Russia to attempt to take Kyiv before dawn, says Ukrainian president

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Sirens rang out in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early on Friday. (FILE/AFP)
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Updated 26 February 2022
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Russia to attempt to take Kyiv before dawn, says Ukrainian president

  • Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday and Kyiv has reported dozens of casualties
  • The capital Kyiv came under attack on Friday morning, while a missile hit the airport in the city of Rivne in western Ukraine

DUBAI/LONDON/JEDDAH: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered talks to end the war in Ukraine, and urged the Ukrainian military to seize power and make peace.

“I appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine, do not allow neo-Nazis … to use your children, wives and elders as human shields,” Putin said. “Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement.”

The Kremlin said it had offered talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, but that Ukraine had proposed Warsaw instead and there was now a “pause” in contacts.

A spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared for talks with Russia, including the issue of staying neutral, a demand by Moscow before Russia invaded Ukraine early on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Russian missiles pounded Kyiv, families cowered in shelters and Ukrainian authorities told people to prepare petrol bombs to defend their capital. Moscow said it had captured the Hostomel airfield northwest of the capital, a potential staging post for an assault on Kyiv.

“Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighborhoods. Saboteurs have already entered Kyiv,” said the city’s mayor, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. “The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us.”

Zelenskiy said there had been heavy fighting with people killed at the entrance to the eastern cities of Chernihiv and Melitopol, as well as at Hostomel.

There were loud explosions and gunfire near the airport in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, close to Russia’s border, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy.

Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv for a second day, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations. Windows were blasted out of a 10-story apartment block near the main airport. A two-meter crater showed where a shell had struck before dawn.

“How can we be living through this in our time? Putin should burn in hell along with his whole family,” said Oksana Gulenko, sweeping broken glass from her room.

The EU froze European assets held by Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, adding to a raft of sanctions imposed at an emergency summit on Thursday.

Numerous Western countries have imposed new sanctions on Russia, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. But they have so far stopped short of forcing it out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing criticism from Kyiv which says there is no reason to hold back.

US officials believe Russia’s initial aim is to “decapitate” Zelenskiy’s government. Zelenskiy said he knew he was “the number one target” but vowed to stay in Kyiv.


Here is a live update of the main developments in Ukraine as they happen. (All timings are in GMT)


02:25: Russian troops have attacked a Ukrainian army base in Kyiv and the attack was repelled, according to Ukrainian military.

01:05: Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops, a defeat the United States and its supporters knew was inevitable but said would highlight Russia’s global isolation.
The vote was 11 in favor, with Russia voting no and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining, which showed significant but not total opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his country’s smaller and militarily weaker neighbor. Read more.




An illuminated window of a residential building with the lighting turned off for safety reasons, in the city of Kyiv, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP)

00:36: As Russian troops enter Kyiv, citizens of other countries living in Ukraine have been trying to leave and get back home. 

• ‘You’re on your own’: African students stuck in Ukraine seek refuge or escape route. Read more.

• Parents, state governments, opposition urge Modi to ensure safe return of loved ones. Read more.

00:20: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on soldiers in Russia's war on Ukraine to "return to their barracks" Friday.
"We must never give up. We must give peace another chance," he told reporters after Moscow vetoed a UN resolution condemning its "aggression" in Ukraine.

00:05: Australia seeks to join others in imposing direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and has extended its punitive financial measures to members of Russia's parliament and more oligarchs, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Saturday.

00:00, Saturday Feb. 25: Ukraine UN envoy says we have to persevere tonight, the fate of Ukraine is being decided right now. 

23:40: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Russian troops would attempt to take the capital Kyiv before dawn. 




An Ukrainian mother conforts her child at an improvised shelter on a local high school after they entered Romania (AFP). 

23:30: Russia’s UN envoy says Russian troops are not bombing Ukrainian cities.




Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s United Nations Ambassador and current president of the United Nations Security Council, shows a phone image as he address the UN Security Council. (AP)

19:25: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Friday with his Ukrainian counterpart and condemned reports of mounting civilian deaths, including those of Ukrainian children, due to attacks around Kyiv, a State Department spokesperson said.
“The Secretary also emphasized to (Ukraine) Foreign Minister Kuleba that the United States would continue to provide support to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression,” spokesperson Ned Price said.




US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks during a media briefing on Friday. (Screenshot/State Dept.)

18:51: Germany will send a company of troops to Slovakia that will build part of a new NATO battlegroup to be established there, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said.

18:35: Pope Francis in a Russian language tweet denounced the ills of conflict.
“Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil,” he wrote in separate English and Russian tweets.

18:34: The secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) said on Friday the OECD had decided to end Russia’s process of acceding to the OECD.

18:28: The organization Of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) affirmed in a statement the keenness of Arab countries exporting natural gas, especially liquefied natural gas, to provide gas supplies to their customers to ensure the stability of global markets, in its first reaction to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.

18:15 - UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said the organization was concerned about the huge population movement the invasion would cause, citing “hundreds of thousands of people on the move as we speak.” 

He added that even before this week's invasion, 3 million Ukrainians were already in need of humanitarian assistance due to eight years of conflict in the country.

Griffiths said that while there are no plans to relocate UN staff outside Ukraine at the moment, he was worried about the impact of Western sanctions on UN operations; adding that “north of a billion dollars” would be needed for aid in Ukraine over the next three months.




UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said there are no plans to relocate UN staff outside Ukraine for the moment. (UN/File Photo)

18:07: The European Union does not plan an imminent next package of sanctions against Russia, but is ready to supplement measures already announced subject to Russian activity and EU consensus, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
The idea is, if it’s necessary to do more and we identify actions on the Russian side, if we have identified consensus around more measures, they will be taken,” Borrell told a news conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

17:48: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on leaders of NATO member countries to use the SWIFT international payments system to damage Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of his government.

17:46: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that US President Joe Biden and his counterparts have agreed to send parts of the organization’s response force to help protect allies in the east.

16:39: Ukraine’s central bank transferred around $650 million to the state budget, to be used for military purposes and to cover other state needs, Russian state TASS news agency reported.

16:31: The European Broadcasting Union said no act from Russia will be permitted to take part in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.




People hide in a bomb shelter in Kyiv in the early hours of Feb. 25, 2022, as invading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine. (Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)

16:15: Ukraine’s health minister accused Russian troops of firing on ambulances in the Zaporizhzhya and Chernihiv regions.

15:47: The Council of Europe said that it is suspending all representatives of Russia from participation in the pan-European rights body.
Permanent representatives of its 47 member states “agreed to suspend the Russian Federation from its rights of representation in the Council of Europe,” invoking Article 8 of its statute, the body said in a statement.

15:00: The International Olympic Committee, angry at the Russian invasion of Ukraine breaching the ‘Olympic Truce’, urged all international sports federations to cancel their forthcoming events in Russia.

14:45: France is in favor of excluding Russia from the global SWIFT interbank system but other European states have “reservations” about using such a “financial nuclear weapon,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.

14:24: The EU’s foreign policy chief said he has urged China to use its influence with Moscow to respect the Ukraine’s sovereignty, adding that if the UN General Assembly fails to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine it is “the law of the jungle.”




Demonstrators hold placards and chant as they take part in a rally staged in front of the Downing Street gates, in central London, on Feb. 25, 2022 to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

14:03: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged more support for Ukraine as a matter of “the greatest urgency” in a meeting with a group that includes the Baltic states, a spokesperson for his office said.
“The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on (Russian) President Putin’s inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed,” a Downing Street spokesperson said after the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) meeting.

13:50: Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn expects an EU meeting in Brussels on Friday to reach an agreement over asset freezes targeting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

13:30 - With Russian forces in neighbouring Syria, Washington its unswerving ally and about a million citizens with ties to the former Soviet Union, Israel is seeking a delicate balance in the Ukraine crisis.

For residents of Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv and home to many Jews with roots in Russia and Ukraine, the Russian invasion launched Thursday triggered shock and concern for relatives.

“I didn't expect it, when I got the message from my parents (in Ukraine),” said Natalia Kogan.

“People are stressed,” added the 57-year-old, who works at a supermarket catering for people from the former USSR

12:35: Formula One cancels the 2022 Russian Grand Prix, saying it was “impossible” to do so after the country launched an invasion on Ukraine. Read the story in full

12:14: Pope Francis went to the Russian Embassy to “express his concern about the war,” an extraordinary, hands-on papal gesture that came on the same day the Vatican announced he was canceling other upcoming events because of an “acute” flareup of knee pain. See the story here.

10:30: The Kremlin says UEFA’s decision to strip Russia’s second city Saint Petersburg of hosting the Champions League final is a “shame.” See the story here

10:22: The Kremlin says Russia will retaliate against Western sanctions imposed since the invasion.

The news comes as the EU prepares more sanctions against Russia.

10:02: UN condemns the more than 1,800 arrests of anti-war protesters in Russia.

10:00: Saint Petersburg is stripped of hosting this season’s Champions League final after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Read the story here.

(FILE/AFP)

09:58: Loud blasts heard in east Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

09:15: Gunfire heard near government district in Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

08:57: 82 Ukrainian soldiers surrender in the Black Sea region: Al Arabiya reports citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

08:38: Russia bans British airlines from entering its airspace, including transit flights.

08:21: The Russian defense ministry says it shot down 5 Ukrainian fighterjets and 5 drones.

08:04: Russia’s defense ministry says it will deploy paratroopers to guard Chernobyl power plant, which it took control of on Thursday.

08:03: Russia’s defense ministry says it has destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites.

07:40: Ukraine army says it is fighting Russian forces outside the capital city

07:13: Federated States of Micronesia breaks ties with Russia over Ukraine war.

07:10: UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says Russian army has failed to deliver on day 1, adding that it had taken any of its major objectives.

And he said it was estimated that Russia had lost over 450 military personnel. Read the story here

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. (File/AFP)

06:24: Ukrainian President Zelensky says in a tweet that hjs country needs “effective international assistance.”

06:18: Ukrainian President Zelensky hails his people for their ‘heroism’ in face of Russian advance and urges Russians to protest against #Ukraine war.

He says Russia will have to talk ‘sooner or later.’

05:42: Ukrainian President Zelenskiy says the new sanctions have not convinced Russia to stop its invasion.

05:19: Ukrainian President Zelenskiy says Russia resumed its missile strikes at 4 a.m. local time on Friday.

He added that the Russian strikes were fired on both military and civilian targets.

And he said Russian troops had been stopped from advancing.

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04:47: Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba slams what he described as the ‘horrific’ Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv.

04:29: Ukraine’s Central Bank bans operations with Russian ruble, Belarusian ruble

03:38: A Russian missile strike hit a Ukrainian border post in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, killing several guards and wounding others, the border guard service said on Friday.

The region has no land border with Russia.

03:30: Sirens rang out in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early on Friday, a Reuters witness said.
Kyiv has reported dozens of casualties and hundreds of wounded.
The capital Kyiv came under attack on Friday morning, while a missile hit the airport in the city of Rivne in western Ukraine, its mayor said.

03:30: Ukraine says the number of downed Russian fighter planes has reached 16.

03:25: A Ukrainian fighter plane crashes into a residential building in Kyiv, erupting in a ball of flames: the Ukrainian interior ministry said.

02:40 Explosions heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

02:31: New US sanctions hit Russian banks, elites; EU list cover financial, energy and transport sectors. Read here.

01:45: French President Emmanuel Macron said the Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to bring us back to age of empires and confrontations.

He held a “frank, direct and quick” phone call with the Russian leader on Thursday to ask him to stop military operations because the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had asked him to.

The French president said there was duplicity on the part of the Russian president, but said it was important to keep the path open for dialogue with Putin. 

Speaking at an emergency EU summit in Brussels, Macron said that the bloc was more than just a market of consumers and needed to be a power with energy and defense sovereignty.  

France’s President Emmanuel Macron arriving for an emergency European Union summit. (AFP)

01:40: The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says steps agreed by EU leaders in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine include financial sanctions, targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned companies, including in defense. She said the EU will hold the Kremlin accountable. 

01:00: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has discussed the situation in Ukraie with  the UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

00:29: Prime Minister Morrison said that Australia will impose further sanctions on Russian individuals.

He also said that its is unacceptable that china is easing trade restrictions with Russia at this time.

00:24, Friday Feb. 25: US Treasury added five more Russian banks to the sanctions list including country's the two largest, both majority owned by the government, although each faced penalties with differing severity.

— with input from agencies


UN denounces army attacks in Myanmar despite post-quake truce

Updated 58 min 43 sec ago
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UN denounces army attacks in Myanmar despite post-quake truce

  • Following reports of sporadic clashes even after the March 28 quake that so far is known to have killed at least 3,645 people
  • The military air strikes on Pazi Gyi village on April 11 2023 killed at least 155 people, including many children

GENEVA: The United Nations rights office decried Friday attacks by Myanmar’s military despite a ceasefire declared following last month’s devastating earthquake, which killed more than 3,600 people.
“At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is instead launching attacks,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
UN rights chief Volker Turk, she said, “calls on the military to remove any and all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to cease military operations.”
A multi-sided conflict has engulfed Myanmar since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Following reports of sporadic clashes even after the March 28 quake that so far is known to have killed at least 3,645 people, the junta joined its opponents last week in calling a temporary halt to hostilities for relief to be delivered.
But Shamdasani highlighted that since the earthquake, “military forces have reportedly carried out over 120 attacks.”
“More than half of them (were) after their declared ceasefire was due to have gone into effect on 2 April,” she said.
The UN rights office had determined that most of these involved aerial and artillery strikes, she said, “including in areas impacted by the earthquake.”
“Numerous strikes have been reported in populated areas, many of them appearing to amount to indiscriminate attacks and to breach the principle of proportionality in international humanitarian law.”
Shamdasani pointed out that areas at the epicenter of the quake in Sagaing, particularly those controlled by opponents of the military, “have had to rely on local community responses for search and rescue, and to meet basic needs.”
“Clearly these valiant efforts need to be further supported,” she said, calling for “common efforts to assist those in greatest need.”
“In this spirit we call on the military to announce a full amnesty for detainees it has incarcerated since February 2021, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.”
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) also decried the attacks.
“Even as rescue workers searched for survivors during the devastating earthquake last month, the military continued its air attacks in Mandalay, Sagaing and other regions, killing and injuring civilians,” it said in a statement.
Nicholas Koumjian, head of the investigative team, slammed “the systematic and escalating use of air strikes by the Myanmar military across the country,” which “caused widespread death, destruction and displacement, and has terrorized communities.”
He said Friday marked the two-year anniversary of military strikes in the now quake-hit Sagaing region, which constituted the deadliest single attack in Myanmar since the coup.
The military air strikes on Pazi Gyi village on April 11 2023 killed at least 155 people, including many children.
“Aerial bombardments, including the use of drones and alleged use of chemical weapons, are a grim hallmark of the Myanmar conflict and have increased in frequency since the Pazi Gyi attack,” the IIMM statement said.


Ousted South Korean President Yoon embraces supporters after leaving presidential residence

Updated 11 April 2025
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Ousted South Korean President Yoon embraces supporters after leaving presidential residence

  • Constitutional Court removed him from office over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December
  • Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, returned to their private apartment in affluent southern Seoul

SEOUL: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol left the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday for his private home, a week after the Constitutional Court removed him from office over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December.
In recent days, moving trucks were seen driving in and out of the walled presidential compound in the Hannam-dong district, the site of a massive law enforcement operation in January that led to Yoon’s detainment. Yoon, who is facing a criminal trial on rebellion charges, was released from custody in March after a Seoul court canceled his arrest.
Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, along with their 11 dogs and cats, returned to their private apartment in affluent southern Seoul. As his black van arrived at the gate of the presidential compound, Yoon stepped out, smiling and waving to his supporters, shaking hands and embracing dozens of them, before getting back into the vehicle and leaving the site.
Arriving at the apartment complex where his private residence is located, Yoon stepped out of the van again and walked slowly through a crowd of supporters, shaking their hands as they chanted his name, as his wife closely followed.
Dozens of both supporters and critics of Yoon rallied in nearby streets amid a heavy police presence, holding signs that ran from “Your excellency Yoon, we will carry on with your spirit” to “Give Yoon Suk Yeol the death penalty!”
In a separate public message, Yoon expressed gratitude to his supporters who had protested for months calling for his reinstatement, and stressed that he will “continue to do my utmost” to build the “free and prosperous Republic of Korea that we have dreamed of together,” invoking South Korea’s formal name.
Yoon, a conservative who narrowly won the 2022 election, declared martial law on late-night television on Dec. 3, vowing to eradicate “anti-state” liberals whom he accused of abusing their legislative majority to obstruct his agenda. Yoon also declared a suspension of legislative activities and sent hundreds of troops to surround the National Assembly, but lawmakers still managed to form a quorum and voted to lift martial law just hours after it was imposed.
Yoon’s powers were suspended after the Assembly impeached him on Dec. 14. The Constitutional Court upheld impeachment and formally removed him from office last week, triggering a presidential election the government set for June 3.
Despite his self-inflicted downfall, it’s unlikely that Yoon will fade into the background, experts say. With the country entering election mode, he may try to rally his supporters while seeking to tighten his grip on the conservative People Power Party, whose leadership is stacked with loyalists.
Facing a separate criminal trial on rebellion charges, which are punishable by death or life in prison, Yoon would strongly prefer a conservative president who could pardon him if convicted and is likely to push to ensure the party’s primaries are won by a candidate he supports, experts say.


China hits back at Trump tariff hike, turmoil rings recession alarm

Updated 11 April 2025
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China hits back at Trump tariff hike, turmoil rings recession alarm

  • Donald Trump has now imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods of 145 percent since taking office
  • Beijing indicated that this would be the last time it matched the US tariff hike

BEIJING/WARSAW/WASHINGTON: Beijing on Friday increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 percent, hitting back against US President Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145 percent and raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to up-end global supply chains.
China’s retaliation intensified the economic turmoil unleashed by Trump’s tariffs, with markets tumbling further and foreign leaders puzzling how to respond to the biggest disruption to the world trade order in decades.
The brief reprieve for battered stocks seen after Trump decided to pause duties for dozens of countries for 90 days quickly dissipated, as attention returned to the escalating trade conflict between the US and China that has fueled global recession fears.
Global stocks fell, the dollar slid and a sell-off in US government bonds picked up pace on Friday, reigniting fears of fragility in the world’s biggest bond market. Gold, a safe haven for investors in times of crisis, scaled a record high.
“Recession risk is much, much higher now than it was a couple weeks ago,” said Adam Hetts, global head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off the renewed market turmoil on Thursday and said striking deals with other countries would bring certainty.
The US and Vietnam have agreed to begin formal trade talks, the White House said. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub is prepared to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped to the United States via its territory in the hope of avoiding tariffs, Reuters exclusively reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meanwhile, has set up a trade task force that hopes to visit Washington next week.
Trade war with China
As Trump suddenly paused his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on other countries hours after they came into effect earlier this week, he ratcheted up duties on Chinese imports as punishment for Beijing’s initial move to retaliate.
He has now imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods of 145 percent since taking office.
China hit back with new tariffs on Friday, although Beijing indicated that this would be the last time it matched the US, should Trump take his duties any higher.
“Even if the US continues to impose even higher tariffs, it would no longer have any economic significance and would go down as a joke in the history of world economics,” the finance ministry statement added.
“If the US continues to play a numbers game with tariffs, China will not respond,” it added, however, leaving the door open for Beijing to turn to other types of retaliation, and reiterating that China would fight the US to the end.
Trump had told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he thought the United States could make a deal with China and said he respected Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“In a true sense he’s been a friend of mine for a long period of time, and I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries,” he said.
Xi, in his first public remarks on Trump’s tariffs, told Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a meeting in Beijing on Friday that China and the European Union should “jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying,” in a clear swipe at Trump’s tariff policies.
“There are no winners in a trade war,” the Chinese leader told his guest, adding that by acting together, the world’s second-largest economy and the 27-strong European trade bloc could defend their interests and help uphold “the global rules-based order,” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.


Taliban publicly execute a third person for murder: Afghan Supreme Court

Updated 11 April 2025
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Taliban publicly execute a third person for murder: Afghan Supreme Court

  • Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Supreme Court said Taliban authorities executed three convicted murderers on Friday, bringing to nine the number of men publicly put to death since their return to power, according to an AFP tally.
Two men were executed in front of spectators in Qala I Naw, the center of Badghis province, while a third was killed in Zaranj in Nimroz province, the Supreme Court said in a statement.


Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case

Updated 11 April 2025
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Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case

  • Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma

COPENHAGEN: A Copenhagen court is to rule Friday whether a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organizations accusing Denmark of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel is admissible in court.
The Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Action Aid Denmark filed the lawsuit against the Danish foreign ministry and national police last year.
They said in a statement there was a risk that “Danish military materiel was being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
The associations targeted the foreign ministry in their lawsuit since it “determines whether there is a risk that weapons and weapons components could be used to violate human rights” and the police because it was the authority responsible for issuing export licenses.
Denmark’s Eastern High Court is expected to announce its decision around 10:00 am (0800 GMT).
“We are the biggest human rights organization in the world and our mandate is clearly to protect human rights,” the secretary general of the Danish branch of Amnesty International, Vibe Klarup, said in a statement.
Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.
“Amnesty International has been working for several years to rally support for the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to ensure that states’ arms trading is not used to commit human rights violations,” said Klarup.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen argued in October that Denmark’s participation in the F-35 program was “crucial for our security and our relations with our main allies.”
Last year, Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024, on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organizations.
A Dutch court in December rejected demands by pro-Palestinian groups for a total ban on exporting goods that can be used for military means to Israel.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the overall death toll has reached 50,846 since the war with Israel began on October 7, 2023, a figure the UN has deemed reliable.
Hamas’ unprecedented assault on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.