EU weighs advancing Ukraine’s membership bid as Russia war drags on

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) give a joint press conference following their talks in Kyiv on November 4, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Updated 06 November 2023
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EU weighs advancing Ukraine’s membership bid as Russia war drags on

  • Ukraine hopes to start EU membership talks
  • Moldova seen possibly following suit, questions over Georgia

BRUSSELS: The European Union executive is expected to recommend taking Ukraine one step closer to becoming a member of the bloc this week, according to EU officials, a coveted prize for Kyiv as weariness creeps in nearly two years after Russia’s invasion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Brussels-based executive will publish a report on Wednesday assessing progress achieved toward membership by EU hopefuls. On a visit to Kyiv on Saturday, she praised Ukraine for making headway.
The report and recommendation will inform a key decision in December by a summit of the EU’s national leaders on whether to start formal membership negotiations with Kyiv.
Such talks take years before candidates meet extensive legal and economic criteria to join, and the bloc is not willing to take in a country at war.
Still, advancing Western integration is a top priority for Ukraine, where troops face battle fatigue and concerns swirl over the future of vital US military aid.
The Commission said last June that Ukraine met two out of seven conditions the EU had set to start membership talks.
“You have made excellent progress,” von der Leyen told a news conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
“You are fighting an existential war and at the same time deeply reforming your country,” she said in highlighting reforms to Ukraine’s justice system, reining in oligarchs and tackling money laundering.
She expressed confidence that Ukraine would soon complete the remaining steps — related to fighting corruption and safeguarding minority rights — and advance on its EU path.
Zelensky said Kyiv would deliver on the conditions, and that a positive EU decision would give fresh motivation to his society and troops. He said Ukraine eventually joining the EU would strengthen both.
“There will be no grey geo-political zones in Europe. We will secure a new basis for growth and development of Ukraine and all European countries. We will guarantee to our country and citizens real economic and social security,” he said.
His comments capped a week when Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said the war was moving toward attritional fighting and the Italian premier spoke of international fatigue with the war during a prank call that was later made public.

Moldova and Georgia
In good news for Ukraine, Germany’s foreign minister expressed confidence that the EU would advance its bid to join.
Kyiv is expected to get a green light this week “on the understanding that” it does more to tackle graft and secure minority rights, the latter issue raised by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who prides himself on his contacts with Moscow.
The Commission report on Wednesday will also cover other EU hopefuls, including Georgia and Moldova.
The latter got nine conditions to start membership talks, including fighting organized crime, and can get a conditional positive recommendation along with its neighbor Ukraine.
“Moldova has shown its resilience and commitment to progress its EU agenda while taking measures to mitigate the impact of Russia’s war of aggression,” said a draft of the report, which was seen by Reuters ahead of official publication.
EU officials say Georgia has not satisfied the 12 conditions it was given to win candidate country status, something Kyiv and Chisinau secured last year a few months after Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.
But Tbilisi has the backing of Orban and could still move ahead on its EU path as the bloc wrestles for influence with Russia.


At least 25 wounded as apartment building hit by Russian missile

Updated 4 sec ago
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At least 25 wounded as apartment building hit by Russian missile

  • 12-story residential building was struck by a bomb that partially destroyed the first and third floors
  • A barrage of drones also struck Odesa and its suburbs in south of the country, wounding at least two people
KYIV: At least 25 people were wounded in an overnight Russian strike on an apartment block in Kharkiv, the mayor of Ukraine’s second city said Friday.
The 12-story residential building was struck by a bomb that partially destroyed the first and third floors, Mayor Igor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
“The number of injured keeps increasing. As of now, there are 25 of them,” he added.
Rescue efforts were under way for inhabitants trapped on the third floor.
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of “deliberately hitting an apartment block.”
“The Russians are also attacking Kyiv with missiles,” he added.
Separately, Kyiv’s military office said that anti-missile air defenses were operating in the capital.
A barrage of drones also struck Odesa and its suburbs in the south of the country, wounding at least two people, the region’s governor Oleg Kiper said.
Kyiv was targeted on Thursday by another “massive” Russian drone attack that wounded two people, damaged buildings and sparked fires in several districts, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia has systematically targeted the capital with drone and missile barrages since the first day of its invasion launched nearly three years ago on February 24, 2022.
Ukrainian authorities have been seeking air defense systems from their allies to fend off Russian aerial attacks.

At least 2 dead and 12 missing after a fishing boat sinks off South Korea’s Jeju island

Updated 13 min 51 sec ago
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At least 2 dead and 12 missing after a fishing boat sinks off South Korea’s Jeju island

  • Nearby fishing vessels managed to pull 15 crew members out of the water, but two of them were later pronounced dead
  • 27 crew members were on the 129-tonne boat, which left Jeju’s Seogwipo port late Thursday to catch mackerel

SEOUL: A fishing boat capsized and sank off the coast of South Korea’s Jeju island Friday, leaving at least two people dead and 12 others unaccounted for, coast guard officials said.
Nearby fishing vessels managed to pull 15 crew members out of the water, but two of them were later pronounced dead after being brought to shore. The other 13 did not sustain life-threatening injuries, said Kim Han-na, an official at Jeju’s coast guard.
She said 27 crew members – 16 South Korean nationals and 11 foreigners – were on the 129-tonne boat, which left Jeju’s Seogwipo port late Thursday to catch mackerel. The coast guard received a distress signal at around 4:30 a.m. Friday from a nearby fishing vessel that conducted rescue efforts as the boat sank 24 kilometers northwest of the island.
At least 11 vessels and nine aircraft from South Korea’s coast guard, police, fire service and military were deployed as of Friday morning to search for survivors. They were being assisted by 13 civilian vessels.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for officials to mobilize all available resources to find and rescue the missing crew members, his office said.


South Korea holds missile drill after North Korea launches

Updated 11 min 38 sec ago
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South Korea holds missile drill after North Korea launches

  • The nuclear-armed North had test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile
  • Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile was sent into the West Sea in the exercise

SEOUL: South Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea in a show of force after North Korea’s recent salvo of missile launches, Seoul said Friday.
The nuclear-armed North had test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as well as a number of short-range ballistic missiles in separate drills over the last two weeks.
South Korea’s military command said its live-fire exercise was aimed at demonstrating its “strong resolve to firmly respond to any North Korean provocation.”
It also underlined its “capability and readiness for precision strikes against the enemy’s origin of provocation,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.
A Hyunmoo surface-to-surface short-range missile was sent into the West Sea in the exercise, the military command said.
South Korea started domestic production of short-range ballistic missiles in the 1970s to counter the threats posed by North Korea.
Hyunmoo are a series of missiles which are key to the country’s so-called ‘Kill Chain’ preemptive strike system, which allows Seoul to launch a preemptive attack if there are signs of imminent North Korean attack.
In early October, the country displayed for the first time its largest ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5, which is capable of destroying underground bunkers.
Last Sunday, South Korea, Japan and the United States conducted a joint air drill involving a US B-1B bomber, South Korean F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, and Japanese F-2 jets, in response to the North’s ICBM launch.
Such joint drills infuriate Pyongyang, which views them as rehearsals for invasion.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of the country’s leader and a key spokesperson, called the US-South Korea-Japan exercises an “action-based explanation of the most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature of the enemy toward our Republic.”
The drill was an “absolute proof of the validity and urgency of the line of building up the nuclear forces we have opted for and put into practice,” she added.


Taiwan coast guard offers rewards for spotting foreign ships

Updated 31 min 43 sec ago
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Taiwan coast guard offers rewards for spotting foreign ships

  • Taiwan’s coast guard said Friday it will reward people who report the presence of foreign military ships, including those from China

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s coast guard said Friday it will reward people who report the presence of foreign military ships, including those from China, in waters around the island, as it seeks the public’s help with monitoring “abnormal” activity.
China regularly deploys fighter jets, navy ships and coast guard vessels around Taiwan to press its claims of sovereignty over the island, which Taipei’s government rejects.
Taiwan is massively outgunned by China, which has refused to renounce the use of force to bring the island under its control.
“The Coast Guard’s manpower is limited but the people power at sea is unlimited,” Taiwan’s coast guard said in a statement announcing the rewards.
The coast guard called on people, including fishers, to “stay vigilant to abnormal maritime activities” to help counter the growing “threats from the sea” and “all kinds of grey zone harassment tactics” — actions that fall short of an act of war.
People who reported homicide, piracy, arson and kidnapping to the coast guard could receive up to NT$200,000 ($6,200), while reports of Chinese “stowaways” would be rewarded with NT$50,000, and NT$10,000 for other foreign stowaways.
Verified reports to the coast guard about foreign and Chinese military ships and other vessels would be rewarded with NT$3,000.
China maintains a near-daily presence of naval vessels and warplanes around the island.
Chinese coast guard ships have also been spotted around Taiwan’s outlying islands, at times briefly entering its restricted waters.
A series of incidents involving boats from both sides have fueled tensions across the narrow waterway separating Taiwan and China.
A Taiwanese court in September sentenced a former Chinese naval captain to eight months in prison for illegally entering the island by boat.


Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ can be imported in India as court told 1988 ban order untraceable

Updated 08 November 2024
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Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ can be imported in India as court told 1988 ban order untraceable

  • India-born British author’s novel was banned by India in 1988 after some Muslims viewed it as blasphemous
  • Salman Rushdie’s fourth fictional novel ran into a global controversy shortly after its publication in September 1988

NEW DELHI: India’s three-decade ban on importing author Salman Rushdie’s controversial ‘The Satanic Verses’ book has effectively been lifted after a court said the government was unable to produce the original notification that imposed the ban.
The India-born British author’s novel was banned by India in 1988 after some Muslims viewed it as blasphemous. The Delhi High Court was hearing a 2019 case challenging the import ban of the book in India.
According to a Nov. 5 court order, India’s government told the Delhi High Court that the import ban order “was untraceable and, therefore could not be produced.”
As a result, the court said it had “no other option except to presume that no such notification exists.”
“The ban has been lifted as of Nov. 5 because there is no notification,” Uddyam Mukherjee, lawyer for petitioner Sandipan Khan, said.
India’s interior and finance ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Khan’s plea said he approached the court after being told at bookstores that the novel could not be sold or imported in India and then when he searched, he could not find the official import ban order on the government websites.
Even in court the government has been unable to produce the order, he said.
“None of the respondents could produce the said notification ... in fact the purported author of the said notification has also shown his helplessness in producing a copy,” the Nov. 5 order noted, referring to the customs department official who drafted the order.
Rushdie’s fourth fictional novel ran into a global controversy shortly after its publication in September 1988, as some Muslims saw passages about Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.
It sparked violent demonstrations and book burnings across the Muslim world, including in India, which has the world’s third largest Muslim population.
In 1989, Iran’s then supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to assassinate Rushdie, sending the Booker Prize-winning author into hiding for six years.
In August 2022, about 33 years after the fatwa, Rushdie was stabbed on stage during a lecture in New York, which left him blind in one eye and affected the use of one of his hands.