The Boston Globe - 17.10.2019

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 The Boston Globe A

The World

NEW DELHI — The Indian

capital’s air quality levels

plunged to ‘‘poor’’ on Wednes-

day, a day after the govern-

ment initiated stricter mea-

sures to fight chronic air pollu-

tion.

The state-run Central Pollu-

tion Control Board’s air quality

index for New Delhi stood at

299, about six times the rec-

ommended level.

‘‘People can’t breathe prop-

erly,’’ said Inderjeet Gupta, an

ice cream vendor outside the

famous India Gate.

India is home to the world’s

14 most polluted cities, with

New Delhi the sixth-worst. A

sharp increase in vehicle and

industrial emissions, pollut-

ants released from holiday

firecrackers, and dust from

building sites increases pollu-

tion in the city of more than 20

million people during the on-

set of winters, exacerbating

what is already a public health

crisis.

In a bid to deal with the

pollution, the government on

Tuesday said it was instituting

measures meant to discourage

private vehicles on roads, in-

crease bus and metro services,

and stop the use of diesel gen-

erators.

While many factors con-

tribute to the severe air pollu-

tion in New Delhi, researchers

say crop burning in neighbor-

ing states is responsible for al-

most 10 percent of the city’s

pollution.

October is the time of year

when farmers in the neighbor-

ing states of Haryana, Punjab,

and nearby bordering regions

set fire to their post-harvest

fields that need clearing for

the next crop season, despite

there being a ban on it.

Smoke from those states

travels to New Delhi, leading

to a surge in pollution levels.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NewDelhiairqualityworsening

BANGKOK — Thailand’s

Supreme Court on Wednesday

ordered three leaders of the

Red Shirt political movement

to pay $691,000 compensa-

tion to business owners whose

commercial buildings were set

on fire at the climax of two

months of aggressive street

protests in 2010.

The verdict on a civil suit

was the latest in a series of

rulings covering political un-

rest from 2006 to 2014, when

an army coup put an end to

disorder.

An earlier coup in 2006 set

off a sometimes violent strug-

gle for power between Red

Shirt supporters of ousted

prime minister Thaksin Shi-

nawatraandhisopponents,

the royalist Yellow Shirts.

The 2010 protests saw the

Red Shirts occupy a large

swath of central Bangkok be-

fore the army ousted them by

force.

More than 90 people were

killed and thousands injured

during the protests, and arson

presumably carried out by

Red Shirts as they were dis-

persed caused extensive prop-

erty damage.

The leaders of the Red

Shirts — more formally

known as the United Front of

Democracy Against Dictator-

ship — who were ordered to

jointly pay compensation,

plus another $40,000 for the

loss of earning benefits to the

plaintiffs, were Jatuporn

Prompan, Nattawut Saikua,

and Weng Tojirakarn.

Also originally named in

the lawsuit were Abhisit Vejja-

jiva, the prime minister in

2010, and senior members of

his Cabinet, but the case

against them was dismissed

earlier by the Appeals Court.

In August, the Supreme

Court ordered Jatuporn and

two other Red Shirt leaders,

Nattawut Saikua and Arisman

Pongruangrong, to pay more

than $626,000 compensation

to several owners of other

shops and commercial build-

ings, ruling their speeches had

incited protesters’ anger, with

predictable consequences.

Two other recent court rul-

ings had mixed results for the

Red Shirts.

Last month, the Supreme

Court affirmed the prison sen-

tences of 12 Red Shirt mem-

bers convicted in connection

with rioting that disrupted an

important regional conference

in 2009.

The 12 had received four-

year prison sentences for their

actions on April 11, 2009,

when supporters of former

prime minister Thaksin seek-

ing to force out a government

of their opponents stormed a

hotel in the resort city of Pat-

taya hosting the summit

meeting of the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CompensationsetinThaiprotests

CONAKRY, Guinea — At

least nine people were killed in

three days of protests in Guin-

ea against the president’s bid

to extend his time in power,

while hospitals were over-

whelmed with scores of

wounded people, a doctor said

Wednesday.

Some of the bullet wounds

indicate that people were shot

at close range, Dr. Diallo Ma-

madou Bella said. He is volun-

teering to treat the more than

70 wounded protesters at a

hospital in the suburbs of the

capital, Conakry, where many

of the protests have been tak-

ing place.

It was not clear how many

people had been killed and

wounded overall in the pro-

tests, which have drawn thou-

sands into the streets.

President Alpha Conde’s

mandate ends in December

2020 but he is seeking a refer-

endum to allow a third term in

the West African nation of

some 12 million people.

The National Front for the

Defense of the Constitution, a

coalition group, called for the

demonstrations.

Its leader, Abdourahmane

Sanoh, and at least five others

have since been arrested and

were in court Wednesday,

charged with acts to compro-

mise public security and dis-

rupt public order.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

9deadasprotestscontinueinGuinea

Daily Briefing

By Michael Birnbaum
and William Booth
WASHINGTON POST
BRUSSELS — British and
European negotiators blew
through one deadline after an-
other Wednesday as they raced
to reach a Brexit deal on the eve
of a critical summit.
Amid a frenzy of consulta-
tions in Brussels, London, and
Paris, the negotiators appeared
to get near an agreement, then
shied away from it amid con-
cerns on both sides.
Policymakers were more op-
timistic than they had been in
months that a deal could be im-
minent, but they were unsure
whether they could get there
before European leaders gather
Thursday afternoon.
And they were skeptical
about having it fully finalized
by the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.
Addressing a group of Con-
servative lawmakers on
Wednesday, British Prime Min-
ister Boris Johnson compared
the negotiations to climbing
Mount Everest.
Bim Afolami, a lawmaker at
the meeting, said Johnson
claimed they were close to the
summit, but ‘‘it’s still shrouded
in a cloud. But we can see it and
we will get there.’’
According to people briefed
on the talks, Johnson was will-
ing to make a slew of conces-
sions in the interest of fulfilling
his promise to get Britain out of
the EU this month — and per-
haps at any cost.
Not only does he have to
strike a bargain that can get the
approval of 27 other EU coun-
tries — itself a difficult task —
he then must sell it at home.
British domestic politics can be
unforgiving.
Johnson’s predecessor The-
resa May made a deal with
Brussels, only to have it defeat-
ed three times in Parliament.
As a light drizzle descended
on Brussels late Wednesday, is-
sues surrounding Northern Ire-
land appeared to have snagged
both sides. EU diplomats were
worried about tax issues along
the border.
London was having trouble
winning over a key Northern
Ireland political party whose
support Johnson needs to pass
the deal in British Parliament.
‘‘I want to believe an agree-
ment is being finalized and that
we will be able to endorse it to-
morrow,’’ said French President

Emmanuel Macron, who has

been tough on Britain in previ-

ous rounds of Brexit discus-

sions, at a joint news confer-

ence with German Chancellor

Angela Merkel late Wednesday.

But they were running out

of time.

Before the two-day summit

begins, representatives from

each of the EU’s 27 remaining

member states will want to di-

gest any deal and make recom-

mendations to their leaders.

In Europe’s consultations,

where not all leaders speak

English, even translations

sometimes need to be given

time.

EU leaders also do not want

to negotiate the technically

complex agreements directly

with Johnson at the summit,

diplomats said, because such

deals depend on complicated

legal considerations.

European Council President

Donald Tusk told a Polish

broadcaster that the ‘‘basic

foundations of an agreement

are ready’’ and ‘‘theoretically

[on Thursday] we could accept

this deal with Great Britain.’’

‘‘Everything is going in the

right direction,’’ Tusk said.

‘‘But you will have noticed

yourselves,’’ he continued, “that

with Brexit and above all with

our British partners, anything

is possible.’’

There was furious wheeling

and dealing at 10 Downing

Street on Wednesday, with law-

makers coming and going.

All eyes were on the hard-

line Brexiteers in Johnson’s

Conservative Party and a group

of 10 lawmakers from Northern

Ireland’s Democratic Unionist

Party, whose support is crucial.

Steve Baker, the leader of

the hard-line faction known as

the European Research Group,

said that ‘‘great progress’’ had

been made but that his group

‘‘really must see the text’’ before

backing the proposals.

The Northern Ireland law-

makers, too, were holding out.

They have opposed any deal

that would see them treated dif-

ferently from England, Wales

and Scotland, their fellow na-

tions in the United Kingdom.

‘‘Discussions continue,’’

their leader, Arlene Foster,

tweeted Wednesday.

‘‘Needs to be a sensible deal

which unionists and national-

ists can support.’’

The key sticking point in the

closed-door talks in Brussels

has been what happens to the

border between Northern Ire-

land, which will leave with the

rest of the UK, and the Repub-

lic of Ireland, which will re-

main a member of the EU.

The border has proved to be

one of the most vexing issues

facing negotiators over the past

three years.

Today, the boundary is most-

ly invisible. A driver whizzing

between Belfast and Dublin is

not required to stop for any

customs check or security con-

trol.

There are no tollbooths, no

cameras, not even a signpost.

The promise of an open bor-

der was central to the 1998

Good Friday Agreement, which

ended the Troubles, as the 30

years of sectarian violence in

Northern Ireland are known.

Both the UK and the EU say

they want to keep the border

open to preserve the hard-won

peace. But they have disagreed

about how to achieve that.

The bargain they discussed

Wednesday appeared to place

Northern Ireland in a UK cus-

toms zone but with EU trade

rules.

But in a late-night meeting

with chief Brexit negotiator Mi-

chel Barnier, EU ambassadors

voiced concerns about poten-

tial differences in tax rates be-

tween Northern Ireland and

the EU, which they fear could

lead to smuggling.

They also worried about

British plans to regulate busi-

nesses more loosely than in the

EU, which they said could make

it harder to do a trade deal with

London.

Even if the foundations of a

deal are agreed to this week,

EU diplomats said Wednesday

that an extension may be neces-

sary to finalize the details.

Several said they wanted to

know that the House of Com-

mons, which convenes Satur-

day, would back a deal.

‘‘I cannot imagine leaders

tomorrow being able to say

anything more than, ‘Well, this

doesn’t look too bad, let’s con-

tinue to work with the UK to fi-

nalize the details,’ ‘‘ a senior EU

diplomat said, speaking on con-

dition of anonymity to explain

EU negotiating positions.

‘‘How long does that take? I

don’t know.

“What is the House of Com-

mons going to do on Saturday?

I think that’s the one we can

least predict.’’

OnBrexitdeal,aglintofhope

EU,Britainedge

closertoaccord,

butnotthereyet

JANE BARLOW/PA VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Government posters in Edinburgh warned people Wednesday that Brexit is looming.

KCNA VIA KNS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGE

SADDLED UP —In a photo released by North Korea on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rode a

white horse in the first snow at Mount Baekdu, considered the mythical birthplace of the Koreans. The symbolism

of the moment was debated widely. Kim has previously visited Mount Baekdu before making major decisions.A6.

TORONTO — Barack

Obama is urging Canadians to

reelect Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau, an apparently un-

precedented endorsement of a

candidate in a Canadian

election by a former US presi-

dent.

Obama tweeted Wednes-

day that he was proud to work

with Trudeau and described

him as a hard-working, effec-

tive leader who takes on big

issues like climate change.

‘‘The world needs his pro-

gressive leadership now, and I

hope our neighbors to the

north support him for another

term,’’ Obama wrote.

Trudeau later responded

with his own tweet: ‘‘Thanks

my friend, we’re working hard

to keep our progress going.’’

Trudeau is in a tough re-

election fight ahead of Mon-

day’s parliamentary elections.

Robert Bothwell, a profes-

sor of Canadian history and

international relations at the

University of Toronto, said

that might have something to

do with Obama’s intervention.

‘‘Trudeau is in real danger,’’

Bothwell said. ‘‘If I were a Lib-

eral [Party] campaigner, I

would quietly point with pride

to Obama’s endorsement.’’

Bothwell said a person

would have to go back more

than 100 years to find an

American president interven-

ing in a Canadian federal elec-

tion.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Obamaweighsin,backsTrudeau