July 26, 2022

Daily News Brief

*) Erdogan: Participants of Ukraine grain deal must respect pact Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the signatories of an Ankara-brokered deal aimed at unblocking Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea to respect the pact. Erdogan said he expected everyone to act in accordance with their responsibilities. His remark came after a Russian attack on the port of Odessa sparked fresh concerns. Last week, Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed the landmark agreement. In his interview to Türkiye's public broadcaster TRT, Erdogan said failure on the deal would work against all. *) Pope apologises for 'evil' against Canada's Indigenous people Pope Francis has apologised for the "evil" inflicted on the Indigenous peoples of Canada on a visit focused on addressing decades of abuse at Catholic-run residential schools. The 85-year-old pontiff said he also begs forgiveness for "cultural destruction" and the "physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse" of children over decades. The plea was made before a crowd of Indigenous peoples in western Alberta province. *) Saied's supporters celebrate as Tunisians back constitution Tunisian President Kais Saied's supporters are celebrating the almost certain victory of the "yes" vote in a referendum on a new constitution that strengthens the powers of the head of state. The referendum saw about 27.5 percent of 9.3 million registered voters cast ballots. An overwhelming 92-93 percent of those who voted supported the new constitution. The vote was held a year to the day after Saied sacked the government and froze parliament in what rivals call a coup. *) Satellite operators Eutelsat, OneWeb agree to merge French and British satellite operators Eutelsat and OneWeb have announced plans to merge and create a "global champion" in broadband internet, rivalling US giants such as Elon Musk's Starlink. Eutelsat will combine its 36-strong fleet of geostationary Earth orbit satellites with OneWeb's constellation of 648 low Earth orbit satellites to create what they called a powerful player. Satellite broadband promises to bring coverage to the most remote areas of the planet by doing away with the need for antennas and other infrastructure. *) US to plant 1B trees amid climate crisis challenges The Biden administration has said it will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodlands in the US West. The move comes at a time when officials are struggling to counter the increasing toll on the nation's forests from wildfires, insects and other manifestations of the climate crisis. The US Agriculture Department said it will have to quadruple the number of tree seedlings produced by nurseries to get through the backlog and meet future needs.