PARIS: France on Friday accused Syria of doing nothing to reach a peace agreement after almost seven years of war and said it was “committing mass crimes” in the Eastern Ghouta region where 400,000 people are besieged by government forces.
UN-led peace talks in Geneva ended on Thursday with UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura laying most of the blame for the failure of the round at the feet of the regime side.
“The Assad regime never entered in any negotiation since the beginning of the civil war,” France’s Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud said on Twitter. “They don’t look for a political compromise but for the eradication of their enemies.”
Despite being a leading backer of the Syrian opposition, France has sought a more pragmatic approach to the Syrian conflict since the arrival of President Emmanuel Macron, saying that the departure of Bashar Assad was not a pre-condition for talks.
However, on Friday the lack of progress in Geneva and continuing assault of the besieged rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus brought scathing criticism from Paris.
“There is no alternative to a negotiated political solution agreed by both parties under the auspices of the United Nations,” Deputy Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexandre Giorgini told reporters in a daily briefing, reiterating Paris’ support for de Mistura and appearing to dismiss a separate Russian initiative planned in Sochi next year.
“We deplore the attitude of the Syrian regime, which has refused to engage in the discussion. The Syrian regime is responsible for the lack of progress in the negotiations,” he said.
He also pointed the finger at Russia and Iran, who both back Assad, over their inability to enforce a cease-fire in Eastern Ghouta, which according to a Sept. 15 accord between Russia, Turkey and Iran, is included among several de-escalation zones.
“It is therefore urgent that Russia and Iran, guarantors of the Astana process and allies of the Damascus regime, take steps for the cessation of the bombings and (enable) humanitarian aid to arrive safely and without those who need it being hindered,” Giorgini said.
The UN says about 400,000 civilians are besieged and face “complete catastrophe” because aid deliveries by the Syrian government were blocked and hundreds of people who need urgent medical evacuation have not been allowed outside the enclave.
“By denying humanitarian access, the Damascus regime is responsible for mass crimes, particularly through the use of the siege as a weapon of war,” Giorgini said.
France: Syria’s Assad not looking for peace, committing mass crimes
France: Syria’s Assad not looking for peace, committing mass crimes
Siraj’s 4-17 helps Gujarat to hat-trick of IPL wins
- Hyderabad-born Siraj kept up his bowling form in the T20 tournament this season with nine wickets in four matches and kept down hosts Hyderabad to 152-8
HYDERABAD, India: Pace bowler Mohammed Siraj returned figures of 4-17 to set up a third straight IPL win for Gujarat Titans as they hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on Sunday.
Hyderabad-born Siraj kept up his bowling form in the T20 tournament this season with nine wickets in four matches and kept down hosts Hyderabad to 152-8.
Skipper Shubman Gill hit an unbeaten 61 as Gujarat, champions in their debut season in 2022, overhauled the total with 20 balls to spare for their third victory in four matches.
Hyderabad, who lost the IPL final to Kolkata Knight Riders last year, remain at the bottom of the 10-team table with four successive defeats from five outings.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins struck early to dent Gujarat’s chase when he had Jos Buttler out for a duck after fellow quick Mohammed Shami had removed opener Sai Sudharsan.
Gill and number four Washington Sundar, a left-hand batter who smashed 49 off 29 balls, put the chase on track in their stand of 90 after Gujarat slipped to 16-2.
Shami denied Sundar his fifty with Aniket Verma taking a good catch in the deep, a decision that left the batsman and the Gujarat camp disappointed.
Impact substitute Sherfane Rutherford, a West Indian left-hander, kept up the charge with a flurry of boundaries including four in a row off Abhishek’s left-arm spin to ease into the chase.
Rutherford smashed 35 off 16 balls laced with six fours and one six. Gill anchored the chase in his 43-ball knock and hit the winning run.
Siraj remained hero as he removed openers Travis Head, for eight in the first over, and then another left-hander Abhishek Sharma, for 18, to hurt Hyderabad.
Prasidh Krishna took down left-hander Ishan Kishan for 17 before Sai Kishore took charge with his left-arm spin to rattle the opposition middle-order.
Kishore sent back Heinrich Klaasen, for 27, and Nitish Reddy, for 31, as Hyderabad wobbled and Siraj came back with two wickets with the old ball in his final over.
Cummins smashed 22 off nine balls in a late blitz that got his team 17 runs from the 20th over off veteran pace bowler Ishant Sharma, who leaked 53 of his four.
Zelensky slams US lack of response to Putin truce rejection
- Zelensky said “the number of Russian air attacks is increasing,” which he said proved that “the pressure on Russia is still insufficient”
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response to Russia’s refusal to agree “a full, unconditional ceasefire” as two people were killed in Moscow’s latest aerial bombardment.
Russia mounted a “massive” missile and drone attack on Ukraine that also wounded seven people, Zelensky said, warning that Moscow was stepping up its aerial attacks.
Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional truce in the more than three-year-long war proposed by the United States but Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to do so.
“We are waiting for the United States to respond — so far there has been no response,” said Zelensky.
Russia claimed the capture of a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region in a rare cross-border advance, but Ukraine branded that as “disinformation.”
Earlier, Russia “launched a massive nationwide attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones,” said Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
Zelensky said “the number of Russian air attacks is increasing,” which he said proved that “the pressure on Russia is still insufficient.”
In Kyiv, explosions were heard in the night and a smoke rose up from the city on Sunday morning.
One person was killed and three people were wounded, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on social media.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “the body of a man killed in an enemy attack was discovered in Darnytsia district.”
A missile strike partially destroyed a building housing state foreign-language broadcasters, the Russian-language Freedom television channel reported, saying that its newsroom had been destroyed.
Emergency services said that fires broke out in non-residential buildings in Kyiv. In a nearby region, a man was burned when an attack sparked a house fire, the head of the military administration said.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 23 cruise and ballistic missiles and 109 drones during the night, the Ukrainian air force said.
The air force said it shot down 13 of the missiles and 40 drones while 54 others caused no damage.
In the southern Kherson region, a drone killed a 59-year-old man, while in the northeastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia, two people were wounded in an aerial bomb attack, regional officials said.
In the western region of Khmelnytsky, authorities said air defenses destroyed a missile but falling fragments damaged a house and wounded a woman.
Over the past week, Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones, and over 30 missiles of various types on Ukraine, Zelensky said.
Russia’s defense ministry said troops “liberated” the village of Basivka, close to the border with Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine quickly rejected the report.
“The enemy continues its disinformation campaign regarding the seizure of settlements in Sumy region or the breakthrough of the border,” Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, told AFP.
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Zelensky’s calls for a stronger response to Russia.
“A ceasefire is needed as soon as possible. And strong action if Russia continues to try to buy time and refuse peace,” Macron said on X on Sunday.
Russia continues “to murder children and civilians,” he added.
The latest attacks came two days after a missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig killed 18 people including nine children.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, denounced Russia’s “reckless disregard” for human life in using “an explosive weapon with wide area effects.”
Russia on Sunday said it had struck a central artillery base and enterprises involved in producing drones.
It accused Ukraine of striking its energy infrastructure including a gas distribution facility in the Voronezh region.
US President Donald Trump is pushing the two sides to agree a partial ceasefire, but has so far failed to broker an accord acceptable to both sides.
The United States is also seeking better ties with Russia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in an interview with state television said that the next US-Russian contacts could be “next week,” Russian news agencies reported.
Dmitriev last week became the most senior Russian official to visit Washington since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sudan activists sound alarm on ‘catastrophic’ situation in besieged Darfur city
- According to UN estimates, around two million people face extreme food insecurity in North Darfur state, with 320,000 already suffering famine conditions
KHARTOUM: Civilians trapped in Sudan’s El-Fasher city are facing “catastrophic” conditions, activists warned on Sunday, with their situation rapidly deteriorating amid a months-long paramilitary siege.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have taken most of the vast Darfur region in their war against the regular army since April 2023, but El-Fasher in North Darfur remains the only regional state capital the RSF has not conquered.
A local advocacy group, the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees, said in a statement that residents “bear the brunt of artillery shelling” and live “with the sounds of aircraft and their terrifying and deadly missiles, in addition to the daily suffering of hunger, disease and drought.”
Life in El-Fasher and other areas of Darfur “has come to a complete standstill,” the group said, with no food at markets and a “complete halt” in humanitarian aid.
There was a sharp rise in prices of basic commodities and “a severe shortage in cash,” it added, warning of an “unprecedented and catastrophic deterioration” in already dire conditions in and around El-Fasher.
The RSF-aligned armed group Sudan Liberation Army called on Saturday for civilians in El-Fasher and the nearby displacement camps of Abu Shouk and Zamzan to leave, warning of an “escalation of military operations.”
Another RSF ally, the Gathering of Sudan Liberation Forces, said it was ready to “provide safe corridors” for residents to leave and head to “liberated areas” under paramilitary control.
In late March, the RSF announced its fighters had seized Al-Malha, which lies at the foot of a mountainous region 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of El-Fasher.
Al-Malha is one of the northernmost towns in the vast desert region between Sudan and Libya, where the RSF’s critical resupply lines have come under increasing attack in recent months by army-allied groups.
The war has created what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises. More than 12 million people have been uprooted, tens of thousands killed and a UN-backed assessment declared famine in parts of the country.
According to UN estimates, around two million people face extreme food insecurity in North Darfur state, with 320,000 already suffering famine conditions.
Zamzam is one of three displacement camps around El-Fasher hit by famine, which a UN-backed assessment says is expected to spread to five more areas including the state capital itself by May.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 32, mostly women and children
- The latest Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump about the war.
Israel last month ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground offensive, carrying out waves of strikes and seizing territory to pressure the militant group to accept a new deal for a truce and release of remaining hostages. It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.
“Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.
The latest Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
A female journalist was among those killed. “My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement, she loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.
The body of one child, under 2 years old, took up just one end of an emergency stretcher.
“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” said Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, cousin of a woman killed.
Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The bodies of seven people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, according to an Associated Press journalist there.
And a strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery and killed at least six, including three children, according to the civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israel’s military said about 10 projectiles were fired from Gaza and most were intercepted, in the largest barrage from the territory since Israel resumed the war. Hamas’ military arm claimed responsibility. Israeli police said some fragments fell in Ashkelon city. There were no reports of injuries.
Netanyahu visits Trump amid anti-war protests
Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for a new round of anti-war protests. Footage circulating on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.
There is also anger inside Israel over the war’s resumption and its effects on remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters on Saturday urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends.
Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January. The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17 percent tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the new US administration.
“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.
The US, a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, expressed support for Israel’s resumption of the war last month.
The toll of war
Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later. Israel’s military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that caused anger by Red Cross and Red Crescent and UN officials.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza — 24 believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. It says another 115,338 people have been wounded. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
‘At the Edge’: Art Week Riyadh signals bold new chapter in Saudi cultural renaissance, say organizers
- Event organized by Visual Arts Commission and hosted at JAX District from April 6 to 13
RIYADH: Art Week Riyadh is making waves in the Saudi capital this week, with curators and creatives hailing the event as a pivotal moment in the Kingdom’s fast-evolving cultural landscape, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Organized by the Visual Arts Commission and hosted at the JAX District from April 6 to 13, the event is bringing together local and international artists, curators, and institutions in a celebration of contemporary creativity and cross-cultural dialogue.
The initiative reflects the growing momentum of Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation, part of the broader Vision 2030 reform agenda that is reshaping the Kingdom’s social and artistic fabric, according to organizers.
Vittoria Matarrese, Director and Art Curator of Art Week Riyadh, described the event as a significant turning point.
“We chose the title ‘At the Edge’ because it reflects the nature of the phase Riyadh is undergoing,” Matarrese said. “It is a city positioned between the desert and urbanization, between heritage and renewal. This balance is evident in the diversity of participation and the dialogues presented by the exhibition.”
She added that Riyadh is increasingly defining itself as a space where modernity and tradition intersect, enabling a unique creative evolution.
Shumon Basar, curator of the Public Cultural Program at Art Week Riyadh, underscored the importance of the conversations taking place as part of the programme, titled “How to Create an Art World: Lessons in Value.”
He explained: “Our goal is not only to share experiences, but also to raise essential questions about the types of value that art creates in the contemporary world—whether economic, symbolic, or social—and how art can serve as a tool to understand cultural transformations, rather than merely reflect them.”
Art Week Riyadh serves as a key cultural platform that embraces diversity and encourages artistic experimentation, offering a space for critical reflection on the evolving role of art in society, SPA added.
