Selasa, 15 November 2022

Ukraine: Zelensky tells G20 leaders ‘war must end now’ - BBC

A handout photo made available by the Ukrainian presidential press service shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) meets with military authorities during visit the recaptured city of KhersonEPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told world leaders at the G20 Bali summit that Russia's war must end now.

He also pleaded for an extension of a significant grain export deal due to expire soon.

Mr Zelensky appeared in a video speech beamed to leaders gathered on the Indonesian island.

Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia - a member of the G20 - refused to attend and sent his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov instead.

In his speech, first reported by AFP, Mr Zelensky said: "I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped."

He outlined a number of strategies, including ensuring nuclear and food safety, the ending of hostilities, and a prevention of escalation.

He repeatedly addressed the leaders as the "G19" - pointedly excluding Russia.

Chief among his requests was an extension of what is known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative which was struck in July between the United Nations and Russia.

It has ensured that food exports blocked at Ukrainian ports by Russian warships can be shipped out.

The UN says since the deal began, 10 million tonnes of grain and other food have been successfully exported, preventing a global food crisis.

But the deal expires on 19 November. Speaking on Tuesday at a G20 session on food and energy security, Mr Zelensky said the deal should be extended indefinitely, "no matter when the war ends".

"The right to food is a fundamental right of every person in the world," he said, proposing to expand the deal to other ports in the Mykolaiv region.

Russia said on Saturday that there had yet to be any agreement to extend the deal.

In return for allowing Ukraine to ship out food, it has insisted that Western sanctions be lifted so that Russia can export its own food and fertilisers to world markets without any hindrance.

Mr Zelensky also accused Russia of trying to "turn the cold into a weapon against millions of people" by bombing key Ukrainian energy infrastructure as winter approaches.

He asked for additional military assistance from Ukraine's allies, and price restrictions on Russian energy exports such that Russia cannot profit from them.

"If Russia is trying to deprive Ukraine, Europe and all energy consumers in the world of predictability and price stability, the answer to this should be a forced limitation of export prices for Russia… That's fair. If you take something away, the world has the right to take from you," he said.

Russia has shut off its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the largest gas pipeline to Europe, while the opening of a second pipe has been delayed. The West has also tried to wean itself off Russian energy by reducing its use of Russian gas and oil.

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2022-11-15 07:06:59Z
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Senin, 14 November 2022

'Inspiring' and 'courageous' cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan dies - Sky News

Vicky Phelan, a campaigner who challenged Ireland's cervical cancer screening programme, has died aged 48.

The mother of two, from Limerick, died in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Irish prime minister, Micheal Martin, told RTE Radio she had "extraordinary courage" and was someone "who stood up against the system".

Ms Phelan took legal action after mistakenly getting the all-clear after a smear test in 2011. She was diagnosed with cancer three years later.

Her case prompted others to come forward and raise questions about how women should be involved and informed about their own healthcare, and the issue of open disclosure.

Eventually it emerged that more than 200 women, later diagnosed with cervical cancer, could have been failed by Ireland's screening programme, CervicalCheck.

Dr Gabriel Scally, who led a review into the programme, said she had "a remarkable effect", changing healthcare in Ireland to become "a much more patient, sensitive and respectful system".

More on Cancer

Other politicians have spoken about her legacy, with Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald saying Ms Phelan was a "champion of women" who took on the state and won.

Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, posted on Twitter that Ms Phelan's death was "very sad news", adding that she inspired so many people by her "courageous campaigning".

Former Labour leader Alan Kelly told RTE "she was the most incredible human being probably I've ever met" describing her as "resilient" adding she "always fought back".

A digital artwork of Vicky Phelan is projected onto the GPO in Dublin to mark the release of a feature documentary about her life next week. 'Vicky' tells the story of how the Limerick woman revealed issues with Ireland's cervical screening programme CervicalCheck. It airs in cinemas on October 7. Picture date: Thursday September 29, 2022.
Image: A portrait of Vicky Phelan was projected on to a building in Dublin to mark the release of a documentary about her

Read more:
Sky Sports presenter urges 'get your smear' after cancer diagnosis
Women diagnosed with cervical cell changes after smear tests 'often feel shame'
Home smear tests to be trialled by thousands of women

Last month a documentary called Vicky was released in Irish cinemas telling Ms Phelan's story.

A digital artwork was projected on to the General Post Office in Dublin to mark its release.

Ms Phelan was awarded the freedom of Limerick this year, and was named as one of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women around the world in 2018.

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2022-11-14 15:32:45Z
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Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov appears in video amid reports he was taken to hospital after arrival at G20 - Sky News

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was taken to hospital after his arrival in Bali for the G20 summit yesterday, the Indonesian authorities have said.

Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, said he had been taken in for a "check-up" at the Sanglah Hospital in the provincial capital, Denpasar, and was "immediately returned".

Three other Indonesian government and medical officials said he was being treated on the resort island, with two reporting Mr Lavrov was receiving treatment for a heart condition.

Putin making 'grave' military error to 'show toughness' to Kremlin critics - Ukraine live

The Russian foreign ministry dismissed claims that he had been in hospital as "fake news".

In a Telegram post Maria Zakharova, director of the ministry's press department, said: "We can't believe our eyes: it turns out that he is hospitalised.

"This is, of course, the aerobatics of fakes. Well, wait, world exclusive."

More on G20

Ms Zakharova shared a video showing Mr Lavrov, who has been Vladimir Putin's foreign minister since 2004, sitting in his shorts, working on a balcony, according to Sky News Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay.

In the clip, she asks the 72-year-old what he makes of the reports, to which he replies that Western journalists
have been falsely writing that Mr Putin was ill for a decade.

"This is a kind of game that is not new in politics," Mr Lavrov said with an ironic smile.

"Western journalists need to be more truthful - they need to write the truth."

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Pic: Telegram/Tass
Image: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Pic: Telegram/Tass

Why is Lavrov at the G20 summit?

Russian news agency TASS has also shared an image appearing to show the minister smiling in front of a pool in Bali.

Mr Lavrov is the highest-ranking Russian official attending the G20 summit, which begins on Tuesday.

"He is there for the G20 in place of Vladimir Putin, who decided not to attend in person himself because the optics of him being snubbed on the world stage would not have been good," Magnay said.

Read more:
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'We were hiding our kids' - Sky News witnesses liberation of key city
Why is reclaiming Kherson important?

She continued: "It will be interesting to see who he has meetings with. We shall see how the G20 leaders respond to him."

It is likely to be the most fractious meeting of the G20 ever, with the traditional "family photo" of all the leaders being called off due to many not wanting to be pictured with anyone from Mr Putin's regime.

Click to subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts

Diplomats have also raised doubts that leaders will be able to issue a joint statement at the end of the summit, as usually happens.

Although most would like to agree on a statement condemning Russia, that will not happen as Russia would have to agree to it.

Joe Biden has already met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the summit, marking their first in-person meeting since the US president took office.

Both leaders agreed they have a "responsibility" to show the two countries can manage their differences, and Mr Xi said he is prepared for a "candid and in-depth exchange of views" with Mr Biden.

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2022-11-14 10:07:47Z
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G20 summit: Joe Biden meets Xi Jinping in Bali as US-China tensions mount - Financial Times

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping began their first face-to-face talks as heads of state on Monday, raising hopes the two presidents could at least begin to stabilise US-China relations.

The meeting is being held in Bali, Indonesia, on the eve of the G20 summit hosted by Indonesian president Joko Widodo.

It was the first time the two men have met in person since Biden became president, although they have spoken by phone or video link on five occasions over the past two years. Xi has only recently begun to travel overseas again after shunning foreign trips since the Covid-19 pandemic began in January 2020.

“I’m committed to keeping the lines of communication open between you and me personally,” Biden said in televised opening remarks. “We share a responsibility to show that China and the US can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming conflict and find ways to work together on urgent global issues.”

Xi said the two presidents needed “to chart the right course for the relationship”. “Nothing can substitute for face-to-face meetings,” he added.

Speaking before the meeting, a senior US official told reporters the Biden administration hoped the meeting would help the two sides “develop guardrails [and] clear rules of the road”.

“Competition [should] not veer into conflict,” the official added. “President Biden doesn’t want that, and we know our allies and partners in the region don’t want that.”

The meeting comes less than three months after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan enraged China, which responded by launching extensive military exercises around the self-ruled island that it claims as part of its sovereign territory.

Beijing also suspended a range of routine communications with Washington on issues such as climate change and judicial co-operation.

The Taiwan crisis highlighted the increasing chances that an accidental military incident could trigger a larger conflict between the world’s two largest economies and geopolitical powers.

The two sides have also sparred over the war in Ukraine, which is expected to dominate this week’s G20 summit. While Beijing claims to have a neutral position on the conflict, it has backed Russia’s claim that US-led expansion of Nato triggered the invasion.

“After the Ukraine war began, the US started thinking that they need to rapidly increase efforts to prevent China from taking Taiwan,” said Wu Xinbo, an America specialist at Fudan University in Shanghai.

“The defence of Taiwan has become a buzzword in US domestic politics. That is very dangerous,” Wu said. “You are not preventing a war, you are provoking a war.”

Danny Russel, vice-president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former senior adviser to Barack Obama, noted that “both sides seem to want the leaders’ meeting in Bali to lower the temperature in an overheated relationship”.

“Washington is mindful of the risk of an unintended incident quickly escalating into a crisis,” Russel added.

“The best hope for slowing or halting escalating bilateral tensions — perhaps the only hope — is for these two men who know each other well and have established a solid relationship to speak openly about their strategic goals and concerns,” he said.

Additional reporting by Kathrin Hille in Taipei

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2022-11-14 11:31:27Z
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Russian foreign minister appears in video amid reports he was taken to hospital after arrival at G20 - Sky News

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been taken to hospital after his arrival in Bali for the G20 summit yesterday, Indonesian authorities have said.

Bali's governor Wayan Koster said he had been taken in for a "check-up" at the Sanglah Hospital in the provincial capital, Denpasar, and was "immediately returned".

Three Indonesian government and medical officials said he was being treated on the resort island, with two of them reporting Mr Lavrov was receiving treatment for a heart condition.

The Russian foreign ministry dismissed claims that he had been in hospital as "fake news".

In a Telegram post, director of the information and press department for the ministry Maria Zakharova said: "We can't believe our eyes: it turns out that he is hospitalised.

"This is, of course, the aerobatics of fakes. Well, wait, world exclusive."

Sky News Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay said Ms Zakharova has shared a video showing Mr Lavrov, who has been Vladimir Putin's foreign minister since 2004, sitting in his shorts, working on a balcony.

More from World

In the clip, she asks the 72-year-old what he makes of the reports, to which he replies that Western journalists
have been falsely writing that Putin was ill for a decade.

"This is a kind of game that is not new in politics," Mr Lavrov said with an ironic smile.

"Western journalists need to be more truthful - they need to write the truth."

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Pic: Telegram/Tass
Image: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Pic: Telegram/Tass

Russian news agency TASS has also shared an image appearing to show the minister smiling in front of a pool in Bali.

Mr Lavrov is the highest-ranking Russian official attending the G20 summit, which begins on Tuesday.

"He is there for the G20 in place of Vladimir Putin, who decided not to attend in person himself due to the optics of him being snubbed on the world stage would not have been good," Magnay added.

"It will be interesting to see who he has meetings with. We shall see how the G20 leaders respond to him."

It is likely to be the most fractious G20 meeting ever, with the traditional "family photo" of all the leaders being called off due to many not wanting to be pictured with anybody from Putin's regime.

Diplomats have also raised doubts that leaders will be able to issue a joint statement at the end of the summit, as usually happens.

While most would like to agree on a statement condemning Russia, that will not happen as Russia would have to agree to it.

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2022-11-14 09:49:55Z
1648783575

Minggu, 13 November 2022

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 263 - Al Jazeera English

Here is the situation as it stands on Sunday, November 13.

Fighting

  • Residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson celebrated Russian troops’ withdrawal – one of the biggest military achievements for Kyiv since Moscow invaded nearly nine months ago.
  • Russian forces destroyed critical infrastructure – including communications, water, heat, and electricity – in Kherson before their withdrawal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
  • Ukraine’s National Police chief Ihor Klymenko said 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes.
  • About 70 percent of the Kherson region remains under Moscow’s control, with Russian troops fortifying their battle lines on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.
  • Russia said the Ukrainian city of Henichesk, located on the Sea of Azov, is now the Kherson region’s temporary administrative capital.

INTERACTIVE-WHO CONTROLS WHAT IN SOUTHERN KHERSON 261

Diplomacy

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi discussed deepening cooperation on political, trade and economic matters in a phone call.
  • Russia said there was no agreement yet to extend a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, repeating its insistence on unhindered access to world markets for its own food and fertiliser exports.
  • Turkey is committed to seeking peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “We are working on how to create a peace corridor here, like we had the grain corridor.”
  • Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for unity at the East Asia Summit, telling the gathering – including Russia, China and the United States – that current global tensions have taken a toll on everyone.
  • Renowned British street artist Banksy appears to be behind the artwork that recently appeared on a destroyed building in Ukraine.

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2022-11-13 07:47:55Z
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US midterm results: Why Democrats winning control of Senate matters - BBC

The US Capitol buildingReuters

The Republican midterm flameout is now official. Democrats have retained control of the US Senate. Here's why that matters.

Four days after tens of millions of Americans went to the polls, Catherine Cortez Masto's narrow victory in Nevada late on Saturday finally delivered a decisive result in the national political battle.

The Democrats now lead 50 seats to 49 in the upper chamber of the US Congress. Even if Republicans win the remaining Senate race in Georgia, Vice-President Kamala Harris will be able to cast a tie-breaking vote.

That's been the case for the past two years, of course - and it paves the way for President Joe Biden to spend two more years filling the federal courts with his nominees and staffing his administration largely the way he sees fit.

Most significantly, should a Supreme Court seat become vacant due to an unexpected retirement or death of a justice, the Republicans would not be able to block Mr Biden's choice. Democrats remember how back in 2016, then-Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell prevented Barack Obama's nominee from getting a hearing at all.

The win in Nevada means the Georgia Senate run-off on 6 December is no longer a pivotal contest to determine control of the chamber. Mr Biden, however, said "it's simply better" for Democrats to get to 51 seats. The extra cushion certainly makes it easier to manage a majority and it will also help in 2024 when the party will have more at-risk seats to defend.

There is still a likelihood, although not certainty, that the Republicans will control a slim majority in the House of Representatives, bringing a variety of headaches for the president.

His legislative agenda is dead, and more aggressive Republican oversight is in store, but even that has a silver lining - if his political opponents are unable to effectively govern due to internal discord.

The consequences of this history-defying midterm election result are still being revealed.

Donald Trump's political future has been damaged, although how enduringly remains to be seen. Joe Biden's standing within his party has been bolstered. The political world in the US looks considerably different than it did just a week ago.

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2022-11-13 07:35:38Z
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