Saturday, March 1, 2014

In Britain, floods persist and anger rises

Mobilization was visible Wednesday, February 12, to fight against the floods that hit the UK for several weeks and may even worsen. Prime Minister David Cameron has been criticized for the slow pace of relief.


While part of the south-west of England has his feet in the water for the new year and the flood front has advanced to the gates of London, rains and winds up to 160 km / h let fear a further worsening of the situation.


Fourteen alerts severe flooding, that is to say, that may pose a risk of death, were maintained in Berkshire and Surrey, two areas to the west of London.

  
Nearly two thousand soldiers were deployed to build dikes with sandbags and disaster relief, according to General Patrick Sanders, responsible for coordinating the military effort. "Thousands of others" will be mobilized when needed, has he added.

  
Flooding of the Thames threatens more than a thousand homes, about twenty miles above the capital. Several people had to be evacuated in the night in Staines, near Heathrow Airport. In total, nearly six thousand homes were flooded across the country since the beginning of winter the wettest two hundred and fifty years in some parts of the United Kingdom.


Prime Minister David Cameron, who called a new inter-ministerial crisis meeting on Wednesday morning, warned that things were likely to "get worse before it gets better" and that the waiting time before a return to normal could be "depressing".


In areas of the Southwest, where several villages are cut off from the world for more than a month already, people complain that it took floods are approaching London for Westminster finally responds.  


Visiting Dorset and Devon (South West), David Cameron gave the example by canceling the Council of Ministers and by forgoing a visit to the Middle East. The government, the watchword is to occupy the field, may be attacked by the population or be ridiculed by the media. Wednesday, newspapers were having a heart joy to mock parade politicians of all, rubber boots on his feet.

  
"Dave and Co, the flood tourists" ridicules the Daily Mail, who believes that "the appearance of pristine boots and policies at the forefront of fashion was an unbearable vision" in the eyes of many victims, disgusted by the slow relief and the reluctance of authorities.

  
The crisis of the honey populist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), whose leader, Nigel Farage, has called Sunday from waders to the navel, the country spends part of its international assistance to flood victims. Capturing the idea, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday "a" that "one hundred thousand people in one day" had already signed a petition advocating for this solution.

  
But David Cameron rejected this track, arguing that Britain, as a "rich country with a growing economy," had the ability to juggle both fights.

Ukraine: the confession of impotence of the United Nations


The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powers and his British counterpart, Lyall Grant, February 22, at the United Nations in New York. | AP / Bebeto Matthews

A sentence with the mission to go to the Crimea, the Special Envoy of the UN in Ukraine, Robert Serry, turned around. After contact with the authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, said in a statement the Dutch diplomat, he quickly concluded "a visit to Crimea today is impossible." His announcement came shortly before the Russian President Vladimir Putin gets the green light from the Council of the Federation for a military intervention in Ukraine.

Mandated by the UN chief Ban Ki-moon to "make contact" Serry - who was the first ambassador of his country stationed in Kiev - was formally charged with "convey a message" for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the "need to reduce tension" and return to dialogue.

The escalation of the situation, its mission lasted only a few days. It is expected to Geneva where he must report this Sunday, his visit to Mr. Ban. Will he invested with a new mission, and brought back to Ukraine just returned? Everything will depend on the outcome of the consultations of the Security Council of the UN in New York, called Saturday afternoon for an emergency meeting on Ukraine. The second two days.


"LOWERING TENSION"

During the first closed consultations, Friday, February 28, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power had requested urgent dispatch of an "international mediation mission", "independent and credible" Crimea "to begin to lower the tension and facilitate a peaceful and productive political dialogue between all Ukrainian parties. "An idea immediately rejected by his Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin, recalling that Moscow had "principle not to accept mediation imposed."


The United States is " very concerned about a Russian military deployment in Crimea " and they " ask Russia to withdraw military forces were gathered " for Ukrainians can " decide their own destiny," insisted Ms. Power told reporters after consultations . At no time , however , the 15 member countries will have even described the deployment of "aggression ," as claimed by the authorities in Kiev. "We have an agreement with Ukraine on the presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and act within the framework of this agreement," stated Mr. Churkin , referring to the agreement of Budapest 1994. 

Moscow was opposed to the holding of the first emergency meeting requested by Ukraine , after taking control of airports in the Crimea by armed men , and sought to obtain a postponement.  

The Russian Ambassador had called for a postponement of 24 hours, to gather more information about the reality of the situation , judging the media reports " exaggerated" . "We observed separatism in Crimea , which comes largely from Russia ," said Ukrainian envoy to UN Yuriy Sergeyev , before concluding : "I think we are strong enough to defend ourselves. We have a strong feeling that we are acting properly . "