KYIV: Russian officials said Wednesday they were fighting off Ukrainian cross-border raids in a southwestern border province for a second day, as Kyiv officials remained quiet about the scope of the operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incursion into the south-western Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” and said he will hold a meeting with top defense and security officials to discuss the situation.
“The Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation and launched indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons,” Putin said at a meeting with Cabinet officials. He instructed the Cabinet to coordinate assistance to the Kursk region.
The head of the Kursk region urged residents to donate blood due to the intense fighting.
“In the last 24 hours, our region has been heroically resisting attacks” by Ukrainian fighters, acting governor Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram, adding that all emergency services were on high alert.
If confirmed, the alleged cross-border foray could draw Russian reserves to the area, weakening Moscow’s offensive operations in several parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces have increased attacks to make the most of the summer fighting season.
But it could risk stretching outmanned Ukrainian troops further along the front line, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long.
Russian forces have swiftly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed authorities.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that up to 300 Ukrainian troops, supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armored combat vehicles, had crossed into Russia and suffered heavy losses.
It said Wednesday that military and border guard troops “continued to destroy Ukrainian military units in the areas alongside the border in the Kursk region.”
The ministry said Russian forces backed by artillery and warplanes “didn’t allow the enemy to advance deeper into the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Ukrainian officials declined to comment, and it wasn’t possible to verify the Russian claims.
Open-source monitors have not been able to verify the claims. The US-based Institute for the Study of War could not verify whether geolocated footage of damaged and abandoned armored vehicles 7 kilometers (4 miles) north of the border west of Lyubimovka, in the Kursk region, were Ukrainian.
The think tank also cast doubt on footage shared by Russian military bloggers claiming to show the aftermath of the Ukrainian raids. Most of the damage shown “appears to be the result of routine Ukrainian shelling and does not indicate that there was ground activity in the area,” it said in its daily report.
Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions have been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which are made up of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces.
Disinformation and propaganda have played a central role in the war, now in its third year.
Some Russian war bloggers who have proved knowledgeable about the war said that Ukrainian soldiers were in Kursk.
Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a retired Russian Defense Ministry press officer, said Ukrainian troops had seized three settlements in the region and continued to fight their way deeper into it.
Another pro-Kremlin military blog, Two Majors, claimed that Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 15 kilometers into the region.
Neither claim could be independently verified.
The Kursk region’s border with Ukraine is 245 kilometers (150 miles) long, making it possible for saboteur groups to launch swift incursions and capture some ground before Russia deploys reinforcements.
Russian officials say they are fighting off a Ukrainian military incursion for a second day
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Russian officials say they are fighting off a Ukrainian military incursion for a second day
- Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incursion into the south-western Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation”
- “The Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation and launched indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings,” Putin said at a meeting with Cabinet officials
Ozone layer on road to recovery despite volcano eruption, UN weather body says
- On current trends, the ozone layer is on track to recover to 1980 levels by around 2066 over the Antarctic, 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world, the United Nations agency said
On current trends, the ozone layer is on track to recover to 1980 levels by around 2066 over the Antarctic, 2045 over the Arctic and 2040 for the rest of the world, the United Nations agency said.
Though the volcanic eruption near Tonga in early 2022 led to a short period of accelerated depletion of ozone above Antarctica last year, driven by higher levels of atmospheric water vapor, overall losses were limited, it said in its annual ozone bulletin.
The ozone layer protects the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer and other health risks.
The Montreal Protocol, which came into effect in 1989, agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances, and its success “stands out as a powerful symbol of hope” at a time when multilateral cooperation has come under strain, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement.
CFCs have been largely replaced by hydrofluorocarbons, which do not cause ozone depletion but are a powerful climate-warming greenhouse gas.
Countries are now implementing the 2016 Kigali amendment to Montreal, which will phase down HFC production, and could avoid around 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100.
China remains the world’s biggest HFC producer, with current capacity the equivalent of nearly 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. About a quarter is exported.
China’s environment ministry said on Monday it would soon publish a plan to better control HFC production. As a developing country, it is obliged to cut HFC consumption by 85 percent from 2013 to 2045.
China is cutting manufacturing quotas and cracking down on illegal production, but it warned this year it still “faces huge challenges” in phasing down HFCs, which are used by a wide range of different industries, many of which have struggled to find substitute products.
COP29 hosts unveil busy program as main climate agenda stalls
- Key among these is a fund, proposed by Azerbaijan, that intends to raise money for developing countries through donations from fossil fuel producing countries and companies
PARIS: COP29 host Azerbaijan said Tuesday that voluntary pledges on everything from tourism to world peace would be sought at the UN climate summit as disagreements over money stymie the main agenda.
Nations are supposed to agree at the November conference how much should be raised for developing countries to cope with climate change but the formal negotiations so far have been mired in disagreement.
With two months to go, Azerbaijan — which has remained upbeat despite the deadlock — has unveiled over a dozen initiatives on the sidelines that it hopes will “supplement” the difficult talks.
These include asking nations to observe a ceasefire during the marathon summit, to commit to reducing methane from organic waste and emissions from the tourism industry, and pledging to boost global energy storage, among others.
“Successive COP Presidencies have supplemented their mandated programs with non-negotiated action agendas... to achieve ambitious outcomes,” COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev wrote to the nearly 200 nations participating in the summit.
Key among these is a fund, proposed by Azerbaijan, that intends to raise money for developing countries through donations from fossil fuel producing countries and companies.
Azerbaijan — wedged between Iran and Russia and heavily dependent on fossil fuels — is expected to make the first contribution to this so-called “climate finance action fund.”
The fund needs $1 billion and 10 countries as shareholders to launch. Azerbaijan says there has already been early interest, but has not offered specifics.
Voluntary initiatives at the COPs, such as non-binding pledges and commitments, are features of these summits but are distinct from the long and protracted negotiations that produce binding agreements, by consensus, with UN backing.
This year’s summit in Baku is supposed to agree on how much developing countries need to adapt to a warming planet, and where that money should come from.
This target will replace the $100 billion that wealthy countries agreed to pay in climate aid, every year, from 2020.
That amount was only reached for the first time in 2022, and has long been criticized as grossly inadequate.
The lead-up to COP29 has been slow, and two months until the final deliberations nations are no closer to agreeing on what the new figure should be, and who should pay it.
The UN published a draft document in late August setting out seven rough options for a finance deal, laying bare the conflicting positions between nations.
UK PM Starmer says first budget won’t undermine growth goal
- Ahead of that budget, Starmer said that, while dealing with that black hole was essential for creating the stability necessary for growth, all decisions would be made against the objective of growth
ROME: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government’s first budget next month wouldn’t take steps that undermine his goal to generate growth, but warned that unfunded spending commitments could damage the economy.
Elected in July, Starmer has said he has a dire inheritance left by the previous Conservative administration, and new finance minister Rachel Reeves has warned that taxes are likely to rise in her first budget on Oct. 30 because of what she said was a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) black hole in the public finances.
Ahead of that budget, Starmer said that, while dealing with that black hole was essential for creating the stability necessary for growth, all decisions would be made against the objective of growth.
“If it promotes economic growth, it’s in the Yes column; if it inhibits economic growth, then it’s in the No column,” Starmer told reporters on a trip to Italy on Monday.
“And because I believe that stability is vital for economic growth — I don’t think we’re going to get economic growth if we don’t stabilize the economy — we’re going to do the really hard stuff now.”
Labour has committed to a fiscal rule that day-to-day costs are met by revenues and debt must be falling as a share of the economy within five years under a budget’s forecast.
Asked if he would tweak fiscal rules to promote growth, amid concern from some economists about underinvestment in the economy, Starmer said it was a matter for the budget but strong fiscal rules were important.
“I’ve always thought it’s important to borrow to invest,” Starmer said, though he warned he didn’t want a repeat of the unfunded budget measures that sparked a crisis that forced Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss from office in 2022.
“Unfunded commitments for spending are just as bad (as unfunded tax cuts) and likely to have the same impact on the economy.” ($1 = 0.7573 pound)
Climate change will escalate child health crisis due to malnutrition, says Gates
- “Around 90 percent of the negative effect of climate change works through the food system. Where you have years where your crops basically fail because of drought or too much rain,” he said
LONDON: Malnutrition is the world’s worst child health crisis and climate change will only make things more severe, according to Microsoft-co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates.
Between now and 2050, 40 million more children will have stunted growth and 28 million more will suffer from wasting, the most extreme and irreversible forms of malnutrition, as a result of climate change, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said in a report on Tuesday.
“Unless you get the right food, broadly, both in utero and in your early years, you can never catch up,” Gates told Reuters in an online interview last week, referring to a child’s physical and mental capacity, both of which are held back by a lack of good nutrition. Children without enough of the right food are also more vulnerable to diseases like measles and malaria, and early death.
“Around 90 percent of the negative effect of climate change works through the food system. Where you have years where your crops basically fail because of drought or too much rain,” he said.
Gates was speaking ahead of the publication of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report, which tracks progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), around reducing poverty and improving health. The report includes the projections above.
In 2023, the World Health Organization estimated that 148 million children experienced stunting and 45 million experienced wasting.
Gates called for more funding for nutrition, particularly through a new platform led by UNICEF aiming to co-ordinate donor financing, the Child Nutrition Fund, as well as more research. But he said the money should not be taken away from other proven initiatives, like routine childhood vaccinations, for this purpose.
“(Nutrition) was under-researched ... it’s eye-opening how important this is,” he added, saying initiatives like food fortification or improving access to prenatal multi-vitamins could be as effective as some vaccines in improving child health in the world’s poorest countries.
The Gates Foundation said in January it plans to spend more on global health this year than ever before — $6.8 billion – as wider funding efforts stall.
Large turnout is expected in a crucial vote for local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir
- Many people boycotted elections for decades in protest against Indian rule
SRINAGAR: In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many people boycotted elections for decades in protest against Indian rule. But in the run-up to the local election beginning Wednesday, many are willing to buck that trend and use their vote to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party the power to form a local government in the disputed region.
The vote is the first in a decade, and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in 2019 scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s special status and downgraded the former state to a federally governed territory. The move — which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in the region as an assault on its identity and autonomy.
“Boycotts will not work in this election,” said Abdul Rashid, a resident in southern Kashmir’s Shangus village. “There is a desperate need to end the onslaught of changes coming from there (India).”
The election will allow residents to have their own truncated government and a local parliament called an assembly, instead of remaining under New Delhi’s direct rule. The region’s last assembly election was held in 2014, after which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party for the first time ruled the region in a coalition with the local Peoples Democratic Party.
But the government collapsed in 2018 after BJP withdrew from the coalition. Polls in the past have been marked with violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism.
This time, New Delhi says the polls are ushering in democracy after more than three decades of strife. However, many locals see the vote as an opportunity not only to elect their own representatives but also to register their protest against the 2019 changes.
Polling will be held in three phases. The second and third phases are scheduled for Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. Votes will be counted on Oct. 8, with results expected that day.
Kashmir is divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Since 1947, the neighbors have fought two wars over its control, after British rule of the subcontinent ended with the creation of the two countries. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.
In 2019, the Indian-controlled part of the region was divided into two territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, ruled directly by New Delhi. The region has been on edge since it lost its flag, criminal code, constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs.
Multiple pro-India Kashmiri parties, many of whose leaders were among thousands jailed in 2019, are contesting the election, promising to reverse those changes. Some lower-rung separatist leaders, who in the past dismissed polls as illegitimate exercises under military occupation, are also running for office as independent candidates.
India’s main opposition Congress party, which favors restoration of the region’s statehood, has formed an alliance with the National Conference, the region’s largest party. Modi’s BJP has a strong political base in Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu that largely favor the 2019 changes but is weak in the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of anti-India rebellion.
“Our main concern is governance through local representatives. It will be good for us if the BJP forms the government here as it’s already in power at the center,” said Chuni Lal, a shopkeeper in Jammu city.
The vote will see a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the local assembly, with a chief minister at the top heading a council of ministers. But Kashmir will continue to be a “Union Territory” — a region directly controlled by the federal government — with India’s Parliament remaining its main legislator.
The elected government will have partial control over areas like education, culture and taxation but not over the police. Kashmir’s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states in India. However, it will not have the special powers it enjoyed before the 2019 changes.
Last year, India’s Supreme Court endorsed the government’s 2019 changes but ordered New Delhi to conduct local polls by the end of September and restore Kashmir’s statehood. Modi’s government has promised to restore statehood after the polls but has not specified a timeline.
Elections in Indian-held Kashmir have remained a sensitive issue. Many believe they have been rigged multiple times in favor of local politicians who subsequently became India’s regional enforcers, used to incrementally dilute laws that offered Kashmir a special status and legitimize New Delhi’s militaristic policies.
In the mid-1980s, the region’s dissident political groups emerged as a formidable force against Kashmir’s pro-India political elite but lost the 1987 election widely believed to have been rigged. A public backlash followed, with some young activists taking up arms and demanding a united Kashmir, either under Pakistani rule or independent of both.
India insists the insurgency is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting, which most Kashmiri Muslims consider a legitimate freedom struggle.
Noor Ahmed Baba, a political scientist, said the outcome of the polls “is not going to change the dynamics of the Kashmir dispute” since it will end with a largely powerless legislature, but will be crucial for optics.
“If local parties win, it is going to put some pressure on the central government and perhaps delegitimize from a democratic perspective what has been done to Kashmir. But a BJP win can allow the party to consolidate and validate 2019 changes in the local legislature,” Baba said.
India’s ruling BJP is not officially aligned with any local party, but many politicians believe it is tacitly supporting some parties and independent candidates who privately agree with its stances.
The National Conference party says Modi’s BJP is trying to manipulate the election through independent candidates. “Their (BJP’s) concerted effort is to divide the vote in Kashmir,” said Tanvir Sadiq, a candidate from the National Conference.
The BJP’s national secretary, meanwhile, says his party’s former ally, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the National Conference are being supported by former militants. Ram Madhav said at a recent rally that they want to return the region to its “trouble-filled days.”
For residents whose civil liberties have been curbed, the election is also a chance to choose representatives they hope will address their main issues.
Many say that while the election won’t solve the dispute over Kashmir, it will give them a rare window to express their frustration with Indian control.
“We need some relief and end of bureaucratic rule here,” said Rafiq Ahmed, a taxi driver in the region’s main city of Srinagar.
