UNITED NATIONS: UN Security Council members confronted Russia on Tuesday over a missile strike the previous day that destroyed part of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, pouring out condemnations at an emergency meeting chaired by Moscow’s own ambassador.
Russia denies responsibility for the strike at the hospital, where at least two staffers were killed.
France and Ecuador asked for the session at the Security Council, but Russia led it as the current holder of the council’s rotating presidency, putting Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia on the receiving end of the criticism.
“Mr. President, please stop this war. It has been going on for too long,” Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar appealed.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told colleagues that they were there “because Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, current rotational president of the Security Council, attacked a children’s hospital.”
“Even uttering that phrase sends a chill down my spine,” she added.
Nebenzia characterized the slew of criticism as “verbal gymnastics” from countries trying to protect Ukraine’s government. He reiterated Moscow’s denials of responsibility for the hospital attack, insisting it was hit by a Ukrainian air defense rocket.
“If this had been a Russian strike, there would have been nothing left of the building,” Nebenzia said, adding that “all the children and most of the adults would have been killed, and not wounded.”
The strike on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital was part of a massive daytime barrage in multiple cities, including the capital of Kyiv. Officials said at least 42 people were killed. The attack also damaged Ukraine’s main specialist hospital for women and hit key energy infrastructure.
At Okhmatdyt, “the ground shook and the walls trembled. Both children and adults screamed and cried from fear, and the wounded from pain,” cardiac surgeon and anesthesiologist Dr. Volodymyr Zhovnir told the Security Council by video from Kyiv. “It was a real hell.”
Later, he heard people crying out for help from beneath the rubble. Most of the over 600 young patients had been moved to bomb shelters, except those in surgery, Zhovnir said. He said over 300 people were injured, including eight children, and two adults died, one of them a young doctor.
Acting UN humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya stressed to the Security Council that intentionally attacking a hospital is a war crime. She called Monday’s strikes “part of a deeply concerning pattern of systematic attacks harming health care and other civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.”
Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the UN World Health Organization has verified 1,878 attacks affecting health care facilities, personnel, transport, supplies and patients, she said.
Even against that backdrop, several council members pronounced Monday’s strike shocking.
British Ambassador Barbara Woodward called it “cowardly depravity.” Ecuadorian envoy José De La Gasca described it as “particularly intolerable.” To Slovenia’s Zbogar, it was “another low in this war of aggression.”
Woodward and some others reiterated longstanding calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. But some nations with closer ties to Moscow continued to send a more muted message.
Chinese deputy Ambassador Geng Shuang, expressed concern about the loss of civilian lives and infrastructure but urged both sides to exercise “rationality and restraint” and “show political will, meet each other halfway and start peace talks.”
Russia insists that it doesn’t attack civilian targets in Ukraine despite abundant evidence to the contrary, including in AP’s reporting.
Earlier Tuesday in Geneva, Danielle Bell, who heads a UN team monitoring human rights in Ukraine, said the hospital likely was struck by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
At the UN headquarters, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya showed the Security Council photos of what his country asserts were fragments showing the projectile’s Russian origin, plus a map purportedly showing a missile’s path from Russian territory and, via a sharp turn, to the children’s hospital.
“Yesterday, Russia deliberately targeted perhaps the most vulnerable and defenseless group in any society: children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses,” Kyslytsya said.
Kyslytsya, whose country isn’t on the 15-member council, blasted Nebenzia for occupying the president’s seat after the bloodshed.
“In accordance with the traditions of the council presidency, and purely as the president of the council,” Nebenzia drily replied, “I am compelled to thank Ukraine for their statement.”
In a diplomatic quirk, Russia chairs a UN meeting decrying its strike on a Ukraine kids’ hospital
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In a diplomatic quirk, Russia chairs a UN meeting decrying its strike on a Ukraine kids’ hospital
- “Mr. President, please stop this war. It has been going on for too long,” Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar appealed
- Nebenzia characterized the slew of criticism as “verbal gymnastics” from countries trying to protect Ukraine’s government
Russia, China FMs to meet as ASEAN talks get underway in Laos
- ASEAN ministers thrashing out a common position on the civil war raging in member state Myanmar on Thursday
VIENTIANE: The foreign ministers of Russia and China will meet on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers talks in Laos on Thursday, according to a schedule seen by AFP.
The three-day meeting of the 10-member ASEAN bloc started in the capital Vientiane on Thursday, with tensions in the South China Sea and the conflict in Myanmar high on the agenda.
Sergei Lavrov will meet Wang Yi at 6 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) for a 40-minute “ministerial meeting,” according to the schedule.
Both men have already arrived in Vientiane, journalists said, to attend the ASEAN talks as observers along with foreign ministers from the United Kingdom and Canada.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Vientiane on Thursday and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to attend.
ASEAN ministers were thrashing out a common position on the civil war raging in member state Myanmar on Thursday, a Southeast Asian diplomat at the talks said.
“Myanmar is not resolved yet but we’re almost there,” the source said, requesting anonymity in order to speak to the media.
A draft ASEAN communique seen by AFP said ministers “strongly condemned” the continued violence unleashed by the military’s coup in 2021 that has plunged the country into turmoil.
The junta is struggling to crush armed opposition to its coup and has been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings over its crackdown on dissent.
It had previously refused to send “non-political representatives” to attend high-level ASEAN meetings but two senior bureaucrats are representing Myanmar at the talks in Vientiane.
The military’s readiness to re-engage diplomatically was a sign of its “weakened position,” the diplomatic source told AFP.
An ethnic minority armed group claimed on Thursday its fighters had captured a town and a military regional command in northern Shan state, although the junta said it was still in control.
Indonesia’s foreign minister slammed on Thursday the Myanmar junta’s unwillingness to engage with a regional peace plan to resolve the crisis sparked by its coup.
Retno Marsudi made the remarks after meeting her Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of the Vientiane meeting.
Weeks after it seized power, the junta agreed to a five-point peace plan with ASEAN that it has since ignored as it wages a crackdown on dissent and battles armed opposition to its rule.
“We shared the same view on the lack of commitment of Myanmar military junta to implement the 5PC (five point consensus),” Marsudi wrote on social media platform X.
A series of clashes between Philippine and Chinese vessels at flashpoint reefs in the South China Sea in recent months is also on the ASEAN agenda, the diplomatic source said.
Beijing claims the waterway, through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually, almost in its entirety despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in a June 17 confrontation when Chinese coast guard members wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled a Philippine Navy attempt to resupply its troops on a remote outpost.
The source said the Philippines was trying to insert a mention of injuries to its people in the joint communique, expected later Thursday.
Blinken is also expected to “discuss the importance of adherence to international law in the South China Sea” when he arrives in Laos, according to the US State Department.
UAE explores business opportunities in southern India as economy minister visits
- Emirati delegation holds Investopia sessions, visits Indian Institute of Technology–Madras
- It is focusing on public and private sector partnerships in logistics, advanced industries
New Delhi: UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri and his delegation met Tamil Nadu’s chief minister on Thursday as they are exploring business and investment opportunities in southern India.
Accompanied by Minister of State for Entrepreneurship Alia Abdulla Al-Mazrouei and members of the Emirati business community, Al-Marri is exploring new partnerships at the government and private sector levels in logistics, advanced industries, entrepreneurship, and micro, small and medium enterprises.
He was welcomed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who took to social media to say that Al-Marri is a “great friend and well-wisher” of the most populous southern Indian state.
“During our meeting, we discussed business and investment partnerships in sectors such as logistics, retail, affordable housing, and food processing, with a particular focus on MSMEs and job creation,” Stalin said.
On Wednesday, the Emirati delegation and the Confederation of Indian Industry organized in the Tamil Nadu capital, Chennai, networking sessions under the Investopia Global Talks — an initiative of the UAE government aimed at connecting investors, business leaders and government officials.
They also visited the top engineering institute in India, the Indian Institute of Technology–Madras, to learn about its research and start-up incubation ecosystem.
“It has been a great few days to be here. Tamil Nadu is one of the biggest states that we are focusing on in the UAE,” Al-Marri told reporters after the visits. “We have a delegation of large corporations and small and medium enterprises … Now, it’s time for business-to-business to create more deals and partnerships.”
Tamil Nadu is India’s second-largest exporter of software, after Karnataka, and is known for the automobile and engineering industries. Manufacturing contributes 33 percent and agriculture 13 percent to the state’s economy.
The state is also home to about 1.9 million SMEs.
UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary convicted for leading terror group
- Extremist was named in Arab News’ Preachers of Hate series in 2019
DUBAI/LONDON: Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary is currently facing more time in jail after being found guilty of managing a terrorist organization following a joint investigation by MI5, Scotland Yard, the New York Police department and the Canadian police.
The radical preacher was convicted on Tuesday at a trial in Woolwich Crown court on charges of directing Al-MuHajjiroun, or ALM, a banned group under UK terror laws, encouraging support for it online by releasing videos and assuming a “caretaker” role.
Choudary, 57, is known to have inspired a generation of jihadis, reveling in his title of “number one radicalizer in Britain” as he instructed his followers on ways to “terrorize the enemy.”
Dr. Shiraz Maher, from the department of war studies at King’s College London, said: “Anjem Choudary and his group, Al-MuHajjiroun, have a long history of inspiring acts of terrorism both at home and abroad. In fact, a number of people associated with his global network even migrated to Syria and joined Daesh, before commuting atrocities out there.
“It is hard to understate just how devastating the impact of Choudary’s influence, and the networks he created, has been. This trial also demonstrates the lengths to which he was prepared to go in order to continue sowing his destructive message, despite having been previously convicted for other terrorism offenses.”
Choudary’s notoriety earned him a place on Preachers of Hate, an Arab News series that named and shamed hate preachers from around the world and across religions, nationalities, genders and sects.
Choudary, who once trained as a lawyer, took on the “caretaker role” of the terror group in 2014 after its spiritual leader Omar Bakri Muhammad was jailed in Lebanon.
One of ALM’s original three founding members since its establishment in 2006, he was quoted at one of his lectures as saying: “The number one radicalizer in Britain, that is a badge of honor for me. It’s a medallion on my chest. What do you want to call me? An extremist? A fanatic? All of these.”
Choudary was previously imprisoned under a five-year sentence after rallying support for Daesh in October 2018. His release came with conditions preventing him from using the Internet until July 2021.
Concerns came from UK, the US and Canada after the preacher was found attempting to recruit a generation of young followers while releasing sermons online to a group called the Islamic Thinkers Society, or ITS, based in New York in June 2022.
Choudary went on to hold about 40 sermons for ITS up to April 2023.
What Choudary did not know was that ITS had been infiltrated by undercover law enforcement officers in the US who were present during his online classes, while British investigators bugged his home.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan counter terrorism command in the UK, said: “ALM’s tentacles have spread across the world and have had a massive impact on public safety and security.”
Rebecca Weiner, an NYPD commissioner, dubbed the case “historic” and described Choudary as a “shameless, prolific, radicalizer,” adding, “it is usually the foot soldiers who are brought into the network, who go on to commit the attacks who are brought to justice and it is rarely the leader, which is what makes this a particularly important moment.”
Choudary will be sentenced alongside Khaled Hussein, a 29-year-old follower of Choudary and a member of ALM.
The pair became increasingly brazen online, working up “Twitter storms” where they posted and campaigned for the release of Islamist prisoners.
Choudary was careful not to be seen to promote and incite violence, while Hussein attempted to cover his digital tracks, but both men were already being monitored by Canadian and American officers attending the ITS sermons.
Choudary continued to downplay his importance, likening himself to a Liverpool football player at the witness box. “If you ask about Kevin Keegan, people say he plays football for Liverpool, people look at me and think Al-MuHajjiroun,” he said.
However, the prosecution team demonstrated to the judge and jurors that ALM had not been dissolved, as Choudary boasted about the group during his online sermons.
Choudary and Hussein’s fates will determined in court on July 30.
Relatives of 18 dead in Nepal plane crash demand answers
- 50-seater CRJ-200 aircraft that crashed this week was operated by Saurya Airlines
- Only the captain survived after it crashed in a field beside the runway and caught fire
KATMANDU: Relatives of the 18 dead in an airplane crash in Nepal have yet to hear from the government or the airline on the possible cause of the disaster, they said a day after the small jet went down during take-off at the airport in Katmandu, the capital.
The incident has cast a spotlight on the mountainous, landlocked nation’s poor record on air safety, with almost 360 people killed since 2000 in plane and helicopter crashes.
The 50-seater CRJ-200 aircraft that crashed this week was operated by Saurya Airlines, and was ferrying 15 technicians, two crew and two of a technician’s family to the central city of Pokhara, where it was scheduled for regular maintenance.
Only the captain survived after it crashed in a field beside the runway and caught fire.
“Nobody has contacted us,” said Krishna Bahadur Magar, a relative of Nava Raj Ale who was a ground handler at Saurya and died in the crash.
“Our relative was a member of the Saurya Airlines family,” Magar said. “Why is the airline now behaving as if they don’t care about him?”
Magar was among the dozens who crowded into a narrow alley outside the forensic unit of Katmandu’s Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital on Thursday, waiting for authorities to release the bodies of the dead.
Some said doctors had told them they would not receive the remains of loved ones before Saturday, while those bodies charred beyond recognition would require DNA tests to be identified, a process that could take two weeks.
The victims’ families felt as if Saurya officials were “deliberately hiding” from them, said Jageswar Giri, whose brother-in-law, Uddhab Puri, died in the crash.
“We want to know what technical problems the aircraft was facing, why so many people were on it yesterday, and why it was decided that maintenance work would be done in Pokhara instead of Katmandu where the plane was grounded,” he said.
Officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) have said the plane was being sent to Pokhara because its new airport was equipped with aircraft maintenance hangars.
Responding to the families’ questions, the regulator said it was the airline’s responsibility to co-ordinate with them.
“It was not a passenger flight,” said CAAN spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul. “Saurya Airlines has officially said all people on board the plane were their staff, so they should co-ordinate with the family members.”
The airline did not respond to telephone calls and messages from Reuters seeking comment.
A government panel set up on Wednesday to investigate the crash will submit a report within 45 days.
Nepal’s worst crash in 1992 killed 167. Last January, 72 people died when a Yeti Airlines plane crashed just before landing in Pokhara.
Death toll from Ethiopia landslides could rise to 500, UN says
- Second landslide engulfed others who had gathered to help buried people on Monday morning
NAIROBI: The death toll from landslides in Ethiopia earlier this week has risen to 257, and is expected to rise to 500, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission had put the death toll at 229.
Following heavy rain a landslide buried people in Gofa zone in Southern Ethiopia regional state on Sunday night, then a second one engulfed others who had gathered to help on Monday morning.
