UN backs Turkiye, Ukraine in call for 120-day grain deal rollover

UN backs Turkiye, Ukraine in call for 120-day grain deal rollover
Grain farmer Oleksandr Klepach points at trenches in his field, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Snihurivka, southeast Ukraine. (File/Reuters)
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Updated 16 March 2023

UN backs Turkiye, Ukraine in call for 120-day grain deal rollover

UN backs Turkiye, Ukraine in call for 120-day grain deal rollover
  • Ukraine has so far exported nearly 25 million tons of mainly corn and wheat under the deal, UN says

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations backed Turkiye and Ukraine on Thursday by calling for a 120-day rollover of an agreement allowing the safe export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports after Russia said it would only extend the pact for 60 days.
The pact is due to expire on Saturday. It was brokered with Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkiye in July — and renewed in November — to combat a global food crisis that was fueled in part by Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of neighboring Ukraine and blockade of its Black Sea grain exports.
“For us, the text in the agreement is clear and it calls for a 120-day rollover,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters when asked about remarks by Turkiye.
Turkiye said on Wednesday that it would continue talks to extend the deal for 120 days rather than 60 days. Ukraine has also said the agreement should be renewed for 120 days.
“The deal is being extended for 60 days,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday, when asked to comment on Dujarric’s remarks.
The difference in the Russian and UN interpretation of the duration of the deal “may simply be a display of (the UN’s) incompetence,” she added.
Dujarric said later that “discussions are ongoing.” Senior UN and Russian officials met in Geneva on Monday.

SANCTIONS
While Russia has not specifically said why it only wants a 60-day renewal, it has complained that its own food and fertilizer exports are being hindered by Western sanctions.
To help persuade Russia to allow Ukraine to resume its Black Sea grain exports last year, a three-year deal was also struck in July in which the United Nations agreed to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Western powers have hit Russia with tough sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. While its food and fertilizer exports are not under sanctions, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance industries are a barrier to such shipments.
“Meaningful progress has been made but it is true that some obstacles remain, notably with regard to payment systems. Our efforts to overcome those obstacles will continue unabated,” Dujarric said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has so far exported nearly 25 million tons of mainly corn and wheat under the deal, according to the United Nations. The top primary destinations for shipments have been China, Italy, Spain, Turkiye and the Netherlands.
When asked on Thursday about Russia’s proposal for a 60-day extension, China — a strategic partner of Moscow — called for the deal to be implemented in a balanced and comprehensive manner. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also said China would like to strengthen communication with all parties and enhance global food security.


Bloody artwork protesting Prince Harry’s Afghan kills to be projected on London landmark

Bloody artwork protesting Prince Harry’s Afghan kills to be projected on London landmark
Updated 13 sec ago

Bloody artwork protesting Prince Harry’s Afghan kills to be projected on London landmark

Bloody artwork protesting Prince Harry’s Afghan kills to be projected on London landmark
  • Sculpture by Russian artist comes in response to royal’s claim he killed 25 Taliban fighters
  • Afghans in Calais donated blood for piece that will be projected onto St. Paul’s Cathedral

LONDON: A sculpture of the coat of arms of the British royal family, created with the blood of four Afghans, is to be “projected” onto the walls of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London by Russian artist Andrei Molodkin to protest Prince Harry’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

The prince’s recent memoir “Spare” caused significant controversy after he said in it that he had killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving as an attack helicopter pilot.

He added that the figure was “not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me,” and that he had thought of the fatalities as akin to taking “chess pieces.”

At the time, the claims prompted a backlash from many inside and outside Afghanistan, with the Taliban saying he should be put on trial.

Prince Harry later said the idea that he had boasted about killing Afghans was “a dangerous lie.”

Molodkin told Sky News that four Afghans currently based in the French city of Calais had voluntarily given their blood for the artwork, that five others living in the UK would donate more blood for it at a later stage, and that they, like him, were “very, very angry” about what the prince had written.

“They read they are just ‘chess figures’ ... for some prince hunting by helicopter,” Molodkin said. “It looked like a safari situation. How he told it, for him it’s like a computer game.”

Molodkin added that the aim was to “drench St. Paul’s Cathedral in the blood of Afghani people,” and that video footage of the prince would also be displayed.

Explaining how the art worked, he said: “Blood will go in the royal coat of arms, it will circulate in there. It will be projected ... on to the cathedral — so all the cathedral will be in the blood of Afghani people.”

Molodkin said he would also try to bring blood into the cathedral, adding: “It’s a cathedral — it’s for everyone. Everyone can come there and pray. Donating blood, it’s kind of a way of praying.” He has not sought the cathedral’s permission.

He said he has worked with human blood as a creative medium for 15 years, adding that it symbolizes power. “Then, the people who are abused by this power, I ask them to donate blood for this,” he said.

Molodkin’s solidarity with the Afghan people stems from his time in the Soviet Union, where he served as a soldier during his country’s occupation of Afghanistan.

“Even in the army, you’re scared to participate in the shooting of others … you’re very stressed,” he said of his experiences. “But (Harry) thinks it’s a video game.”

Molodkin lives in southern France after creating an art installation involving blood donated by Ukrainian soldiers depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I can’t go back to Russia,” he told Sky News.


Colombia police chief says used exorcism and prayer to fight crime

Colombia police chief says used exorcism and prayer to fight crime
Updated 38 min 22 sec ago

Colombia police chief says used exorcism and prayer to fight crime

Colombia police chief says used exorcism and prayer to fight crime
BOGOTA: Colombia’s chief of police said he and other officers have used exorcism and prayer to tackle crime and the country’s most powerful criminals, including drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar.
Sitting in his office surrounded by crucifixes, effigies of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic symbols, General Henry Sanabria told local media on Saturday that these religious practices have helped the police throughout the last 50 years of armed conflict in the South American country.
As examples, he recalled police operations in which Escobar (in 1993), FARC guerrilla leader Alfonso Cano (2011) and his military chief known as “Mono Jojoy” (2010) were killed.
“The existence of the devil is certain. I have seen him. I have felt him,” Sanabria said in an interview with Semana magazine, making the sign of the cross at every mention of the devil.
Sanabria claimed criminals used witchcraft, and said in one operation a police officer had been able to kill one of them by “praying while shooting.”
His statements have sparked fierce debates on social media in Colombia, a secular country with Catholic traditions.
President Gustavo Petro did not express concern.
“We know the beliefs of the general, but we try to make sure that these beliefs do not affect the rules, it is as simple as that,” he said. “I think he has respected them, as far as we know.”
Previous statements by the police chief have also caused controversy.
Sanabria has spoken against abortion, which is legal in Colombia until the 24th week of pregnancy, and the use of condoms, which he has called an “abortive method.”
Last October, he described Halloween as a “satanic” holiday and wrote a tweet about Women’s Day on March 8 that was accused of being sexist.
“A woman’s charm makes her husband happy and if she is reasonable, she makes it last. A discreet woman is a gift from the Lord,” he wrote.

Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance

Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance
Updated 26 March 2023

Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance

Putin: Russia, China not creating military alliance
  • Putin also said Western powers were trying to form more global alliances

MOSCOW: Russia and China are not creating a military alliance and are hiding nothing in terms of their military cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television broadcast on Sunday, news agencies reported.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping professed friendship and pledged closer ties at a summit in Moscow early this week, as Russia struggles to make gains in what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“We are not creating any military alliance with China,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying. “Yes, we have cooperation in the sphere of military-technical interaction. We are not hiding this.
“Everything is transparent, there is nothing secret.”
Putin also said Western powers were trying to form more global alliances, accusing the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of starting to build a new “axis,” bearing some resemblance to Germany, Italy and Japan’s World War Two alliance.
“That is why Western analysts...are talking about the West starting to build a new axis similar to the one created in the 1930s by the fascist regimes of Germany and Italy and militarist Japan,” Putin said.


Two dead after shooting in Hamburg; investigation ongoing

Two dead after shooting in Hamburg; investigation ongoing
Updated 26 March 2023

Two dead after shooting in Hamburg; investigation ongoing

Two dead after shooting in Hamburg; investigation ongoing
  • Spokesperson declined to comment on the perpetrator

FRANKFURT: Two people have died after a shooting in Hamburg, police said on Sunday, in a second deadly shooting in the city this month.
Police said they had concluded an operation and were now investigating. A spokesperson declined to comment on the perpetrator.
Bild reported that the police were called shortly before midnight and that 28 vehicles rushed to the scene.


Arab nations warn against rising Islamophobia following Qur’an burning in Denmark

Arab nations warn against rising Islamophobia following Qur’an burning in Denmark
Updated 26 March 2023

Arab nations warn against rising Islamophobia following Qur’an burning in Denmark

Arab nations warn against rising Islamophobia following Qur’an burning in Denmark
  • Extremists protrested outside the Turkish embassy also in January
  • Arab nations call on international community to hold hate crime offenders to account

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has condemned Friday’s burning of the Qur’an and Turkish flag by Islamophobic extremists in Denmark.

The Kingdom was joined by Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar that spoke out against the acts by the extremists, saying the actions provoked hatred against Muslims – especially during Ramadan.

Far-right anti-Muslim group Patrioterne Gar Live broadcast footage on Facebook of supporters carrying banners with Islamophobic messages as they burned a copy of the Qur’an and the Turkish flag in front of the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced the incident as a “hate crime” adding that it would never accept such “vile actions being allowed under the guise of freedom of expression,” Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported.

And the ministry called on the Danish authorities to take action against those responsible and to ensure further incidents did not happen “that threaten social harmony and peaceful coexistence,” the report added.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates spokesperson Sinan Majali, said the act incited hatred and racism.

“Burning the Holy Qur’an is a serious act of hate and a manifestation of Islamophobia that incites violence and insults to religions and cannot be considered a form of freedom of expression at all,” Majali said in a statement.

The statement went on to urge the Danish authorities to prevent a repeat of such actions that “fuel violence and hatred and threaten peaceful coexistence.”

Meanwhile in a statement on the Kuwait Foreign Ministry warned that the burning of the Qur’an risked provoking an angry backlash from Muslims around the globe.

The ministry called for the perpetrators to held accountable, making sure that “freedom of expression is not used to offend Islam or any other religion.”

And Qatar condemned in the “strongest terms” the burning of a copy of the Qur’an, warning that the latest incident represented a “dangerous escalation” of incidents targeting Muslims.

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the burning of the Qur’an under the claim of freedom of expression “threatens the values of peaceful coexistence, and reveals abhorrent double standards.”

The ministry reaffirmed Qatar’s rejection of “all forms of hate speech based on belief, race or religion.”

The Qatari foreign ministry called on the international community to “reject hatred, discrimination, incitement and violence, underlining the importance of upholding the principles of dialogue and mutual understanding.”