Ukraine leader downplays loss of Avdiivka, seeks faster support

Ukraine leader downplays loss of Avdiivka, seeks faster support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) visits the frontline positions of Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk sector on Feb. 19, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Handout via AFP)
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Updated 22 February 2024
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Ukraine leader downplays loss of Avdiivka, seeks faster support

Ukraine leader downplays loss of Avdiivka, seeks faster support
  • Russian troops took control of Avdiivka last week in Moscow’s biggest battlefield gain since its forces captured Bakhmut last May
  • Zelensky pointed to earlier gains made by Ukraine forces, particularly in the northeastern Kharkiv region and destruction of Russian ships

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky downplayed Ukraine’s loss of the eastern town of Avdiivka to Russian forces and called for faster support from allies as the war against Russia neared the two-year mark, in comments broadcast on Wednesday.

Russian troops took control of Avdiivka last week in Moscow’s biggest battlefield gain since its forces captured Bakhmut last May. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin says Russia will press on with its drive through eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky, in excerpts from an interview with Fox News to be aired on Thursday, acknowledged that last year had been “complicated” for Ukraine, particularly as 2023 came to a close.
But, speaking in English, he pointed to earlier gains, particularly in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where the Fox interview took place.
“During these two years we got (back) part of the Kharkiv region. Now we are in this region ... and we unblocked the Black Sea. There are grain routes and we destroyed a lot of their ships of the Russian fleet,” Zelensky said.
“That is what we did over two years. And what they could do? Only this one place. But what for?“
Avdiivka lies 15 km (nine miles) northwest of the Russian-held main town of Donetsk region, also named Donetsk.
Russian analysts say its capture will keep Donetsk safe from Ukrainian shelling as Moscow considers how to pursue its drive to capture all of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In his comments, Zelensky expressed new discontent with the slowdown in Western aid for Ukraine’s war effort, without singling out the United States.
US President Joe Biden’s request to extend a big aid package has been held up by wrangling in the US Congress.
“We have to be more quick. That means to lose all the bureaucracy. Otherwise we will not have any chance,” he said.
The president acknowledged that finding an alternative to US support would not be easy.
“Of course, we will find. We will not stay in the same place. We have to survive. We have to find some parallel steps,” he said in the interview, conducted in part on a hospital ward.
“You understand that this help is crucial. So without it, sorry, we will have more and more such heroic guys who will be in the hospitals. If you don’t have a real defending shield and similar powerful artillery with rounds, of course you will lose people.”
The US Senate has passed a $95 billion aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, but House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to bring it up for a vote on the floor of the House.


Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing

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Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing

Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
The child was found in an overloaded dinghy when migrants issued a call for assistance on Saturday morning
The boat was carrying nearly 90 people and suffered engine failure off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France

CALAIS, France: A two-year-old child was crushed to death and several adult migrants died in two separate tragedies overnight when their overcrowded boats tried to cross the Channel to Britain, French officials said Saturday.
The child was found in an overloaded dinghy when migrants issued a call for assistance on Saturday morning. The boat was carrying nearly 90 people and suffered engine failure off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.
Citing initial information, regional prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said the child was “crushed” to death.
Fourteen other migrants were picked up by French authorities including a 17-year-old teenager who had to be hospitalized with burns to his legs, officials said. The other passengers continued their journey.
French authorities say they seek to stop people taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.
Another boat overcrowded with migrants also suffered engine failure off the coast of Calais, leading to panic. Some migrants fell into the sea and were rescued.
Three people — two men and a woman aged around 30 — were then discovered unconscious at the bottom of the boat, Pas-de-Calais regional prefect Jacques Billant told reporters.
The three were “probably crushed, suffocated and drowned” in the water at the bottom of the boat, added the prefect.
The interior ministers of France and Britain condemned the “appalling” tragedies.
“A child was trampled to death in a boat,” France’s hard-line interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X, adding that several other people had died in the “appalling tragedy.”
“The smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these gangs who enrich themselves by organizing these deadly crossings,” Retailleau added.
British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper struck a similar note.
“It is appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel today, including a young child, as criminal smuggler gangs continue to organize these dangerous boat crossings,” she said.
“The gangs do not care if people live or die — this is a terrible trade in lives.”
Cooper said on X she was in touch with Retailleau, adding the two met this week to discuss “our determination to increase cooperation and law enforcement to pursue and dismantle criminal gangs.”
The latest tragedies bring to 51 the number of migrants who have died attempting to reach England from France so far this year, according to Billant.
Channel crossings to Britain by undocumented asylum seekers have surged since 2018 despite repeated warnings about the perilous journey. The Channel has heavy maritime traffic, icy waters and strong currents.
Migrants sometimes get crushed or trampled to death in overcrowded boats.
In July, a 21-year-old woman from Kuwait was crushed to death in a migrant boat off the French coast.
The French and British governments have sought to stop the flow of undocumented migrants, who may pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage to England from France aboard small boats.
France’s new right-wing prime minister, Michel Barnier, said on Tuesday the country needed a stricter immigration policy.
He vowed to be “ruthless” with people traffickers, who he said “exploit misery and despair” that pushed undocumented asylum seekers to risk trying to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean.
The latest tragedies come after eight migrants died in mid-September when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel.
In early September at least 12 people including six minors, mostly from Eritrea, died off the northern French coast when their boat capsized.
The number of migrants arriving in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats has topped 25,000 since the start of the year.
Stopping the small boat arrivals on England’s southern coast was a key issue in Britain’s general election in July.
Britain’s Cooper has said the government aims over the next six months to achieve the highest rate of deportations of failed asylum seekers in five years.

Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east

Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east
Updated 05 October 2024
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Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east

Ukraine downs a Russian warplane and Russia claims gains in the east
  • The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province
  • Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe

KYIV: Ukrainian forces said they shot down a Russian fighter plane on Saturday while Russia claimed it made gains in Ukraine’s east.
The Russian bomber was shot down near the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk province, head of the Kostiantynivka Military Administration Serhiy Horbunov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne. Photos showed charred remains of an aircraft after it landed on a house that caught fire.
Also in the partially occupied Donetsk province, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that it had taken control of the village of Zhelanne Druhe.
If confirmed, the capture would come three days after Ukrainian forces said they were withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, some 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Zhelanne Druhe, following a hard-fought two-year defense.
Although unlikely to change the course of the war, the loss of Vuhledar is indicative of Kyiv’s worsening position, in part the result of Washington’s refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory and preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities.
Zelensky will present his victory plan to allies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that he will present his “victory plan” at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Ramstein group of nations that supplies arms to Ukraine.
“We will present the victory plan — clear, concrete steps toward a just end to the war. The determination of our partners and the strengthening of Ukraine are what can stop Russian aggression,” he wrote on X, adding that the 25th Ramstein meeting would be the first to take place at the leaders’ level.
Zelensky presented his plan to US President Joe Biden in Washington last week. Its contents have not been made public but it is known that the plan includes Ukraine’s membership of NATO and the provision of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Russia shells southern Ukraine and a Ukraine drone hits a bus
Meanwhile, two people died in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched three guided missiles and 13 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Saturday. It said the missiles were intercepted, three drones were shot down over the Odesa region and 10 others were lost.
Nine people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus in the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones overnight in three border regions, including seven over the Belgorod region, two over the Kursk region, and one over the Voronezh region.


Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade

Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade
Updated 05 October 2024
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Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade

Afghanistan’s brain drain continues as job security, education prospects fade
  • Taliban blames Western countries for taking away country’s talent
  • But ban on women’s education seen as one of main reasons young people leave

KABUL: Abdullah Jalal is counting down the days to his relocation overseas — a move that will mean him restarting his career but give him the employment security he no longer believes is possible in Afghanistan.

The 29-year-old data management expert has been working for an international organization but said “the future is extremely uncertain.”

“With the current situation in the country, a whole generation is being punished and opportunities are taken away from young experts. I know many friends who have left the country in the past few years or are planning to leave,” he told Arab News.

“Specializations and expertise are not valued in the country anymore … The future employment prospects are not very good.”

Jalal is among the many skilled young professionals who choose to leave Afghanistan every year in search of better opportunities abroad. The numbers peaked in 2021, when hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled as the Taliban regained control of the country.

Three years on, with sanctions slapped on the Taliban administration and a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis, the brain drain continues, further limiting Afghanistan’s capacity for growth.

The trend has been worsened by Taliban policies banning women from attending secondary school and university and most forms of paid employment.

Some parents, like Abdul Saboor, choose to send their daughters overseas so that they can pursue their education. One of his daughters wanted to complete a master’s degree in computer science, but that is no longer possible in Afghanistan.

“Before the suspension of university education, she was teaching at a private university and took some freelance assignments to earn an income and support the family. She is very talented. She taught at a private university and developed websites for some organizations, but she couldn’t continue working,” Saboor said.

“I had to send her — along with my younger daughter who has graduated from high school — to Pakistan to pursue their studies and stay with their aunt. Not all families have this opportunity. I couldn’t see my daughters stay dull at home and continue to live with depression.”

While data about the exact numbers of skilled professionals and graduates leaving the country is unavailable, the International Organization for Migration estimates that in September more than 166,000 Afghans left the country for neighboring Pakistan and Iran alone.

Over the past four decades of wars in the country, 6.4 million Afghans have resettled abroad.

“The brain drain continues to happen even after several years of Islamic Emirate’s rule, creating major gaps in the society,” Dr. Sohaib Raufi, director of the Center for Strategic and Regional Studies in Kabul, told Arab News.

“The educated generation of the country, including university professors and other experts, have fled Afghanistan and continue to leave the country for various reasons, such as a lack of studying and teaching prospects, fading hopes for a better future.”

Last year, the Taliban called on Western countries to stop taking Afghan talent out of the country, but it is their own policy that is contributing to it, according to Raufi.

“A major factor contributing to the growing brain drain is the continuing suspension of school and university education for girls. Job security is another reason experts leave the country because in some instances expertise and profession is not prioritized in Afghanistan, leaving many outside the workforce,” he said.

“This may, in the long term, lead to scarcity of experts in the country negatively impacting the country’s economy, development and political stability.”


Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout

Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout
Updated 05 October 2024
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Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout

Militants kill 6 Pakistani soldiers in a shootout
  • The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district on Saturday, according to an army statement
  • It said six militants also were killed

PESHAWAR: Militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in a shootout, the army said Saturday, the latest unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan where armed groups including the Pakistani Taliban are active.
The troops died in an overnight operation in North Waziristan district on Saturday, according to an army statement. It said six militants also were killed.
The army said a separate operation killed two militants in Swat, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. One of them was said to be involved in an attack on a convoy of foreign ambassadors in the area earlier this month.
Also Saturday, cellphone services remained suspended in Islamabad as it entered a second day of a lockdown aimed at thwarting rallies in support of ex-leader Imran Khan. He is in prison on multiple charges.
Shipping containers blocked off the city’s entry and exit points, but videos from Khan’s PTI party showed supporters piled into vehicles and attempted to head toward Islamabad.
The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, and others in the convoy worked throughout the night to remove shipping containers from the road, according to the party.
The PTI later said that security forces arrested Gandapur for entering Islamabad in defiance of a ban on rallies. Police and officials did not immediately confirm the arrest.
Clashes broke out between Khan supporters and security forces in D-Chowk, which is close to several key government buildings including Parliament and the Supreme Court.
The PTI also said it planned to hold a rally in Lahore.


South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary

South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary
Updated 05 October 2024
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South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary

South Africa: hundreds march for Gaza on war anniversary
  • The marchers — many of them wearing the keffiyeh scarf that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle against Israel — walked to parliament in a protest

CAPE TOWN: Several hundred people marched through central Cape Town Saturday waving Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Israel slogans in a pro-Gaza rally to mark the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
With placards accusing Israel of genocide and racism, the marchers — many of them wearing the keffiyeh scarf that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle against Israel — walked to parliament in a protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
“Israel is a racist state” and “We are all Palestinian,” chanted some of the marchers. Others held up placards stating: “We are all Hamas” or “Zionism is racism.”
Some marchers said they agreed with the South African case before the International Court of Justice that alleges the Israeli military operation in Gaza, launched in response to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, amounts to “genocide.”
“I am appalled at Israel and the genocide and the attack on innocent people, children... and now moving on into Lebanon,” Linelle Arendse told the News24 channel.
Many South Africans compare Israel’s stance toward Palestinians with the racially oppressive system of apartheid that imposed white-minority rule on South Africa until the first all-race election in 1994.
“I have been through the apartheid struggle so I know the pain of the Palestinians and Lebanese,” Shafiek Barnes told News24. “I am here because I am Muslim and I feel the pain that they are going through.”
The organizers of the march handed to parliament a memorandum demanding the government implement the UN’s 1973 Apartheid Convention which declares apartheid systems a crime and allows for action against them, such as boycotts.
Also called the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, it was signed by the South African government in May 2024.
Pro-Gaza marches were also due Saturday in the cities of Johannesburg and Durban and around the world ahead of the anniversary of the October 7 attack.