At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine/node/2583246/world
At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
A Ukrainian member of the police looks for drones in the sky during an evacuation of civilians from the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, on December 14, 2024, as Russian troops advance close to the city. (AFP)
At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
Updated 57 sec ago
AFP
KYIV: Ukraine said Monday that its troops killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been deployed by Russia to its western Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized territory.
Thousands of troops from North Korea have come to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk border region where Russia has been clawing back territory after a surprise offensive from Ukrainian forces this summer.
“On December 14 and 15, army units from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) suffered significant losses near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, Martynovka in the Kursk region of Russia — at least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
The units are “being replenished with fresh personnel” from North Korea, which Western officials estimate has sent at least 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.
Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion.
Russia has begun deploying “a noticeable number” of North Koreans in assaults to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, Zelensky said on Saturday.
He said that according to his information, “the Russians include (North Koreans) in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” where Ukraine launched an incursion in August.
Zelensky said he has also heard the North Koreans “may be used in other parts of the front line,” and that “losses among this category are also already noticeable.”
Russia’s defense ministry said last week its troops recaptured some small settlements in the Kursk region.
Last month a Ukrainian army source told AFP that Kyiv controls 800 square kilometers of territory there, down from previous claims it controlled around 1,400 square kilometers.
Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
The cyclone has left French Indian Ocean territory’s health services in tatters
Officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas
Updated 12 sec ago
AFP
SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead. Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble. The crisis, which erupted at the weekend the day after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government still only operating in a caretaker capacity. The cyclone has left health services in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and health centers knocked out of operation, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2. “The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” she said, adding that “medical centers were also non-operational.” Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris at 1700 GMT, the Elysee said. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island. Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barreled down on France’s poorest territory on Saturday. Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand.” With roads closed, officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas. The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, said the storm “spared nothing.” “The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,” he said. Some 160 additional soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed. The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as a hub for the rescue operations. Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which lies to the east of Mozambique. At least a third of the territory’s 320,000 residents live in shantytowns, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were flattened by the storm. One resident, Ibrahim, said of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads himself. As authorities assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane reached Mayotte on Sunday. It carried three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical staff, according to authorities in La Reunion. Patrice Latron, prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, immense destruction.” Two military aircraft are expected to follow the initial aid flight, while a navy patrol ship was also due to depart La Reunion. There have been international pledges to help Mayotte, including from the regional Red Cross organization PIROI. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “ready to provide support in the days to come.” The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care.” With around 100,000 people estimated to live clandestinely on Mayotte, according to France’s interior ministry, establishing how many people have been affected by the cyclone is proving difficult. Ousseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare venture out to seek assistance, “fearing it would be a trap” designed to remove them from Mayotte. Many had stayed put “until the last minute” when it proved too late to escape the cyclone, she added. Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide fueled by climate change, according to experts. The “exceptional” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the Meteo France weather service said. Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll stood at three. The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warned 1.7 million people were in danger and the remnants of the cyclone could also dump “significant rainfall” in Malawi through Monday.
Bangladesh polls could take place end-2025, interim government chief says
Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government since PM Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amid mass protests
Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months
Updated 9 min 21 sec ago
Reuters
DHAKA: Elections in Bangladesh could be held by the end of 2025, the head of the country’s interim government said on Monday, provided that electoral reforms are carried out first.
Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by its only Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August, when then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amid mass protests.
“If there is political consensus and the voter list is prepared accurately with only minor reforms, it may be possible to hold elections by the end of 2025,” Yunus said in a televised speech.
Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, whose refusal to support Hasina during the deadly student protests led to her departure, told Reuters in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months.
In his address, delivered on the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh winning independence from Pakistan following a nine-month war, Yunus said elections would only be possible after electoral reforms.
“If additional reforms are needed, and taking into account national consensus, it may take at least another six months,” the 84-year-old added.
Opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, one of two dominant parties in the country alongside the Awami League, have called for elections to be held as soon as possible.
US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, first in eight years
The USS Savannah docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit
The US and others suggest China’s navy is establishing a permanent base at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base
Updated 54 min 54 sec ago
AP
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia: A US Navy warship arrived Monday in Cambodia, the first such visit in eight years to a nation that is China’s close ally in Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s government has suggested the port call reflects an upgrade in often-strained relations.
The USS Savannah docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit. The Savannah, classed as a Littoral Combat Ship, carries a crew of 103.
“It’s great to be back, returning US presence to here after eight years,” the ship’s commanding officer, Daniel A. Sledz, said in brief remarks to reporters. He was given a bouquet of flowers by a Cambodian officer and shook hands with a line of her colleagues.
The United States for many years has had rocky relations with Cambodia, criticizing its government for political repression and human rights violations. There is particular concern about its close ties with China, which Washington fears may get exclusive access to a Cambodian naval base on the Gulf of Thailand, not far from where the Savannah docked.
Recently, there seem to have been moves to patch up relations.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said last week that the visit was scheduled after a US request for a port call, and would “strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship as well as promote bilateral cooperation” between the two nations.
Two days before that, Cambodia’s foreign ministry noted “positive momentum of bilateral ties and cooperation” and “the reinvigoration of military-to-military cooperation” between Cambodia and the US
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia in early June, where he held talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet and other senior officials. He also met with Cambodian alumni of US military training programs. Hun Manet himself is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point.
The US Defense Department said at the time that Austin’s discussions concerned “opportunities to strengthen the US-Cambodia bilateral defense relationship in support of regional peace and security,” and other matters.
But Washington remains concerned that the upgrading of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base near Sihanoukville will serve Beijing’s strategic interests in the region.
The US and others suggest China’s navy is establishing a permanent base at Ream, which would give it easier access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Controversy over the Chinese activity at Ream initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by US officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.
Cambodia’s government has denied such an agreement or any intention to grant China special privileges at the base, though Beijing has funded its expansion.
In September, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said that China is giving its navy two warships of the type it has had docked there for months. China is set to hand over two newly built Type 56 corvettes — smaller vessels typically used for coastal patrols — next year at the earliest, after Cambodia requested China’s support.
Cambodia’s defense ministry said the Savannah’s port call will include “a working meeting with the commander of the Ream Naval Base,” as well as meetings with provincial officials and “a friendship sports competition between the crews of the US Navy and the Cambodian Navy.”
Cambodian Navy Capt. Mean Savoeun, deputy commander of the Ream Naval Base, was among those dockside welcoming the Savannah to Sihanoukville. He said he was happy to see the good relationship between Cambodia and the US, especially their navies, and believed the visit will bring closer diplomatic cooperation.
EU diplomat to make contact with new Syria leaders in Damascus
Updated 16 December 2024
Reuters
BRUSSELS: European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday she had instructed the bloc’s top diplomat for Syria to go to Damascus and make contact with the country’s new government.
Speaking to reporters on arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said the diplomat would go to the Syrian capital on Monday.
Pakistan begins last anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year after a surge in cases
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus has not been stopped
Thousands of police officers deployed to protect the health workers following intelligence reports that insurgents could target them
Updated 16 December 2024
AP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan began on Monday its last nationwide vaccination campaign for the year to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases hampered efforts to stop the disease, officials said.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus hasn’t been stopped,
Pakistan has reported 63 confirmed cases since January.
Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s adviser for the polio eradication program, said the anti-polio drive will continue until Dec. 22.
“As a mother, I am appealing to you to open your doors for health workers,” she said.
Pakistan regularly launches such campaigns despite violence affecting medical personnel who oversee the vaccinations and security forces escorting them. Militants falsely claim that vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Authorities deployed thousands of police officers to protect the health workers following intelligence reports that insurgents could target them. However, gunmen opened fire Monday on police escorting polio workers in Karak, a city in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing a police officer and wounding a health worker, local police official Ayaz Khan said.
More than 200 polio workers and police assigned for their protection have been killed since the 1990s, according to health officials and authorities.
The latest anti-polio drive campaign began a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with medical staff and vowed that Pakistan would win the war against polio.
Afghanistan reported at least 23 confirmed cases in 2024, according to data from the World Health Organization.
In September, the Afghan Taliban suddenly stopped a door-to-door vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, a devastating setback for polio eradication as the virus is one of the world’s most infectious and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is spreading could undo years of progress.
