queen said.

The comments were interpreted as a coded signal to Britain’s political class. The Times’ main headline read: “End Brexit feud, Queen tells warring politicians” while the BBC said there was no doubt the monarch was sending a message.

As head of state, the queen remains neutral on politics in public and is unable to vote, though ahead of the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, she made a delicately crafted plea for Scots to think carefully about their future. (VOA)

Sick, Elderly Fear Shortages of Meds, Thanks to Brexit

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Things are already tough for Victoria Mickleburgh, whose 3-year-old daughter Grace, has Type 1 diabetes and needs insulin every day to stay alive.

Mickleburgh, 38, gave up her job as a management consultant to care for her daughter, who must be monitored constantly, even in the middle of the night, to make sure her blood sugar levels are steady. Every time Grace has so much as a cookie, Vicki needs to check her.

So for this family in southeastern England, the question of whether insulin and the equipment needed to deliver it will be available if Britain leaves the European Union without a Brexit agreement is more than just a political debate. Unlike produce or machinery, a delay in the supply of drugs from continental Europe could have dire consequences.

“It’s a life or death situation,” Mickleburgh said. The constant talk about a no-deal Brexit and the havoc it could cause in trade with the EU is making her nervous. “You don’t want the additional stress or worry of where her next vial of insulin is going to come from.”

Mickleburgh’s stress highlights a problem for everyone in this country. Britain’s pending departure from the EU comes at a time when drug supplies are stretched because of market forces that have little to do with Brexit. Now pharmacists and drugmakers are concerned that shortages of life-saving medicines may occur if Britain can’t negotiate an agreement to facilitate trade after March 29, the day it is scheduled to leave the bloc.

Planning for a no-deal Brexit

The risk of a no-deal Brexit is increasing as Prime Minister Theresa May tries to push ahead with the draft agreement she negotiated with the EU after it was overwhelmingly defeated by Parliament. While opposition leaders have demanded that the government reject the possibility of a no-deal departure, May says this would weaken her negotiating position.

Against this backdrop, the government has stepped up planning for the disruptions that are likely to be caused if 45 years of free trade end abruptly March 29, triggering border checks that could cause lengthy delays at the English Channel ports that are the gateway to trade with the EU. Pharmaceutical companies are building up stockpiles of drugs in Britain and insist they are ready for disruption.

“Despite the industry doing everything it can (to prepare) for no deal, the complexity of no deal means there will be stresses in the system,” said Mike Thompson, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, which represents drugmakers who supply more than 80 percent of branded medicines to the National Health Service. “This is a challenge for everybody.”

Stockpiling not enough

But stockpiling isn’t enough to ensure long-term supplies because two-thirds of the medicines consumed in the U.K. come from the continent and 90 percent of that is shipped on trucks through three chokepoints: Calais in France and the ports of Dover and Folkestone in Britain.

Drug companies are pushing the British government to open other ports for their use. There are plans to lease additional ferries and the government has proposed airlifting drugs if necessary.

“The government recognizes the vital importance of medicines and medical products and is working to ensure that there is sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity to enable these vital products to continue to move freely into the U.K.,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a statement, adding that medicines would be given priority over other things.

Consumers wonder whether the government is doing enough. Much of the focus has been on drugs that require strict temperature controls and are most at risk from long delays on hot summer days. Insulin, for example, must be stored at between 2 degrees and 8 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees to 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that is Britain’s biggest insulin provider, has made expanding storage capacity one of its primary goals. The company says it has a 16-week supply of insulin in Britain, more than double the normal seven weeks, and it plans to increase that to 18 weeks within the next few months.

“In the event of a no deal Brexit, then the replenishment of the stock is the really key thing here,” said Pinder Sahota, general manager of Novo Nordisk in the U.K. He says the company has booked air freights and looking to transport through additional ports.

Shortages not Brexit related

Britain is already experiencing shortages of some drugs for reasons not to do with Brexit, including manufacturing problems, increasing global demand and price pressures. The Department of Health agreed to pay a premium for 80 generic drugs that were in short supply last month, up from less than 50 in October.

Graham Phillips, superintendent pharmacist at Manor Pharmacy Group in Wheathampstead, north of London, said anxiety is increasing because of Brexit. People in his village, where many are elderly, are already calling the pharmacy because of concerns about supplies.

“I have no confidence that this can be managed on this scale,” he said. “It’s an enormous undertaking. The idea that you can stockpile the whole of the NHS’ drug bill for a six-month period, which is billions of pounds, and you can manage logistics, I think that’s cloud cuckoo land.” (VOA)

No-deal Brexit Would Cost Ford Up to $1 Billion

LONDON, LELEMUKU.COM - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it faces a bill of up to $1 billion if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, comprising World Trade Organization tariffs and the impact of a weaker pound.

The impact of Brexit on Ford, based on internal calculations, would be in the range of $500 million to $1 billion depending on a variety of factors, Ford said in a statement.

Sky News earlier on Thursday reported the hit could be $800 million.

Car makers and other manufacturers, including Airbus earlier on Thursday, have warned about the toll a no-deal Brexit could impose, including higher tariffs, disruption to supply chains and threats to jobs.

Countdown to Brexit

Britain is due to leave the European Union in 64 days, and with Prime Minister Theresa May failing to win support for her negotiated deal, companies are increasingly worried about the possibility of a chaotic Brexit.

Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks on Wednesday declined to say what the financial impact of a no-deal exit could be, but said Ford was already planning for it.

"We clearly have already started to work on the eventuality of there being a hard Brexit," he told reporters at the No. 2 U.S. automaker's headquarters outside Detroit. "We're certainly hoping that does not happen, but we can't wait."

"We're actually incurring costs, doing things now to prepare for that, so there will be an impact. It's a material impact," he added.

Last week, Shanks said a no-deal exit was unlikely, but if it occurred it would be "catastrophic."

Ford estimated last March that a hard Brexit, which would see WTO tariffs of 10 percent on imports and exports and lower levels on components, would cost it up to $1 billion per year.

Top-selling auto brand

Ford, the top-selling automotive brand in Britain, operates two engine plants in Britain, its third-largest market, and the destination for roughly one in three cars made at its German Cologne plant.

On Jan. 10, Ford, which employs 53,000 people in Europe, said it would cut thousands of jobs and look at plant closures in Europe as part of its plan to return to profit in the region.

The automaker employs about 13,000 people in Britain. (VOA)