VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis met Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday, expressing appreciation for Budapest taking in Ukrainian refugees, and Orban invited the pope to make a state visit to Hungary.
Orban, on his first international visit since winning a fourth consecutive landslide election victory this month, spoke to the pope privately for about 40 minutes in the pontiff’s library in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
The Vatican said there would be no statement because the visit was a private one.
A video released by Vatican television showed the pope giving Orban a medal of St. Martin of Tours, a fourth century French saint who was born in what is today Hungary.
According to legend, St. Martin cut his cloak in half and shared it with a beggar.
“I chose this for you ... I thought of you Hungarians who are now receiving the refugees,” Francis said.
The UN refugee agency says the number of people fleeing Ukraine to escape Russia’s invasion has passed 5 million in Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the end of World War Two.
About 625,000 refugees have arrived in Hungary since the start of the war and about 80 percent of them have moved on, according to the latest figures from the Hungarian government.
State news agency MTI quoted Orban as saying the pope “encouraged us that we shouldn’t give up this good habit of ours,” referring to taking in refugees.
Orban and the pope have previously differed on immigration policy in Europe.
On his way to Slovakia last September, Francis stopped in Budapest for seven hours to close a Church congress in the Hungarian capital.
Orban said he invited the pope to visit Hungary next year and received an “encouragingly positive answer,” according to MTI.
At the end of Thursday’s private audience, Francis was heard telling Orban: “God bless you, you family and Hungary.” Orban responded: “We are waiting for you.”
Pope thanks Orban for taking Ukrainians, Orban invites pope to Hungary
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Pope thanks Orban for taking Ukrainians, Orban invites pope to Hungary
- Orban spoke to the pope privately for about 40 minutes in the pontiff's library in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace
- The Vatican said there would be no statement because the visit was a private one
Azerbaijan’s president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television.
Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.
The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.
“First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.
Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”
He noted that Azerbaijan was always “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
Bangladesh imports fertilizers from Saudi Arabia to boost food security
- Saudi Arabia supplies about one-third of country’s DAP fertilizer demand
- The Kingdom is Dhaka’s ‘preferred country’ partner for fertilizer imports
Dhaka: Bangladesh has secured a two-year deal to import 400,000 tons of fertilizer from Saudi Arabia, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation said on Sunday as the South Asian country seeks to boost its food security.
Bangladeshi officials have been working to increase food production as the country faces rising food demand amid decreasing farming land due to rapid urbanization and a growing population.
The BADC signed the new agreement with Saudi state-owned company Ma’aden in Riyadh on Dec. 15, following years-long cooperation between them.
“Good quality fertilizer plays a vital role in ensuring food security for our 175 million people. This fertilizer helps us increase productivity by many folds,” BADC general manager Ahmed Hassan Al-Mahmud told Arab News.
Under the latest deal, Ma’aden will supply 400,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate fertilizer every year until 2026 and provide training for Bangladeshi farmers.
“The Saudi state-owned fertilizer company offered to provide training for our farmers, for the purpose of knowledge transfer on optimizing the use of the DAP fertilizers,” Al-Mahmud said, adding that Ma’aden has also offered to build fertilizer warehouses in Bangladesh.
The Saudi imports will contribute to about one-third of Bangladesh’s annual DAP fertilizer needs, which stands at about 1.3 million tonnes, he added.
Bangladesh also stands to benefit more from the latest agreement, as the fertilizers cost $2 less per tonne compared to the average market price.
“It will save us a significant amount of money,” Al-Mahmud said. “Saudi Arabia has been our trusted supplier for a long time, and we can purchase it at a reasonable rate compared with other sources.”
While the South Asian nation also imports from China and Morocco, Al-Mahmud said that the Kingdom was a “dependable and reliable source.”
He added: “We have been importing fertilizer from the Kingdom for more than 15 years. It takes only around 2 weeks to import fertilizer from the Kingdom, while from Morocco it takes more than 6 weeks. From that perspective also, Saudi Arabia is our preferred country for importing fertilizer.”
Jeju Air flight crashes in South Korea, killing nearly all 181 aboard
- All but 2 of the 181 people on board died in the accident, authorities confirmed
- The crash on Sunday is the deadliest aviation disaster ever on Korean soil
SEOUL: A passenger plane carrying 181 people belly-landed and crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday morning, killing all but 2 aboard the flight, officials said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 had taken off from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board. It was landing at Muan International Airport, about 290 km south of Seoul, when it crashed at around 9 a.m.
Footage broadcast by local media showed the Boeing 737-800 skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with the airport’s concrete fence before bursting into flames. Only the aircraft’s tail was recognizable after the explosion.
“After the plane hit the fence, passengers were flung out of the aircraft. There is almost no possibility of survival,” the National Fire Agency said during a briefing held for the victims’ families.
The accident has killed 179 people aboard the flight, the fire agency said. Emergency workers rescued two crew members, who health officials said are conscious and not in life-threatening condition.
Ju Jong-wan, senior official at the Ministry of Land, Traffic and Infrastructure, said the control tower had issued a bird strike warning that was followed by the pilots declaring a mayday shortly afterward, before the aircraft made its ill-fated attempt to belly land at the airport.
“Bird strike and landing gear malfunction are being suggested as possible causes of the accident, but we will need to do a thorough investigation to determine the true cause,” Ju told a press briefing, adding that the ministry is analyzing both black boxes from the crashed airliner.
One of the rescued crew members told fire authorities that a bird strike occurred a few minutes before the plane crashed, causing the engine to smoke up and explode.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person’s final message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident ever on South Korean soil, more than two decades after an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002. It is also the worst aviation accident involving a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people.
The accident appears to have been the first fatal one for Jeju Air, a low-cost South Korean carrier established in 2005 that flies to dozens of Asian countries.
“We sincerely apologize to all those suffering because of the accident at Muan International Airport,” said Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae. “I relay my deepest condolences to the victims who have passed away and to the bereaved families … We will cooperate with the government to determine the cause.”
Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said in a statement that it is in contact with Jeju Air and is “ready to support them.”
While the US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, analysts have said that the Boeing 737-800 had a strong safety record.
Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in as Georgia’s president amid political crisis
- Current President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to step down when her term ends and demanded new elections
- Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate Mikheil Kavelashvili
TBILISI: At least 2,000 pro-EU protesters gathered in Tbilisi on Sunday as Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, took the oath of office as Georgia’s president
Kavelashvili’s inauguration has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country, whose government has frozen European Union application talks, provoking major protests.
Georgia’s pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili declared she was the country’s “only legitimate president”, refusing to step down as her term ended Sunday with the inauguration of a disputed successor but saying she would vacate the presidential palace.
“I remain the only legitimate president,” she told thousands of pro-EU demonstrators. “I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust.”
Months of political crisis are poised to enter an unpredictable phase, and it is unclear what will happen if Zurabishvili does not leave the presidential palace.
Parliament, controlled by the governing Georgian Dream party, is shortly expected to inaugurate its loyalist Mikheil Kavelashvili, a far-right former footballer.
An AFP reporter in Tbilisi saw a growing crowd of protesters outside the presidential palace, with many bringing EU flags and chanting “Georgia!”
Many held on to the railings of the presidential palace, which was decorated with a large Georgian and EU flag.
Zurabishvili and protesters have accused Georgian Dream of rigging the October parliamentary election, demanding a fresh vote.
They say this makes Kavelashvili’s inauguration illegitimate.
Zurabishvili had said she would spend the night in the palace, calling on protesters to come in the morning.
Her term is due to end with the inauguration of a successor.
Georgia has been gripped by protests throughout 2024, with Georgian Dream’s opponents accusing it of steering Tbilisi toward Moscow rather than toward the Caucasus country’s longstanding goal of joining the EU.
Impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol defies summons third time in a row
- Yoon Suk Yeol also failed to attend a hearing he was summoned to last Wednesday, giving no explanation for his absence
- The conservative leader was stripped of his duties by parliament on December 14, following a short-lived martial law declaration
SEOUL: South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol refused a summons to appear for questioning on Sunday, the third time he has defied investigators’ demands in two weeks.
Investigators probing Yoon had ordered him to appear for questioning at 10 am (GMT 0100) on Sunday, a demand he rejected.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, also failed to attend a hearing he was summoned to last Wednesday, giving no explanation for his absence.
The conservative leader was stripped of his duties by parliament on December 14, following a short-lived martial law declaration that plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Yoon faces impeachment and criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty, in a drama that has shocked democratic South Korea’s allies around the world.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) at 10 am today,” said the office in a statement.
“The Joint Investigation Headquarters will review and decide on future measures,” it added.
The CIO is expected to decide in the coming days whether to issue a fourth summons or ask a court to grant an arrest warrant to compel Yoon to appear for questioning.
He is being investigated by prosecutors as well as a joint team comprising police, defense ministry, and anti-corruption officials, while the Constitutional Court deliberates on the impeachment motion passed by parliament.
If upheld by the court, which is required to deliver its ruling within six months of the impeachment, a by-election must be held within 60 days of the court’s decision.
Former president Park Geun-hye was impeached under similar circumstances, but she was investigated only after the Constitutional Court removed her from power.
A 10-page prosecutors’ report seen by AFP stated that Yoon Suk Yeol authorized the military to fire their weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed bid to impose martial law.
