Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday it was a lie that the Amazon was being devastated by fire and accused his critics of having a “colonialist spirit”.
Maintaining the tradition of Brazil being first to speak at the UN General Assembly, the far-right politician heaped praise on US President Donald Trump for respecting his country's sovereignty.
Last week a Human Rights Watch report said Mr Bolsonaro had given a “green light” to illegal loggers and had failed to protect those defending the world's largest rainforest.
“The Amazon is not being devastated or consumed by fire. The media is lying,” he said, as his 32-minute speech went more than double its allotted time.
“It is a fallacy to say that the Amazon is the heritage of humankind, and a misconception confirmed by scientists to say that our Amazon forests are the lungs of the world."
His remarks were at odds with those of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who opened the annual gathering.
Mr Guterres, at a UN summit on Monday, appealed to nations to reduce their carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
“As was emphasised at yesterday's Climate Action Summit, the climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win if we change our ways now," he said.
"Even our language has to adapt. What once was called 'climate change' is now truly a 'climate crisis', and what was once called 'global warming' has more accurately become 'global heating'.”
But Mr Bolsonaro, who was stabbed during the campaign that led to his election, hit out at his detractors.
He said that while every country had problems, sensationalist reporting in international media “aroused our patriotic sentiments”.
“Using and resorting to these fallacies, certain countries, instead of helping, behaved in a disrespectful manner and with a colonialist spirit,” he said.
“They even called into question that which we hold as a most sacred value, our sovereignty.”
The Amazon fires led French President Emmanuel Macron to accuse the Brazilian leader of having lied to him over the extent of the damage and the response made.
“One of these countries during the recent G7 meeting dared suggest applying sanctions to Brazil without consulting or even listening to Brazil,” Mr Bolsonaro said.
France and Ireland have said they might block a trade deal between the EU and some South American countries, including Brazil, because of Mr Bolsonaro's environmental policies.
But he said he was grateful to Mr Trump, a leader to whom he is often compared because of their shared policy views and outspoken nature.
“I thank President Donald Trump who summed up the spirit that should prevail among UN member countries: respect for the freedom and sovereignty of each of the member countries,” Mr Bolsonaro said.
Official figures do not support his claim that the fires are under control.
Amazon deforestation nearly doubled in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period in 2018, to 6,404 square kilometres – more than twice the size of Luxembourg.
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
