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
Merengue concert turns to mourning as Jet Set collapse claims 136 lives
Dominican rescue teams will end search and recovery operations on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Jet Set nightclubin Santo Domingo, where the building collapsed during a live concert.
Authorities estimate that the final 20 bodies will be recovered from the rubble today, bringing the official death toll to 136. This includes 12 additional bodies found overnight in the disaster zone, adding to the previously confirmed 124 fatalities.
Outside the collapsed nightclub, desperate relatives of the missing continue to gather, clinging to hope for news. Many also visited nearby hospitals and morgues in search of their loved ones.
A list of confirmed victims has been posted on a tent set up near the site, where the bodies are being transferred for identification.
The tragedy occurred during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the deceased.
Central America
Colombia to host fourth EU-CELAC Summit in November
The Fourth Summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will take place on November 9 and 10 in Santa Marta, Colombia, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Colombian government and the European Council.
The summit will be co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his role as pro tempore president of CELAC, and European Council President António Costa, the statement added.
The last EU-CELAC summit took place in July 2023 in Brussels, when both blocs agreed to hold these meetings every two years.
The summit brings together the 27 EU member states and the 33 CELAC countries, representing 14% of the global population, 21% of global GDP, and one-third of the members of the United Nations, the communiqué noted.
International
Russia and US to Meet in Istanbul for Diplomatic Talks on April 10
The Kremlin confirmed today a forthcoming meeting with the United States to discuss the normalization of diplomatic relations, which will take place in Istanbul.
“Our participation will be through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesperson, during his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov was responding to a question about who would represent Russia in the new round of negotiations, which is supposedly scheduled for April 10.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the delegations will be led by the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Alexandr Darchiev, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Sonata Coulter.
These are the same negotiators who met in late February in Istanbul, where the expert-level negotiation format was the same, according to the source.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said a few days ago that the next meeting would be held in the Turkish city, though he did not confirm a date.
Lavrov, who participated in only one of these meetings, clarified that the upcoming discussions would address the issues still dividing Moscow and Washington diplomatically, referring to the operations of both countries’ embassies.
The Kremlin asserted that Washington has not yet responded to Russia’s security concerns, preventing a ceasefire declaration on land, sea, and air.
Meanwhile, Trump expressed discontent with Russia’s recent attacks, including one last week that killed 20 people in Krivi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
So far, Russia has rejected a cessation of hostilities and only declared a 30-day ceasefire on March 18 against attacks on energy infrastructure, which was extended by Kyiv a week later.
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