Transport ministers from some 50 countries, as well as policymakers and industry representatives, are expected to attend the International Transport Forum (ITF) in the German city of Leipzig.

Transport must be made more sustainable, British Transport Minister Mark Harper said at the opening of the summit on Wednesday.

Britain presides over this year’s forum.

Harper said that the question was not whether transport had to be made more sustainable, but how quickly emissions could be reduced.

Germany’s Transport Minister Volker Wissing is also expected to attend the summit.

Industry experts will discuss current issues and challenges facing the transport sector.

The secretary general of the International Transport Forum, Young Tae Kim from South Korea, said the focus is not only on a sustainable future but also on making greener mobility options accessible for all.

“We need to do more and we need to do it now,” Young said of developing sustainable options for the future.

Discussions will also be held with the goal to continue talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai at the end of 2023.

During the ITF summit, panel discussions and lectures are planned until May 26 with a focus on goals that are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The countries that signed the Paris Climate Agreement committed to keeping global warming well below two degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, but if possible will limit it to 1.5 degrees. 

– dpa

Italian police on Tuesday said they seized 2.7 tonnes of cocaine from a port in the southern region of Calabria.

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza police force said that officers found 2,734 kilogrammes of extremely pure cocaine in two 12-meter-long refrigerated containers hidden among 78 tonnes of bananas.

This took place in the port of Gioia Tauro, calling the operation a “record seizure.’’

Police said they estimated the drugs to have a street value of some 800 million euros (870 million dollars).

The containers, which were coming from Guayaquil in Ecuador, were bound for Armenia and were due to go by the Georgian city of Batumi, the Guardia di Finanza said. 

– dpa

…Macron says France ready to train Ukrainian fighter jet pilots

The 31 tanks the United States (U.S.) promised earlier this year to deliver to Ukraine have arrived at a military training centre in Germany, the U.S. Defence Department said.

“I can confirm that the 31 M1 Abrams training tanks have arrived at Grafenwöhr, Germany in preparation for subsequent training of Ukrainian tank crewson Monday.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in Washington on Tuesday.

Grafenwöhr, in northern Bavaria, is home to a U.S. military training base.

Ryder said Ukrainian crews were expected to arrive and begin training within the next couple of weeks.

“As we’ve discussed previously, this extensive training programme for Ukrainian crews and maintainers is intended to prepare them for their critical roles ahead in effectively operating the M1 tank and defending Ukrainian people.’’

At the end of April, U.S. Chief of Staff Mark Milley said at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein.

He said that Washington would first supply Abrams tanks that were not fit for combat, but could be used for training.

The Abrams tanks intended for the battlefield are still being repaired.

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. had accelerated the delivery in order to be able to provide Ukraine with more armoured equipment in the coming months.

The long-awaited decision to send 31 U.S. tanks to Ukraine was made back in January, in conjunction with Germany’s drawn-out decision on whether or not to send Kiev Leopard main battle tanks. 

In a related development, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said the country would train Ukrainian fighter jet pilots, but he would not send the planes.

“We have opened the door to train Ukrainian pilots.

“The training can start from now.

”Several European countries had decided it was now necessary to start training,” Macron said.

Zelensky made the surprise trip to France on Sunday, on the heel of visits to Germany and Italy.

A Ukraine-France joint statement said new supplies would be prepared to address the most pressing and immediate needs to strengthen Ukraine’s defences.

The statement said that Paris would continue to help Kiev defend itself, “focusing its effort in supporting Ukraine’s air defence capacities in order to defend its population against Russian strikes.” 

– dpa