Indian PM Modi meets Ukraine’s Zelensky for talks in wartime Kyiv

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Updated 23 August 2024
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Indian PM Modi meets Ukraine’s Zelensky for talks in wartime Kyiv

Indian PM Modi meets Ukraine’s Zelensky for talks in wartime Kyiv
  • Indian prime minister’s visit comes at a volatile juncture in the war in Ukraine
  • The visit is important for Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South

KYIV: India’s Narendra Modi met President Volodymyr Zelensky in wartime Kyiv on Friday, weeks after the Ukrainian leader blasted the Indian prime minister over his trip to Moscow.

For Modi, the visit is a chance to clear the air after he was shown embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin at talks in July as Moscow staged a massive missile strike on Ukraine that struck a children’s hospital.

As he welcomed the Indian prime minister to the Marinskiy presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelensky embraced Modi with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.

“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief,” the post said.

The visit is important for Western-backed Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South in its efforts to secure a fair settlement to end the war with Russia.

India, which has traditionally had close economic and defense ties with Moscow, has publicly criticized the deaths of innocent people in the war, but it has also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow.

The trip comes at a volatile juncture in the fighting, with Ukrainian forces still in Russia’s western Kursk region following their incursion on Aug. 6 and Russian troops grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraine’s east.

Modi was met off the train by Ukrainian officials who made a traditional Indian namaste greeting. He was later shown walking with Zelensky at the city’s World War Two museum, his hand on the Ukrainian leader’s shoulder.

Modi had used emotive language to deliver an implicit rebuke to Putin at their summit after the attack on the children’s hospital in Ukraine.

But the trip prompted Zelensky to say it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”

‘CERTAIN INFLUENCE’

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Ukrainian president’s office, told Reuters Modi’s visit to Kyiv was significant because New Delhi “really has a certain influence” over Moscow.

“It’s extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is — and that it is also in their interests,” he said.

As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.

Indian refiners which rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow’s top clients for sea-borne oil since Russia poured troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India’s oil imports.

In the run-up to the trip Modi said he was looking forward to sharing “perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict.”

Ukraine has said it hopes to bring together a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia.

The first summit in Switzerland that pointedly excluded Russia in June attracted scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world’s second largest economy.

“Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement,” Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the Indian foreign ministry, told reporters.

Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kyiv-based political analyst, said he expected no breakthrough proposals to be made to end the war during the trip by Modi, who visited Poland on Thursday.

For there to be an attempt to negotiate, the military situation has to stabilize and the presidential election must be held in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine, he said.

He said the visit was important for India to demonstrate it was “not on Russia’s side” and that Kyiv wanted to normalize relations after Modi’s Moscow trip.


Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were 'Palestinians'

Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were 'Palestinians'
Updated 15 sec ago
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Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were 'Palestinians'

Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were 'Palestinians'
  • Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show

TALLAHASSEE, Florida: A Florida man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on two men in Miami Beach who he thought were Palestinians.
According to an arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot at the men 17 times in the “unprovoked” attack, telling officers that while driving his truck, he “saw two Palestinians” and opened fire on their car, thinking he had killed the pair. But the men survived, one suffering a shot to the shoulder and the other grazed by a bullet.
Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show. He’s also been ordered to stay away from the victims, an Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida, according to the Miami Herald.
Brafman’s attorney Dustin Tischler has said his client was experiencing a “severe mental health crisis” at the time of the shooting, which caused him to “fear for his life.”
“It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised,” Tischler said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that Brafman is seeking “necessary treatment” while cooperating with law enforcement.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called for federal hate crime charges against Brafman, saying his alleged bias against Palestinians should warrant the charges regardless of the victims’ ethnicity.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

 


White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
Updated 35 min 20 sec ago
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White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
  • Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data
  • The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee

WASHINGTON: The White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not technically part of the Department of Government Efficiency team that is sweeping through federal agencies, but is rather a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data as the Trump administration moves to lay off thousands of federal workers. Defining him as an adviser rather than the administrator in charge of day-to-day operations at DOGE could help the administration push back against a lawsuit arguing Musk has too much power for someone who isn’t elected or Senate-confirmed.
The declaration was filed Monday as the Trump administration fends off the lawsuit from several Democratic states that want to block Musk and the DOGE team from accessing government systems. The litigants say Musk is wielding “virtually unchecked power” in violation of the Constitution.
The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee and has “no actual authority to make government decisions himself,” Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, said in court papers. The documents do not name the administrator of DOGE, whose work Musk has championed in posts on his social-media platform X and in a public appearance at the White House.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined Tuesday to say who is leading DOGE. Layoffs are up to individual agency heads rather than DOGE, she said.
The DOGE team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Trump and DOGE are violating the law. At least two are targeting Musk himself.
Last week, Musk called for the US to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of the push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan seemed skeptical in a hearing Monday when Justice Department lawyers asserted that Musk has no formal authority.
“I think you stretch too far. I disagree with you there,” Chutkan said.


Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
Updated 28 min 47 sec ago
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Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
  • Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline
  • Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state

ANKARA, Turkiye: Top diplomats from Ethiopia and Somalia on Tuesday held a first round of technical talks aimed at resolving a dispute sparked by a deal between Ethiopia and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry said.
Turkiye has been mediating between the Horn of Africa countries after concerns about potential conflict in an already volatile region. Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base.
In return, Ethiopia would become the first country to formally recognize Somaliland’s independence. Somalia says the deal infringes on its sovereignty and territory.
In December, the leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia met in Turkiye and agreed to initiate technical talks aimed at reaching a potential agreement that upholds Somalia’s territorial integrity while allowing Ethiopia access to the sea.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said delegations led by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, Ali Mohamed Omar, held a first round of technical negotiations in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“Both delegations demonstrated their commitment to the letter and spirit of the Ankara Declaration,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in reference to their statement issued in December. “The delegations began the concrete work to transform this vision into reality.”
The next round of talks is in March, the ministry statement said.
Turkiye has significant investment in Somalia, including its largest overseas military base.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory.
With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.


Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican

Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican
Updated 58 min 10 sec ago
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Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican

Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican
  • Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday with bronchitis
  • “The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, is suffering from pneumonia in both lungs and the 88-year-old’s clinical situation remains “complex,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday with bronchitis after suffering breathing difficulties and the Holy See has canceled his events until the end of the weekend.
“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said in a statement.
It said a “polymicrobial infection” which has come on top of “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex.”
“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” it said.
“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” it added.
Francis spent his fifth day in hospital alternating rest with prayer and reading texts, the Vatican said.
“He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him,” it added.
The head of the Catholic Church since 2013, Argentine Francis was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.
It is latest of a series of health issues for the Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021 and uses a wheelchair due to pain in his knee.


Senior UK judge slams political leaders over Gaza asylum verdict response

Senior UK judge slams political leaders over Gaza asylum verdict response
Updated 18 February 2025
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Senior UK judge slams political leaders over Gaza asylum verdict response

Senior UK judge slams political leaders over Gaza asylum verdict response
  • PM, opposition leader criticized decision to allow in Palestinian family under Ukraine refugee scheme 
  • Sue Carr: ‘It is really dangerous to make any criticism of a judgment without a full understanding of the facts and the law’

LONDON: The most senior judge in England and Wales has described as “unacceptable” comments by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and opposition leader Kemi Badenoch about a Palestinian family being given asylum in Britain.

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Sue Carr said she was “deeply troubled” after both leaders denounced a decision to take in the family from Gaza under a scheme originally set up for Ukrainian refugees.

At a press conference, Carr added that fears among the judiciary for their safety in the UK is at an “all-time high,” and it is not for politicians to question judges’ decisions made in accordance with the law.

The family of six, who are political opponents of Hamas, planned to stay in the country with a British relative who could provide shelter and financial support.

The two tribunal judges adjudicating the case made clear that their decision would not set a precedent for a Palestinian resettlement scheme in the UK.

However, the case was raised by Badenoch in Parliament last week, saying the decision to allow the family asylum in the UK is “completely wrong and can’t be allowed to stand.”

Starmer replied: “I don’t agree with the decision. The leader of the opposition is right that it’s the wrong decision.

“She hasn’t quite done her homework, however, because the decision in question was taken under the last government, according to their legal framework.”

He added: “It should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration. It should be the government who make the policy. That’s the principle.

“The home secretary is already looking at the legal loophole that we need to close in this particular case.”

Carr said she had written to Starmer to express her feelings that “both the question and the answer were unacceptable.”

She added: “It is for the government visibly to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary. Where parties, including the government, disagree with their findings, they should do so through the appellate process.”

Carr said: “It is not acceptable for judges to be the subject of personal attacks for doing no more than their jobs.

“Their job is to find the facts on the evidence before them and apply the law as it stands to those facts.”

She added: “If they get it wrong, the protection is a challenge on appeal. If the legislation is wrong, it is Parliament’s prerogative to legislate.

“It is really dangerous to make any criticism of a judgment without a full understanding of the facts and the law.”