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G7 ministers close in on Russian assets deal for Ukraine
Deutsche Welle
25 May 2024, 17:28
G7 finance ministers are expected to agree on options for using interest from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Kyiv has stepped up its appeals for more international financial aid to fight off Moscow's invasion.
The G7 group of wealthy democracies will look at ways of using the future interest from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine as it continues to battle invading Russian forces, finance ministers from the group said on Saturday.
The meeting of the G7 ministers in the northern Italian city of Stresa has been focused mainly on the question of how to find more funds for Ukraine as Russia presses on with a new offensive in the Kharkiv region in the third year of its unprovoked invasion.
The G7 and its allies froze some $300 billion (€276 billion) of Russian assets shortly after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
The meeting comes after the EU this week formally approved a plan to use interest from the Russian assets it has frozen, estimating that this could produce up to €3 billion annually for Kyiv.
What could the plan look like?
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said ministers aimed to "reach a political agreement in principle" and not a ready-made solution.
A draft statement from the meeting seen by the Reuters news agency said: "We are making progress in our discussions on potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine."
The statement contained no figures or details, reflecting the fact that several legal and technical issues need to be resolved before such loans could be made.
Any detailed agreement would require the approval of G7 leaders, who meet next month in Puglia, Italy.
The United States, for its part, has been urging its G7 partners — Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada — to create a loan facility for Ukraine backed by future interest generated by the frozen Russian assets.
That proposal, which could raise $50 billion in the short term for Kyiv, raises several questions, including who would issue the debt and the apportioning of risk between the G7 partners.
The ministers will be joined on Saturday by Ukraine's finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko.
Ukraine struggling amid shortages
The meeting comes as Kyiv claims to have "stopped" a Russian advance in the Kharkiv region.
However, that claim came amid admissions by Ukraine's General Staff that "the enemy has partial success" and that "the situation is tense."
Ukraine's army is currently running short of arms and ammunition, a situation made worse by a long hold-up in the US Congress of an aid package for Kyiv amid a domestic political dispute, with the funding not released until late in April.
In another positive development for Kyiv on Friday, however, Washington announced a fresh $275 million package of military aid.
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Israeli soldiers trodden by Hamas counter-attack
More than 35,000 people have died in the eight-month-long Israeli offensive in Gaza. Most of them are women and children. Injured exceeded 79 thousand. The Palestinian independence organization is making long-term preparations for not meeting Hamas's demands.
Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement, said on Friday that Hamas was ready for a long-term war with Israel. According to brigade Abu Obaida in a video message,
'We are ready for a long battle of attrition against the enemy, despite our full commitment to stop the attacks on the people,' brigade Abu Obaida said in a video message.
Abu Obayda announced that over the past 10 days, Al-Qassam fighters have targeted 100 Israeli military vehicles in fighting across the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army does not disclose its losses in Gaza.
'We are dragging them (Israeli forces) into a quagmire where they will get nothing but the death of their soldiers and the capture of their officers,' he said.
Abu Obaidah claimed that the fighters of Al-Qassam Brigade inflicted a terrible blow on the Israeli army in the eastern city of Rafah.
Islamic Jihad commandos have joined Hamas in Gaza in the war of resistance against Israel. With that, the Lebanese military group - Hezbollah is even more angry. The Israeli army is now in a state of treachery in all their dangerous attacks. Disciples of Hassan Nasrullah are carrying out terrible attacks every day to make Israel leave Gaza to establish the rights of Palestinian brothers and sisters. An Israeli base destroyed.
The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that Gaza experienced one of its worst nightmares in recent memory. Just as the fighters of Hamas in the north of Gaza have put up a fierce resistance, Hezbollah has launched a massive attack from the Lebanese border into Israel. In the meantime, Israel has bombed its own military areas from its warplanes.
The IDF says a half-ton bomb fell from a warplane on Friday morning in an area of the Yated community on the Gaza border. But the bomb did not explode. Israeli forces described the incident as unusual. The 'Same Side' incident occurred when the warplane was returning from an attack on Rafah city. The unexploded ordnance was recovered by Israeli forces.
There have been more such incidents. An Israeli military drone crashed in the northern city of Majdal Shams early Friday morning local time, the IDF said, claiming the drone fell from the sky due to a technical malfunction. The drone was being used to monitor military movements on the ground. Hamas claims the drone, known as Sky Raider, was shot down by their rockets.
China's cyberattacks on Taiwan surge ahead of presidential inauguration
China's cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased to the extent of 2.5 million a day ahead of the presidential inauguration, the National Security Bureau (NSB) stated on Thursday, as per Taiwan News.
China's cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased to the extent of 2.5 million a day ahead of the presidential inauguration, the National Security Bureau (NSB) stated on Thursday, as per Taiwan News. Following the January 13 presidential and legislative elections, the intelligence agency found that China was launching 1 million cyberattacks daily, Taiwan News reported, citing CNA.
The surge ahead of the May 20 presidential inauguration is mostly directed against government bodies. According to Taiwan News, NSB officials responded to lawmakers' inquiries, stating that disinformation and cyberattacks were frequent. However, they affirmed that they would continue to monitor Chinese activities and identify loopholes in Taiwanese networks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the authorities were investigating allegations that confidential documents had ended up on a hacker's website. Officials emphasised that all secret documents at the ministry are marked with a watermark or password, making it unlikely that insiders leaked the information.
During a speech at the CyberSec information security conference on Wednesday, President-elect Lai Ching-te voiced his support for the development of the local cybersecurity sector. He said that as Taiwan was such a frequent target for cyberattacks and disinformation, it would emerge stronger.
Recently, on April 11, Taiwan News also reported the same suspicion that the sole ruling party of China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), could attempt to disrupt President-elect Lai Ching-te's May 20 inauguration by hacking into websites and electronic billboards and sabotaging the southern power grid. An official also told 'Liberty Times,' a local Taiwanese newspaper, on May 9 that Chinese hackers could target government websites and public screens on May 20, potentially inserting sarcastic congratulatory messages or pro-CCP propaganda to embarrass Lai.
China has intensified pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after the January elections, as per Taiwan News. An official revealed that China has been seeking information about the content of Lai's inauguration speech through academics based in Hong Kong and Macau.
Source: ANI
China presses Pakistan to address security concerns of workers, projects
China on Wednesday (May 15) hailed its "ironclad" relationship with Pakistan and vowed to further enhance economic and anti-terrorism security cooperation between the neighboring countries at a bilaterial strategic dialogue in Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed the pledge at a news conference after hosting formal talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister.
Broadcast live by Pakistan's state-run TV, the media talk comes just weeks after a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan killed five Chinese engineers who were working on a hydropower project. Their local driver also was killed.
The Pakistani military said this month that its probe into the March 26 attack revealed that an Afghan national carried it out and terrorists based in Afghanistan had planned it.
Wang stated that the Pakistani side promised to make every effort to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Chinese state media quoted him as expressing hope that Islamabad would ensure "the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan, and eliminate the worries of Chinese enterprises and personnel."
Dar said that the dialogue with Wang also reviewed the Afghan situation, and both sides agreed that peace and stability in the war-ravaged neighboring country are crucial for regional development, connectivity, and prosperity.
"We are concerned about the continued presence of terrorist entities operating in Afghanistan and call upon the Afghan interim government to take credible and verifiable actions against such elements using Afghan soil to threaten the peace and security of the neighboring countries," the Pakistani foreign minister said.
Wang calls for 'united front'
Islamabad maintains that the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, was behind the car bombing and other attacks in the country, alleging that the terrorist outfit is being facilitated by Taliban authorities in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban leaders reject allegations that Afghan soil was used in the attack against the Chinese workers. They reiterated that no one is permitted to threaten other countries, including Pakistan, from Afghanistan.
Wang said, without mentioning Afghanistan, that Beijing "is willing to further deepen counter-terrorism security cooperation" with Islamabad. Without elaborating further, he called on the international community to "eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism" through a "united front" against the threat.
The China-Pakistan dialogue comes one day after a new report warned that power vacuums in Afghanistan created in the wake of U.S.-led allied troop departures are fueling the resurgence of transnational terrorist groups, including TTP.
"The post-U.S. withdrawal environment in Afghanistan offers terrorist groups a range of new opportunities for regrouping, plotting, and collaborating with one another," said the study conducted by the U.S. Institute for Peace, based in Washington.
Beijing 'ready to work'
Wang said Wednesday that Beijing is ready to work with Islamabad to advance the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. The Chinese-funded multibillion-dollar collaboration has built roads, highways, power plants, and ports as part of President Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Dar insisted the decade-long CPEC undertaking "has transformed Pakistan's economic landscape by eliminating power outages and developing a robust infrastructure network, thus laying a strong foundation for Pakistan's future development."
Pakistan's foreign minister noted that the two sides agreed to "further upgrade and expand" CPEC cooperation.
In a recent speech in Islamabad, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong referred to CPEC as a pilot project of BRI and said it had brought more than $25 billion in direct investment, created 155,000 direct job opportunities, and built 510 kilometers (316.8 miles) of expressways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and 886 kilometers (550.5 miles) of core transmission grids to Pakistan.
Some critics attribute cash-strapped Pakistan's deepening economic challenges to CPEC-related Chinese investments and loans. A $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan helped the South Asian nation narrowly avoid default on its foreign debt payments last year.
Source: VOA news
Taiwan detects Chinese incursion with aircraft, vessels around nation
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), on Friday, detected eight Chinese aircraft and eight People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, operating around Taiwan.
The Chinese aircraft and vessels were seen until 6 am on Friday (May 17).
In a post shared on X, Taiwan's MND stated that one of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
However, Taiwan's Armed forces have responded accordingly to the situation.
"8 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," the Taiwan's MND stated.
Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan detected 27 Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels around the strait until 6 am (local time) on Thursday.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that 19 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwest sector and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
On May 15, 45 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected. 26 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ.
The increased activity in the Taiwan Strait region comes amid growing geopolitical tensions between Taiwan and China, as reported by Taiwan News.
Taiwan has long been a point of contention for Beijing, which considers the island a renegade province and has repeatedly expressed intentions to reunify it with the mainland, even if by force.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has issued daily reports on Chinese military activities for the past few years, including identifying those Chinese aircraft, drones, and balloons that are found to have crossed the Taiwan Strait median line to the Taiwan side.
Source: Business Standard
Operation underway to find Raisi's helicopter
The shocking incident took place in Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan province as president Raisi was returning from an inaugurating event of a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday (May 19).
The local residents heard "sounds" in that region, IRNA says.
About twenty fully-equipped of search and rescue teams,with drones and sniffer dogs, have been dispatched to the area.
However, commando units and Special Forces of Iranian Armed Forces have also deployed to assist in that search operation.
According to the IRNA's reporter, the search and rescue operation could take some time, due to difficult weather conditions and particularly thick fog in that area.
Iran's Emergency Services spokesperson told the news agency that eight ambulances have been dispatched to the region, adding that heavy fog has made air rescue efforts very difficult.
Dead body of Ebrahim Raisi has been recovered
The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that the bodies of president Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir abdollahian and others who died in a helicopter crash had been recovered, and search operations had ended.
'We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz' in Iran's northwest, Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand told state TV, adding that 'the search operations have come to an end.'
Kolivand also said that although the rescue workers were at the spot since yesterday, the rescue operations were disrupted due to hostile weather and thick fog.
Apart from this, as this region is full of hills and mountains, rescue officials found Raisi's helicopter after a long 16-hour operation.
US bans 26 textile firms over alleged links to forced labour in China
The US administration on Thursday added 26 textile entities like traders and warehouses to the forced labour entity list, for having an alleged link with Uyghur labour camps from China's Xinjiang, Nikkei Asia reported.
This latest decision will now ban, products associated with these entities from entering the US market, the same report also claimed that this step will also increase pressure on the supply chains of the US market.
the US Department of Homeland Security's report stated that Companies in provinces across China, including Henan, Jiangsu, Hubei, and Fujian, have been added to the forced-labour Entity List, which now increases the count to 76 entities.
The US has repeatedly taken steps against the use of forced labour for production in China's Xinjiang region, home to the predominantly Muslim Turkic Uyghurs and other minorities.
Locals of this region have been facing human rights abuses at the hands of China however, the country denies all such claims and states that all those alleged labour programs are to alleviate poverty in the region.
The Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) generally bars imports sourced "wholly or in part" in Xinjiang, a major cotton-supplying region. Enforcement has led to around USD 3 billion in shipments being flagged at the border since the act took effect in June 2022. Hence all the products coming from that region are considered to be a product of forced labour until there is clear evidence that proves otherwise.
The Entity List designates specific companies whose products, or components of other companies' finished products, are to be blocked from entering the country.
Authorities have flagged extra scrutiny for certain sectors, such as cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon, a key raw material for solar panels, the report by Nikkei Asia claimed.
In the same reference the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in January this year, urging stronger enforcement of the UFLPA through such steps as adding entities outside China to the list.
A researcher on the matter Adrian Zenz has highlighted that one key issue faced by the US government is a lack of transparency in domestic supply chains within China. According to his statement given to Nikkei Asia "The UFLPA contains a provision to monitor and keep an eye on intra-Chinese supply chains because of the risk of labour transfers to other provinces. As Xinjiang itself doesn't export so much of what is produced in Xinjiang. The greatest risk comes through intermediaries, and the Entity List is very much suited to counter or to address that problem."Nikkei Asia further quotes the research accomplished by Zenz which stated that there was a 38 per cent increase from 2022 to 2023 in the number of labourers moved as part the "pairing assistance" program but said any future understanding of labour transfer programs could diminish now that the Chinese government has stopped publishing statistics.
Source: Beijing News
