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Ukraine: Army chief says fighting at front has 'escalated'
Deutsche welle
29 Apr 2024, 10:16
Image: Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu/picture alliance
Kyiv's top general said the frontline situation had deteriorated and that some Russian gains had been made. Ukraine is waiting for desperately needed resupply of battlefield stocks.
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces on Sunday said that the situation on the frontline had worsened and reported that Russian forces had made battlefield gains.
"The situation on the front has escalated," Oleksandr Syrsky said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
"Seeking to seize strategic initiative and break through the frontline, the opponent focused major efforts in multiple directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and resources," Syrsky said.
Russian forces 'achieved some tactical success'
Kyiv's top general said some positions were "changing hands several times during the day."
With some of the fiercest fighting taking place near Avdiivka, Syrsky said that Ukrainian troops had tactically retreated along three sections of the frontline in the eastern Donetsk region.
Syrsky conceded that Russian forces had "achieved some tactical success in these directions, but could not gain an operational advantage."
He added that Ukrainian forces were inflicting "maximum losses, both in personnel and military equipment."
Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defense on Sunday said that its forces had destroyed ammunition depots and military equipment located at three airports across Ukraine, with the ministry saying these attacks had taken place over a 24-hour period.
Ukraine waits for resupply
The latest situation report from the battlefield comes as Kyiv waits for urgently needed replenishment of battlefield resources, including manpower.
On Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $6 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine, and installment from the $61 billion approved by Congress.
Western military experts have warned that Moscow could seize upon the current situation and "intensify ongoing offensive operations and missile and drone strikes in the coming weeks," as the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) explained last week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made repeated appeals for more Patriot air defense systems amid repeated Russian attacks on cities and critical infrastructure.
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Chinese authorities arrest 4 Tibetans for protest over land grab
Tibetan residents demanded compensation for land illegally seized by authorities, sources say.
Police have arrested and detained four Tibetans who protested Chinese authorities’ seizure of pasture land owned by Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region, three sources inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.
On April 10, residents of Taktsa village in Luonixiang rural township in Markham county in Chamdo, or Changdu in Chinese, clashed with authorities after they appealed against the land grab and demanded compensation, said the sources, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
In 2023, a Chinese county official illegally sold the pasture land to businessmen without the knowledge of locals and without providing them any compensation, the sources said.
The Tibetans had no knowledge that their land had been seized illegally until this April when the businessmen sent people to clear it. The Tibetans then confronted authorities, demanding payment.
Police arrested and detained four of the Tibetans, and slapped and beat many others at the scene, said one of the sources.
There were no immediate details about the status of the four or the charges against them, and it is not clear for what purpose the seized land will be used.
Despite repeated attempts, RFA did not receive any immediate response to calls to Markham county authorities and the local police station.
Chinese authorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Tibetan-populated areas of nearby Chinese provinces often ignore residents’ concerns about mining and land grabs by local officials, who routinely rely on force to subdue those who complain or protest, according to human rights groups.
Over the past few years, there have been several reports of similar land grabs that have taken place in Chamdo, a resource-rich area in eastern Tibet.
Most of the land grabs have been related to mining, including copper, gold and lithium, and development projects that China has undertaken in the areas. In some cases, Tibetans have been forced from their homes.
The gesture was also seen being made by Buddhist monks and Tibetans residents during February protests in Dege county, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, in an appeal to Chinese officials to stop a planned dam project on the Drichu River.
In the videos from Markham county, young and elderly Tibetans kneel before police clad in black, and wail, while others pull and tug at the authorities to heed their pleas.
The land in question is used by about 25 Tibetan families to graze their animals and for recreation purposes, the sources said.
Chinese authorities have arrested the official who had colluded with the businessmen to illegally seize the land without compensating the Tibetans, charging him with corruption, said one of the sources.
Now, the residents are demanding compensation for the land that had been occupied, he added.
Chinese police have forbidden the Tibetans from sharing information about the incident with people outside China, the sources said.
Source: rfa
130 Chinese extradited for online fraud, cybercrimes
The General Department of Immigration (GDI) of the Ministry of Interior has extradited 130 Chinese nationals for cybercrimes, online fraud and illegal gambling.
Lieutenant General Sok Somnea, Spokesman and Deputy Director General of the GDI, said yesterday, “130 Chinese nationals were extradited on April 13, for their involvement in cybercrimes, online fraud and illegal gambling.”
“We are still looking for more of those involved in these crimes and I cannot go into more detail, as it is under investigation by the Immigration Police,” he said.
Lt Gen Somnea said that the seized servers, computers, mobile phones, SIM cards and other equipment believed to have been used for criminal activity, have been sent to the provincial court as evidence.
The Cambodian authorities are working closely with their Chinese counterparts to exchange information on the investigation, crackdown and rescue of victims of cybercrime, he said.
On Sunday, China Daily reported that China’s public security authorities, in conjunction with the Cambodian police, had recently organised a joint operation to combat gambling and fraud-related crimes.
During the operation, the Cambodian police dismantled several gambling dens and fraud operations in Preah Sihanouk province, apprehended a large number of Chinese nationals suspected of criminal offences, and seized a batch of servers, computers, mobile phones and other equipment, it said.
Under the command of the Ministry of Public Security in Hubei province, a working group was dispatched to Cambodia to carry out the extradition work in conjunction with the Cambodian police, it said.
Starting from Saturday, the individuals were extradited in batches via chartered civil aviation flights to China, it added.
Anti-gambling operations by the Cambodian authorities have been active throughout the country, especially in Preah Sihanouk province.
In a two-day operation to crack down on online fraud from March 9 to 10, the provincial authorities arrested 479 people, comprising 279 Cambodians, 109 Vietnamese, 55 Thais, 28 Chinese, eight Taiwanese and one Myanmar national.
Source: KHMER Times
Africa's El Nino crises demand action and funding
El Nino is causing extreme weather events in East Africa and a crippling drought in the south of the continent. Experts say immediate action is needed to tackle famine and displacements.
The El Nino climate pattern , a phenomenon of heightened global temperatures and erratic weather conditions, wreaked havoc across African nations throughout 2023 — and continues to do so in 2024.
East Africa has been hit by torrential rains that have cost the lives of at least 58 people in Tanzania in the first half of April, and 13 people in Kenya.
This natural occurrence brings about extremes in weather, ranging from devastating floods to prolonged droughts, with Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and southern Africa among the hardest-hit.
Earlier this month, aid agency Oxfam said more than 20 million people faced hunger and malnutrition across southern Africa because of the drought.
Funding gap threatens relief efforts
While countries like Zambia grapple with their worst drought ever, seeking nearly $1 billion (more than €900 million) to provide life-saving assistance, their efforts are hampered by a significant funding gap.
Kenyan climate activist Grace Ronoh said the plight of developing nations is also burdened by debt.
"When you look at especially the developing countries, they are not able to prioritize a response to the climate crisis because for them to do this, they require financing," Ronoh said. "And at this point in time, most of the countries are debt-laden, so they will prioritize paying for debt."
While speaking at the annual meeting between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC, Ronoh urged for reform within these institutions to streamline access to funds for climate emergencies.
"We need to remove the bureaucracies and reform the bank to make sure that it's fair and also do away with the very complicated mechanisms that really limit increasing financing to address climate issues," Ronoh said.
A UN-led event to secure donations to address Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis last Tuesday (April 16) fell well short of its $1 billion target. It did, however, raise almost $630 million (€592 million) to assist millions of Ethiopians impacted by climate change and conflict.
Strategies for the future
The UN reported that the El Nino weather pattern has led to water scarcity, parched pastures and reduced harvests affecting millions of people.
Despite this grim outlook, Dr David Gikungu, director of the Kenya Meteorological Department, says that he remains cautiously optimistic, projecting the current season to end soon in most regions.
"We are expecting the season to end in most places around the end of May. Around the coast, we are expecting it to cease around June," Gikungu told DW.
Collaboration between meteorological departments, disaster management agencies and governments is crucial, he added, highlighting the role of the Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Climate Change in spearheading these efforts in his country.
"There are offices to track and inform. We work with others who deal with disaster management, and they are all supported by the government," Gikungu said.
However, the effectiveness of existing strategies meanwhile is also stretched by the sheer scale of the crisis, as evidenced by the high death toll from flooding in some regions.
Looking ahead
The immediate focus might therefore require a shift towards securing necessary funding to deliver life-saving assistance to affected populations.
The United States has decided to allocate nearly $154 million in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia to address pressing needs arising "from conflict, insecurity, and climate shocks," according to the US State Department, tying this aid to immediate needs rather than long-term projects.
Such immediate responses are also necessary elsewhere: For instance, in Zambia and Zimbabwe, water shortages have fueled outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases, according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group.
"Whenever it floods, you can expect issues of sewage," Gikungu told DW. "(W)hen you cook using contaminated water, you are looking for trouble, (such as) cholera outbreaks. These are some of the things to expect in this region."
Massive floods threaten tens of millions in southern China
Heavy rains hammered southern China on the weekend, flooding homes, streets and farmland and threatening to upend the lives of tens of millions of people as rescuers rushed to evacuate residents trapped by rising waters.
At least 11 people are missing, six of whom are from the town of Jiangwan near Shaoguan city in the province’s mountainous north, where heavy downpours have triggered landslides that injured six people, state-run news agency Xinhua said Monday.
Days of rainstorms have lashed Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse home to 127 million people, bringing widespread floods that have forced more than 82,500 people to be relocated, state media reported, citing the local government.
Since April 16, sustained torrential rains have pounded the Pearl River Delta, China’s manufacturing heartland and one of the country’s most populated regions, with four weather stations in Guangdong registering record rainfall for April.
The Pearl River basin is subject to annual flooding from April to September, but the region has faced more intense rainstorms and severe floods in recent years as scientists warn that the climate crisis will amplify extreme weather, making it deadlier and more frequent.
Last year, China encountered “more intense and extreme” downpours during the flood season than in previous years, with 72 national weather stations registering record daily rainfall and 346 stations breaking monthly records, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
Since last week, at least 44 rivers in the Pearl River basin have swelled above the warning line, threatening to burst their banks, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
On the Bei River, which flows into the Pearl River, authorities have warned of a “once a century” flood expected to reach 5.8 meters (19 feet) above the warning limit. The tributary had already burst its banks on April 8, marking the earliest arrival of its annual flood season since records began in 1998, according to Guangdong authorities.
Aerial footage aired by CCTV on the weekend showed villages inundated by murky flood waters, with only roofs and treetops visible in some places.
In Guangning county, Zhaoqing city, footage shared by residents on short video app Douyin shows muddy brown water gushing through village streets and sweeping away cars. In Shaoguan, a man is seen pushing his scooter through shoulder-high flood waters. And in Qingyuan city, social media footage shows strong gales and rain felling trees and flipping over motorcycles.
Authorities raised the flood control emergency response for the Pearl River Delta to level 2 on Sunday – the second highest in a four-tier system.
Many cities have suspended schools and hundreds of flights have been canceled in the metropolises of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
More than 80 houses have either collapsed or been severely damaged, resulting in a direct economic loss of nearly 140 million yuan ($20 million), Xinhua reported.
Source: CNN
Asia worst hit from climate disasters in 2023, says UN
A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report has said floods and storms were the leading cause of climate-related hazards in Asia. It warns of "major repercussions."
Asia was most affected by climate and weather-related events in 2023, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, with floods and storms causing the most deaths and economic loss.
The "State of the Climate in Asia 2023" report released Tuesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the "accelerating rate" of key climate change indicators will have "major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems."
These indicators include average temperatures, precipitation levels, glacier retreat and sea level rise.
"The report's conclusions are sobering," said Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of WMO.
"Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies and, most importantly, human lives," she said.
Flooding and storms in Asia
In 2023, a total of 79 water-related disasters were reported in Asia with more than 80% of these being floods and storms, which killed more than 2,000 people and affected another 9 million people directly.
"Floods were the leading cause of death in reported events in 2023 by a substantial margin," the WMO said, noting the continuing high level of vulnerability of Asia to natural hazards.
The report comes as southern China experiences torrential rain and flooding, with over 100,000 people having been evacuated in the Pearl River Delta region. Chinese state media said the level of flooding is "seen around once a century."
High temperatures and melting glaciers
Temperatures across the world hit record highs last year, but Asia heated up at a particularly rapid pace, the WMO said.
According to the report, particularly high average temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia and from Eastern China to Japan.
Japan experienced its hottest summer on record. At the same time parts of China suffered a drought.
Most glaciers in Asia also melted at an accelerated rate, which affects water security. The High-Mountain Asia region, located on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the world's largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions.
What can be done?
The WMO said there was an urgent need for national weather services across the region to improve tailored information to officials working on reducing disaster risks.
"It is imperative that our actions and strategies mirror the urgency of these times," Saulo said.
As for measures to counter climate change, "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the evolving climate is not merely an option, but a fundamental necessity," she added.
Iraq: 4 killed in drone attack on gas field
Authorities say that foreign workers have been killed in the autonomous Kurdistan region. It is currently unclear where the drones came from.
A drone attack at the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region has killed at least four people said to be foreigners according to a local official.
"Four Yemeni workers were killed and the field was severely damaged," the AFP news agency quoted Kurdistan regional government spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani as saying.
Hawramani said there would be "power shortages" and called on the federal government in Baghdad "to find the perpetrators of this terrorist act."
AFP also cited Ramak Ramadan, the district chief of Chamchamal where the Khor Mor complex is located, as saying that the drone struck the site at approximately 6.45 p.m. local time (1545 GMT/UTC).
United Arab Emirates energy firm Dana Gas (DANA.AD), and affiliate, Crescent Petroleum, have the rights to exploit Khor Mor and Chemchemal, two of Iraq's largest gas fields.
The site has been targeted in recent years by Katyusha rocket attacks without causing significant damage.
South China Sea: Is China finding itself in the US and its allies’ crosshairs?
The US and the Philippines will conduct joint naval exercise in the area near the South China Sea and Taiwan next week--taking place only a few days after the first trilateral summit between Japan, America and the Philippines in Washington DC and the March 7 joint naval and air drills.
The US and the Philippines will conduct joint naval exercise in the area near the South China Sea and Taiwan next week–taking place only a few days after the first trilateral summit between Japan, America and the Philippines in Washington DC and the March 7 joint naval and air drills by the troops of Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the US in the South China Sea.
According to Barron’s, a US-based news outlet, more than 16,700 Filipino and American naval personnel will participate in the annual Balikatan “shoulder to shoulder” joint military exercise, which will go on from April 22 to May 10.
The US-Philippines joint naval drills will take place in the Southeast Asian country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which has been in the news in the recent past owing to regular clashes between the Philippines and China over their competing claims on this part of the South China Sea. Analysts say the choice of location for the joint naval drills show that it is targeted at China.
“The Philippines needs to be fully aware that when countries outside the region are brought into the South China Sea to flex muscles and stoke confrontation, tensions could get worse and the region will only become less stable. To hand over one’s security to forces outside the region will only lead to greater insecurity and turn oneself into someone else’s chess piece,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said.
However, the US and its allies have vowed to “resolutely respond” to any attempts by Beijing to unilaterally change the status quo in the East and South China Seas. In fact, China has of late intensified military activities in the East and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait. This has generated a profound sense of fear among members of the international community as they feel that the region could turn into a major flashpoint, impacting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Even Japan’s annual diplomatic Bluebook, which was released by the country’s Foreign Ministry on April 16, has expressed its concern about the “complex” situation in its neighbourhood.
“China is attempting to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands, and is continuing and strengthening military activities in the area, making the security environment around Japan the most severe and complex in the post-war era,” Japan’s Bluebook said in its report.
Calling China’s military build-up in the region “unprecedented,” Japan’s annual diplomatic policy paper has stressed on strengthening of cooperation among Tokyo’s allies and like-minded countries such as the G-7, the Quad and trilateral relationship with the US and South Korea.
“Japan has resorted to the same old false accusations against China and hype of “China threat” in its 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook. We firmly oppose this and Japan’s meddling in China’s domestic affairs. We urge Japan to change its wrong course of actions, stop stocking bloc confrontation, truly commit itself to advancing a strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China and work to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said.
Overall view of Japan towards China, presented through the Bluebook, is not optimistic. Instead, it acknowledges several “challenges and concerns” in its relationship with China which has in turn expressed its worries over Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force’s (MSDF) announcement of dispatching a special security unit to the Indo-Pacific region to offer capacity building support to Coast Guards of the Philippines and other countries of the region.
As per the Japanese news outlet NHK, the MSDF will dispatch its special security unit in May or later to help regional Coast Guards in enhancing their capabilities in conducting inspections of suspicious ships and other skills. This will be the first time when the MSDF’s special unit, formed in 2001, will be providing capacity building support to Coast Guards of foreign countries.
Global Times said the move is aimed at deterring China’s influence in the region. The Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece further said that by sending its special security unit to different countries, Japan wants to widen its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region and “it must be met with high vigilance by the international community.”
These moves are being adopted by Japan in the region following Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to the US where he participated in the trilateral summit with America and the Philippines.
In the recent past, Japan has introduced several changes in its defence policy in view of the security situation in the Korean Peninsula, East and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait. But what has created a flutter in China’s strategic circle is Japan’s upgrading of its helicopter carrier into an aircraft carrier—the first since World War II.
Japan plans to deploy the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter on the upgraded carrier, said The South China Morning Post. The upgraded Japanese carrier’s name is Kaga, a name that still rankles Chinese people as a former Japanese ship with the same name was involved in the bombing of Shanghai in the 1930s.
“I don’t understand why the Japanese always prefer to use the names that were used by the Japanese army in World War II,” Wu Qian, a Spokesperson for China’s Defence Ministry was quoted by the Hong Kong-based English daily newspaper as saying.
However, Japan seems to be resolute in its deterrence plan against China. Its Self-Defence Forces have started training to operate US-made land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles that the country plans to deploy from 2025. According to Kyodo News, Japan plans to purchase 400 Tomahawk missiles from the US over three years from 2025. The move is in consonance with Japan’s National Security Strategy which calls for obtaining counter strike capabilities for hitting military targets in an adversary’s territory in cases of emergency.
In nutshell, the US, Japan, the Philippines, and like-minded countries are gearing up to counter China’s challenges in the Indo-Pacific region—all by joining several strategic and security dot lines in the region. Yet the question is: Will China mend its expansionist behaviour? No international powers want Beijing to escalate tension in the region by raising irredentist claims on territories and resources of its neighbours on one pretext or another.
Source: Source: Mekong News Myanmar
