KYIV: Ukrainians and Russians marked Orthodox Christmas on Saturday under the shadow of war, as fighting persisted despite Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s order for his forces to pause attacks.
War-scarred cities in eastern Ukraine saw no significant let-up in the fighting, with AFP journalists in the town of Chasiv Yar south of the frontline city of Bakhmut hearing heavy artillery fire throughout much of Saturday morning.
The Russian defense ministry insisted its forces were observing the unilateral cease-fire but also said the army had repelled attacks in eastern Ukraine and killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers on Friday.
Ukrainian authorities said only three people were killed on Friday.
In Moscow, 70-year-old Putin stood alone at a service at a Kremlin church, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, to mark Orthodox Christmas.
In Kyiv, hundreds of worshippers attended a service at the 11th-century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, led a liturgy in the pro-Western country’s most significant Orthodox monastery.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his evening address, said he was happy to see so many people attend the service on a day that “has already become historic for Ukraine, for the spiritual independence of our people.”
On the Orthodox Holy Day, “the world was once again able to see how false any words of any level coming from Moscow are,” he added.
“They said something about an alleged cease-fire... But the reality is Russian shells that again hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions.”
Ukraine had previously dismissed the cease-fire — due to last until the end of Saturday (2100 GMT) — as a tactic by Russia to gain time to regroup its forces.
Putin’s order to stop fighting came after Moscow suffered its heaviest casualties in a single attack yet, with Ukrainian strikes killing at least 89 troops in the eastern town of Makiivka.
Ukrainian worshippers hailed the Kyiv mass.
“We’ve waited for this shrine for a long time,” Veronika Martyniuk told AFP outside the church.
“This is a truly historic event, which I think every Ukrainian has been waiting for. Especially after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion,” said the 19-year-old head of a choir from the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
Security was tight: Worshippers had their passports checked and entered through metal detectors.
In the battered town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, worshippers gathered in the basement shelter of an apartment building instead of their church down the street, wary of possible shelling.
The congregation numbered just nine, down from its pre-war total of 100, as many residents have fled to safer territory.
In both Russia and Ukraine, Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion and used to be seen as one of the strongest bonds tying the two nations.
The Ukrainian Church was previously under Moscow’s jurisdiction but severed ties after Russia launched its invasion last February.
Ordinary Ukrainians have also largely turned their backs on the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader Patriarch Kirill has backed the invasion.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was established in 2018 but remains unrecognized by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Saturday accused Russian troops of firing along the entire contact line despite the announced cease-fire.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia launched one missile strike and fired 20 rockets from multiple launchers over the past 24 hours.
Two people died and seven were wounded in the eastern region of Donetsk, while in the southern region of Kherson one person was killed seven were injured Friday, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidency.
“Peaceful settlements in the region were attacked with artillery, anti-aircraft guns, mortars and tanks,” said Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the Kherson regional administration.
In a message released by the Kremlin, Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians, saying the holiday inspired “good deeds and aspirations.”
He also praised the Orthodox Church for “supporting our soldiers taking part in a special military operation,” using the Kremlin term for the offensive in Ukraine.
Meanwhile the British government announced it would host a meeting of justice ministers in March to discuss ways to support the International Criminal Court’s investigation of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
In December ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who is set to take part in the March conference, urged the international community to support and fund the inquiry, saying: “We need the tools to do the job. We do not have those tools.”
Little respite in fighting as Ukraine, Russia mark Orthodox Christmas
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Little respite in fighting as Ukraine, Russia mark Orthodox Christmas
- Russian defense ministry insisted its forces were observing unilateral cease-fire but also said army repelled attacks in eastern Ukraine
- In Kyiv, hundreds of worshippers attended a service at the 11th-century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as Metropolitan Epifaniy
Millions of people celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors
- The raucous spring festival sees Hindus take part in a kaleidoscopic celebration of the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil
- The festival is a national holiday in India, while in Nepal it’s a two-day event that began Thursday
The raucous spring festival sees Hindus take part in a kaleidoscopic celebration of the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. The festival is a national holiday in India, while in Nepal it’s a two-day event that began Thursday. It’s also observed in other South Asian countries as well as among the Indian diaspora.
Holi has its origins in Hindu mythology and lore and celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation.
Across the country, people, mostly dressed in all white clothes, celebrated the festival by hurling colored powder at each other. Children, perched on rooftops and balconies, flung water balloons filled with colored pigments at passersby.
Groups of young men also used water guns to chase people down in public parks and on the roads, while others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.
In New Delhi, a rainbow haze hung in the air around a park where the group of friends splashed one another with pigmented powder and colored water.
“It’s time for fun and frolic,” said Krisha Bedi, a lawyer, whose face was covered with red, green and blue colors.
In some places, people hurled marigolds, roses and jasmine petals instead of colored powder.
Amid massive celebrations in the west Indian city of Ahmedabad, thousands of people gathered at temple were sprayed with colored water from huge pipes as they swayed to traditional Gujarati music, clapping over their heads.
Food and drink are a big part of the festivities. Vendors in parts of India sold thandai, a traditional light green beverage prepared with milk, cardamom and dried fruit, and gujia, a flaky, deep-fried sweet pastry stuffed with milk curds, nuts and dried fruit.
Another tradition that marks Holi is bhang, a local drink prepared with cannabis and consumed with milk or water. The drink is connected to Hinduism, particularly to Lord Shiva, and is also enjoyed during other religious festivals in the region. Its consumption is permissible under Indian law and it is also sold at government licensed shops.
In many parts of India, people also light large bonfires the night before the festival to signify the destruction of evil and victory of good. Families gather around the flames to sing, dance and pray to Hindu gods.
In two northern towns, hundreds of women celebrated last week by playfully hitting men who teased them as a part of ritual with wooden sticks. The festival is called “Lathmar Hol,” or Stick Holi.
Ukraine drones hit Russian energy sites, Kyiv source says
- Drones dispatched by the Security Service of Ukraine had hit gas compressor systems in the western Russian regions of Tambov and Saratov
The Ukrainian and Russian drone barrages were less intensive compared to previous days and came after US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah proposed a 30-day ceasefire that the Kremlin on Friday said it was ‘cautiously optimistic” about.
The source said drones dispatched by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had hit gas compressor systems in the western Russian regions of Tambov and Saratov.
It added that a Ukrainian drone also hit a warehouse storing missiles used for S-300 and S-400 Russian air defense systems.
“The SBU conducted another successful special operation on enemy territory, which caused significant losses to the Russian budget, reduced its ability to finance the war against Ukraine and the military potential of the Russian army,” the source said in written comments.
The mayor of Moscow meanwhile said Russian air defense systems had shot down four Ukrainian drones that were heading toward the capital.
The Russian defense ministry said Ukraine had launched 28 drones overnight against over 300 in the early hours of Tuesday, when three people were killed.
The governor of the southern Krasnodar region said a Ukrainian attack had sparked a fire at an oil refinery in the Black Sea resort town of Tuapse.
A fuel tank containing up to 20,000 tons of oil products was on fire at the refinery, officials said.
Kyiv said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 27 drones overnight, a fraction of the number it usually sends over, with some recent barrages comprised of more than 100 drones.
Authorities in the eastern Kharkiv region said eight people were wounded by the Russian attacks overnight.
Philippine ex-President Duterte set to appear in Hague courtroom to face ‘war on drugs’ charges
- The hearing Friday afternoon comes days after his stunning arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to the deadly “war on drugs” he oversaw while in office
- The 79-year-old Duterte is the first Asian former leader arrested on an ICC warrant
THE HAGUE: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to make his first appearance before judges of the International Criminal Court on Friday, days after his stunning arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to the deadly ” war on drugs ” he oversaw while in office.
The 79-year-old Duterte, the first Asian former leader arrested on an ICC warrant, will be read his rights and formally informed of the charges of crimes against humanity that the court’s prosecutors filed against him after a lengthy investigation.
Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported up to the 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.
The court will also seek to set a date for a key pre-trial hearing — likely months from now — at which judges will assess whether there is enough evidence to proceed to a full trial, which could take years. If Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Duterte was arrested Tuesday amid chaotic scenes in the Philippine capital after returning from a visit to Hong Kong. He was swiftly put on a chartered jet and flown to the Netherlands. After a series of medical checks on arrival, he was taken to the court’s detention center, located behind the high brick walls of a Dutch prison complex close to the North Sea coastline.
Prosecutors accuse him of involvement as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in multiple murders, amounting to a crime against humanity for allegedly overseeing killings from November 2011 until March 2019, first while he was mayor of the southern city of Davao and later as president of the Philippines.
Duterte will not be required to formally enter a plea at Friday’s hearing.
According to the prosecution request for his arrest, as Davao mayor Duterte issued orders to police and other “hitmen” who formed so-called “Davao Death Squads” or DDS.
He told them “that their mission was to kill criminals, including drug dealers, and provided clearance for specific DDS killings,” prosecutors allege, adding that he recruited, paid and rewarded the killers and “provided them with the necessary weapons and resources, and promised to shield them from prosecution.”
The document seeking an ICC warrant for Duterte said that prosecutors built their case using evidence including witness testimony, speeches by Duterte himself, government documents and video footage.
Human rights groups and victims’ families have hailed Duterte’s arrest as a historic triumph against state impunity, while the former president’s supporters have slammed what they call the government’s surrender of a rival to a court whose jurisdiction they dispute.
“We are happy and we feel relieved,” said 55-year-old Melinda Abion Lafuente, mother of 22-year-old Angelo Lafuente, who she said was tortured and killed in 2016.
“Duterte’s appearance before the ICC is a testament to the courage and determination of the victims, their families, and Filipino activists and journalists to pursue justice no matter how long it takes,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Other leaders facing ICC arrest warrants, like Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, should take note that even those who seem untouchable today can end up in The Hague.”
Duterte’s legal team said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration should not have allowed the global court to take custody of the former leader because the Philippines is no longer a party to the ICC.
“Our own government has surrendered a Filipino citizen — even a former president at that — to foreign powers,” Vice President Sara Duterte, the ex-president’s daughter and a political rival of the current president, said Tuesday before her father was flown out of Manila.
Judges who approved Duterte’s arrest warrant said the court has jurisdiction because the crimes alleged in the warrant were committed before Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the court in 2019.
‘We are simply going to starve’: UN chief visits Rohingya refugees amid aid funding shortfall
- ’We are simply going to starve’: UN chief visits Rohingya refugees amid aid funding shortfall
COX’S BAZAR: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is visiting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as their food rations face drastic cuts amid a funding shortfall, threatening already dire living conditions in the world’s largest refugee settlement.
Guterres’ visit on Friday to the border district of Cox’s Bazar — his second to Bangladesh — is seen as crucial after the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced potential cuts to food rations, following the shutdown of USAID operations.
The WFP has said it may reduce food rations for the Rohingya from $12.50 to just $6 per month starting in April because of a lack of funding, raising fears among aid workers of rising hunger in the overcrowded camps.
“Whatever we are given now is not enough. If that’s halved, we are simply going to starve,” said Mohammed Sabir, a 31-year-old refugee from Myanmar who has lived in the camps since fleeing violence in 2017.
The WFP said earlier this month that the reduction was due to a broad shortfall in donations, not the Trump administration’s decision to cut US foreign aid globally, including USAID. But a senior Bangladeshi official told Reuters that most likely played a role, as the United States has been the top donor for Rohingya refugee aid.
Bangladesh is sheltering more than 1 million Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority who fled violent purges in neighboring Myanmar mostly in 2016 and 2017, in camps in the southern Cox’s Bazar district, where they have limited access to jobs or education.
Roughly 70,000 fled to Bangladesh last year, driven in part by growing hunger in their home Rakhine state, Reuters has reported.
Sabir, a father of five children, said: “We are not allowed to work here. I feel helpless when I think of my children. What will I feed them?”
“I hope we are not forgotten. The global community must come forward to help,” Sabir said.
The WFP has emphasized that it requires $15 million in April to maintain full rations for the refugees. But fears are growing about the impact on food security during the holy month of Ramadan, which this year ends in the last days of March.
Bangladesh’s interim government, which took power in August 2024 following mass protests that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is hoping that Guterres’ visit will help draw international attention to the crisis and mobilize aid for the refugees.
Guterres is scheduled to take part in a fasting break on Friday afternoon with refugees during Iftar, accompanied by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
“Without work or income, this will have catastrophic consequences,” 80-year-old refugee Abdur Salam said of the food ration cuts. “What kind of life is this? If you can’t give us enough food, please send us back to our homeland. We want to return to Myanmar with our rights.”
Driving ban puts brakes on young women in Turkmenistan
- There is no legislation specifically outlawing women under 30 from obtaining a driving license in Turkmenistan
- But it is one of many informal prohibitions that is universally followed, so women that do drive must do so without a permit
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: Mekhri feels “a sense of freedom and self-confidence” when she’s behind the wheel of a car – despite being forced to drive illegally because of an unwritten rule preventing women getting a license.
In Turkmenistan, the reclusive Central Asian state where she lives, young women are effectively banned from driving.
“I know the rules of the road. I drive calmly, don’t overtake anyone and know how to park,” the 19-year-old said.
Like other women interviewed by AFP in Turkmenistan – ranked by rights groups as one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world – she withheld her surname.
There is no legislation specifically outlawing women under 30 from obtaining a driving license.
But it is one of many informal prohibitions that is universally followed, so women that do drive must do so without this precious permit, which is indeed against the law.
“When my daughter wanted to enroll at the driving school, we were told that she could take lessons but that she would probably not pass the test,” said Guzel, Mekhri’s 57-year-old mother.
So instead of paying for lessons, Guzel assumed the role of instructor and now takes Mekhri outside the capital, Ashgabat, to practice.
“Where there are few cars, police officers and cameras, I let my daughter take the wheel and I teach her,” Guzel, who started driving when she was 40, said.
Among the other transport-related diktats imposed by father-and-son duo Gurbanguly and Serdar Berdymukhamedov – who have ruled the country one after the other since 2006 – are a ban on black cars.
Owners have been forced to paint the vehicles white, the favorite color of Gurbanguly, whose official titles are “Hero-Protector” and “leader of the Turkmen nation.”
Many young women share Mekhri’s frustration.
“I wanted to take my test at 18. At the driving school, the instructor immediately warned the many girls there: ‘You’ve come for nothing. You won’t be able to take it,” said Maisa, a 26-year-old saleswoman.
“But up to the exam, driving schools take both boys and girls, because they pay,” she said.
Goulia, 19, said her parents had wanted to buy her a car when she went to university so she could be more independent, do the family shopping and take her grandmother to hospital and the chemist’s.
“But because of the difficulties that girls like me face getting a driver’s license, my mother said she would have to postpone the decision,” she said.
“I’ve just turned 19 and I can’t get a license but the boys can and I don’t understand why,” she added.
Turkmenistan’s motor transport agency did not respond to an AFP request to comment.
Contacted via phone by AFP, one driving school said “women have the right to enroll in the course and take the exam” before abruptly hanging up.
But another instructor from Ashgabat acknowledged the informal ban.
“It is due to a sharp increase in accidents involving female drivers,” the instructor said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“After an investigation by the authorities, it turned out they were simply buying driving licenses,” the instructor said – a claim AFP could not verify.
Rules have also been tightened for women over 30 who are not covered by the informal ban.
To register a car in their own name, they have to show a marriage certificate, family record book and a report from their employer.
Authorities routinely reject accusations that they are restricting women’s rights.
Responding to a recent United Nations report criticizing the country, the government said: “The motherland treats mothers and women with great respect.”
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, President Serdar Berdymoukhamedov gifted every woman the equivalent of $3 – enough to buy a cake or six kilograms (13 pounds) of potatoes.
