Day: May 1, 2023

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will visit Austria (Vienna) tomorrow, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, where he will hold talks with the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs will have a one-on-one meeting with his Austrian counterpart, followed by expanded talks between the two delegations.

Subsequently, the two Foreign Ministers will make joint statements to the press at approximately 13:00 (Greek time).

Discussions between the two sides are expected to focus on further strengthening bilateral relations, coordination within the EU and international organizations, the migration-refugee issue, as well as on international and regional developments, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and developments in the Western Balkans.

During his stay in Vienna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also hold a meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi.

This is the second visit of the Foreign Minister to Austria. The first one took place in March 2022.

Source: BBC

With the dairy breeding season currently in full swing on most Irish dairy farms, Kevin O’Hara, Teagasc Ballinrobe, looks at some of the key targets farmers need to achieve over the coming weeks.

Most dairy herds in Ireland typically start breeding from May 1st. At this stage, earlier herds have completed two or three weeks of artificial insemination (AI). The aim here is that 90% of all cows to be served would have been inseminated by the end of week three. This is a key figure for farmers to aim for if a compact calving spread is to be achieved next spring. The six-week calving rate figure is key for all milk producers but especially spring milk herds where cows are typically dried off in late December.

In order to achieve this, farmers should be using heat detection aids such as tail painting, scratch cards, electronic heat detection collars and/or a vasectomised/teaser bull where needed. Time spent physically monitoring cows will be the key element to ensuring the 90% submission rate is achieved. It has been proven that the more time spent monitoring cows the higher the submission rate, so this will be the key driving factor for the entire breeding season.

Dairy Beef Index

Many farmers have now adopted the use of the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) to try and increase monetary output from calf sales by using dairy sexed semen on the cows/heifers they want to breed from and using high DBI index bulls on cows which they do not intend to breed replacements from.

This is a very useful index as it factors in calving difficulty, gestation length, calf quality and carcass weight, which allows the end feeder of the animal to make a better margin. This can be useful as a repeat customer may be willing to pay more for a quality calf and is a guaranteed market in years where calf sales can be sluggish.

Selecting bulls from the DBI list is simple. All bulls are rated on a star and monetary value system, with five being the highest ranked and highest monetary value and one star being the lowest ranked and lowest monetary value bulls available. Bulls of all breeds are compared on this rating. Breeds which you may not have used before due to perceived calving issues or long gestation may actually suit your current system, possibly giving a higher value calf to sell and thus a better end product for the purchaser.

Non cyclers

Many farmers would complete a pre-breeding scan in April to check for cows who may have underlying issues which are stopping them from cycling. Issues such as uterine infections, retained cleanings or even poor body condition scores are the most common.

If this scan has not been completed, any cows which have not been seen cycling at the end of week three should be assessed by either the farmer’s vet or in some cases the scanning technician. These cows may require some additional aid to get them to start cycling; this can be in the form of wash out or a hormonal treatment such as the use of a CIDR or PRID. These are all typically prescription only, so consultation with your vet is essential.

In cases where body condition score (BCS) is below optimum, cows should be given additional feed supplement in the parlour or – in certain cases – put on once a day milking to help build up condition and hopefully allow the cow to cycle naturally. This is extremely beneficial to first time calvers, as they are under the most pressure in the herd.

Lameness can be a major issue to cow fertility and is a major issue where cows are walking long distances to and from the milking parlour. Cows which become lame in the breeding season should be assessed immediately, as they will lose condition rapidly and may become non cycling shortly afterwards.

Finally, where farmers are using stock bulls to clean up after AI, time should be spent ensuring the bull is fit for purpose. This includes in good BCS, no signs of lameness, with good mobility and most importantly fertile.

Research suggests that up to 5% of bulls are completely infertile and a further 15-20% will be partially or periodically infertile.

To address this bulls should be fertility tested. If this is not an option, good data recording should take place with regards when cows were served and monitored subsequently to see if any repeats are occurring.

Source: BBC

A Polish highway near the Ukrainian border. On a rainy April morning, a convoy of 12 olive-green army trucks appears. They’re driving into Poland from Ukraine, flatbeds empty. “I saw them a week ago, they brought tanks to Ukraine,” a taxi driver says. “Very big tanks.”

Ukraine is going to need every one of those tanks in the coming weeks and months. At the moment, its leadership is putting the final touches on the much-awaited counteroffensive it announced months ago. It is hoped this will turn around the grueling trench warfare the country is currently locked in and drive Russia out of its occupied territories. It could be a decisive battle, a fight for liberation.

Russia-Ukraine war: Conflict in Crimea

02:06

Fighting over Bakhmut to gain time

These days, visitors to Kyiv can witness the proverbial calm before the storm. Russian missile attacks such as those that killed nearly 20 people in the central Ukrainian city of Uman Friday have become rare. On the capital’s well-tended streets, trees and flowers are blossoming, cafes bustling. The war seems far away. And yet, there are constant reminders everywhere: Signs calling civilians to volunteer or collect donations for the armed forces line the streets. Almost daily, coffins with prominent fallen soldiers are laid out on the Maidan, Kyiv’s Independence Square.

A particularly high number of fighters are currently dying in Bakhmut. For months, the beleaguered city in the Donetsk region has been intensely fought over, and has now largely fallen into Russian hands. But Ukraine’s armed forces have refused to back away. Heads of state and the military have explained that this is to protect other nearby cities. Still, Kyiv does not simply want to tie down Russian forces in Bakhmut, but also gain time to prepare its counteroffensive. This is why the Ukrainian armed forces have been sparing their reserves and accepting high casualties — precise casualty numbers are unknown.

On Friday, April 28, Russian missles heavily damaged a residential building in the town of Uman in the Cherkasy region

Andriy and Maxim (names changed to protect their identities) also fought in Bakhmut. Now, they are back in Kyiv and can finally rest. “I really hope it was worth it,” said Andriy when asked about the decision to hold Bakhmut, though he does not seem so certain it was. Maxim talks about Russia’s superior number of fighters, Ukraine’s ill preparation, and his unit’s paltry gear. What do both of them hope to gain from the counteroffensive? “Finally some liberated territories,” Maxim replied.

Why is Kyiv waiting?

The planned counteroffensive is a recurrent topic in the Ukrainian media but military representatives remain tight-lipped. When asked, they simply reply, “wait and see.” There are many reasons for this approach. For one, the weapons expected from the West have not all been delivered yet. Since early 2023, Ukraine has received a lot of “heavy metal” from NATO, as it’s called colloquially. They are receiving much of it for the first time: dozens of modern battle tanks and armored personnel carriers from German and British production, American Patriot air defense missile systems, Soviet fighter jets.

The digital news outlet Ukrainska Pravda estimates the army and the national guard have created at least 16 new brigades, encompassing about 50,000 fighters in total. These new units need time to prepare and familiarize themselves with their new weapons. An additional challenge is coordinating numerous formations for a major offensive. Until now, Ukraine has had little experience doing this. Professional circles in Kyiv say possible scenarios have been simulated on computers.

In addition, weather conditions are far from optimal. Rains have made many country roads impassable for heavy military equipment. And Ukrainian soldiers need to wait for thicker foliage to grow so they can use it for cover. It will still take a while for their surroundings to become dry enough and green enough.

Main thrust towards Crimea

One of the best-kept secrets at present is where, when, and how Ukraine plans to attack. There are expected to be at least two main directions of impact — in the fall of 2022, the army successfully pushed towards Kharkiv and Kherson.

In September 2022, in his only programmatic paper so far, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lieutenant General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi offered only a rough sketch of how a Ukrainian counteroffensive might look. In the paper, he spoke of “several resolute, ideally simultaneous counterattacks.” One strategically crucial target Zaluzhnyi mentioned was the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. In Kyiv, all agree this is the main direction Ukraine should focus its efforts. But they are also expecting surprises and deceptive maneuvers. Many, however, doubt Ukraine has enough equipment and fighting power to regain the peninsula.

Others believe the main thrust will be directed towards the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine. From there, Ukrainian forces are expected to push towards the Crimean peninsula to cut Russian troops off from overland supply routes. This would be a great success for Kyiv, analysts say. But it will not be easy — Russia has built up multiple lines of defense. Also, unlike last year in Kharkiv and Kherson, Russia is now expected to respond with counterattacks of its own. That is one of the risks Ukraine will take with its expected counteroffensive.

Counteroffensive would not end war

Despite such concerns, the mood in Kyiv is cautiously optimistic. “This strike cannot fail. More territories will be liberated,” one military expert said. “The question is: How much, and at what cost?” Andriy knows the cost, he’s reminded of it every time he looks through the contact list in his phone. “Many comrades have fallen. I can’t bring myself to delete their numbers.”

It remains unclear what will happen after the counteroffensive. Many worry the West might pressure Ukraine to negotiate and make painful concessions if it fails to live up to expectations. Top military leaders have already rejected that scenario. “That’s not going to happen,” Andriy said. Like many in Kyiv, he is expecting a long war that won’t end with the counteroffensive. Instead, he’s hoping for more convoys from the West, with far more heavy military equipment.

Source: BBC

If you ask Anna Schnellenkamp what she thinks of a memorial on the former Colonia Dignidad site, a notorious German cult-like enclave in Chile, she becomes obviously angry.

She grew up in the so-called “colony of dignity,” lived there for 30 years and experienced the psychological terror, the forced labor and the beatings firsthand. The fact that many perpetrators and accomplices still have not been held accountable is something she just cannot understand.

“I’m for a memorial, but it has to tell the whole truth. We cannot forget that the first person who spoke out about what was going on was arrested. And we see that the Chilean state is clearly avoiding responsibility for what happened here.”

Schnellenkamp is one of those who have been let down twice — by Chile and then by Germany. First in her childhood, when criminal cult leader Paul Schäfer painted the picture of a perfect German world for outsiders, while internally he had set up a brutal machinery of suppression, sexual violence and torture. And as a grown woman and mother she was let down again, stigmatized for still living in what is now Villa Baviera, or the “Village Bavaria.” The tourist attraction is on the site of what was formerly Colonia Dignidad.

“What happened here must not be repeated and has to be made public,” Schnellenkamp demands. “There are plans on how to commemorate the Chilean victims. But we can’t be left out.”

She says that Paul Schäfer was only able to do what he did because governments did not stop him, especially the Chilean one.

Chilean-German commission signals support

More than three decades after the end of Colonia Dignidad, a memorial and a documentation center are to finally shed light on Schäfer’s reign of terror. A Chilean-German commission to deal with Colonia Dignidad recently met in Berlin for its eleventh session. “This body aims to ensure the participation of all victims’ groups and civil society organizations involved, and also to make suggestions for the people currently living there,” the commission said in a press release.

The statement of the joint commission suggests there is common ground between both sides and agreement on how to contribute financially to a memorial and a documentation center.

Need for a memorial

Yet the victims of the Colonia Dignidad do not always agree on how the crimes and brutal repression should be remembered. It almost seems as if Paul Schäfer, who died in 2010 in a prison hospital in Santiago de Chile, still wields sinister power and plays his victims off against one another from beyond the grave.

There are the Germans like Anna Schnellenkamp, who are trying to use Villa Baviera as a tourist attraction, complete with Bavarian folklore, and make a living from what used to be a place of torture. Then there are the Chileans who were victims of sexual violence here as children or whose mothers, fathers and siblings were murdered on the site because they were opponents of the Chilean military dictatorship.

And there are also people like Winfried Hempel, who grew up in Colonia Dignidad and now live in Chile, Germany or elsewhere. Unlike some of these, who are simply trying to leave the past behind, Hempel is a lawyer in Santiago and represents 120 of the so-called “colonos” and also some of the Chilean victims of abuse.

“About 80% of the former colony residents, who now live outside of it, support the idea of a memorial,” he says. “Some who still live there are skeptical about a memorial because they think it will stigmatize them. They prefer beer fests and tourism, as if nothing had ever happened there, and in fooling the Chileans into believing that things are normal.”

Justice or memorial?

One year ago, the lawyer won a case against Colonia Dignidad. After 26 years of litigation, a court forced the sale of a large property belonging to the former sect. The resulting compensation for the 11 Chilean victims and their relatives was €1.5 million ($1.65 million).

Hempel thinks it is good news that finally there is to be a memorial but he remains cautious.

“Discussion about how to remember and commemorate should actually be the last step. The memorial should come once legal issues have been settled, the perpetrators punished and the victims compensated. Of course, this is good news, but you have to be careful that this won’t just be the last of it.”

Political support

Hempel thinks the discussion has finally started to move on because of Chile’s new president, Gabriel Boric. Already as a member of parliament, Boric had met with victims of Colonia Dignidad and is very familiar with the issue.

“The history of Colonia Dignidad is terrible,” Boric said when he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Santiago at the end of January this year. The two heads of government both expressed their support for a memorial. But words alone are not enough to get things done, warns Hempel.

“Both countries are always dancing on eggshells. Germany says it’s a Chilean problem, and Chile says it’s a German problem. I describe it as a legal limbo, the issue is stuck somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic,” he adds.

Slow progress in Berlin

On the other side of the Atlantic, Jan Stehle works tirelessly to ensure the crimes of Colonia Dignidad are dealt with both legally and politically. He works with the Center for Research and Documentation Chile-Latin America in Berlin and wrote his thesis on how the German judiciary and foreign policy have dealt with the Colonia Dignidad problem.

In short, it was not exactly handled well: Hartmut Hopp, who worked as a medical doctor at Colonia Dignidad and who was Paul Schäfer’s right-hand man, lives at large in the German town of Krefeld and is not being extradited despite a Chilean court sentencing him to five years in prison for child abuse. And the German Foreign Ministry has not prioritized dealing with the issue. So while Stehle also welcomes the plans for a memorial, he, too, remains doubtful.

“In 2017, we had the creation of the joint commission between Germany and Chile which was supposed to deal with the establishment of a memorial,” he says. “Six years have passed since then. In 2018, [former German chancellor] Angela Merkel and [former Chilean president] Sebastian Pinera said they supported the establishment of a memorial and now, five years later, Scholz and Boric are saying the same thing. So when I look at what happened in the past years and decades, I’ll believe all that once I see it with my own eyes.”

Both Hempel and Stehle agree that mid-September would be a good time to start work on a memorial.

September 11, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of General Augusto Pinochet’s brutal coup. It is that coup that turned Chile into a military dictatorship for 17 years and turned the “colony of dignity” into a torture center for the Chilean secret service. Stehle demands that Germany should finally fulfil its obligations in Chile, especially when there is so much talk of a values-based foreign policy in Berlin.

“I’m a bit surprised by the language used recently, where the German side sees the responsibility for the process more in Chile. I would like both sides to work on the implementation in equal parts. Either way, it would be appropriate if Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would come to Chile for the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony,” Stehle concludes optimistically.

Source: BBC

The tip-off came from the pastor of the local church in the small town of Sopiv, western Ukraine: A German medical plane was said to have crashed near the village in the region of Ivanko-Frankivsk oblast during World War II, he told the German War Graves Commission.

“The inhabitants would have recovered the bodies scattered all over the field and buried them behind the church,” the pastor said, according to a commission statement. After Ukraine’s independence in 1991, villagers are said to have then erected wooden crosses at the burial ground.

Last month, in the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine,experts from the commission disinterred the bones of 41 Wehrmacht soldiers there.

Ukrainian soldiers discover Wehrmacht remains

The horrors of the Nazi invasion have struck a chord with today’s war in Ukraine, especially following a similar find on the northern outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. There, on a site near the town of Vyshhorod, located directly on the dam that regulates the inflow of the Dnieper River to Kyiv, Ukrainian servicemen found the remains of two Wehrmacht soldiers in April last year.

“A trench was excavated, and bones were found first, and then an identification marker, by which the soldiers recognized that they were German war dead,” Vladimir Ioseliani, the War Graves Commission’s reburial leader responsible for Ukraine, told DW.

At the time, a 40-kilometer-long (25 miles) Russian military column was jammed not far from Vyshhorod on its way to the capital. The Ukrainian servicemen and women then “investigated on their own initiative and found out there was a commission representation in Ukraine, and they got in touch with us, and we arranged to meet,” Ioseliani said.

But this find was an isolated case last year, when the German association stopped its work in the embattled areas of Ukraine and retreated to relatively safe areas in the west and center of the country.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the commission was able to extend its work to the countries of eastern Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. In other words, primarily to Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine, but also to Russia — all countries that had been overrun in a brutal campaign of extermination by the Wehrmacht under Adolf Hitler.

Ukraine faces huge task of clearing landmines

03:41

7 steps to identification

The procedure for identifying remains follows a set procedure, commission spokesperson Diane Tempel-Bornett told DW. Whether the remains are of German origin can usually be determined fairly quickly: The lace-up boots of Wehrmacht soldiers, for instance, are often still preserved 78 years after the end of the war.

But identifying the soldiers themselves is also important. “German soldiers almost always wore dog tags,” she said. “But that doesn’t automatically mean if someone has an identification tag it’s that person.”

More than seven steps are needed to identify a person: Age can often be reconstructed based on the state of the teeth or the condition of the skull. “By the length of the femur, you can determine approximate height,” said Tempel-Bornett. The sites are then cross-referenced with information from Germany’s federal archives. These old Wehrmacht files are also often the start of excavation work. However, even the smallest doubts can mean rejecting an identification, the Volksbund spokeswoman said.

Remaining family members in Germany are always informed when the identity of fallen German soldiers can be established beyond doubt.

The remains are then re-buried in various special commission cemeteries throughout Europe, often in the presence of relatives from Germany — including in Ukraine. “Before the war, we interred people twice a year in each cemetery,” says Ioseliani. Not in 2022, though, for safety reasons: The commission is now hoping for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine so it can bury the 816 war dead unearthed last year.

Source: BBC

On the first day of May, many countries commemorate historic achievements of the labor movement. Over 150 countries designate May 1 as a public holiday, from Germany, France and the UK, to Australia, Pakistan and Peru.

Source: BBC