Month: May 2023

Mr Maduro was received by the new president, fellow leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, ahead of a summit of Latin American leaders in Brasilia.

“What’s important about Maduro coming here is that it’s the beginning of Maduro’s return,” Lula said.

Mr Maduro talked of a “new era” in bilateral relations.

Lula said the region should tackle poverty.

A number of countries question the legitimacy of Mr Maduro, who is described by opponents as a dictator.

Greeting his guest in the Brazilian capital on Monday, Lula said his own return had come five months earlier, referring to the time when he again assumed power after beating Mr Bolsonaro in tight presidential elections.

Mr Maduro said Venezuela was open for Brazilian investors, stressing that the two countries “must be united, from now on and always”.

Lula used the visit to criticise US sanctions on Venezuela saying a “constructed narrative of authoritarianism” was in place about Venezuela and that sanctions were unjustified.

President Maduro last visited Brazil in 2015. Jair Bolsonaro was ideologically opposed to the leftist Venezuelan leader and unlikely to extend an invitation.

However, in the past, Lula enjoyed warm ties with both Nicolás Maduro and his political mentor, the late Hugo Chávez.

In a sign that the relationship looks set to remain solid, Lula spoke of what he called “extremely exaggerated” US sanctions on Venezuela and said it was inexplicable that the US would “impose 900 sanctions because they don’t get on”.

He urged his South American ally to build a new “narrative” about authoritarianism, saying an unfair and “constructed” one had been established around the state of democracy in Venezuela.

Lula’s comments have been seized upon by his critics who say he turns a blind eye to the Maduro administration’s alleged human rights violations and lack of free and fair elections.

For Mr Maduro, the visit was an opportunity to repeat his call for the US sanctions to be lifted, saying he would call upon the other nations in South America to oppose them as a regional bloc.

Several South American countries are now led by left-wing leaders and might lend their support to such a position, including Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia as well as Brazil.

However, it is unclear if such a demand would make any real difference to the Biden administration’s policies towards Venezuela.

Since Mr Maduro was elected in 2013, he has grown increasingly authoritarian.

His crackdown on opposition activists ultimately led to the US imposing sanctions on his government and recognising opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president in 2019 after a contested election.

Last December, Venezuela’s opposition National Assembly voted to dissolve its parallel government and remove Mr Guaidó.

He was recognised by many Western countries, including the US, but failed to oust the left-wing president.

The vote showed how many opposition politicians in Venezuela had lost faith in Mr Guaidó.

The assembly also voted to appoint a commission to govern the country’s foreign assets, as they sought a united front ahead of elections scheduled for 2024.

Venezuela’s long-running political and humanitarian crisis has seen some seven million people flee the country since 2015.

Venezuela has been caught in a downward spiral for years with growing political discontent further fuelled by skyrocketing hyperinflation, power cuts and shortages of food and medicine.

While prices for fresh food have fallen marginally, the cost of commodities such as coffee and cocoa has jumped.

The government is in talks about asking supermarkets to cap prices on food items to help with the cost of living.

An agreement, which would be voluntary, would limit the cost of basic foods such as bread and milk.

But the BRC has dismissed caps, stating the government should focus on cutting red tape so resources could be “directed to keeping prices as low as possible”, as opposed to “recreating 1970s-style price controls”.

The BRC and NielsenIQ figures, covering the week between 1 and 6 May, show that overall food inflation ticked lower from 15.7% in the year to April to 15.4%.

Despite the fall, the figure is the second highest rate of food inflation on record.

A decline in the rate of price rises does not mean food costs have fallen, it simply means they are going up at a slower pace.

Meanwhile, the pace of price rises for non-food goods grew from 5.5% in the year to April to 5.8% in May.

This is despite supermarkets making “heavy discounts” on goods such as footwear, books and home entertainment, according to Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

Fresh produce showed a slowdown in price rises, from 17.8% to 17.2% in May.

In April, supermarkets cut the price of milk by 5p, taking cost of a pint to 90p. However, that is still almost double pre-Covid prices in March 2020.

Price growth for ambient foods – which are goods that can be stored at room temperature – rose in the year to May from 12.9% to 13.1%. It is the fastest increase on ambient foods prices on record, said the BRC and NielsenIQ.

Ms Dickinson said: “The price of chocolate and coffee rose off the back of the ongoing high global costs for these commodities.”

Last week, official figures showed that the overall headline rate of inflation had fallen sharply to 8.7% in April – the first time it fell under 10% since August.

However, the drop was less than economists and investors had expected after grocery price rises remained close to the highest rate in 45 years.

It is also still more than four times the Bank of England’s 2% target rate of inflation. The Bank has lifted interest rates 12 times in a row to 4.5% in an attempt to calm price rises.

But following the higher-than-expected figure for April, some analysts speculated that interest rates could reach 5.5% by the end of the year.

Food production costs have risen due to a number of factors including the cost of energy which rose following the end of Covid lockdowns, which pushed up demand, as well as Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Russia, which is a major oil and gas producer, was hit with sanctions.

Ukraine – known as the breadbasket of Europe – is one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world and has seen shipments severely disrupted because of the war.

Adverse weather conditions in some parts of Europe and Africa also impacted some fresh vegetables earlier this year, leading to supermarkets introducing customer limits on sales of peppers, tomatoes and cucumber.

Wholesale gas prices have started to drop but retailers claim that falling production costs take time to filter through to supermarket shelves due to the long-term contracts they typically sign with food producers.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “Food retailing in particular is competitive, so hopefully the recent price cuts in fresh foods is a sign that inflation has now peaked, albeit ambient inflation may take a little while longer to slow.”

“The entire nation of 85 million won,” he told cheering crowds outside his enormous palace on the edge of Ankara.

But his call for unity sounded hollow as he ridiculed his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu – and took aim at a jailed Kurdish leader and the LGBT community.

The opposition leader did not explicitly concede victory.

Complaining of “the most unfair election in recent years”, Mr Kilicdaroglu said the president’s political party had mobilised all the means of the state against him.

President Erdogan ended with just over 52% of the vote, based on near-complete unofficial results. Almost half the electorate in this deeply polarised country did not back his authoritarian vision of Turkey.

Ultimately, Mr Kilicdaroglu was no match for the well-drilled Erdogan campaign, even if he took the president to a run-off second round for the first time since the post was made directly elected in 2014.

But he barely dented his rival’s first-round lead, falling more than two million votes behind.

The president made the most of his victory, with an initial speech to supporters atop a bus in Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, followed after dark by a balcony address from his palace to an adoring crowd that he numbered at 320,000 people.

“It is not just us who won, Turkey won,” he declared, calling it one of the most important elections in Turkish history.

He taunted his opponent’s defeat with the words “Bye, bye, Kemal” – a chant that was also taken up by his supporters in Ankara.

Mr Erdogan poured scorn on the main opposition party’s increase in its number of MPs in the parliamentary vote two weeks earlier. The true number had fallen to 129, he said, because the party had handed over dozens of seats to its allies.

He also condemned the opposition alliance’s pro-LGBT policies, which he said were in contrast with his own focus on families.

The run-up to the vote had become increasingly rancorous. In one incident, an opposition Good party official was fatally stabbed in front of a party office in the northern coastal town of Ordu.

The motive for Erhan Kurt’s killing was not clear, but a leading opposition official blamed youths celebrating the election result.

Although the final results were not confirmed, the Supreme Election Council said there was no doubt who had won.

It is highly unusual for the palace complex to be opened to the public – but so was this result, extending his period in power to a quarter of a century.

Supporters came from all over Ankara to taste the victory. There were Islamic chants, while some laid Turkish flags on the grass to pray.

For a night, Turkey’s economic crisis was forgotten. One supporter, Seyhan, said it was all a lie: “Nobody is hungry. We are very happy with his economy policies. He will do even better in the next five years.”

But the president admitted that tackling inflation was Turkey’s most urgent issue.

The question is whether he is prepared to take the necessary measures to do so. At an annual rate of almost 44%, inflation seeps into everyone’s lives.

The cost of food, rent and other everyday goods has soared, exacerbated by Mr Erdogan’s refusal to observe orthodox economic policy and raise interest rates.

The Turkish lira has hit record lows against the dollar and the central bank has struggled to meet surging demand for foreign currency.

“If they continue with low interest rates, as Erdogan has signalled, the only other option is stricter capital controls,” warns Selva Demiralp, professor of economics at Koc university in Istanbul.

Economics was far from the minds of Erdogan supporters, who spoke of their pride at his powerful position in the world and his hard line on fighting “terrorists”, by which they meant Kurdish militants.

President Erdogan has accused his opposite number of siding with terrorists, and criticised him for promising to free a former co-leader of Turkey’s second largest opposition party, the pro-Kurdish HDP.

Selahattin Demirtas has been languishing in jail since 2016, despite the European Court of Human Rights ordering his release.

Mr Erdogan said while he was in power, Mr Demirtas would stay behind bars.

He also promised to prioritise rebuilding in areas hit by February’s twin earthquakes and bring about the “voluntary” return of a million Syrian refugees.

Crowds flocked to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, with many coming from the Middle East and the Gulf.

Palestinians from Jordan wrapped Turkish flags around their shoulders. A Tunisian visitor, Alaa Nassar, said Mr Erdogan had not just made improvements to his own country, “he is also supporting Arabs and the Muslim world”.

For all the celebrations, the idea of unity in this polarised country seems farther away than ever.

Since a failed coup in 2016, Mr Erdogan has abolished the post of prime minister and amassed extensive powers, which his opponent had pledged to roll back.

One voter outside an Ankara polling station on Sunday said he wanted to see an end to the brain drain that began with the post-coup purge. There is a risk that it may now intensify.

Turkey’s opposition will now have to regroup ahead of local elections in 2024.

Mr Kilicdaroglu’s party has two popular mayors running Ankara and Istanbul – and one of them might have had a better chance of winning the presidential race.

Supporters gathered at Glasgow Cross in the city centre on Saturday afternoon.

Police said a 31-year-old man was in a serious condition at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after being attacked.

Two other men, aged 33 and 19, were taken to hospital after being assaulted in separate incidents.

They have since been discharged.

Police Scotland said officers were forced to intervene to prevent situations from escalating.

Ten people were arrested for a number of offences including assault, acts of public disorder and police assault.

Another eight people were issued with fixed penalty notices.

Police confirmed that 18 people sustained minor injuries mainly due to intoxication, and no officers were injured.

Inquiries into all reported incidents are ongoing.

Supt Gerry Corrigan said: “Working with partners, a proportionate policing plan was in place which facilitated the gathering, prioritised public safety and sought to minimise disruption to businesses and communities.

“Throughout the day, there was an unacceptable level of anti-social behaviour and incidents of disorder.

“Police officers took swift and robust action to prevent these escalating.”

The disorder came after the Parkhead side won 5-0 against Aberdeen.

A major clean-up operation was completed on Sunday after the celebrations left rubbish throughout the Glasgow city centre.

Plastic bags, bottles and cans were littered on the streets after the crowds cleared.

The council worked with police leading up to the match and refuse staff worked through the night to collect the debris.

Roads had been closed at short notice for safety reasons but were reopened on Sunday morning.

The council said traffic signals that had been damaged during the gathering had been repaired.

A spokesperson said: “A full assessment of the impact of the unofficial event will be undertaken. But the gathering clearly caused disruption to residents, local businesses and the roads network.

“We are also concerned about the anti-social behaviour and risk to public safety associated with the gathering.

“We will be engaging with our partners in Saturday’s operation on how the issues that arose during the gathering can be addressed in future.”

Celtic had already sealed their fate as champions before the match with Aberdeen kicked off at 12:30.

The league was settled with a victory at Tynecastle at the start of May.

Concerns were raised following Celtic’s win last year, when police also described described the level of anti-social behaviour and littering as “unacceptable”.

The post-match celebrations in 2022 featured flares and smoke bombs, however officers said there were no serious incidents or disorder.

Glass bottles were a key part of Scottish government proposals for the deposit return scheme (DRS).

But UK ministers excluded glass from English and Northern Irish schemes shortly before granting Scotland a key exemption to internal market rules.

Maurice Golden said the UK government had reacted to industry concerns.

The scheme is aimed at increasing the number of single-use drinks bottles and cans that are recycled.

It means 20p will be added to the price of a single-use drinks container, which will be refunded to people who return it to a retailer or hospitality premises that offer single-use products.

But some firms feared it would place extra costs and other burdens on them at a time when they are already struggling.

Scotland’s scheme is due to start in March while other UK nations will launch similar schemes in 2025.

In order to do this, the Scottish government needed an exemption from the Internal Market Act – legislation introduced after Brexit to ensure smooth trade across the UK.

The UK government granted this on Saturday, but it only covered PET plastic, aluminium and steel cans.

Ministers said they wanted to ensure the Scottish scheme “aligned” with plans in other nations.

In a letter to the first minister on Friday night, they said including glass “would have created a potentially permanent divergence from the schemes planned for England and Northern Ireland”.

Proposals in Wales however still include glass bottles.

Humza Yousaf accused the UK government of trying to “sabotage” the DRS in Scotland, as businesses had already signed up to and spent money on a scheme including glass.

He said he would have to hold urgent talks with businesses and examine the viability of the Scottish scheme.

In their 2019 manifesto, the UK Conservatives said they wanted a DRS that included glass – something Mr Golden said was “common sense”.

On Sunday the MSP said schemes work best “when you’re encouraging consistent consumer behaviour”.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “Since the position four years ago what we’ve seen is that industry has lost support for the scheme in Scotland.

“Consumers are increasingly concerned and ultimately what I’m proposing is that we salvage the scheme. I think from listening to businesses that unfortunately does not include glass at this stage.”

He added that Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater, who has been driving the introduction of the DRS in Scotland, had “turned her back” on a re-melting target.

He said this would lead to glass going into aggregate instead of back into bottles.

However Circularity Scotland, which is in charge of administering the DRS, said this claim was “entirely untrue” as it had its own target for 90% of recycled glass to be used in glass-making.

Meanwhile Mr Golden said the scheme in Wales still included glass because the Welsh government had not applied for any exemption to start the DRS ahead of 2025.

Ms Slater told the BBC’s Sunday Politics show UK’s position would also have implications for the Welsh plans.

She said: “Rishi Sunak, Alistair Jack even Douglas Ross all stood for election in 2019 on a manifesto that promised a deposit return scheme with glass. Now they have decided to remove glass from England’s scheme alone, which is a change from what we had all agreed as four nations.

“Wales has yet to pass their regulations and I feel that it is likely that they would come up against exactly the same issues we’ve had.

“We have been working very well with the UK government all this time. This is a bit of a shock for them to suddenly move the goal posts on us at the last minute.”

The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) has said the “only viable option now” was for a UK-wide initiative to be launched across all four nations in 2025.

The deposit return scheme is the latest policy which sees the Scottish and UK governments butting heads.

For people not involved in day-to-day politics, it’s perhaps hard to understand why it functions so easily in, say, Germany – but yet seems impossible to work in Scotland.

Cross-border trade is the issue – and there being no blocks to that.

DRS can go ahead – but without glass, say UK ministers.

The Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said in 2019 that including glass was “common sense”, but industry’s now turned its back on that.

England and Northern Ireland won’t be including glass in 2025 – Wales want to but Mr Golden told me they’ve not asked for an exemption request from the UK government.

It maybe now sounds like if they do, they won’t get it.

If you’re drinking from the pro-independence bottle you’re probably frustrated by the UK government and think Scotland should go it alone.

If it’s the pro-union bottle, you probably think a UK-wide scheme is much more sensible.

It all comes down to your favourite tipple.