World

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– Ukrainian strike in Russia: local governor –

Ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in Russia’s western town of Belgorod, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border, according to the local governor. 

“There was a fire at the petrol depot because of an air strike carried out by two Ukrainian army helicopters, who entered Russian territory at a low altitude,” Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel.

On Wednesday, explosions could be heard from an arms depot in Belgorod but the authorities did not provide any explanation for the blasts.

– EU to urge China rethink on Russia –

The EU is set to hold a virtual summit with China against a backdrop of increasing alarm over Beijing’s growing proximity with Moscow and its reluctance to condemn its invasion of Ukraine.

French European affairs minister Clement Beaune says the meeting will notably include “the role we are urging China to play.” 

– US warns India on Moscow links –

The US has warned India over its close Moscow links after Delhi abstained from UN resolutions censuring Russia over Ukraine.

India continues to buy Russian oil from its “longstanding and time-tested friend” but Daleep Singh, Washington’s chief sanctions strategist, has been quoted as saying on an India visit that Delhi cannot rely on Russia when it comes to relations with China.

“Russia is going to be the junior partner in this relationship with China. And the more leverage that China gains over Russia, the less favourable that is for India,” Indian media quoted Singh as saying.

– Russia preparing ‘powerful strikes’: Kyiv –

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is warning that Russia is consolidating and preparing “powerful strikes” in the country’s east and south, including besieged Mariupol, where a new attempt was due to be made Friday to evacuate civilians from the devastated city.

NATO also says it is not seeing a pull-back of Russian forces in Ukraine and expects “additional offensive actions”, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg warns.

– EU parliament leader visiting Kyiv –

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola says she is on her way to Ukraine, making her the first EU leader to visit the war-torn country.

– Russia leaving Chernobyl with hostages –

Russian forces have begun to pull out of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power site and move towards Belarus, but took an unspecified number of captive Ukrainian servicemen with them, officials in Kyiv say.  

– Putin may be ‘isolated’: Biden –

US President Joe Biden says that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may be “isolated” and could have placed some of his advisors under “house arrest”.

In his first public remarks on Western assessments of Kremlin tensions over the war in Ukraine, Biden also says he is “sceptical” about Moscow’s claim to be scaling back its onslaught in parts of the country.

– New gas war front –

Putin says “unfriendly” countries, including all EU members, must set up ruble accounts to pay for gas deliveries from April, or “existing contracts would be stopped”. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists payments continue in euros or dollars, while France says Paris and Berlin are preparing for a cut in Russian gas deliveries.

– Buses en route to Mariupol – 

Ukraine’s government is sending 45 buses to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, where Russia has declared a local ceasefire following a global outcry over the suffering of civilians trapped by a month of relentless shelling.

– ‘Longer’ conflict possible: US –

Russia’s refocusing of its military efforts on the Donbas could herald a “longer, more prolonged conflict” as Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance there, a senior US defence official says.

“It’s been fought over now for eight years,” the official says of the heavily contested region.

– Putin ratings up –

Putin’s ratings have received a boost since the start of military actions in Ukraine, Russia’s independent Levada Centre polling institute says, with more than 80 percent of Russians saying they support his actions.

The first poll the centre has conducted since the conflict began shows 83 percent of Russians back their leader, up from 71 percent in early February.

– Biden taps oil reserves –

Biden announces an unprecedented release of crude from US strategic oil reserves, saying it will “ease the pain” of rising fuel prices for Americans.

– New US sanctions –

The United States hits a series of Russian tech firms with sanctions, including the nation’s largest chip maker Mikron.

– Russia bans EU leaders – 

Russia says it will expand the list of EU figures banned from entering the country following Western sanctions.

burs/cdw/kjm

Golden butterflies adorn the walls of the Netherland’s only euthanasia expertise centre, put up in remembrance of thousands of patients who have chosen to die with dignity over the past two decades.

Situated in a leafy upmarket suburb of The Hague, the Euthanasia Expertise Centre is the only one of its kind, giving information, assisting medical doctors and providing euthanasia as end-of-life care, which was legalised in a world first in the Netherlands on April 1, 2002. 

Belgium soon followed later that year and Spain last year became the sixth country to adopt euthanasia — the act of intentionally ending a life to relieve a person’s suffering, for instance through a lethal injection given by a doctor.

The number of people seeking euthanasia is growing in the Netherlands, with some 7,666 last year, up by more than 10 percent from the year before, according to official figures.

The vast majority are aged 60 or over, suffering from cancer or other terminal illnesses.

“Twenty years ago, when the law was passed it was known, but certainly not used as often as today,” said Sonja Kersten, director of the Euthanasia Expertise Centre.

The reasons are many: an ageing Dutch population; the fact that euthanasia is no longer a taboo subject and society has opened up to the issue.

“Dying with dignity is a debate that’s growing within Dutch society, which is quite open to the subject,” Kersten said.

– ‘Existential question’ –

Euthanasia is only authorised in a few countries around the world. 

In Belgium, which will mark two decades of euthanasia in May, some 40 French citizens also benefitted from the practice last year.

The decision to ask for euthanasia as end-of-life care remains a “difficult and existential question”, Kersten said.

“It’s neither a patient’s right, nor a doctor’s duty,” to have euthanasia, she added.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia can only be carried out under strict conditions set down in Dutch law.

Children aged up to 16 need the permission of their parents and guardians, while parents must be involved in the process for children aged 16 and 17. From 18, any Dutch citizen may ask for assisted death. 

In all cases, the patient must have “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement” and must have requested to die in a way that is “voluntary, well considered and with full conviction”. 

Other criteria apply as well, like the absence of a reasonable alternative to the patient’s situation.

Doctors, too, cannot be forced to perform euthanasia.

– ‘Die at home’ –

The Euthanasia Expertise Centre helps doctors through the process by sharing knowledge and providing guidance. At the same time, the centre helps patients whose doctors refuse to help them.

The centre, established in 2012, is a foundation but patient care is reimbursed by health insurers.

It first positioned itself as the “Levenseindekliniek”, Dutch for “End-of-life clinic”, offering on-site euthanasia.

But even before the start, it became apparent that most patients preferred to die at home, Kersten said.

Today, the centre can call upon a network of about 140 doctors and nurses around the country, employed by the Euthanasia Expertise Centre.

Most euthanasia requests, however, are handled by the patient’s own physician, with whom they already have a relationship of trust. Last year, this was the case for 80 percent of euthanasias performed in the country.

“There are however still doctors in the Netherlands who are opposed to euthanasia,” said Kersten, adding “they have every right”.

The centre’s medical team itself provided euthanasia to nearly 900 people in 2020, out of nearly 3,000 requests, with figures on the rise.

About 20 percent had dementia or psychiatric disorders.

The Netherlands’ highest court ruled in 2020 that doctors can euthanise patients with severe dementia without the fear of prosecution. 

It concerns patients with advanced dementia who are no longer mentally competent, but who previously had a clear request for euthanasia.

The decision followed a landmark case, not related to the Expertise centre, in which a doctor was acquitted of providing euthanasia on a woman in 2016 with severe Alzheimer’s disease, who earlier requested the procedure.

Anger is boiling over in Sri Lanka at the country’s worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, much of it directed at the island nation’s all-powerful Rajapaksa family.

Late Thursday hundreds of people tried to storm the home of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the current president and one of four politically active brothers. In a night of violence one person was injured and 45 were arrested.

AFP profiles the clan, which has held sway over the nation’s politics for decades and which returned to power after a brief hiatus in 2019 when Gotabaya was elected president.

– ‘The Chief’ –

Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, is the charismatic head of the group and the current prime minister. He previously held the post in 2004, and was then president from 2005 to 2015.

Gotabaya appointed him to the prime ministership a second time three years ago.

Mahinda is adored by the Sinhala-Buddhist majority for crushing separatist Tamil rebels in May 2009 following a brutal military offensive that ended a decades-long civil war.

The bloody final weeks of the civil war ended with — according to UN estimates — the deaths of around 40,000 civilians, who were herded into so-called no-fire zones that were then bombed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

Rajapaksa denied the toll and refused an international probe into alleged atrocities. A series of local enquiries have failed to yield either a proper war crimes investigation or prosecutions. 

During his rule Sri Lanka also moved closer to China, borrowing almost $7 billion for infrastructure projects — many of which turned into white elephants mired in corruption.

Critics say he also did little to bridge the divide with Sri Lanka’s Tamils after the war. The community is barred from commemorating their war dead and remain largely marginalised.

– ‘The Terminator’ –

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 72, was Mahinda’s main lieutenant during his time as head of state, holding the influential post of secretary to the defence ministry with day-to-day control of the armed forces and police.

He denies accusations that he was behind death squads that abducted and “disappeared” dozens of opponents in notorious white vans.

Dubbed “The Terminator” by his own family, he is feared by foes for his short temper.

As president he has presided over Sri Lanka’s spiralling economic crisis.

A dire shortage of foreign currency — needed to pay down Sri Lanka’s debt — forced the government to ban swathes of imports, causing severe shortages of essentials.

Sri Lanka’s heavily tourism-dependent economy was first hit by the Easter Sunday Islamist attacks of 2019 and then torpedoed by Covid.

But many experts say that economic mismanagement by the Rajapaksas is also to blame including years of chronic budget deficits and ill-advised tax cuts.

– ‘Mr. Ten Percent’ –

Basil Rajapaksa, 70, is a political strategist who managed the economy under Mahinda and is now finance minister.

He was called “Mr. Ten Percent” in a BBC interview in reference to commissions he allegedly took from government contracts.

Subsequent administrations failed to prove any charges he syphoned off millions of dollars from state coffers. All cases against him have been dropped since Gotabaya became president.

– ‘The Bodyguard’ –

Chamal Rajapaksa, 79, was speaker of parliament when Mahinda was president and is also a former minister of shipping and aviation. He currently holds the irrigation portfolio and is number two in the defence department under Gotabaya, who is also defence minister. 

Formerly a police officer, he once served as a personal bodyguard to Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world’s first woman prime minister.

– The Scion –

Namal Rajapaksa, 35, a lawyer, is the scion of the family dynasty and the eldest son of Mahinda, who is thought to be grooming him to be president one day.

He entered parliament in 2010 aged just 24, and is now minister for sports and youth.

During his father’s decade in power, Namal was highly influential although he did not hold any portfolio.

A rival former administration accused him of money laundering and other corruption charges, which he denies.

Singapore fully reopened its borders to all vaccinated visitors Friday after a two-year coronavirus closure, with arrivals saying it felt “wonderful” to travel again without onerous restrictions.

The aviation hub, a key gateway for people arriving in Asia, joins other countries in the region that have recently dropped travel curbs as they shift to living with Covid-19. 

Previously, only travellers from a handful of places could enter Singapore without quarantining but from Friday all vaccinated arrivals just need a negative Covid test.

The city-state’s Changi Airport buzzed with activity as passengers streamed out of the arrival area, while hundreds were lining up in the departure zone to make trips outside Singapore.

“It’s wonderful,” Aldo Pizzini, a 63-year-old Italian businessman who had flown in from Milan, told AFP. 

“I took the first opportunity to fly today, (now) that much of the restrictions are lifted… We are coming back to normality.”

Diana Mathias, who is from French Guiana and lives in Abu Dhabi, was visiting Singapore for a holiday with her mother. 

“I feel really happy because it’s a long time since I flew,” she said. 

The 38-year-old said she was a “bit stressed” at the prospect of doing a lot of paperwork to travel again but in the end found the process “really easy”.

Borders also reopened fully in neighbouring Malaysia on Friday, and thousands of cars and motorcycles flooded across a one-kilometre (0.6 mile) causeway that separates it from Singapore. 

The causeway, one of the world’s busiest land borders, had already partially reopened last year although some curbs were still in place.  

The main airport serving Kuala Lumpur was busy as foreign tourists arrived. 

Previously tourists were barred from entering Malaysia, a popular destination due to its white-sand beaches and lush rainforests, but vaccinated travellers can now do so with only a negative Covid test. 

Bo Lingam — group CEO of leading regional carrier AirAsia, which is based in Malaysia — predicted a “surge” in people flying. 

The reopening of borders is “a joy for me and our AirAsia staff who had to face a lot of hardship during the pandemic”, he told AFP. 

“From today, it is all about flying the blue skies and an end to our planes sitting on the tarmac.”

Shanghai residents voiced growing frustration on Friday at confusion over a week of snap Covid lockdowns, taking to social media to complain about food shortages and bewildering stay-at-home orders.

After initially vowing they would avoid a city-wide lockdown, officials changed tack this week and announced a phased shutdown which divided China’s financial centre in two so authorities can test its 25 million residents.

A four-day lockdown of the Pudong area began on Monday, followed by stay-at-home orders for the densely populated Puxi zone which was meant to start on Friday.

But many Puxi neighbourhoods were suddenly ordered inside early on Thursday, while much of Pudong was still closed on Friday, angering residents on both sides.

“This is de facto city-wide lockdown,” one Weibo user said. “Many Pudong streets and compounds are still in lockdown, few are lifted.”

Authorities late Thursday published a bewildering “grid management” plan for reopening, which would keep all residential compounds where a positive test is found closed, as well as the “cells” next to them. 

The restrictions have led to panic buying at shops as well as a dire shortage of delivery drivers to get food to the millions now trapped at home.

“Is this continuing lockdown aiming to starve us?” another poster on Weibo said, calling government promises so far “window dressing”. 

Residents of some compounds have skirted restrictions by taking deliveries attached to ropes lowered to the ground, according to AFP reporters.

As patience starts to fray in Shanghai among a public who have broadly acquiesced with virus controls for two years, leading city official Ma Chunlei on Thursday made a rare admission of failure, saying the city was “insufficiently prepared” for the outbreak.

With an infection level of several thousand cases a day, Shanghai has become the heart of China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since the virus was first detected in Wuhan in 2019. 

The country reported 7,386 virus cases nationwide on Friday.

While tiny compared with many countries, the case numbers are alarming to China’s leadership, who have tethered the country to a “zero-Covid” approach to contain the pandemic. 

burs-apj/reb

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia is consolidating and preparing “powerful strikes” in the country’s east and south, including besieged Mariupol, where a new attempt will be made Friday to evacuate civilians from the devastated city.

Russia meanwhile threatened to turn off its gas taps to Europe if payments are not made in rubles, as US President Joe Biden ordered a record release of strategic oil reserves to ease soaring US prices.

In peace talks this week, Russia said it would scale back attacks on the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv, but Ukrainian and Western officials have dismissed the pledge, saying Moscow’s troops were merely regrouping.

“This is part of their tactics,” said Zelensky in a late-night address.

“We know that they are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important… where it can be difficult for us,” he said.

In particular, he warned, the situation in the country’s south and east was “very difficult”.

“In Donbas and Mariupol, in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army is accumulating the potential for attacks, powerful attacks,” he said.

Washington echoed that assessment, with a senior US defence official saying Russia’s focus on Donbas could herald a “longer, more prolonged conflict”.

Military experts believe that Moscow is ditching efforts to advance simultaneously along multiple axes in the north, east and south, after struggling to overcome stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance.

Instead it wants to establish a long-sought land link between Crimea, which Moscow occupied in 2014, and the two Russian-backed Donbas statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk.

– ‘Civilians desperately wanting to flee’ –

Mariupol is the main remaining obstacle to that ambition, and Russian forces have encircled and relentlessly bombarded the city to try to capture it.

Instead, it has been reduced to rubble, with tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside with little food, water or medicine.

Previous attempts to evacuate residents have collapsed, though some have made the dangerous dash to freedom alone, but on Friday Russia says it will allow a humanitarian corridor organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The ICRC’s Ukraine delegation said on Twitter it was in nearby Zaporizhzhia, where buses from the encircled city are meant to arrive.

“We hope to be able to facilitate safe passage for civilians desperately wanting to flee Mariupol. We are also here with two trucks of assistance, hoping that we can also get assistance in,” the organisation’s Lucile Marbeau said in a video.

“In these trucks there is food, medicine, relief items, for those civilians who decide to stay,” she added.

Russia has moved about 20 percent of its troops from around Kyiv but its strikes have continued and troops are likely “going to be repositioned, probably into Belarus, to be refitted and resupplied and used elsewhere in Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Russian troops have also pulled back from the Chernobyl nuclear plant after weeks of occupation, but have taken a number of captive Ukrainian servicemen with them, according to officials in Kyiv.

And in a sign that the war could be expanding in scope, a Russian official said Friday that Ukrainian helicopters had carried out a strike on a fuel depot in the Russian town of Belgorod, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

Western intelligence has claimed Putin’s advisors may be “afraid to tell him the truth” and Biden suggested some advisors may even have been placed under house arrest, though he cautioned “there’s a lot of speculation.”

– ‘I hope all this will end soon’ –

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back, saying Western officials “don’t understand President Putin, they don’t understand the mechanism for taking decisions and they don’t understand the style of our work”.

With his economy crippled by unprecedented international sanctions, Putin has sought to leverage Russia’s status as an energy power, and warned Thursday that EU members will need to set up ruble accounts from Friday to pay for his country’s gas.

“If such payments are not made, we will consider this a breach of obligations on the part of our buyers” and existing contracts would be stopped, Putin said.

The EU has joined the United States in imposing sanctions, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected in Kyiv soon in a show of support.

But the bloc has not imposed an energy embargo, and Germany, which imported 55 percent of its gas supplies from Russia before the war, insisted it will pay in euros or dollars as stipulated in contracts.

Berlin and Paris were also “preparing” for Russian gas to simply stop flowing, France’s economy minister said.

Biden meanwhile moved to mitigate rising domestic fuel prices by announcing a release from strategic US reserves of a million barrels daily for six months.

The record release amounts to augmenting global supplies by about one percent.

Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials were expected to resume via video on Friday, with Kyiv negotiator David Arakhamia saying Turkey and Germany had offered to serve as security guarantors in any eventual agreement.

On the ground around Kyiv, Ukrainian forces have continued to push back Russian troops, capturing territory on the outskirts of the capital as Moscow’s advance stalls.

Zelensky praised the advances, but said he was stripping two generals of their ranks for unspecified offences.

“Right now I don’t have time to deal with all the traitors, but gradually all of them will be punished,” he said.

Civilians have been trickling out of devastated areas, including three-year-old Karolina Tkachenko, who was helped over a pipeline east of Kyiv by Ukrainian troops as she and her family escaped.

“The shops are closed, there’s no delivery of supplies. The bridge is also blown up, we can’t go for the groceries through there,” said her mother Karina, holding her daughter in a pink bobble hat in her arms.

“I hope all this will end soon, and I will go back to my work.”

burs-sah/oho