STOCKHOLM: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday hailed a US decision to partially lift restrictions on using US-donated weapons to strike inside Russia as a “step forward.”
Washington gave the green light on Thursday for Ukraine to use US weapons to defend its Kharkiv region on the border with Russia, overcoming previous concerns that authorizing such strikes could drag NATO into a direct conflict with Russia.
“This is a step forward toward (the) goal... of making it possible to defend our people who live in the villages on the border,” Zelensky said during a visit to Stockholm.
Germany on Friday said it too had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.
Kyiv has the “right under international law to defend itself” against attacks coming from inside Russia, close to the border with Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
“To this end, it can also use the weapons supplied for this purpose... including those supplied by us,” he said.
The Kremlin accused the West on Thursday of “entering a new round of escalations in tensions.”
And on Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that US-made weapons “are already being used to attempt strikes on Russian territory.”
“This is quite eloquent evidence of the extent of US involvement in this conflict,” he said.
But NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters at a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Prague, responded: “This is part of efforts by President (Vladimir) Putin and Moscow to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine to defend themselves.”
“Ukraine has the right for self-defense and we have the right to help Ukraine,” he said.
However, divisions on the issue between NATO member states have emerged.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that “for Italy, it is impossible to use our weapons outside of Ukraine.”
“We are not fighting against Russia. We’re defending Ukraine and it is not the same,” he said.
The change in Washington’s thinking was attributed by US officials to Russia’s daily pounding of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city.
In the latest Russian strikes on the city overnight, six people were killed and 25 wounded, including two children, officials said.
Yulia, a local resident who fled to a basement in the night for shelter, said there were several explosions in the night.
“We are all just shocked by what we experienced. Honestly, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” she told AFP.
“These are monsters, these are not people. People cannot do such a thing in the 21st century,” she said.
Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said the rubble was still being cleared.
“There may be more people under it,” he said.
Zelensky has pressed Western allies for more support.
“Only together we can stop the madness from Moscow,” he said at a press conference in Stockholm.
While expressing gratitude to Western allies for weapons supplies, he said there were often delays in deliveries.
“It can take six months or more from the moment the package is approved to the moment it is used.... Our biggest enemy is slow supply,” he said.
Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian targets in recent months, claiming drone attacks on military and energy infrastructure targets deep inside the country.
Russia’s military said on Friday it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones overnight that were targeting the port city of Novorossiisk and an oil depot in Temryuk.
The increasing intensity of strikes has come as Russian troops have made gradual advances in Ukraine this year after holding off a Ukrainian counter-offensive last year.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow’s forces had seized 880 square kilometers (340 square miles) of territory so far in 2024.
“The advance is underway in all tactical directions,” he said at a meeting of the Russian-led CSTO security alliance in Almaty, according to Russian news agencies.
Zelensky hails US weapons green light as ‘step forward’
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Zelensky hails US weapons green light as ‘step forward’
- Washington gave the green light on Thursday for Ukraine to use US weapons to defend its Kharkiv region
- Germany on Friday said it too had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia
French far-right leader Le Pen eyes early presidential election
PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday that she was preparing for an early presidential election, saying President Emmanuel Macron’s time in office was all but over.
Le Pen, who has brought her anti-immigrant National Rally party from fringe status into the political spotlight, is seen as a leading presidential contender. She faced off against Macron in 2017 and captured an even greater share of the vote in 2022, when Macron won another five-year term.
“I am preparing for an early presidential election, out of precaution, taking into account Emmanuel Macron’s fragility, what little institutional levers he has left,” she said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper.
“Emmanuel Macron is finished or almost finished,” she said, adding that Macron was diminished both domestically and internationally. “He has angered everyone. He has no more influence in the European Union,” she said.
Macron has repeatedly said he would not resign. Asked for reaction, the Elysee said: “The president has already expressed himself on this matter.”
Le Pen faces her own political challenges. She and other members of her party have been accused of using funds from the European Union to pay party workers in France.
She has denounced the case as a political witch hunt. If convicted, she could be banned from seeking public office for five years. The trial is expected to close in March.
Thirteen dead after naval vessel hits passenger boat off Mumbai
- The navy said 99 people were rescued with efforts ongoing for others
- Local TV channels showed a boat carrying at least five people hitting the passenger vehicle, causing the accident
MUMBAI: At least 13 people died when a boat with more than 100 passengers capsized off the coast of India’s financial capital Mumbai after colliding with an Indian Navy boat on Wednesday, officials said.
The navy said 99 people were rescued with efforts ongoing for others.
“An Indian Navy craft lost control while undertaking engine trials in Mumbai Harbor due to engine malfunction. As a result, the boat collided with a passenger ferry which subsequently capsized,” the Navy said in a statement on X.
Local TV channels showed a boat carrying at least five people hitting the passenger vehicle, causing the accident.
“The speedboat crashed into our boat and water started entering our boat and it overturned. The driver asked us to wear lifejackets,” a passenger on board the vessel told ABP Majha news channel.
“I swam for fifteen minutes before I was rescued by another boat,” said the passenger, who did not identify himself.
The privately-owned passenger boat, called Neelkamal, was heading toward the Elephanta caves, a popular tourist destination off the coast of Mumbai, when it capsized, BMC said.
The caves, which see a steady stream of tourists through the year, are a UNESCO heritage site and were constructed in the 5th-6th centuries A.D.
Boats from the Gateway of India, Mumbai’s southernmost point, make regular trips to ferry tourists to the site, an hour away.
Teenager pleads not guilty to murder of 3 girls that sparked UK riots
- Axel Rudakubanais accused of murdering Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event
- The crime horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting
LONDON: A British teenager on Wednesday had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf to charges of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, did not speak when asked at Liverpool Crown Court if he was guilty or not guilty of killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in the town of Southport.
Not guilty pleas were also entered over charges of 10 attempted murders, producing the deadly poison ricin and the possession of an Al-Qaeda training manual, under a procedure known as mute of malice where a defendant refuses to speak.
His trial is due to start on Jan. 20 and last for four weeks. Judge Julian Goose confirmed with Rudakubana’s lawyer Stan Reiz that “there will be no positive case advanced” on Rudakubana’s behalf.
During Wednesday’s short hearing, British-born Rudakubana, who appeared by videolink from prison, showed no emotion, staring straight ahead and occasionally rocking from side to side.
Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was arrested shortly after the attack on the summer vacation event for children in the quiet seaside town north of the city of Liverpool. Police have said the incident was not being treated as terrorist-related.
Large disturbances broke out in Southport after false reports spread on social media that the suspected killer was a radical Islamist migrant.
The disturbances spread across Britain with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer blaming the riots on far-right thuggery.
More than 1,500 people were arrested, with prosecutors bringing over 1,000 charges as the authorities took tough action to curb the disorder.
A report by the police watchdog, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), said on Wednesday that officers had displayed immense bravery in the face of extreme violence.
But it added that intelligence failure meant the scale of the disorder was not predicted and forces needed to be better prepared to deal with serious violence.
Christmas miracle: Filipina Mary Jane Veloso returns home after 15 years on death row in Indonesia
- Mary Jane Veloso was returned to the Philippines through a transfer deal with Indonesia
- She and her family are asking for clemency from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
MANILA: After almost 15 years in prison, a Filipino woman who was spared from execution on drug trafficking charges in Indonesia returned to her homeland on Wednesday, with her family preparing to spend Christmas together next week.
Mary Jane Veloso, who will turn 40 next month, was arrested in 2010 at an airport in Yogyakarta for allegedly smuggling 2.6 kg of heroin from Malaysia into Indonesia.
While she denied the charge and has always maintained that she was tricked by a recruiter to bring a suitcase with the drugs hidden in its seams, she was convicted and sentenced to death but received a last-minute reprieve from execution by firing squad in 2015.
Veloso’s repatriation was made possible by a “practical arrangement” for the transfer of prisoners between Indonesia and the Philippines, which their officials signed on Dec. 6.
“I’m very happy that I’m finally back to our country,” she told reporters in Manila.
“My plea to President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) is he can hopefully grant me clemency so I can be with my family. I’ve been in prison for 15 years in Indonesia for a crime I didn’t commit.”
Her transfer removes the possibility of execution, as the predominantly Catholic Philippines has long abolished the death penalty.
She had a tearful reunion with her family at a prison facility she was brought to after arriving in the Philippines, as relatives and a small group of supporters gathered with banners and flowers to welcome her.
“I’m very happy because for the almost 15 years she was in prison, we hadn’t had the chance to spend time with her. Now we can be with her, the whole family … It’s a miracle,” said Celia Veloso, her 65-year-old mother.
“Our plan really is to spend Christmas here with her,” she added. “Her siblings have already made their plan and they have prepared their gifts for her. Even her children are also looking forward to it.”
Veloso’s two sons were 1 and 6 years old when she was arrested in 2010.
“I hope that it won’t take too long for her to get clemency … Mary Jane has been in jail a long time. I hope the president will give it to us as a Christmas present.”
Indonesia, which has one of the world’s harshest anti-narcotics laws, had previously said it would respect any decision made by the Philippines, including if Veloso were given clemency.
“I could not think of any better time for her to come home, given the Filipino tradition of celebrating the season and the spirit behind it,” Edre Olalia, a lawyer in Veloso’s legal team, told Arab News.
“I believe it is a miracle in a sense, and … the best Christmas gift because you cannot quantify the happiness and the joy of being reunited (with family).”
According to protocol, Veloso has to spend five days in quarantine following her arrival but will be able to spend Christmas Eve together with her family, said (Retd.) Gen. Gregorio Catapang, director-general of the Bureau of Corrections.
Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasques said Veloso’s return was “a beautiful gift” for the country.
“It’s a fitting gift during Christmas time, and we cannot say more. This is the result of more than 10 years of diplomatic efforts with the country of Indonesia, and the stars aligned, so to speak, that now we have achieved what we have long hoped for — the return of Mary Jane Veloso.”
Her case had sparked numerous protests in both Indonesia and the Philippines, where people demanded Jakarta spare her from the firing squad. The Philippine government has also sought clemency for Veloso in high-level bilateral meetings, including when former President Joko Widodo visited Manila in January.
For her family, the long wait for Veloso’s return is now over.
“Finally, she is here in the Philippines,” said her 22-year-old son, Mark Daniel Veloso Candelaria.
“We hope that our beloved president will grant the clemency that our family is asking for so that we can spend Christmas and New Year together.”
Russia detains suspect in general’s killing: investigators
MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday it had detained a citizen of Uzbekistan who had confessed to planting a bomb which killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov in Moscow a day earlier on the instructions of Ukraine’s security service.
Kirillov, who was chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside his apartment building along with his assistant when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off.
He was the most senior Russian military officer to be assassinated inside Russia by Ukraine. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service, which accused Kirillov of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, something Moscow denies, took responsibility for the killing.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement on Wednesday that the unnamed suspect had told them during questioning that he had come to Moscow where he had received an improvised explosive device for the hit.
The statement said he had described how he had placed the device on an electric scooter which he had parked outside the entrance of the apartment block where Kirillov lived.
Investigators cited him as saying that he had set up a surveillance camera in a hire car nearby and that the organizers of the assassination, who he said had been based in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, had used the camera to track Kirillov and remotely detonated the device when he had left the building.
The statement said the suspect, who was born in 1995, had been offered $100,000 for his role in the murder and residency in a European country.
Investigators said they were identifying other people involved in the hit and the daily Kommersant newspaper reported that one other suspect had been detained. Reuters could not independently confirm that.
