BRUSSELS: The EU on Friday refused to intervene over the European arrest warrant Spain is set to issue for Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont, currently holed up in Belgium, saying it was a matter for the courts.
A Spanish judge is expected to issue the warrant demanding Belgium return Puigdemont, who is wanted for questioning over alleged sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds in relation to his region’s independence drive.
Catalan efforts to make the crisis an international issue have so far failed, and the EU has been steadfast in its support for Madrid throughout, insisting it is an internal matter for Spain.
European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt reiterated that support at a news conference on Friday, deflecting a barrage of questions about Catalonia with the same response.
“This is a matter entirely for the judicial authorities whose independence we respect fully,” Breidthardt said.
Puigdemont’s Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert, who in the past has helped Basque separatists militants challenge Spanish extradition requests, told Flemish television channel VRT on Thursday his client would fight efforts to send him to Spain.
Puigdemont, sacked as regional president a week ago by Madrid after the Catalan Parliament issued a declaration of independence, has been in Belgium since Monday and calls the allegations against him politically motivated.
A Spanish judge on Thursday threw eight members of Puigdemont’s axed regional government behind bars pending potential trial, prompting a protest by some 20,000 people in Barcelona.
The Catalan independence declaration was roundly spurned across Europe, with Germany, France and Britain rejecting it and EU institutions sticking to their support for the government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
The European Commission’s powerful chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, warned after the independence declaration that the 28-member bloc “doesn’t need any more cracks, more splits,” saying he did not want the EU “to consist of 95 member states.”
Juncker will be in the Spanish city of Salamanca on Thursday to receive an honorary degree.
EU officials fear Catalonia could spark a domino effect in a continent with numerous separatist movements from Britain to Belgium to Romania, and with the bloc still reeling from the impact of Brexit, a fresh blow to unity is seen as a major threat.
But the bloc’s stance is causing disquiet among some MEPs, who see Madrid’s hard-line handling of the crisis as running counter to European democratic ideals.
“The silence of the European Institutions remains astounding,” Ska Keller and Philippe Lamberts, the heads of the Greens bloc in the European Parliament, said Friday.
“While the European Com-mission is right to assert the rule of law as a foundation of the Union, so are fairness, building bridges and democratic principles, which have to be respected in all member states.”
EU refuses to get involved in Catalan leader arrest warrant
EU refuses to get involved in Catalan leader arrest warrant
Russia sentences soldiers who massacred Ukraine family to life in prison
The incident triggered uproar in Ukraine
MOSCOW: A Russian court sentenced two soldiers to life in prison for the massacre of a family of nine people in their home in occupied Ukraine, state media reported on Friday.
Russian prosecutors said in October 2023, the two Russian soldiers, Anton Sopov and Stanislav Rau, entered the home of the Kapkanets family in the city of Volnovakha with guns equipped with silencers.
They then shot all nine family members who lived there, including two children aged five and nine.
The southern district military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced the two men to life in prison for mass murder “motivated by political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred,” the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing an unnamed law enforcement source.
The incident triggered uproar in Ukraine.
Kyiv alleged at the time that the Russian soldiers had murdered the family in their sleep after they refused to move out of their home to allow Russian soldiers to live there.
“The occupiers killed the Kapkanets family, who were celebrating a birthday and refused to give up their home,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said a day after the murder.
Russian forces seized the city of Volnovakha in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region at the start of their full-scale military offensive.
It was virtually destroyed by Russian artillery strikes.
Russian soldiers have been accused of multiple instances of killing civilians in Ukrainian towns and cities they have occupied since February 2022.
Moscow has always denied targeting civilians and tried to claim reports of atrocities at places like Bucha were fake, despite widespread evidence from multiple independent sources.
The arrest and sentencing in this case is a rare example of Russia admitting to a crime committed by its troops in Ukraine.
State media did not say what prosecutors determined the reason for the attack was.
TASS suggested it could have been a “domestic dispute,” while both the independent Radio Free Europe and Kommersant business outlets said it could have been linked to a dispute over obtaining vodka.
The trial was held in secret.
The independent Radio Free Europe outlet reported the Rau, 28, and Sopov, 21 were mercenaries for the Wagner paramilitary before joining Russia’s official army.
They had both received state awards a few months before the mass murder, it said.
Saudi influencer shines spotlight on resilience, hard work of Filipino expats
- Riyadh-based health worker Ahmed Alruwaili has 1.7 million followers on Facebook
- He shot to social media fame thanking Filipino frontliners during COVID-19 pandemic
MANILA: Dressed in a white thobe, a traditional headdress, and a blue jersey of the Philippine national basketball team, Saudi influencer Ahmed Alruwaili appears in a viral video, distributing small gifts and snacks to Filipinos in Riyadh as a way to thank them for their hard work.
In another clip, he visits an elementary school for Filipino children, sharing jokes and laughter with them. In yet another, he hands out portable electric fans to Filipino expats braving the scorching heat of the Saudi capital.
These videos are just a few among the hundreds of Alruwaili posts, in which he uses his social media platform to celebrate over 1 million Filipino expats living and working in Saudi Arabia. Through his content, he highlights their resilience, traditions, and sense of humor, reaching 1.7 million Facebook followers.
It all began about six years ago when he joined a group of Filipino baristas playing street basketball in the mornings. Initially reluctant, they soon welcomed him into their circle. After each game, they would share their breakfasts with him before heading off to work.
“They used to bring pancit in the morning, at 5 a.m. Pancit and pan de sal, Alicafe,” Alruwaili recalled, referring to traditional Filipino noodles, bread rolls, and the popular instant coffee.
“I know it’s really weird, but that’s how it all started. It’s all with basketball. And till today, I still play with the same people. I did not change, I’m still visiting them. I’m the one now to bring them the food.”
Over time, he developed a basic understanding of Filipino culture and Tagalog — a language he had slowly become familiar with also through his work in a healthcare facility, where he had met many Filipino colleagues.
During basketball games, his friends would often record videos of him, which quickly garnered considerable attention and views. Encouraged by this, Alruwaili began sharing content regularly. While his posts were initially comedic, everything changed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as he witnessed the dedication and sacrifice of Filipino nurses working on the frontlines of the healthcare crisis.
Feeling the need to express recognition and gratitude, Alruwaili shifted the focus of his content. This became a turning point — one that would shape the direction of his online presence and influence in the years to come.
“It was purely comedy until the COVID time,” he said. “Working in a healthcare facility, I see the hard-working OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) here in Saudi. So, I thought I’d use it to give appreciation. Once I did that … it became different. All the things happened after that. This is how we started.”
In a video posted in March 2020, Alruwaili is seen buying flowers and food and distributing them to Filipino nurses at various locations in Riyadh.
“The reason why I made this is just to remind you about all the hard work that the nurses are doing all over the world, especially the OFW nurses against this coronavirus,” he says in the clip.
“We all need to pray and appreciate all the nurses for their hard work. The nurses now are the true heroes.”
The video received 3.5 million views. Another video, in which Alruwaili brings pillows, blankets, and food to pandemic-stranded Filipino workers waiting for their flights, has now reached 6 million views — and continues to grow.
Known as The Saudipinoy after the name of his Facebook account — with the word “Pinoy” meaning “Filipino” in Tagalog — the Saudi influencer has already visited the Philippines eight times since he started vlogging.
One of his most popular clips — which has 8 million views — was filmed on Siargao Island. It shows him conducting a social experiment, pretending that his motorcycle has run out of gas. The video captures how Filipinos would immediately offer help to a stranger in need.
Despite his social media fame, Alruwaili’s life remains centered around his full-time job in healthcare. Working as a medical professional, he devotes just one day a week to creating content.
“One day, I am just asleep … then the other day I will do the vlog, then I will prepare to go back to work. So, my life is really busy, I am really working hard to keep up with the vlog,” he said.
“(But) I am extremely happy with the impact (of what) I am doing.”
His social media work is appreciated not only by Filipinos, many of whom recognize him on the streets of Riyadh and approach him to thank him and hug him, but also by fellow Saudis.
“I want Saudis to notice the hard work of OFWs, and I want OFWs to know that Saudi people are nice,” he said.
“I am proud to be Saudi and representing Saudis. And, thank God, even big people here in Saudi … they said: ‘Keep going, you are representing the Saudi people and we are proud of you.’”
Notre Dame bells ring out in Paris for first time since 2019 fire
PARIS: The bells of Notre Dame in Paris rang out together on Friday for the first time since a 2019 fire that devastated the historic cathedral, AFP reporters said.
The sound of the eight bells in Notre Dame’s northern belfry came a month before the cathedral is to reopen following five years of painstaking restoration work in the wake of the blaze.
“This is a beautiful, important and symbolic step,” said Philippe Jost, who runs the public body tasked with restoring the cathedral under challenging circumstances.
On the evening of April 19, 2019 Parisians and the world watched in horror as flames ravaged the world heritage landmark and then toppled its spire.
President Emmanuel Macron quickly set the ambitious goal to rebuild Notre Dame within five years and make it “even more beautiful” than before.
Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilized for a restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros.
Friday shortly before 10:30 am (0930 GMT), the bells sounded one by one until all eight chimed in harmony.
“It’s not perfect yet, but we will make it perfect,” said Alexandre Gougeon who is in charge of the re-installation of the bells. “This first test was a success.”
The 2019 fire destroyed part of the northern belfry, requiring it to be restored and the bells to be removed, cleaned of dust and lead, and then returned to their space.
The heaviest bell, called “Gabriel,” weighs over four tons, and the lightest, “Jean-Marie,” 800 kilogrammes.
A weekend of ceremonies is to mark Notre-Dame’s reopening on December 7 and 8.
Pakistan’s Punjab province shuts public spaces in smog-hit cities
- Access to parks, zoos, playgrounds, historic monuments, museums and recreational areas banned until November 17 due to poor air quality
- Punjab residents have been trapped in thick smog for over a week ever since the air quality index spiked above 1,000
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan’s most populated province of Punjab ordered public spaces closed in smog-hit main cities, authorities said Friday, as the country battles record air pollution.
Access to parks, zoos, playgrounds, historic monuments, museums and recreational areas will be banned until November 17 due to poor air quality, according to a local government directive seen by AFP.
The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Lahore’s air was more than 20 times higher than the level deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Multan, it was up to 48 times higher on Friday.
Punjab residents have been trapped in thick smog for over a week ever since the air quality index (AQI), which measures a range of pollutants, spiked above 1,000 — well above the level of 300 considered ‘dangerous’ — according to data from IQAir.
Schools in some of Punjab’s major cities were ordered shut on Tuesday until November 17.
The province extended that order on Wednesday to several more cities enveloped by smog, a mix of fog and pollutants caused by low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal agricultural burning and winter cooling.
The decision follows restrictions imposed last month on four “hot spots” in Lahore that banned tuk-tuks with polluting two-stroke engines, along with restaurants that operate barbecues without filters.
Seasonal crop burn-off by farmers on the outskirts of Lahore also contributes to toxic air, which the WHO says can cause strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.
Excess pollution shortens the life expectancy of Lahore residents by an average of 7.5 years, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.
According to UNICEF, nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to high levels of air pollution, which is also linked to half of childhood pneumonia deaths.
Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan
- The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but have signed a ‘no limits’ partnership deal in 2022
- Putin suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support
SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin described China on Thursday as Russia’s ally and threw his weight behind Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, while stating that no countries had anything to fear from deepening Sino-Russian co-operation.
The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a “no limits” partnership deal in 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine.
In May this year they agreed to deepen what they called their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” for a new era.
“We do not believe that China is pursuing an aggressive policy in the region,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite strong objections by the government in Taipei, and regularly holds wargames near the island.
“A lot is going on around Taiwan,” Putin said. “Everyone formally acknowledges, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, it is acting in a completely different direction. Provoking the situation toward escalation.
“We do support China. And because of this, we believe that (China) is conducting a completely reasonable policy. And also because it is our ally. We have a very large trade turnover, we co-operate in the security sector.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China and Russia were the real problem.
“The regime of Russia’s Putin launched a war of aggression against Ukraine, leading to misery for Ukraine’s people and sanctions and condemnation from the international community,” it said in a statement.
“China and Russia together continue to undermine the rule-based international order and have become a serious threat to world peace and stability.”
Putin compared military drills between Russia and China to those the United States holds with Japan.
“These exercises do not threaten anyone,” Putin said. “They are aimed at ensuring our security.”
