World
China arming Russia would ‘significantly harm’ links with EU, VDL says
Ursula von der Leyen reiterated on Thursday following conferences with President Xi Jinping that China offering army gear to Russia would “considerably hurt” its relationship with the European Union.
“I need to be very clear on that one, that arming the aggressor is a transparent violation of worldwide regulation. It is the aggressor and he ought to by no means be armed. And this may certainly considerably hurt the connection between the European Union and China,” the European Fee President instructed reporters in Beijing.
Von der Leyen held two conferences with Xi Jinping on Thursday, one held in a trilateral format with French President Emmanuel Macron and a separate one-on-one assembly. She additionally met with Chinese language Premier Li Qiang.
“I did emphasise in our talks right this moment that I stand firmly behind [Ukrainian] President Zelenskyy’s peace plan. I additionally welcomed a number of the ideas which have been put ahead by China. That is notably the case on the difficulty of nuclear security and danger discount and China’s assertion on the unacceptability of nuclear threats or using nuclear weapons,” she stated afterward.
She additionally urged Beijing to make use of its affect to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from appearing on his current risk to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
“China being a everlasting member of the United Nations Safety Council has a giant accountability to make use of its affect in a friendship that’s constructed on many years with Russia. And we depend on China to actually exert additionally this accountability and to be very clear within the messaging,” she stated.
She additionally inspired President Xi to schedule talks with Zelenskyy. “I do know from my telephone calls that President Zelenskyy requested for it publicly. So it was fascinating to listen to that President Xi reiterated his willingness to talk when circumstances and time are proper. I feel this can be a optimistic ingredient.”
The Ukrainian President instructed Associated Press reporters late last month that he desires to talk with the Chinese language chief “as a result of I had contact with him earlier than (the) full-scale warfare however throughout all this yr, a couple of yr, I did not have.” He additionally expressed his willingness to welcome him in Kyiv.
‘Convey again China to motive’
In a separate press convention held earlier on Thursday, Macron and Xi had referred to as for peace talks to start out as quickly as potential, reiterating that nuclear weapons can’t be used and that assaults in opposition to civilians and civilian infrastructure, together with nuclear energy crops had been to be averted in any respect prices.
“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to stability. I do know I can depend on you to deliver again Russia to motive and everybody again to the negotiating desk,” Macron stated to his counterpart.
A subject that was flagrantly averted by each leaders throughout their joint assertion was Taiwan, regardless of Beijing sending warships across the island on Thursday following a gathering in Los Angeles between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has been ramping up the rhetoric in current months, sparking fears it may gear up to make use of army drive to forcefully reunite it with the mainland.
Von der Leyen confirmed, when requested by Euronews, that the subject was raised throughout her conferences with the Chinese language management.
“All of us agree that stability within the Taiwan Strait is of paramount significance. We’ve got a really clear curiosity in preserving this stability, the peace and the established order within the Taiwan Strait. And due to this fact, no person ought to unilaterally change the established order by drive on this area.
“The risk to or using drive to alter the established order is unacceptable. And it’s important that a number of the tensions which may happen must be resolved by means of dialogue,” she stated.
‘EU changing into an increasing number of vigilant’
The journey by the 2 European leaders comes only a week after the Fee chief delivered a sobering evaluation of EU-China relations describing them as “extra distant and tougher”.
She accused China of utilizing its financial and industrial energy to bully smaller nations, and of utilizing its place to undermine the worldwide rules-based order in a bid “to make China much less depending on the world and the world extra depending on China.”
However she additionally outlined her perception that the EU can not and shouldn’t purpose to chop itself off from China, often known as decoupling, which she stated on Thursday isn’t “a viable or fascinating technique”. She as an alternative reiterated her stance that the EU ought to de-risk from China by addressing imbalances and dependencies.
Final yr, China was the third-largest companion for EU exports of products and the most important companion for EU imports of products, with commerce of greater than €2.3 billion per day. However the EU’s commerce deficit with China has tripled during the last decade to succeed in virtually €400 billion final yr.
“This trajectory isn’t sustainable and the underlying structural points must be addressed,” von der Leyen stated Thursday.
Among the many points the EU chief desires to redress are unfair practices European companies say impede their entry to the Chinese language market. She listed “growing strain to submit know-how strain”, “extreme knowledge necessities”, and “inadequate enforcement of mental property rights” among the many hurdles EU firms face to do enterprise in China, and that put them at a “important drawback” in comparison with Chinese language firms which have a lot larger entry to the European market.
“So in opposition to this backdrop, the European Union is changing into an increasing number of vigilant about defending our pursuits and making certain a degree enjoying discipline,” she stated, calling on the EU to decrease dependencies by diversifying commerce and funding relations, reducing the danger of “leakage of delicate know-how” by means of exports controls and funding screenings.
“However regardless of the instrument we selected is, we want to clear up the present points by means of dialogue. So it is mainly de-risking by means of diplomacy,” she added, welcoming the settlement to renew high-level financial, commerce and digital dialogues.
‘Breathe new life in EU-China relations’
Xi Jiping, in the meantime, stated throughout his joint press convention with Macron that work was underway “to breathe new life into the connection between China and the EU” by reviving “exchanges, dialogues and cooperation in all fields.”
French firms that accompanied Macron on the journey are strolling away with some new offers together with Airbus which caught an settlement to produce 160 plane to the China Aviation Provides Holding Firm, whereas the French agri-food sector was granted fifteen new approvals for the export of French pork.
EDF is strolling away with some partnership offers for each civil nuclear power and offshore wind, and Alstom with an settlement to produce gear for the Chengdu metro system.
An settlement to respect mental property to speed up the examination procedures of patent purposes was additionally signed between the 2 nations.
World
Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
World
Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
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