MOSCOW: Ukrainian shelling killed two people on Saturday in Russia’s Belgorod, a border region that has been hit by repeated attacks this week, the local governor said.
Belgorod border villages have been hit by unprecedented shelling, and the latest deaths bring the overall toll to seven this week.
“Since this morning, the district of Shebekino has been under shelling of the Ukrainian armed forces,” said Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
He said an “elderly woman” was killed in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka and another woman died from her wounds in the village of Bezlyudovka.
Two other people were wounded in the shelling.
The Shebekino area has been the hardest hit by the shelling, and residents from the area have been pouring in to displacement centers in the regional capital of Belgorod.
The Russian army on Thursday said it had used its air force and artillery to repel an attempt from the Ukrainian army to invade Belgorod.
Two killed in shelling of Russian region on Ukraine border
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Two killed in shelling of Russian region on Ukraine border
- Belgorod border villages have been hit by unprecedented shelling, and the latest deaths bring the overall toll to seven this week
- The Shebekino area has been the hardest hit by the shelling
Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges
“Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports“
KYIV: Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday.
He accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending, and suggested Moscow might be doing it on purpose to conflate the number of Ukrainian bodies they had.
The repatriation of fallen soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war has been one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Moscow and Kyiv agreed earlier this month during talks in Istanbul to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers each.
“It has already been confirmed during repatriations that the bodies of 20 people handed over to us as our deceased soldiers are Russian,” Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday.
“Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he added.
An “Israeli mercenary” fighting for Moscow was also among those sent, he said.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the war began. Neither country regularly releases information on military casualties.
Zelensky said there were currently “695,000 Russian troops” on Ukrainian territory.
Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday. (AFP/File)
Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN
- UNHCR said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries
- “This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Grandi
GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back.
UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.
Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.
Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.
“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”
Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran.
Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.
Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world — around 3.5 million — mostly of them from Afghanistan.
If the conflict persists, Iran’s existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said.
The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety.
The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran strongly denies.
Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials
- Airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability”
- Air India crash in June 12 in Ahmedabad killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground also perished
NEW DELHI: New Delhi’s civil aviation regulator has ordered Air India to remove three officials from their roles over “systemic failures,” according to a directive seen by AFP Saturday, as the carrier comes under scrutiny after a deadly crash.
The instruction from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not detail whether it was linked to the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground were killed.
The DGCA directive noted that the airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.”
“Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” said the order, which was issued on Friday.
“These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses,” it said.
The regulator has directed Air India to remove three officials named in the order “from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling,” take disciplinary action, and report on steps taken within 10 days.
Future violations could also result in “license suspension.”
The airline said on Saturday it had implemented the order.
“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,” it said in a statement.
Investigators are attempting to find out what caused the airline’s London-bound plane to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad.
Air India said on Thursday that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was “well-maintained” and that the pilots were accomplished flyers.
The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have been recovered from the crash site.
Suicide blast kills 20 anti-jihadist fighters in Nigeria: militia leader
- Surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers said to be acting for Boko Haram, a group of armed Islamic militants that has been active in the area for at least 16 years
KANO: A suicide attack in Nigeria’s Borno state by a woman allegedly acting for Boko Haram has killed at least 20 anti-jihadist fighters, militia fighters said AFP on Saturday.
Police have confirmed 10 people have been killed and said the overall toll could be higher.
Late on Friday, a woman allegedly detonated explosives strapped to her body at a haunt for vigilantes and local hunters assisting the Nigerian military in fighting “jihadists” in the town of Konduga, the militia told AFP.
“We lost 20 people in the suicide attack which happened yesterday around 9:15 p.m. (2015 GMT) while our members were hanging out near the fish market,” said Tijjani Ahmed, the head of an anti-jihadist militia in Konduga district.
Konduga is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno.
Surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers said to be acting for Boko Haram, a group of armed Islamic militants that has been active in the area for at least 16 years.
Konduga town itself had seen a lull in such attacks in the past year.
“Eighteen people died on the spot, while 18 others were injured. Two more died in hospital, raising the death toll to 20,” Ahmed said.
A mass burial was held on Saturday, an AFP reporter saw.
The alleged bomber was dressed as a local heading to the crowded nearby fish market.
She detonated her explosives as soon she reached the shed used by the militia fighters as a hangout, said militia member Ibrahim Liman.
He gave the same toll as Ahmed.
Borno state police spokesman Nahum Daso told AFP 10 bodies had been recovered from the “suicide attack.”
He said the toll could be higher as “details are sketchy.”
Konduga fish market, which is usually busy at night, has been the target of a series of suicide attacks in the past.
The conflict between the authorities and Boko Haram has been ongoing for 16 years.
In that time, more than 40,000 people have dioed and around two million been displaced from their homes in the northeast, according to the United Nations.
The violence has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight armed militant Islamic groups.
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
- Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it would recommend US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade that he has said he craves, for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
Some analysts in Pakistan said the move might persuade Trump to think again about potentially joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Pakistan has condemned Israel’s action as a violation of international law and a threat to regional stability.
In May, a surprise announcement by Trump of a ceasefire brought an abrupt end to a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan. Trump has since repeatedly said that he averted a nuclear war, saved millions of lives, and grumbled that he got no credit for it.
Pakistan agrees that US diplomatic intervention ended the fighting, but India says it was a bilateral agreement between the two militaries.
“President Trump demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi, which de-escalated a rapidly deteriorating situation,” Pakistan said. “This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker.”
Governments can nominate people for the Nobel Peace Prize. There was no immediate response from Washington. A spokesperson for the Indian government did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has repeatedly said that he’s willing to mediate between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region, their main source of enmity. Islamabad, which has long called for international attention to Kashmir, is delighted.
But his stance has upended US policy in South Asia, which had favored India as a counterweight to China, and put in question previously close relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump gave a long list of conflicts he said he had resolved, including India and Pakistan and the Abraham accords in his first term between Israel and some Muslim-majority countries. He added: “I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do.”
Pakistan’s move to nominate Trump came in the same week its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met the US leader for lunch. It was the first time that a Pakistani military leader had been invited to the White House when a civilian government was in place in Islamabad.
Trump’s planned meeting with Modi at the G7 summit in Canada last week did not take place after the US president left early, but the two later spoke by phone, in which Modi said “India does not and will never accept mediation” in its dispute with Pakistan, according to the Indian government.
Mushahid Hussain, a former chair of the Senate Defense Committee in Pakistan’s parliament, suggested nominating Trump for the peace prize was justified.
“Trump is good for Pakistan,” he said. “If this panders to Trump’s ego, so be it. All the European leaders have been sucking up to him big time.”
But the move was not universally applauded in Pakistan, where Trump’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza has inflamed passions.
“Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza and cheerleader of its attacks on Iran isn’t a candidate for any prize,” said Talat Hussain, a prominent Pakistani television political talk show host, in a post on X. “And what if he starts to kiss Modi on both cheeks again after a few months?”
