Zelensky eyes ‘history being made’ at Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, but Russia’s absent

Zelensky eyes ‘history being made’ at Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, but Russia’s absent
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Swiss Federal President Viola Amherd shake hands during the Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland on Jun. 15, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 June 2024
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Zelensky eyes ‘history being made’ at Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, but Russia’s absent

Zelensky eyes ‘history being made’ at Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace conference, but Russia’s absent
  • Zelensky said: “I believe that we will witness history being made here at the summit”
  • Swiss officials hosting the conference say more than 50 heads of state and government will join the gathering

OBBÜRGEN, Switzerland: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday predicted “history being made” at the Swiss-hosted conference which aims to plot out the first steps toward peace in Ukraine even though experts and critics say little substance or few big breakthroughs are expected because Russia is not attending.
The presidents of Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Somalia joined dozens of Western heads of state and government and other leaders and high-level envoys at the meeting, in hopes that Russia — which is waging war on Ukraine — could join in one day.
In a brief statement to reporters alongside Swiss President Viola Amherd, Zelensky already sought to cast the gathering as a success, saying: “We have succeeded in bringing back to the world the idea that joint efforts can stop war and establish a just peace.”
“I believe that we will witness history being made here at the summit,” he said.
Swiss officials hosting the conference say more than 50 heads of state and government will join the gathering at the Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne. Some 100 delegations including European bodies and the United Nations will be on hand.
Who will show up – and who will not – has become one of the key stakes of a meeting that critics say will be useless without the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is pushing ahead with the war.
As US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at the venue, shuttle buses rumbled up a mountain road that snaked up to the site — at times with traffic jams — with police along the route checking journalists’ IDs and helicopters ferrying in VIPs buzzed overhead.
Meanwhile, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have dispatched their foreign ministers while key developing countries like Brazil, an observer at the event, India and South Africa will be represented at lower levels.
China, which backs Russia, is joining scores of countries that are sitting out the conference, many of whom have more pressing issues than the bloodiest conflict in far-away Europe since World War II. Beijing says any peace process needs to have the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, and has floated its own ideas for peace.
Last month, China and Brazil agreed to six “common understandings” on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, asking other countries to endorse them and play a role in promoting peace talks.
The six points include an agreement to “support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans.”
Zelensky has recently led a diplomatic push to draw in participants to the Swiss summit.
Russian troops who now control nearly a quarter of Ukrainian land in the east and south have made some territorial gains in recent months. When talk of a Swiss-hosted peace initiative began last summer, Ukrainian forces had recently regained large swaths of territory, notably near the cities of southern Kherson and northern Kharkiv.
Against the battlefield backdrop and diplomatic strategizing, summit organizers have presented three agenda items: nuclear safety, such as at the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant; humanitarian assistance and exchange of prisoners of war; and global food security — which has been disrupted at times due to impeded shipments through the Black Sea.
That to-do list, encapsulating some of the least controversial issues, is well short of proposals and hopes laid out by Zelensky in a 10-point peace formula in late 2022.
The plan includes ambitious calls, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian territory, the cessation of hostilities and restoring Ukraine’s state borders with Russia, including Crimea.
Putin’s government, meanwhile, wants any peace deal to be built around a draft agreement negotiated in the early phases of the war that included provisions for Ukraine’s neutral status and limits on its armed forces, while delaying talks about Russia-occupied areas. Ukraine’s push over the years to join the NATO military alliance has rankled Moscow.
Ukraine is unable to negotiate from a position of strength, analysts say.
“The situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, saying that although Russia “can’t achieve its maximalist objectives quickly through military means, but it’s gaining momentum and pushing Ukraine really hard.”
“So, a lot of countries that are coming to the summit would question whether the Zelensky peace formula still has legs,” he told reporters in a call Wednesday.
With much of the world’s focus recently on the war in Gaza and national elections in 2024, Ukraine’s backers want to return focus to Russia’s breach of international law and a restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
On Friday, Putin called the conference “just another ploy to divert everyone’s attention.”
The International Crisis Group, an advisory firm that works to end conflict, wrote this week that “absent a major surprise on the Bürgenstock,” the event is “unlikely to deliver much of consequence.”
“Nonetheless, the Swiss summit is a chance for Ukraine and its allies to underline what the UN General Assembly recognized in 2022 and repeated in its February 2023 resolution on a just peace in Ukraine: Russia’s all-out aggression is a blatant violation of international law,” it said.
Experts say they’ll be looking at the wording of any outcome document, and plans for the way forward. Swiss officials, aware of Russia’s reticence about the conference, have repeatedly said they hope Russia can join the process one day, as do Ukrainian officials.
“Most likely, the three items under review will be endorsed by the participants. But then the big question is ‘OK, what comes next?’” Gabuev said. “And I don’t think we have a very clear answer to that question yet.”
As leaders headed to the conference venue, the war raged on.
Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov of Russia’s southern Belgorod region, writing on social media, blamed Ukraine for shelling Friday that struck a five-story apartment building in the town of Shebekino, killing five people. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
In Ukraine, shelling killed at least three civilians and wounded 15 others on Friday and overnight, regional officials said. Gov. Oleh Syniehubov of the Kharkiv region, which has been the focus of a recent Russian offensive.


Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says

Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says
Updated 57 min 46 sec ago
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Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says

Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels”
  • Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement”

KYIV: Russia is open to hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals on ending the war, an official said, as a Russian drone killed one person and wounded 13 in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the European Union foreign policy chief held talks in Kyiv after the change in US leadership.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels.” He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or Trump and members of his incoming administration.
Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement, and not in the area of further pumping the Kyiv regime with all kinds of aid,” Ryabkov said Saturday in an interview with Russian state news agency Interfax.
In Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Ukraine is ready to work with the Trump administration.
“Remember that President (Volodymyr) Zelensky was one of the first world leaders ... to greet President Trump,” he said. “It was a sincere conversation (and) an exchange of thoughts regarding further cooperation.”
“Also during the telephone conversation, further steps to establish communication between teams were discussed and this work has also begun. Therefore, we are open for further cooperation and I’m sure that a unified goal of reaching just peace unites all of us,” Sybiha said.
Sybiha appeared alongside EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said his visit is meant to stress the European Union’s support to Ukraine.
“This support remains unwavering. This support is absolutely needed, for you to continue defending yourself against Russian aggression,” he said.
Borrell urged “faster deliveries and fewer self imposed red lines” in getting Western weapons to Ukraine. He had appealed to allies in August to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets.
In Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said high-rise residential buildings, private houses and warehouses in the Black Sea port city were damaged overnight by the “fall” of a drone. He did not specify whether the drone had been shot down by air defenses.
A further 32 Russian drones were shot down over 10 Ukrainian regions, while 18 were “lost,” according to Ukraine’s air force, likely having been electronically jammed.
A Russian aerial bomb struck a busy highway overnight in the northeastern Kharkiv province, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekohov said. No casualties were reported.
Russia is mounting an intensified aerial campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter. However, doubts are deepening over what Kyiv can expect from a new US administration. Trump has repeatedly taken issue with US aid to Ukraine, made vague vows to end the war and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said 50 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over seven Russian regions — more than half over the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine.


Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence

Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence
Updated 09 November 2024
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Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence

Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence
  • “Due to the major social impact of the events of last Thursday night in Amsterdam, I will remain in the Netherlands,” he said on X
  • “Violence and hate in all their manifestations have no place in sports,” the Palestine Football Association said

AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof will miss the COP29 climate summit after clashes in Amsterdam this week between Israeli soccer fans and pro-Palestinian protesters as his government investigates if warning signs from Israel were missed.
“I will not be going to Azerbaijan next week for the UN Climate Conference COP29. Due to the major social impact of the events of last Thursday night in Amsterdam, I will remain in the Netherlands,” he said on social media platform X.
Dutch Climate Minister Sophie Hermans will still attend the Nov. 11-22 environment meeting while a climate envoy will replace Schoof, the premier added, saying Thursday night’s violence in Amsterdam would be discussed at Monday’s cabinet meeting.
At least five people were injured during the unrest involving fans of the visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team who lost 5-0 to Ajax in the Europa League.
Justice Minister David van Weel said in a letter to parliament that information was still being gathered, including on possible warning signs from Israel, and whether the assaults were organized and had an antisemitic motive.
Fast-track justice would be applied with maximum efforts to find every suspect, he vowed.
Four people remain in custody over the unrest, police said.
Political leaders from Schoof down have denounced the attacks as antisemitic and urged swift justice.
Videos of the unrest on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.
Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans before the match.
Israel sent planes to The Netherlands to bring fans home.
“Violence and hate in all their manifestations have no place in sports,” the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said.
Amsterdam banned demonstrations at the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers.
Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands during the Gaza war, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.


Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers

Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers
Updated 09 November 2024
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Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers

Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers
  • Police said on Saturday that the four arrested were being investigated over a “hate crime“
  • The attack was immediately followed by three other incidents targeting foreign food-delivery workers, also in Split

ZAGREB: Police in Croatia on Saturday said that four men were arrested over a racially-motivated attack against foreign workers followed by three similar incidents that left one Nepali seriously injured.
The European Union country of 3.8 million people is struggling to overcome chronic labor shortage as it faces mass emigration and a shrinking population.
Traditionally reliant on seasonal workers from its Balkan neighbors, Croatia is increasingly counting on laborers from Nepal, India, the Philippines and elsewhere to fill tens of thousands of jobs notably in construction and its key tourism sector on the Adriatic coast.
Police said on Saturday that the four arrested, who are suspected of physically attacking a food-delivery worker in the coastal town of Split, were being investigated over a “hate crime.”
Late Friday, a 41-year-old foreign national and one attacker sustained minor injuries, a police statement said.
The attack was immediately followed by three other incidents targeting foreign food-delivery workers, also in Split, in which one Nepali was seriously injured.
Another victim was Indian, while the nationalities of the other two were not disclosed.
Police said a search for the perpetrators was ongoing.
The government condemned the incidents, labelling them “shocking and disturbing” and vowed on social media “not to allow Croatia to become a country where violence and hatred toward foreign workers are normalized.”
“Foreign workers filled a segment on the labor market that we obviously could not,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters citing construction and tourist sectors.
Croatia in 2023 provided nearly 120,000 non-EU nationals with work permits, 40 percent more than the previous year.
This year the figure will be surpassed as nearly 150,000 work permits have so far been issued to non-EU nationals.
The number of attacks on foreign workers, notably those delivering food has been increasing, police in the capital Zagreb said earlier this year.
In most cases, they were not racially-motivated but were robberies.
Migrants have been regularly pilloried online with the new labor force facing language barriers and negative attitudes toward foreigners.
Ethnic Croats make up more than 90 percent of Croatia’s population — nearly 80 percent of whom are Roman Catholics.


Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises

Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises
Updated 09 November 2024
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Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises

Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises
  • Dengue used to be confined to main cities but transmission has been widespread since 2023
  • Mosquito control measures hindered by July-August unrest and regime change

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s dengue fever outbreak this year is its second deadliest on record, raising concerns over widespread transmission as infection rates show no signs of slowing.
Each year, dengue fever becomes a major health concern in Bangladesh during the monsoon season between July and October, with thousands of people contracting the potentially deadly virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.
The incidence of the disease has increased dramatically since the early 2000s, with the worst outbreak claiming 1,705 lives last year.
This year, the dengue toll is already the second worst in history, with 69,922 people hospitalized and 342 dengue-related deaths, according to Directorate General of Health Services data as of Saturday.
While previous outbreaks would normally end in October, this year it saw the highest infection numbers, with more than 30,870 people admitted to hospital.
“This trend of dengue infection will probably continue till next January. We can expect a decline in the infection rate in some two weeks from now, but it will still be higher in comparison with November and December in the previous years,” Prof. Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told Arab News.
“There are various reasons for the rise of dengue outbreak this year. Among them, the impact of climate change is very prominent here. It has created a suitable environment for the breeding of the Aedes mosquitoes. Also, there are many dengue patients — they, too, are the virus’s carriers.”
While dengue outbreaks in Bangladesh have usually been confined to urban areas, with cities such as Dhaka reporting most of the cases, since last year, the virus has been reported in every district, even reaching remote and previously unaffected rural areas.
Rising global temperatures have accelerated the spread of the Aedes mosquito, the primary carrier of the virus, while heavy rainfall has created an ideal environment for the insects to breed.
An additional problem faced by Bangladesh this year was the lack of dengue control campaigns, with efforts disrupted by the sudden regime change in the country amid unrest in July and August that led to the ouster of the previous administration.
“The impacts of climate change and insufficient mosquito control measures by authorities have been key factors driving the increase in the dengue outbreak,” Bashar said.
“The most worrying issue is the high death rate. No other country has such high mortality. Our health authorities need to consider this issue very seriously.”
Deaths during the current outbreak are mostly occurring as patients come to hospitals at a late stage, often after a long time traveling, as most specialist and testing facilities are available only in major urban centers.
Since last year, many patients have contracted the virus for a second or third time — some even with multiple strains, which decreases their chances of survival.
“There are four strains of dengue. Last year, we also found patients infected with all of them. This year, too,” said Dr. Khondoker Mahbuba Jamil, virologist laboratory head of the Institute of Public Health in Dhaka.
“The disease becomes more severe when someone is infected for the second time, leading to immunological complications ... And when someone is infected with a different strain for the second time, their immunological response becomes excessive. That’s what is happening this time.”


French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas

French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas
Updated 09 November 2024
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French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas

French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas
  • The unions are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF and protesting against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition
  • Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays

PARIS: Trade unions at France’s railway operator SNCF on Saturday called for an indefinite strike from next month that could disrupt train services during the upcoming Christmas holidays.
The unions are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the freight division of the national rail operator, and protesting against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition.
In a joint statement to AFP, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots unions said the action would begin on December 11.
The unions also reiterated their call for shorter strike action from November 20 to November 22.
Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays.
In February, train controllers went on strike during a holiday weekend, leaving 150,000 people stranded. A Christmas strike in December 2022 affected some 200,000 holidaymakers.
In 2023, the European Commission announced an in-depth investigation into whether France breached EU rules on state support by subsidising the freight division of SNCF.
The French government launched a restructuring process which will see France’s top rail freight company disappear on January 1, 2025 and be replaced by two separate companies, Hexafret and Technis.
The plan was negotiated by the French government and the European Commission to avoid a reorganization procedure that could have led to the outright liquidation of the company, which employs 5,000 people.
In their statement, the trade unions “reaffirm that a moratorium is possible and necessary to allow the various players to get back to the table and find ways of guaranteeing not only the continuity of Fret SNCF, but also its development over the longer term.”