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International News (6893)
February
Invasion could drive 5 million Ukrainians to flee abroad - U.N.
Written by Nur Yasmin
Fuel, cash and medical supplies are running low in parts of Ukraine after Russia's invasion, which could drive up to five million people to flee abroad, U.N. aid agencies said on Friday.
At least 100,000 people are uprooted in Ukraine after fleeing their homes, while several thousand have already crossed into neighbouring countries including Moldova, Romania and Poland, U.N. refugee agency spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
"We are still trying to see which civilian infrastructure in Ukraine has been hit where," Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia, told the briefing.
U.N. human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said that it had reports of at least 127 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 25 killed and 102 injured, "caused by shelling and air strikes". This was likely a significant under-estimate, she said. (Reuters)
February
Russia says will only talk to Ukraine once Ukraine's military lays down arms
Written by Nur Yasmin
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would be ready to hold talks with Kyiv, but only once Ukraine's military had laid down its arms.
He also said that Moscow did not want "neo-Nazis" to govern Ukraine.
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. (Reuters)
February
Ukraine asks for S.Korea cybersecurity aid amid Russia invasion
Written by Nur Yasmin
The top Ukraine official in South Korea said on Friday that his country wants to request Seoul's assistance in boosting its cybersecurity capability to defend against Russian attacks.
Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces pressed their advance after launching attacks on Thursday, prompting Kyiv's plea for more help from the international community. read more
Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador-designate to South Korea, said the websites of the country's governmental institutions were suffering from Russian attacks.
A global cybersecurity firm has also said that a newly discovered piece of destructive software was found circulating in Ukraine and has hit hundreds of computers, part of what was deemed an intensifying wave of hacks aimed at the country. read more
Ponomarenko commended South Korean President Moon Jae-in's remarks that Ukraine's sovereignty must be respected and Seoul supports a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but expressed hopes for additional assistance.
"We would also be grateful if the Republic of Korea, being a highly developed hi-tech country, gave us a hand in strengthening our cybersecurity capabilities," he said in a statement released after a news conference in Seoul, using South Korea's official name.
Moon said South Korea would join the international community's efforts to slap economic sanctions on Russia, but officials said they were not considering adopting unilateral measures. read more
An official at South Korea's foreign ministry said it would step up support for Ukraine, but did not immediately comment on potential cyber cooperation.
South Korea designated Ukraine as a key recipient of official development aid last year, and currently provides help in education, health and public administration among other areas.
Ukraine accounts for only around 0.1% of South Korea's trade volume. Russia is South Korea's major energy supplier and 10th largest trade partner, with several big companies including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor running plants there.
Ponomarenko urged the international community to show solidarity by imposing sanctions against Russia and providing Ukraine with financial, military and fuel support, as well as humanitarian assistance.
"We need to act together and in coordinated manner," he told the news conference. (Reuters)
February
Europe ready to impose more sanctions on Russia -Italy's Draghi
Written by Nur Yasmin
The European Union is finalising a first package of sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and is ready to impose further measures if needed, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Friday.
EU leaders met on Thursday to discuss sanctions, but whereas the United States and Britain issued detailed measures, European Union countries, split over just how far to go, left details to be worked out in the coming days.
Draghi said the EU sanctions would be far-reaching, hitting the Russian financial, energy, transport and technology sectors, and promised further action to come.
"We also envisage a second package, including against members of the Duma who have not yet been sanctioned," he told parliament. "We are ready for even harsher measures if these do not prove sufficient."
Speaking off the record, some diplomats in Brussels have said Italy had been opposed to tougher initial sanctions, such as cutting Russia off from SWIFT -- an international payments system through which it receives foreign currency.
Draghi said Italy's position was in line with other EU allies "first and foremost France and Germany".
He added that Italy was ready to supply an additional 3,400 military personnel to support NATO efforts to contain the Ukraine crisis, boosting the 240 Italian troops already involved in NATO missions in eastern Europe.
"Our priority today must be to strengthen the security of our continent and to apply maximum pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops and return to the negotiating table," he said.
"The images we are seeing, of defenceless citizens forced to hide in bunkers and subways, are terrible and take us back to the darkest days of European history." (reuters)
February
Almost 11,000 Ukrainians entered Romania on first day of Russian invasion - minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
A total of 10,624 Ukrainians entered Romania through its six border checkpoints on Thursday as Russia invaded Ukraine by land, sea and air, Romanian Interior Minister Lucian Bode said on Friday.
Bode said 3,660 of them passed through Romania on their way to Bulgaria and Hungary. Of the roughly 7,000 who are currently in Romania, only 11 have requested political asylum. The others can legally stay for up to 90 days without having to do so.
A U.N. refugee agency spokesperson told a briefing in Geneva that at least 100,000 people had been uprooted in Ukraine after fleeing their homes, while several thousand have already crossed into neighboring countries including Moldova, Romania and Poland. (reuters)
February
Ukraine's Zelenskiy calls on citizens to fight, promises weapons
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, saying Kyiv would issue weapons to everyone who wants them.
Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two and confirmation of the worst fears of the West.
Zelenskiy urged Russians to come out and protest against the war. (Reuters)
February
Gambia urges World Court to reject Myanmar challenge to genocide case
Written by Nur Yasmin
Gambia on Wednesday urged judges at the World Court to reject a challenge by Myanmar to a case brought to halt alleged acts of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, saying the West African state was "no one's proxy".
On Monday Myanmar's junta, which detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup last February, demanded that the United Nations' top court drop the case because Gambia was acting as a proxy for others and had no legal standing to file a case. read more
"Now more than ever justice within Myanmar is impossible and now, as before, only this court can hold Myanmar accountable for its acts of genocide," Gambia's Attorney General Dawda Jallow said.
The case before the International Court of Justice was brought in 2019 by Gambia, a predominantly Muslim West African country, backed by the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation. Both Myanmar and Gambia have signed the 1948 genocide convention.
Gambia argues that Myanmar has violated that treaty, citing events in 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh after a military crackdown. A U.N. fact-finding mission concluded that the military campaign had included "genocidal acts".
Jallow said the UN treaty allowed his nation to file a case against Myanmar.
If it rejects Myanmar's objection, the court is expected to rule on the issue of jurisdiction over the case by the end of the year.
If the case does proceed, a final ruling is likely to take at several years to reach. (Reuters)
February
U.S. Justice Department to end Trump-era program targeting threats posed by China
Written by Nur Yasmin
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday will end a program focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft, shifting from what an official called a "myopic" focus to address threats from a broader array of hostile nations.
Critics have said the initiative, put in place during former President Donald Trump's administration, amounted to racial profiling and that it created a culture of fear that has chilled scientific research.
The move, the details of which were reported by Reuters earlier this month, is a recognition that the focus on China was too limited, said Matt Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. read more
"We see nations such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea becoming more aggressive and more capable in their nefarious activity than ever before," Olsen said in a speech at George Mason University's National Security Institute. "Our new strategy is threat-driven."
The department's "China Initiative," started in 2018, has faced intense scrutiny by civil rights groups and some members of Congress for its expansive investigation into professors at U.S. universities over whether they disclosed financial ties to China when seeking federal grant funding and visiting Chinese scholars from military affiliated universities.
"By picking one country, what the China initiative did, it created in some ways a bit of a myopic approach which I don't think really reflects the nature of the threat landscape," said Olsen, who discussed the changes with reporters ahead of his speech.
At least 20 academic researchers have faced charges as part of the China Initiative, including Charles Lieber, a Harvard University professor convicted in December of lying about his ties to China in connection with federally funded research.
But several of the department's cases were dismissed due to flaws in the evidence or the premise, including one against Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Gang Chen, who was accused of hiding ties to China when seeking federal grant funds.
"Anything that creates the impression that the Department of Justice applies different standards based on race or ethnicity harms the department and our efforts and it harms the public," Olsen said.
Going forward, the Justice Department will have a much higher bar and conduct more intense supervision before bringing similar future criminal cases against academics, Olsen said.
Olsen added that the department will not be "taking any tools off the table" when it comes to bringing possible future cases involving researchers, nor will the department drop any of its outstanding cases against professors.
"The department will continue to stand behind the cases that we are currently prosecuting," he said.
U.S. Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California and critic of the initiative, told Reuters in an interview he was pleased the Justice Department was changing its approach and would “ no longer be focused on things that have nothing do with spying and espionage."
“This change is going to result in less racial profiling of Asians and Asian Americans, and that is a good thing," he said.
"Now we need to monitor it and see what actually comes of the change.”
Linda Ng, the national president for the OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, also said her organization is "cautiously optimistic" about the changes, but cautioned it should not merely amount to "a rebranding exercise."
The Justice Department's new strategy will primarily focus on cases in a few core areas: defending the nation from threats of espionage, export control and sanctions violations; protecting corporate intellectual property, private information about Americans and supply chains; and defending democracy from rising threats posed by authoritarian regimes.
"Make no mistake, we will be relentless in defending our country from China," Olsen said. (Reuters)
February
China vows to keep property market stable, meet demand this year
Written by Nur Yasmin
China's housing minister pledged on Thursday to keep the real estate market stable this year and ensure genuine demand for homes is met, after a series of regulations aimed at reining in debt in the sector unsettled buyers and prompted a marked slowdown in the key property sector.
Prices of homes fell and new construction starts tumbled after regulators stepped up their deleveraging campaign against the bloated property sector, triggering defaults at some heavily indebted companies and threatening the delivery of some new residential housing projects.
Authorities have since stepped in with a slew of measures to boost sales and sentiment, including requiring smaller down-payments for first-time home buyers and allowing commercial banks to lower mortgage rates. read more
"China's genuine demand for housing is relatively strong," as more than 11 million people are newly employed in urban areas each year, Wang Menghui, head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said at a news conference.
Wang also believed that a large number of people are eager to live in spacious homes, partly driven by strict COVID-19 control measures.
China aims to offer 2.4 million units for affordable rental housing this year, Wang said, after 942,000 units in 40 cities with high population inflows helped meet demand from 3 million people last year.
Property regulations are unlikely to be loosened across the board, analysts say.
"China will maintain the continuity and stability of policy measures while strengthening the precision and coordination of such measures," Wang said.
The government will continue to eliminate any project delivery risks by some individual property developers due to their debt defaults, Vice Housing Minister Ni Hong said at the same news conference. (Reuters)
February
Putin ally says Ukraine's demilitarisation only way to prevent war in Europe
Written by Nur Yasmin
The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament said on Thursday that the only way to prevent war in Europe was for Ukraine to be "demilitarised", the RIA news agency reported.
Vyacheslav Volodin, a senior lawmaker, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Russia on Thursday launched a massive military operation against Ukraine. (Reuters)