Zelenskyy France

France To Deliver Arms, Train Ukraine Soldiers In Key Agreement With Kyiv

Amid the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new long-term security pact with France, hours after securing a similar deal and aid from Germany, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.

According to the report, under the new agreement, France vows to deliver more arms, train soldiers in Ukraine and send up to three billion euros (USD 3.23 billion) in military aid.

The pact is set to run for 10 years and will not only strengthen cooperation in the area of artillery but also help pave the way towards Ukraine’s future integration into the European Union and NATO, stated Macron and Zelenskyy.

“Our cooperation yields results in the protection of life in Ukraine and our entire Europe,” Zelenskyy said on his social media platforms, shortly before meeting Macron.

Earlier on Friday, the German Ministry of Defence announced that a deal had been signed between Zelenskyy and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Al Jazeera reported.

Al Jazeera reported that the German security pact, which will last for 10 years, commits Germany to supporting Ukraine with military assistance and hitting Russia with sanctions and export controls, and ensuring that Russian assets remain frozen.

Berlin also prepared another immediate support package worth 1.13 billion euros (USD 1.22bn) that is focused on air defence and artillery.

“The document’s importance cannot be overestimated. It makes clear that Germany will continue to support an independent Ukraine in its defence against the Russian invasion,” Scholz said.

“And if in the future there is another Russian aggression, we have agreed on detailed diplomatic, economic and military support,” he added.

In January, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also signed a security accord with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has repeatedly been stressing the importance of sending more aid to Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.

On Tuesday, the US Senate passed a USD 61 billion aid bill for Ukraine. But the bill still faces an uncertain fate with several right-wing US Republicans in the House already saying they will block it as the money should be spent on domestic issues, Al Jazeera reported.

On Friday, Biden highlighted that the reported death of Russian anticorruption activist Alexey Navalny brings new urgency to the need for Congress to approve funds for Ukraine to stave off Moscow’s invasion.

“The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten,” Biden said. “And the clock is ticking. This has to happen. We have to help now.” (ANI)

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2024 Will be About Russia China Modi

2024 Will be About Russia, China, Modi, the Middle East, White House, AI and Much More

We humans are remarkably adept at adaptation. We can adjust to most changing situations, sometimes swiftly and at other times less quickly. Perhaps the speed with which we can adapt to technology is among the highest. The pace at which we adapt to geopolitical changes is probably slower. Regardless of how quick or slow we are, we most certainly can adapt to change. 

According to Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist known mainly for his work on how a child develops cognitive abilities, humans adapt to new information and experiences using two processes. We first assimilate new situations by incorporating the new information into our mental framework. Then, in the second stage, we change our mental framework or structure in order to fit the new information. Together, the two processes help us learn, adjust and grow with the new environment or changed situation.

Russia’s Ukraine War May Conflagrate. In 2023, there were huge upheavals in our environment. Some of them, such as Russia’s conflict with Ukraine began earlier, in early 2022, but it was in 2023 that it became more grim. The war was here to stay. In the beginning, many, including seasoned analysts of geopolitical conflicts, assumed that Russia’s war against Ukraine wouldn’t last long and would peter out because, at least in the beginning, Russia was perceived to be ii-equipped to win the wat and its initial onslaughts had not been very successful. Then there was also the setback when Russian mercenary fighters, the Wagner Group rebelled, ostensibly, against the Kremlin but then backed down before its controversial leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died mysteriously. 

For a while in 2023 it seemed that Russia would back off and that the war would end. It didn’t. As we move quickly towards 2024, it could seem that in the coming year, the Russia-Ukraine conflict could not only continue to rage but Russia could firmly dominate the situation and even be a real threat to other regions in the neighbourhood. Vulnerable countries include Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. 

In Ukraine, which is already straining since the offensive began, the situation could get worse in 2024. Although the European Union (EU) has decided to begin talks on the country’s membership of the union, the war funds that it wanted to provide have been blocked by a veto from Hungary. And NATO, which is dominated by the US, could also be hamstrung in its efforts to help Ukraine because in the US legislators have been blocking moves to increase America’s support to the beleaguered nation.

Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, 71, will contest (and, in all probability, win) a fifth term in next year’s elections and continue his authoritarian grip over his country’s policies, strategies, and actions.

These developments can embolden Russia, which has already unleashed hybrid war tactics against Finland, a new Nato member with which it shares a 1340-km border by sponsoring cyberattacks, pushing in illegal migrants from third countries, and threatening oil pipeline disruptions. 

In 2024, with flagging support for Ukraine, you could expect to see a further conflagration of Russia’s expansionism in the region. 

In Gaza, Peace Could Be A Far Cry. Since October 7 when the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, launched horrific attacks against Israel (more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians were killed, and hundreds were taken as hostages). Israel responded by launching a war in Gaza, killing thousands of Palestinians and displacing nearly a million more. The conflict is still ongoing, despite international efforts to broker a ceasefire. 

With both Israel and Hamas not willing to yield or agree to a long-term ceasefire, the current situation could get even more volatile in 2024. The prospect of settling in favour of a two-nation theory–the idea of creating two separate states for Israelis and Palestinians, based on the 1967 borders–is highly uncertain. Although that theory is backed by the UK, US, the UN, and many other countries, the main protagonists, Israel and Palestine, have irreconcilable differences that are related to issues such as the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees, the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and the security concerns of both sides. 

Israel, which has expanded its settlements in the occupied areas of Gaza, also demands that any Palestinian state be demilitarised and recognise Israel as a Jewish state. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has rejected the two-nation theory and calls for the liberation of all of historic Palestine, from the river to the sea, does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has waged several wars against it, firing rockets and launching attacks from Gaza.

Hamas has Iran’s backing and 2024, it is feared, could see a growing involvement of Iran in the conflict. Iran, whose efforts at developing nuclear weapons is a source of global concern, is allied with Russia (it supplies Russia with drones and other weapons to use against Ukraine). Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas, which has affected millions of civilians in the region, has already raised the ire of Muslim countries in the neighbourhood and in 2024, unless a breakthrough settlement emerges, the Middle East could become a much larger and more critical arena of warfare that could draw in other nations and become a full-blown catastrophe.

A New Occupant in White House. There are few offices that are of as much consequence to the world as that of the President of the United State of America. It is a fact that is both unfortunate and true. Next year, Americans will elect a new President. While the current president, Joe Biden, will likely be in the race as the Democratic candidate, many expect a Republican to win the contest. Curiously, Donald Trump, who may be besieged by court cases of different kinds and could be even facing jail time, continues to be the most favoured Republican Party candidate. His approval ratings are way higher than other hopefuls from that party (namely, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek ramaswamy). 

Biden will be 82 around the time of the election and is believed to be showing signs of age-related unfitness. Trump, 77, is no spring chicken, but his legion of supporters keeps growing. A second Trump presidency could mean a harder line of inward looking American policies, protectionism, transactional diplomacy (read: deal making), and, in effect, a reduction of commitment to Nato, Ukraine, or the Middle East. Any of those policies could alter the global trends in 2024 profoundly.

Even if Trump is not the next President, any other Republican in the White House would likely have similar international policies–for instance, to downsize America’s involvement in international conflicts. As it stands, even Biden is facing problems in his efforts to pledge more support for Ukraine (the Democrats have a slight edge in the upper chamber of the American legislature, the Senate, but in the lower one, the House of Representatives, it is the Republicans that have an edge). 

China’s Third Revolution. China’s growth may have slowed down in 2023 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the weakness in the property sector, and the subdued external demand. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its growth forecast for China to 5.4 percent for 2023, but expects it to slow to 4.6 percent in 2024. Other institutions, such as the World Bank and Moody’s, have also cut their 2024 growth forecasts for China to 4.4 percent or lower. Does that mean China’s influence next year will be less consequential? Most certainly not.

For one, the Chinese government has vowed to strengthen its fiscal policy and expand its domestic demand to boost the economy despite the many challenges and risks it faces such as overcapacity in the electric vehicle and other sectors, the ailing property market, the mounting local government debts, and the structural factors such as weaker demographics.

Yet, we must not forget the Chinese president Xi Jinping’s unwavering ambitions of transforming  the world order by redrawing the geographic boundaries of China and replacing the US-led West as the dominant power in the Asia Pacific. He has also sought to advance the principles of his new China on the global stage and to make other countries follow “a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind”. 

Like Putin, Xi, 70, is here to stay and could remain as his country’s supreme leader for life. Unlike Putin, Xi’s international moves are more entwined with trade, commerce and dominance via China’s manufacturing heft. Expect in 2024 to see China wield more clout in the Middle East, where it has already brokered a historic deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and in the South (especially in developing nations of Africa, and Asia) where its presence and influence has been steadily increasing.

Modi 3.0 and the Rise of India. Next year in May, more than 900 million Indians will be eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections, in which Prime Minister Modi and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), hope to win a third term. Many observers believe that he will. In a recently held round of state assembly elections, the BJP won three important ones–Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh (in first, it won a fifth consecutive term; and in the other two, it wrested control from its main rival, the Congress party). 

The Congress, which was once a more powerful central party, is now much diminished. Of India’s 28 states, the BJP is now in power in 12 of the 28 states and is in the ruling coalition in four others. The Congress, on the other hand, is now in power in only three states. 

Regardless of its performance in the recent state elections, the BJP’s prospects of winning next year’s parliamentary elections are high. First, because the opposition does not offer a big challenge. A recent coalition of several parties, including the Congress and other BJP-opposed regional and other parties has not really made significant impact on national politics in India.

More importantly, the Modi government, which came to power nearly a decade back in 2014 is seen to have delivered on many fronts. 

According to the IMF, India’s GDP growth rate for 2022 is projected to be 7%, which is higher than the world average of 3.08%. India’s economy is also the fifth largest in the world by nominal GDP, with an estimated size of $3.73 trillion in 2023. However, India’s GDP per capita is still low compared to other major economies, ranking 139th in the world with $2,690 in 2020. Inequality and disparities in development continue to be challenges in a country with a population of 1.4 billion.

Yet, the Modi regime’s track record has won him plaudits. According to a US-based consultancy firm, Morning Consult, Prime Minister Modi has the highest approval rating among 22 global leaders, with 76% of the respondents expressing satisfaction with his performance. Similarly, the Ipsos IndiaBus Poll found that Modi had an approval rating of 65% among urban Indians as of September 2023.

Some of the possible reasons for Modi’s high approval rating are his government’s achievements in various sectors, such as tax reform, bankruptcy code, sanitation, housing, energy, infrastructure, digital services, and national security. Next year, you could expect him to win another lease of trust from Indian voters.

Finally, 2024 Could be the Year of AI. Many believe that the real threat of artificial intelligence (AI), whose technology is rapidly progressing, is when it becomes capable of performing any intellectual task that humans or animals can do. Hypothetically, it is called AGI or artificial general intelligence and would be able to understand natural language, reason, plan, create, and adapt to new situations. 

AGI is the long-term goal of some AI research being conducted now at companies such as OpenAI and others and while it is not known when or whether it will be achieved, many have expressed apprehension about what its impact on humanity could be. For instance, AI could be weaponised. Drug discovery tools could be used to make chemical weapons; AI could use disinformation to destabilise societies and nations; or be misused by empowering groups with destructive intent. ‘

Expect 2024 to be the year of debate about how to control or regulate the development of AI and what impact it could have on humanity: on jobs, sovereignty, stability, and society.

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Russia Gaza

Russia Sends 27 Tonnes Humanitarian Aid To Gaza

Russia has sent 27 tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip to be transported from Egypt, the country’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Taking to X, Russia’s MFA said, “Russia’s EMERCOM to deliver 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, mainly food supplies: flour, sugar, rice and pasta. The Il-76 transport aircraft is already en route to Arish in Egypt. The Egyptian Red Crescent will ensure the delivery of the aid.”

The Times of Israel cited Russia’s Deputy Minister Ilya Denisov’s statement, “A special plane has taken off from the airport at Ramenskoye near Moscow for El-Arish in Egypt. The Russian humanitarian aid will be handed over to the Egyptian Red Crescent to be sent to the Gaza Strip.”

Denisov added the aid comprised “wheat, sugar, rice (and) pasta.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the office of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared details of his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the former briefed him on the ongoing counter-offensive against Hamas, following the October 7 terror attacks, and his talks with several leaders from the region and the Palestinian authorities.

“The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel had been attacked by brutal and abhorrent murderers, had gone to war determined and united, and would not stop until it had destroyed Hamas’s military and governing capabilities,” Netanyahu’s office tweeted from its official handle on X.

It posted further that PM Netanyahu told the Russian President that the Israeli forces won’t relent till they “eliminate Hamas”.

“The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel had been attacked by brutal and abhorrent murderers, had gone to war determined and united, and would not stop until it had destroyed Hamas’s military and governing capabilities,” the Israeli PM’s office posted further.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, during their telephone conversation, Putin highlighted the measures Russia is taking to stop the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip from escalating further.”President of Russia Vladimir #Putin spoke with Prime Minister of the State of Israel @netanyahu over the phone,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia posted on X.

“President Putin laid out the steps being taken by Russia to prevent the further escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

Moscow said the conversation was centred on “the crisis situation resulting from the brutal escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.

“The Israeli side was in particular informed of the essential points of telephone correspondences that took place today with the leaders of Palestine, Egypt, Iran and Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Russian President also expressed “his sincere condolences to the families and friends of the deceased Israelis”, the Kremlin said.

Along with that, he informed the Israeli leader of the measures taken by Russia to “promote the normalisation of the situation, prevent a further escalation of violence, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip”.

The Russian President also expressed to Netanyahu his country’s “fundamental desire to continue its targeted action aimed at ending” the crisis and achieving “a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means,” according to a statement from the government. (ANI)

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Putin Gaza

Indian Leadership Led By National Interests: Putin

Heaping praise on India, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Indian leadership is “self-directed” and led by the country’s national interests, according to Reuters.

Speaking at an event, Putin alleged that the West is trying to cast everyone “who is not ready to blindly follow these Western elites as the enemy”.

“At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course. We all understand this very well. We feel and see the situation in Asia. Everything is clear. I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that those attempts make no sense. But, they continue. They are trying to cast Arabs as the enemy. They are trying to be careful, but overall, that’s what it all boils down to,” Putin said.

The Russian President said countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa deserve more representation in the UN Security Council and added that the UN should be reformed but gradually, according to Reuters.

Calling India a “powerful country”, Putin said that it is growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia-based RT News reported.

“…India, more than 1.5 billion of population, more than 7 per cent of economic growth…that’s a powerful country, mighty country. And it’s growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi…,” Putin said, according to a video shared by RT News.

Earlier on Wednesday, Putin had called PM Modi a “very wise man”, adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, RT reported.

Last month, too, he had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the “right thing” in promoting the Make in India programme. (ANI)

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Ukraine

Ukraine Military Claims It ‘Liberated’ Village Near Bakhmut

In a major development in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kyiv has reclaimed the village of Andriivka near Bakhmut, CNN reported on Friday citing the Ukrainian forces.

The recapture of the village, south of Bakhmut, marks a symbolic and strategic victory for the Ukrainian forces, as per CNN.

“It’s official: The Third Separate Assault Brigade has liberated Andriivka,” the brigade announced Friday, claiming the Russian occupiers had been “smashed to pieces.”

The brigade said fighting was ongoing and that its units “continue to consolidate their positions.”

The Ukrainian and Russian sides have said that some of the most intense battles in the Bakhmut direction are happening south of the embattled city in the Andriivka area, CNN reported.

In another incident, Ukraine has claimed that the vessels it struck in an attack on a Russian naval base in occupied Crimea are beyond repair.

Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said the landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don had been destroyed in the attack. Both had been undergoing repairs at the time.

Notably, Ukraine has stepped up its missile and drone strikes on Crimea in recent weeks, as Kyiv officials have claimed they are intent on retaking the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit US, next week as he sets to make the case for ongoing aid-related discussions for his country, reported Al Jazeera.

However, the details of his visit appeared in US media on Thursday afternoon, with anonymous government sources confirming his further plans.

According to Al Jazeera, Zelenskyy is likely to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday and will make a stop at the Capitol.

Biden administration has asked Congress to provide USD 24 billion for Ukraine support, including USD 13.1 billion in additional military aid and USD 8.5 billion for humanitarian aid, reported Al Jazeera. (ANI)

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Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un Vows Full Support To Russia

Issuing support to Moscow in the ongoing war in Ukraine, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told President Vladimir Putin that Russia will emerge victorious in the fight to “punish the evil forces”, adding that he would “always be standing with Russia”, CNN reported on Wednesday.

He praised Russia for having “stood up against the hegemonic forces” to defend its sovereignty and security – a veiled reference to the US and the West – and said he has expressed “the full and unconditional support to all that Russia does in response”, CNN reported.

Kim said the Russian military and its people will inherit the “shining tradition of victory” and demonstrate their reputation on the front line of the “military operation”.

The North Korean leader added that both the leaders had an “in-depth discussion” on the political and military landscape of Korean Peninsula and Europe.

Kim vowed to establish “a new era of 100-year friendship” between two countries, and proposed a toast to “the great Russia’s new victory” and Putin’s health.

Notably, these remarks come amid concerns of Russia getting into an arms deal with North Korea, according to CNN.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the country is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea, CNN reported citing Russian state news agency Russia 1.

“Well, there are certain restrictions, and Russia complies with all these restrictions,” Putin told state-owned Russia 1. “But there are things that we can of course talk about, discuss, think about it. And here too there are prospects,” he added.

When asked by a reporter whether Russia would help North Korea launch its own satellites and rockets, Putin responded, “That’s exactly why we came here”, as per CNN.

Meanwhile, the Russian state media reported on Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, that the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were “very substantive,”

“The negotiations between Putin and Kim Jong Un were very substantive,” RIA reported, quoting Peskov. According to RIA, Peskov added that North Korea “shows huge interest in developing bilateral ties with Russia.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his first day of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “highly productive,” involving a “candid exchange of views” on both regional matters and bilateral relations.

The pair spent around five hours together on Wednesday, according to according to Russian state news agency TASS.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a closely watched summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia marks his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic as during the pandemic, North Korea’s borders were sealed, reported CNN. (ANI)

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Ukraine

Russia Attacks Ukraine’s Biggest Grain Exporting Ports

Just hours before talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin were scheduled to take place, Russia unleashed a round of drone attacks on one of Ukraine’s largest grain exporting ports, Al Jazeera reported.

Residents of Izmail port, one of Ukraine’s two main grain exporting terminals on the Danube River in the Odesa region, were urged to seek cover by the air force early on Monday.

Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa, later claimed that although 17 drones were shot down over the southern region, the attack severely damaged the port’s infrastructure.

“17 drones were shot down by our air defence forces,” Kiper wrote on Telegram, adding, “But, unfortunately, there are also hits. In several settlements of Izmail district, warehouses and production buildings, agricultural machinery and equipment of industrial enterprises were damaged.”

Kiper added that preliminary reports showed no fatalities or injuries.

The drone attack happened as Putin and Erdogan were about to meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, to discuss an agreement to export grain from Ukraine, which would have helped alleviate a food crisis in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Nearly 33 million metric tonnes (36 million tonnes) of grain and other goods were allowed to leave three Ukrainian ports according to the deal, which was mediated by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022.

Moscow, however, pulled out of the pact around six weeks ago, citing difficulties with its shipments of food and fertiliser as well as a lack of Ukrainian grain reaching impoverished nations.

Since then, it has launched repeated attacks against the Danube River’s ports, which has emerged as Ukraine’s primary grain export route.

The scale of the attack on Monday – was not known immediately – but it came after Russian attacks on Sunday on Reni, the other major port on the Danube, damaging the port’s infrastructure, and injuring at least two people.

The meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Russia will “play the most important role” in restoring the grain corridor, according to a senior adviser to Erdogan who spoke to Turkey’s A Haber news channel on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

“The current status [of the grain deal] will be discussed at the summit on Monday. We are cautious, but we hope to achieve success because this is a situation that affects the entire world,” said Alif Cagatay Kilic, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy and security adviser.

Erdogan has frequently vowed to renew the Black Sea agreement. Erdogan has maintained tight connections to Putin throughout the 18-month war, including by declining to support Western sanctions against Russia.

In July, the Turkish president said that Putin had “certain expectations from Western countries” about the grain deal and that it was “crucial for these countries to take action in this regard.” This was a previous indication of Erdogan’s support for Putin’s stance.

Russia has stated that it would consider reviving the Black Sea Agreement if requests to increase its exports of grain and fertiliser were satisfied. Although Western sanctions do not apply to Russian exports of food and fertiliser, Moscow claims that limitations on payments, logistics, and insurance have hampered shipments.

Reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT global payments network is one of Russia’s primary priorities. The European Union cut it off in June 2022.

Additionally, the UN has increased its efforts to revive the deal.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received a letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday with “concrete proposals” meant to help Moscow’s expoerts reach international markets.

Russian authorities, however, claimed that they were not satisfied with the letter, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)

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Nobel Foundation

Nobel Foundation Withdraws Invitation To Russia, Belarus

After facing widespread criticism, the Nobel Foundation finally withdrew its invitations to three countries: Russia, Iran and Belarus, saying that the invitations had provoked “strong reactions,” CNN reported. 

In a press release, the Nobel Foundation on Saturday said that the ambassadors from the three countries (Russia, Belarus and Iran) would not be invited, after initially saying that it wanted to involve even those who did not share the values of the Nobel Prize.

Ukraine had condemned the decision to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors. A Swedish member of the European Parliament called the decision “extremely inappropriate.”

Last year, Russian and Belarusian ambassadors were left out of Stockholm’s Nobel Prize awards ceremony because of the war in Ukraine. 

“The decision by the Nobel Foundation to invite all ambassadors to the Nobel Prize award ceremony, in accordance with previous practice, has provoked strong reactions,” the foundation said in its statement on Saturday, adding that the basis for the decision is the belief that “it is important and right to reach out as widely as possible with the values and messages that the Nobel Prize stands for.”

“For example, through last year’s clear political message with the peace prize awarded to human rights fighters from Russia and Belarus as well as to Ukrainians who work with documenting Russian war crimes,” CNN quoted a statement saying.

The foundation further stated that they recognize the strong reactions in Sweden, which completely overshadowed this message. And, therefore, choose to repeat last year’s exception to regular practice – that is, to not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm.

The move on Saturday was welcomed by the Swedish prime minister and Ukrainian officials.

“I welcome the new decision of the board of the Nobel Foundation regarding the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm,” Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, called the reversal a “restoration of justice” in a post on Facebook, as per CNN.

The Nobel Banquet takes place annually in Stockholm on December 10, where five out of six Nobel Prizes are awarded. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway.

The Russia-Ukraine war that started on February 24, 2022, has taken numerous lives and the war continues to escalate between the two nations even now. (ANI)

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Russia Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

Russia Sentences Kremlin Critic Navalny To 19 Years In Prison

Russia on Friday sentenced Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to 19 years in prison on extremism charges, CNN reported citing Russian media reports.

This is a fresh blow to the jailed blogger that comes amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent.

He was accused of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and a number of other crimes and was found guilty at the high-security penal colony in which he has been detained.

Navalny is already in jail, serving 11 and a half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.

He and his supporters claimed that his arrest and imprisonment were politically motivated, intended to silence his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The trial ended in June and took place behind closed doors at the IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, around 155 miles east of Moscow, where Navalny is being held.

This new verdict has extended Navalny’s jail time period, reported CNN. 

Navalny has been incarcerated in Russia since his return to the country in January 2021, on charges of violating terms of probation related to a years-old fraud case, which he dismisses as politically motivated.

In February 2021, Navalny was ordered to serve two years and eight months in prison for breaching his parole terms while he was hospitalized in Germany for nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, as per CNN.

In March 2022, A Russian court sentenced Navalny to nine years in prison and fined him 1.2 million rubles (USD 11,527) in separate criminal cases of fraud and contempt of court in a move that is being seen as a crackdown on the Kremlin critic.

The sentence was announced by the Lefortovo district court judge Margarita Kotova who announced the sentence to nine years in a “strict regime penal colony” for a criminal case of fraud and contempt of court, Sputnik News Agency reported.

The fraud case was initiated over a year ago. Navalny allegedly stole and spent over 350 million rubles (USD 3.1 million) donated to his Anti-Corruption Foundation for personal use, Sputnik reported citing investigation details.

His anti-corruption organization called, FBK, had last year been designated an “extremist organization and foreign agent” and subsequently banned by the Russian authorities.

The other charge in the case concerns Navalny allegedly insulting Judge Vera Akimova, who sentenced him to a fine of 850,000 rubles (USD 7,500) for slandering a veteran of World War 2, Ignat Artemenko, Sputnik further reported, adding that the two offences were investigated separately, but before being submitted to the court, they were combined into one case. (ANI)

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India’s Rice Exports Ban

India’s Rice Exports Ban To Fuel Volatility In Global Food Prices: IMF

IMF’s Chief Economist and Director, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, has said restrictions imposed by India on exports of certain varieties of rice are likely to exacerbate volatility on food prices in the rest of the world.

“And they (the ban on rice exports) can also lead to retaliatory measures. So, they are certainly something that we would encourage the removal of these type of export restrictions, because they can be harmful globally,” Gourinchas said in a press conference after it launched World Economic Outlook on Tuesday.
He was asked in the press conference on what would be the impact on the global inflation after India’s decision to restrict export of certain categories of rice.

Notably, India’s rice exports ban came soon after Russia’s announcement of pulling out from the United Nations and Turkey-brokered Black Sea grain deal.

The IMF chief economist noted that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was very instrumental in making sure that there would be ample grain supply to the world in the last year.

“And there are estimates of about 33 million tons of grain that were shipped from Ukraine to the rest of the world. And it helped keep price pressures on food and grain prices lower,” Gourinchas said.

“…now that this grain deal has been suspended, the same mechanics works in reverse, and it’s likely to put upward pressure on food prices,” he added.

Grains prices are estimated to rise 10-15 per cent, the IMF economist said.

The central government last Thursday amended the rice export norms putting the non-basmati white rice in “prohibited” category.

The export policy relating to non-basmati white rice (Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed: Other) was revised from “free” to “prohibited” and it came into force immediately.

However, export will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government.

West African country Benin is one of the major importers of non-basmati rice from India. Other destination countries are Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Cote D’ Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam, Djibouti, Madagascar, Cameroon Somalia, Malaysia, Liberia, and UAE.

India in September 2022 banned the exports of broken rice and imposed a 20 percent duty on exports of non-Basmati rice, except for parboiled rice amid concerns about an estimated low production due to a fall in area under the paddy crop. It later lifted the ban in November. (ANI)

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