MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine under external governance under the UN aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leader’s determination to achieve his war goals.
Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks broadcast early Friday, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal.
Under Ukraine’s constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law.
Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance.
“Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that it would allow the country to “hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty.”
He added that such external governance is just “one of the options,” without elaborating.
‘They’re playing for time’
Putin’s remarks came hours after the conclusion of a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron that considered plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to cement an eventual peace deal. Macron said “several” other nations want to be part of the force alongside France and Britain.
Russia has warned it wouldn’t accept any troops from NATO members as part of a prospective peacekeeping force.
Macron and other participants of the Paris summit on Thursday accused Russia of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement.
“They are playing games and they’re playing for time,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We can’t let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion.”
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a tentative U.S-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, but quickly accused each other of violations, underscoring the challenges to negotiating a broader peace.
Drone attacks continue
Russia launched 163 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine late Thursday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said that 89 of them were downed and 51 more jammed.
The drones damaged multiple residential buildings and injured a 19-year-old in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Poltava, drones damaged warehouses, administrative building, and a high-voltage transformer, according to regional head Volodymyr Kohut.
Damage to buildings and infrastructure facilities was also reported by the authorities in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions.
Ukraine’s state-run gas company, Naftogaz, said Friday that its facilities came under Russian fire without specifying its time and location.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces struck a gas metering station in Sudzha in the Kursk region with US-made HIMARS rockets, completely destroying the facility. It said another Ukrainian strike on an energy facility in Russia’s Bryansk region led to a power cutoff, and added that air defenses downed 19 Ukrainian drones that attempted to strike an oil refinery in Saratov.
The ministry said the continuing strikes show that Kyiv’s pledge of adherence to a US-proposed halt on strikes on energy facilities was just “another ruse by Zelensky to prevent the collapse of Ukrainian defenses and to restore military potential with the help of European allies.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy assets was a sign that Zelensky can’t control his military.
“The Ukrainian armed forces aren’t following orders from the country’s leadership and are continuing attempts to strike Russia’s energy infrastructure,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
He said that Russia will continue sticking to the halt on strikes on energy facilities but reserves the right to opt out of the deal if violations continue.
‘Strictly adhering to agreements’
Ukraine’s military rejected Russia’s claims of Ukrainian strikes on energy facilities as fake, aimed at “discrediting Ukraine and the diplomatic efforts of Ukraine and its partners.”
“We emphasize that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are strictly adhering to the agreements reached with partners to stop strikes on energy facilities,” the General Staff said, emphasizing that the military only has struck Russia’s military targets.
It also accused Russia of violating the “energy ceasefire,” saying that it has struck energy infrastructure in the city of Kherson and Poltava region of Ukraine over the last 24 hours.
“The Russian tactic of dragging out the war remains unchanged,” Ukraine’s General Staff said.
While Ukraine has agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire that US President Donald Trump has proposed, Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine’s military mobilization — demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.
Russia’s battlefield gains
Russian troops have made slow but steady gains in several sectors of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 620-mile) frontline, and Zelensky warned Thursday that Russia was trying to drag out talks in preparation for bigger offensives.
Putin declared in overnight remarks that the Russian troops have “gained steam” and “are holding strategic initiative all along the line of contact.”
He noted that Russia is open to a peaceful settlement, but emphasized the need to “remove root causes that led to the current situation.”
“We certainly need to ensure Russia’s security for a long historic perspective,” he said.
Putin has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions Moscow has partially seized. He also wants Ukraine to renounce joining NATO, sharply cut its army and legally protect Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscow’s orbit.
Russian officials also have said that any prospective peace deal should involve unfreezing Russian assets in the West and lifting other US and European Union sanctions. The Trump administration has said it would consider potential sanctions relief.
Putin suggests putting Ukraine under UN-sponsored external governance, boasts battlefield gains
https://arab.news/g3den
Putin suggests putting Ukraine under UN-sponsored external governance, boasts battlefield gains
- Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal
- He added that such external governance is just “one of the options,” without elaborating
Senior official says Home Office staff alarmed by ‘absurd’ Palestine Action ban
- A senior Home Office official, speaking anonymously, said concern over the decision was widespread within the department
LONDON: A senior British civil servant has described a “tense atmosphere” inside the Home Office department following Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s recent announcement that the protest group Palestine Action is to be banned under anti-terror laws, it was reported on Saturday.
Cooper on Monday confirmed plans to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act, a move that would make membership or support a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
It would mark the first time a non-violent protest movement is classified alongside banned terrorist organizations such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda and some far-right groups.
A senior Home Office official, speaking anonymously, said concern over the decision was widespread within the department, The Guardian newspaper reported.
“My colleagues and I were shocked by the announcement,” they said.
“All week, the office has been a very tense atmosphere, charged with concern about treating a non-violent protest group the same as actual terrorist organisations like Isis (Daesh), and the dangerous precedent this sets.
“From desk to desk, colleagues are exchanging concerned and bemused conversations about how absurd this is and how impossible it will be to enforce. Are they really going to prosecute as terrorists everyone who expresses support for Palestine Action’s work to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel as it commits war crimes?
“It’s ridiculous and it’s being widely condemned in anxious conversations internally as a blatant misuse of anti-terror laws for political purposes to clamp down on protests which are affecting the profits of arms companies,” they added.
The decision to proscribe comes after four people were arrested following a break-in at RAF Brize Norton airbase, where Palestine Action activists sprayed red paint on two military aircraft.
The group said the protest was in response to Britain’s role in “sending military cargo, flying spy planes over Gaza and refuelling US and Israeli fighter jets.”
In a statement, Cooper said the protest was part of a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action.”
Palestine Action responded by saying: “Proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws — it’s about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine.”
The move comes amid wider civil service unrest over UK policy on Gaza.
Earlier this month, more than 300 Foreign Office officials signed a letter warning the government risked complicity in Israeli war crimes.
In response, the department’s top civil servants told signatories: “If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.”
The proscription order will be laid before Parliament on Monday and could come into effect by the end of the week.
When asked for comment by The Guardian, the Home Office referred to Cooper’s original statement.
Philippines’ financial center taps tourism department to become halal hub
- New agreement to help implement standards across city’s hotels, restaurants
- Makati City, perceived as trendsetter, aims to influence other regions
MANILA: Philippine business leaders in Makati City are collaborating with the Department of Tourism to make the country’s financial center an all-encompassing halal hub for both trade and tourism, the head of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Makati chapter said on Saturday.
Makati City in Metro Manila is popularly known as the Philippines’ central business district, hosting the highest concentration of banks and corporations in the country, as well as foreign embassies.
For the last few years, the predominantly Catholic Philippines — where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the nearly 120 million population — has been working to raise 230 billion pesos ($4 billion) in investments and generate around 120,000 jobs by expanding its domestic halal industry by 2028.
The DoT signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement with PCCI Makati to pool efforts and encourage the implementation of halal standards across hotels and restaurants in the city, as part of an effort to attract Muslim tourists.
“The memorandum signed yesterday with DoT is really to encourage the local establishments in Makati City to participate or embrace the halal standards,” PCCI Makati President Nunnatus Cortez told Arab News.
“These are the initial steps to turn the city into a halal hub; that’s the main objective.”
PCCI Makati has been a leading figure in efforts to make the city a halal hub.
Friday’s agreement follows a memorandum of understanding the chamber signed last year with the Department of Trade and Industry, which sought to position the city as a central point for innovation and business in the halal sector.
“Halal, after all, is now a way of life. From the DoT’s point of view, this is how we complete the loop — the entire ecosystem required to support both halal trade and tourism,” Cortez said.
Earlier this month the Philippines was recognized as a rising Muslim-friendly destination at the Halal in Travel Global Summit, after having achieved a similar feat in previous years. The country’s halal drive has included efforts to cater to Muslim tourists, by ensuring they have access to halal products and services.
Cortez believes Makati City is at an advantage to boost halal travel as it is the location of many foreign missions, including that of Muslim nations.
“Almost all Muslim embassies are in Makati. We know that foreign delegates, embassy staff, and even their citizens often visit here — and Makati is usually their starting point,” he said.
“What we’re doing now is trying to capture the attention of all Muslim embassies. If their VIPs or citizens come to Makati and make it their base for activities, then everything else will follow.”
He believes that efforts to turn Makati into a halal hub will have a ripple effect across the archipelago nation, as the city is widely perceived as a trendsetter for other regions in the Philippines.
He added: “If we can begin by making places like malls and hotels halal-compliant, that would already be a meaningful first step. We believe that whatever Makati does, other cities will follow its lead. That’s our mindset.”
Irish rap group Kneecap set to play at Glastonbury despite criticism from politicians
- Mo Chara has been charged under the Terrorism Act with support a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London
- Members of the group say they don’t support Hezbollah or Hamas, nor condone violence
PILTON, England: Irish-language rap group Kneecap is set to perform Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with support a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November. He is on unconditional bail ahead of a further court hearing in August.
The Belfast trio has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, but also criticized for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references and for political statements.
The band draws, often satirically, on the language and imagery of the Irish republican movement and Northern Ireland’s decades of violence. Videos have emerged allegedly showing the band shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and calling on people to kill lawmakers.
Members of the group say they don’t support Hezbollah or Hamas, nor condone violence. They have accused critics of trying to silence the band because of their support for the Palestinian cause throughout the war in Gaza.
Several Kneecap gigs have been canceled as a result of the controversy. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, when asked by a journalist, that it would not be “appropriate” for the festival to give Kneecap a platform.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the publicly funded BBC should not broadcast “Kneecap propaganda.”
The BBC, which airs many hours of Glastonbury performances, has not said whether it will show Kneecap’s set.
Some 200,000 ticket holders have gathered at Worthy Farm in southwest England for Britain’s most prestigious summer music festival, which features almost 4,000 performers on 120 stages. Headline acts performing over three days ending Sunday include Neil Young, Charli XCX, Rod Stewart, Busta Rhymes, Olivia Rodrigo and Doechii.
Glastonbury highlights on Friday included a performance from UK rockers The 1975, an unannounced set by New Zealand singer Lorde, a raucous reception for Gen X icon Alanis Morissette and an emotional return for Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, two years after he took a break from touring to adjust to the impact of the neurological condition Tourette syndrome.
Uganda’s president seeks a seventh term that would bring him closer to 5 decades in power
- Museveni first took power as head of a rebel force in 1986, he has been elected six times, though recent elections have been marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging
KAMPALA: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday sought nomination for a seventh term, a move that would bring him closer to five decades in power.
Museveni, 80, has defied calls for his retirement, as critics warn that he as veered into authoritarianism with virtually no opposition even within his ruling National Resistance Movement party.
He was welcomed by a large crowd of supporters as he went to collect nomination papers from the offices of the ruling party in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.
Museveni first took power as head of a rebel force in 1986. He has since been elected six times, though recent elections have been marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging. His main opponent in the last election was the popular entertainer known as Bobi Wine, who has also declared his candidacy in the polls set for January 2026.
Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has seen many associates jailed or go into hiding as security forces cracked down on opposition supporters.
Museveni has dismissed Wine as “an agent of foreign interests” who cannot be trusted with power. Wine has been arrested many times on various charges but has never been convicted. He insists he is running a nonviolent campaign.
Decades ago, Museveni himself had criticized African leaders who overstayed their welcome in office. In Uganda, lawmakers did the same thing for him when they jettisoned the last constitutional obstacle — age limits — for a possible life presidency. His son, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has asserted his wish to succeed his father, raising fears of hereditary rule.
A long-time opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been jailed since November over alleged treason charges his lawyers say are politically motivated. Besigye, a physician who retired from Uganda’s military at the rank of colonel, is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda’s most prominent opposition group.
The East African country has never seen a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Britain in 1962.
Belgrade braces for another anti-government protest, calling for an early parliamentary election
- Tensions have soared ahead of the protest organized by Serbia’s university students, a key force behind nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations that started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed
BELGRADE: Belgrade is bracing for yet another student-led protest on Saturday to pressure Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic to call for a snap parliamentary election after nearly eight months of rallies that have rattled his firm grip on power in the Balkan country.
Tensions have soared ahead of the protest organized by Serbia’s university students, a key force behind nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations that started after a renovated rail station canopy collapsed, killing 16 people on Nov. 1.
Many blamed the concrete roof crash on rampant government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects, leading to recurring mass protests.
Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have refused the demand for an early vote and accused protesters of planning to spur violence at orders from abroad, which they didn’t specify.
In a show of business as usual, the Serbian president handed out presidential awards in the capital to people, including artists and journalists, he deemed worthy, as his loyalists, camping in a park in central Belgrade, announced they would hold a “literary evening.”
“People need not worry — the state will be defended and thugs brought to justice,” Vucic told reporters on Saturday.
Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections are due in 2027.
Saturday marks St. Vitus Day, a religious holiday and the date when Serbs mark a 14th-century battle against Ottoman Turks in Kosovo that was the start of hundreds of years of Turkish rule, holding symbolic importance.
Police earlier this week arrested several people accused of allegedly plotting to overthrow the government and banned entry into the country to several people from Croatia and a theater director from Montenegro without explanation. Serbia’s railway company halted train service over an alleged bomb threat in what critics said was an apparent bid to prevent people from traveling to Belgrade for the rally.
Authorities made similar moves back in March, ahead of what was the biggest ever anti-government protest in the Balkan country, which drew hundreds of thousands of people.
Vucic’s loyalists then set up a camp in a park outside his office, which still stands. The otherwise peaceful gathering on March 15 came to an abrupt end when part of the crowd suddenly scattered in panic, triggering allegations that authorities used a sonic weapon against peaceful protesters, which they have denied.
Vucic, a former extreme nationalist, has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago. Though he formally says he wants Serbia to join the European Union, critics say Vucic has stifled democratic freedoms as he strengthened ties with Russia and China.
