NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Biodiversity collapse: The world is failing to address a catastrophic biodiversity collapse that not only threatens to wipe out beloved species and invaluable genetic diversity, but endangers humanity’s food supply, health and security, according to a sweeping United Nations report issued on Tuesday. When governments act to protect and restore nature, the authors found, it works. But despite commitments made 10 years ago, nations have not come close to meeting the scale of the crisis, which continues to worsen because of unsustainable farming, overfishing, burning of fossil fuels and other activities. The report comes as the devastating consequences that can result from an unhealthy relationship with nature are on full display: A pandemic that very likely jumped from bats has upended life worldwide, and wildfires, worsened by climate change and land management policies, are ravaging the American West.
2 Tariffs ruling: A World Trade Organization panel ruled Tuesday that Trump administration tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods are illegal, vindicating Beijing even if the United States has all but incapacitated the WTO’s ability to hand down a final, binding verdict. The ruling, in theory, would allow China to impose retaliatory tariffs on billions’ worth of U.S. goods. But it is unlikely to have much practical impact, at least in the short term, because the U.S. can appeal the decision and the WTO’s appeals court is currently no longer functioning — largely because of Washington’s singlehanded refusal to accept new members for it.
3 Mali crisis: West African leaders on Tuesday appeared to give in to the military junta’s timeline for holding new elections in Mali, signaling that they would now accept an 18month delay after earlier saying that democracy had to be restored to Mali within a year. The announcement came as the Malian junta that seized power in an Aug. 18 coup failed to name an interim civilian leader on Tuesday, missing a deadline that had been set by the 15nation regional bloc known as ECOWAS.
4 Refugee relief: Germany agreed Tuesday to take in more than 1,500 refugees now living in Greece, in a challenge to other wealthy European countries that have been reluctant to help Greece resettle thousands of people left homeless after blazes last week destroyed Europe’s largest refugee camp. The decision followed intense debate within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. The German government will allow 1,553 people from 408 families who have already been recognized as refugees by Greece to settle in Germany, Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman, said on Tuesday. Germany had already agreed to take in around 1,200 other asylumseekers who have been housed in Greece — about 200 unaccompanied minors, and 243 children requiring medical treatment, along with their families. 5 Slave ship: Archaeologists in Mexico said Tuesday they have identified a ship that carried Mayan people into virtual slavery in the 1850s, the first time such a ship has been found. The wreck of the Cubanbased paddlewheel steamboat was found in 2017, but wasn’t identified until researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History checked contemporary documents and found it was the ship “La Union.” The ship had been used to take Mayas captured during an 18471901 rebellion known as “The War of the Castes” to work in sugarcane fields in Cuba. Slavery was illegal in Mexico at the time, but operators of similar ships had reportedly deceived Mayas left landless by the conflict to “sign on” as contract workers, often in Cuba, though they were treated like slaves.