FOREIGN DESK
Kremlin Orders Arrest of US Senator Graham over ‘Russians Are Dying’ Comment
Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant Monday for US Senator Lindsey Graham following his comments on the fighting in Ukraine.
In an edited video of his meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was released by Zelensky’s office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the US military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Ukraine’s presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented Sunday that “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.”
The Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated Monday by its official record of wanted criminal suspects.
Sudan Rival Forces Extend Truce Amid Breaches
Sudan’s warring sides agreed Monday to extend a shaky cease-fire in their battle for control of the country after two key international mediators signalled impatience with persistent truce violations.
The five-day extension of the cease-fire between Sudan’s military and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, was announced in a joint statement late Monday by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
“The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension,” the statement said.
The development came after Riyadh and Washington called out both warring sides Sunday for specific breaches of a weeklong truce that will expire Monday evening rather than issue another general appeal to respect agreements.
Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel- Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting has killed at least 866 civilians and wounded thousands more, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. The toll could be much higher, the medical group said.
25 NATO-led Peacekeepers Wounded in Kosovo in Clash with Serbs
On Monday, the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force said that 25 of its troops were injured in the clashes with ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo who were trying to take over the offices of one of the municipalities where ethnic Albanian mayors took up their posts last week.
The Serbs started clashing with the police in the morning in the municipality of Zvecan, 45km (28 miles) north of the capital, Pristina. In the afternoon, Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers called on Serbs to clear the way for two vehicles from the Kosovar special police forces.
According to witnesses and local media, the soldiers then used tear gas and stun grenades to protect the Kosovar officers in the vehicles and disperse protesters. The assembled Serbs responded by throwing rocks and other hard objects.
“Several soldiers of the Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices,” said a KFOR statement.
Some Kosovo police vehicles and one belonging to journalists were damaged. Pictures showed graffiti with Serb nationalist symbols sprayed over them.
Libyan Court Sentences 23 IS Militants to Death
A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 convicted Islamic State group militants to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including Egyptian Coptic Christians.
The appeals court in the western city of Misrata also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the same charges, which included the destruction of police facilities and public property.
The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in prison. It acquitted five suspects. The court did not elaborate on further details. The Islamic State and other extremist groups exploited the chaos that engulfed Libya after the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. They seized the coastal city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s birthplace, and other cities, including Derna, in eastern Libya.
The militants were eventually expelled from Sirte in December 2016 by forces fighting for the former UN-backed Government of National Accord. Forces of east-based commander Khalifa Hifter reclaimed Derna two years later.
Russia Targets Kyiv with Daytime Attacks
Ukrainian officials reported on Monday new daytime Russian airstrikes on Kyiv after two nights of intense aerial assaults on the capital city.
During the morning hours, debris from missiles intercepted by Ukrainian air defences fell in parts of the city, landing in the middle of traffic on a roadway while also starting a fire on a building’s roof. At least one civilian was injured.
Ukraine said it shot down all 11 ballistic and cruise missiles Russia aimed at Kyiv. But Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram there were explosions in the central part of the city and told people to stay in shelters.
Monday’s attacks followed what Klitschko said was “another difficult night for the capital.”
Across the country, the Ukrainian air force said over Sunday night, it shot down 37 out of 40 cruise missiles and 29 out of 35 drones launched by Moscow’s forces. But at least one person was killed and 18 wounded in the attacks, authorities said.
Iran Ready to Welcome Resumed Ties with Egypt
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday he would welcome a resumption of diplomatic relations with Egypt during a meeting with Oman’s visiting Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.
Ties between Tehran and Cairo soured following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and Egypt’s recognition of Israel, the Islamic republic’s sworn enemy.
Khamenei said the Omani leader had told him that Egypt would be willing to resume relations.
“We welcome the Omani Sultan’s statement about Egypt’s willingness to resume relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we have no problem in this regard,” Khamenei said, according to his official website.
AFP could not immediately reach the Egyptian foreign ministry for comment.
Recent months have seen sweeping shifts in the Middle East, following a China-brokered rapprochement between regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran announced in March.
Japan Denounces North Korea’s Plans to Launch Satellite into Orbit
Japan says North Korea’s plan to launch a satellite into orbit within the next two weeks would violate UN Security Council resolutions over the North’s previous missile tests.
Pyongyang notified the Japanese coast guard Monday that it plans to launch the satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11. The notification comes just weeks after North Korea’s state-run media said leader Kim Jong Un had approved final preparations for the launch.
North Korea would have to send a satellite into orbit using a long-range ballistic missile, which UN Security Council resolutions have banned. The defence ministry has ordered its land and sea-based ballistic missile interceptor units to shoot down any object threatening its territory.
China Vows to Land Astronauts on Moon Before 2030
Officials say China’s burgeoning space programme plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand the country’s orbiting space station.
Monday’s announcement comes against the backdrop of a rivalry with the US for reaching new milestones in outer space, reflecting their competition for influence on global events.
That has conjured up memories of the space race between the US and the former Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, although American spending, supply chains and capabilities are believed to give it a significant edge over China, at least for the present.
The US aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The deputy director of China’s space agency confirmed the twin objectives at a news conference but gave no specific dates.
The agency also introduced three astronauts who will head to the country’s space station in a launch scheduled for Tuesday morning. They will replace a crew on the orbiting station for six months.
Essence of Taiwan’s Inclusiveness in WHO, WHA Activities in Post-Pandemic Era
Life is gradually returning to normal as the world enters the fourth year of the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Most countries have ramped up efforts to achieve health and well-being for all in furtherance of the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose progress was negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Taiwan fully supports health-related SDGs and the World Health Organisation’s triple billion targets. Indeed, Taiwan is committed to building a more resilient and equitable health service supply chain, maintaining an inclusive and equitable universal health coverage system, and providing disease prevention and management through a robust primary healthcare system. Taiwan is willing and able to share its experience in creating a cross-sectoral, innovative, and people-centred health approach to help the international community work toward realising the SDGs related to health and well-being. In this regard, it becomes pertinent to the global community that Taiwan is allowed to participate meaningfully in the meetings, mechanisms and activities of the WHO and the World Health Assembly (WHA).
It is common knowledge that the WHO is the leader in global public health, dedicated to safeguarding the right to health for all. However, as a result of political considerations, the WHO has been unable to uphold professionalism and neutrality in the discharge of its mandate. Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA since 2017. By excluding Taiwan from WHO events, the esteemed organisation is unwittingly jeopardising global health. Taiwan, therefore, calls on every nation, including Nigeria, to support its bid to attend the WHA scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month (May 21 to 30).
It is a well-known fact that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan effectively mitigated the spread of the disease, leveraging its comprehensive public healthcare system, well-trained anti-pandemic personnel, and epidemiological surveillance, investigation and analysis systems. Compared with the 38 Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development member states and Singapore, Taiwan ranks sixth-lowest in COVID-19 mortality and case-fatality rates. Taiwan also ranks fourth highest for coverage rates of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and third highest in vaccine boosters administered.
A reading of the WHO director-general’s outlined five priorities for the subsequent five years, which are promoting health, providing health services, protecting health, powering progress, and performing; in addition to WHO’s Achieving well-being: A draft global framework for integrating well-being into public health utilising a health promotion approach further justifies the need for all peoples to be involved in WHO’s commitment to health for all.
Taiwan remains committed to working with the global community to ensure the fundamental right to health enshrined in the WHO Constitution, and in the spirit of the SDGs, it is our considered view that no country should be left behind – especially not Taiwan, that has made significant contributions to global public health. It is time for the global community to recognise Taiwan’s contributions to global health and allow the country to participate meaningfully in the WHO and WHA to enable us to share valuable experience in innovative health technology and universal health coverage.
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