ОП: чисельність російських військ на кордоні з Україною невдовзі має подвоїтися

Кремль переконує, що Росія нікому не загрожує, а таке масштабне переміщення військ пояснюють плановою перевіркою боєготовності армії

WHO Reports COVID-19 Cases Rose Globally for 7th Straight Week

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday the world has now seen seven consecutive weeks of rising COVID-19 infections and four consecutive weeks of increasing numbers of deaths after starting the year with six weeks of declining numbers.
 
At the agency’s Monday briefing from its headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week since the pandemic began occurred last week. This, after the world has delivered more than 780 million doses of vaccine.
 
The WHO chief blamed “confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures and their application” for driving up infections and costing lives. He said while vaccines are a vital and powerful tool in fighting the pandemic, they are not the only tool.  
 
Tedros said the standard measures — social distancing, hygiene, masks and continued testing and tracking — work and save lives. He noted that many countries have shown it is possible to bring the virus under control using and consistently applying these proven public health measures.
 
He noted countries where there is continuing transmission of the virus, and yet restaurants, nightclubs and markets are reopening, with people taking few precautions.  
 
The director said WHO does not want to see endless lockdowns and wants to see societies and economies reopened and travel resumed.
 
 “But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing, and people are dying — and it’s totally avoidable,” he said.
 
Tedros said the decline in cases and hospitalizations the world saw at the beginning of the year show the virus can be stopped.   
 
With equitably distributed vaccines and consistent public health measures, he said, “we could bring the pandemic under control in a matter of months. Whether we do or not comes down to the decisions and the actions that governments and individuals make every day.”

Україна «може отримати» від МВФ близько 2,73 мільярда доларів у рамках СПЗ – голова НБУ

Про це він заявив після зустрічі з з директором Європейського департаменту МВФ Альфредом Каммером

НБУ посилив офіціний курс гривні на 7 копійок

Довідковий курс, встановлений Нацбанком опівдні, дорівнює 27 гривень 93 копійки

Germany’s CDU Backs Party Chairman as Governing Coalition’s Candidate for Chancellor

The executive committee of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party backed chairman Armin Laschet on Monday as candidate for the next leader.Merkel is not seeking a fifth term, after leading Germany for 16 years.Laschet, 60, declared Sunday that he was prepared to run for chancellor in the national elections to be held in September.Markus Soeder, 54, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria, the sister party in Merkel’s governing coalition, also expressed his willingness to run for the post Sunday but said he would settle the issue amicably with Laschet.Laschet, who is currently the prime minister of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, was elected as CDU leader in January. As a centrist politician, he is widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, although he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions.Soeder, an astute political operator, strongly supported Merkel during the pandemic; however, no CSU leader has become chancellor before.CDU runs in 15 of Germany’s 16 states, while the CSU runs only in Bavaria, which reports say is likely to be the decisive factor for Laschet to emerge as the candidate of CDU/CSU for the job of chancellor during the federal election. 

Уряд дозволив іноземним закладам вищої освіти відкривати філії в Україні – МОН

Іноземний заклад вищої освіти під час подання документів має входити до одного з міжнародних рейтингів і посідати при цьому місце не нижче ніж 3000

What Does Russia Want with Ukraine?

Two US warships are expected to arrive in the Black Sea this week as a demonstration of the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as fears mount that Russian President Vladimir Putin is contemplating an assault on his neighbor.The Kremlin is overseeing the largest movement of Russian troops, tanks and missiles along the Ukrainian border since the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, according to Ukrainian and US officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.Last week, President Joe Biden made his first phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since entering the White House and, according to a White House statement, “affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea.”The dispatch of warships to the Black Sea is meant to underline Biden’s affirmation.An Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench as he stands at his post on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8, 2021.Fighting between Ukrainians and Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine’s Donbas region has been intensifying since the end of January, and senior Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak, who has blamed Ukraine for the clashes, has issued an ominous warning that a full-scale conflict would likely mean “the beginning of the end” for Ukraine, a statement viewed in Kyiv and Western capitals as a threat.Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin chief spokesperson, has not disputed a military build-up is taking place, but he told reporters in Moscow that Russia “moves its armed forces around its territory at its discretion.” Ukrainian President Zelenskiy visited the Donbas frontlines last week and bewailed the “big escalation.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of armed forces near the frontline with Russian-backed separatists during his working trip in Donbass region, Ukraine April 8, 2021.Since his surprise election in 2019 to the presidency in Kyiv, Zelenskiy has been urging for a new round of peace talks involving other Western leaders. Shortly after his landslide election victory he appealed to Putin directly, saying in a video, “We need to talk? We do. Let’s do it.” Later that year, the Kremlin and Kyiv agreed a prisoner swap, sparking hopes a peace deal might be in the offing, one that would halt the seven-year conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists backed by Russian forces.Some Zelenskiy critics feared his search for peace would end up creating a permanent Russian enclave in Ukraine’s most easterly provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk. But Zelenskiy hasn’t budged on the issue of Ukrainian sovereignty over the Donbas, and has refused to accept, what he says, is a Russian charade when it comes to who controls and directs the pro-Moscow separatists.Some observers hazard that recent Russian moves are an indication of Russian frustration with Zelenskiy, who has also been targeting Kremlin allies in Ukraine, including politician, tycoon and TV mogul Viktor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of the Russian leader. Medvedchuk, along with his wife, have been accused of channeling funds from a Russia-based oil facility to the so-called breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have placed a freeze on his assets.Biden Affirms US ‘Unwavering Support’ for Ukraine in CallAffirmation came in a call with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the White House saidWhat is alarming some Western diplomats and analysts is the fiery language being used by Kremlin officials along with the nature of the coverage of the crisis by Kremlin-controlled Russian media outlets. They are reporting Kyiv is planning an offensive on the Donbas and have been highlighting comments by Kozak, deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, suggesting Ukraine may be plotting ethnic cleansing in the Donbas.Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, said Friday the Kremlin fears a resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and would be ready to take steps to protect Russian civilians in the Donbas. Ukraine’s military chief dismissed the Russian claims that his country’s armed forces are preparing to launch an attack on the breakaway east, and, along with other Ukrainian officials, accuses the Kremlin of looking for a pretext to mount an offensive.“Everything suggests that Russia is preparing for a military incursion into Ukraine,” tweeted Sunday Anders Aslund, author of the book Russia’s Crony Capitalism. “Putin always keeps his options open, but both the military moves & the Kremlin propaganda indicate that Russian military aggression is near,” he added.But other analysts and diplomats caution that the Kremlin is whipping up a frenzy over the Donbas more for domestic reasons than international ones and that Putin is looking to distract Russians from the ongoing agitation for the release from jail of firebrand opposition figure Alexey Navalny, whose health is reported to have worsened in prison.They say the military buildup may be part of an electoral strategy ahead of parliamentary elections in Russia September. Putin’s approval ratings are falling, and his United Russia political party seems destined for setbacks in the polls. Shaping an emergency short of a full-scale war could boost the prospects of United Russia, allowing the party to benefit from a wave of patriotism, they say.Taras Kuzio, an academic at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, doesn’t believe the Kremlin is preparing Russia to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine “because that would lead to a long war and the complete breakdown of Russia’s relations with the West.”Although he doesn’t discount the Kremlin may want a brief but limited clash and has suggested the Kremlin may be thinking of repeating what happened in 2008 in Georgia when then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili fell into a trap and responded to provocations from South Ossetia, another separatist region, and intervened, prompting a Russian intervention.

Кулеба запросив міністрів закордонних справ ЄС на Донбас: це буде потужним символом солідарності з українцями

«Україна дуже вдячна і розраховує в подальшому на вашу послідовну підтримку», – йдеться в листі Кулеби на адресу його колег із МЗС країн ЄС

Росія не відповіла на запит України щодо зростання військової присутності на кордоні – МЗС

МЗС розцінило відмову Росії як підтвердження намірів надалі здійснювати військовий тиск щодо України

НАЗК склало два протоколи щодо «слуги народу» Куницького за фактами з розслідування «Схем»

У НАЗК склали на Олександра Куницького протоколи за фактами із розслідування «Схем»: перевірка виявила, що «слуга народу» розсилав до установ депутатські звернення з питань, «які становили його приватний інтерес»

7 Catholic Clergy, Including French Citizens, Abducted in Haiti, Church Says

Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were kidnapped Sunday in Haiti, said the spokesman of the Bishop’s Conference for the island nation, which has been rocked by unrest.Five priests and two nuns were abducted in the morning in Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune east of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Father Loudger Mazile told AFP. They were “on their way to the installation of a new parish priest,” he added.The kidnappers had demanded a $1 million ransom for the group, which includes one French priest and one French nun, he added.Haitian authorities suspect an armed gang called “400 Mawozo,” which is active in kidnappings, is behind the abduction, according to a police source.The French embassy in Haiti did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.Kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months in Port-au-Prince and other provinces, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.”This is too much. The time has come for these inhuman acts to stop,” Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas of the Haitian commune Miragoane told AFP.”The church prays and stands in solidarity with all the victims of this heinous act,” he said.In March, the Haitian government declared a month-long state of emergency to restore state authority in gang-controlled areas, including in the capital.The measure was motivated by the actions of armed gangs who “kidnap people for ransom, openly declaring it, steal and loot public and private property, and openly confront the public security forces,” according to the presidential decree. 

Greece Slams Turkey Over PKK Terror Claims

Greece has lashed out at Turkey for alleging that the government in Athens is aiding and abetting what Ankara sees as Kurdish terrorists. But the accusation, contained in a newly released video, comes after reports in Greece that Turkey has granted citizenship to Islamic State militants. The fresh accusations traded by the two NATO allies may threaten ongoing negotiations to ease long-standing differences that nearly sparked a war between them last year.
 
It is not the first time Turkey has made such accusations against Greece.  
 
“One country that stands out as a haven for the PKK is our neighbor and NATO ally, Greece,” says a voice in the video. The PKK is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been waging a decades-long insurgency inside southeastern Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.
 
Yet in rebuffing the claim, calling it “mythical” and “propaganda,” the foreign ministry in Athens questioned the timing of the video’s release by the chief communications adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
The video comes days after reports in Greece accused Ankara of granting citizenship to a number of IS militants – a move that raises serious concerns about Turkey’s border controls with Syria. The interior and finance ministries have seized the assets of eight people suspected of having links to the terror group.  
The video comes days before Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias goes to Ankara to meet with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to thrash out long-standing differences between the two neighbors. 
It won’t be an easy round of talks, says analyst Manolis Kostidis. He also says the Turkish side will raise several issues and it’s highly unlikely that even if the talks do go well, that Greece can start speaking of improved relations between the age-old foes.
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for decades over sea and air rights in the Aegean Sea that divides them. In the past year, relations have deteriorated over oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean – a standoff that nearly brought the two NATO allies to the brink of war. 
Since then, senior European Union officials and the United States have intervened, bringing the two sides to a negotiating table to sort out differences. 
Two rounds of exploratory talks have so far made little progress and the coming discussions between the Greek and Turkish ministers are being seen as an attempt to salvage the process altogether. 
But with both sides trading accusations anew, analysts like Apostolos Maggiriadis, say they fear negotiations may be derailed.
The feeling among diplomats in Athens, he says, is that there is a concerted attempt by Turkey’s deep state to torpedo these talks. But Greece, he says, does not want to appear as the side abandoning the process and it will keep to its pledge of sending its foreign minister to Turkey.  
Athens has suggested taking bilateral differences to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if negotiations with Ankara fail to produce a diplomatic breakthrough.
The talks are scheduled to begin Wednesday.
 

US Recession Drama ‘Nomadland’ Wins Best Film at British Film Awards

U.S. recession drama “Nomadland,” about a community of van dwellers, was the big winner at Britain’s BAFTA awards on Sunday, scooping best film and prizes for its Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao and leading actress Frances McDormand.The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ceremony was held virtually over two nights, with nominees joining in by video, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.However, film stars Hugh Grant and Priyanka Chopra Jonas appeared in person at London’s Royal Albert Hall while Renee Zellweger and Anna Kendrick joined from a Los Angeles studio to present the awards.”Nomadland,” which has already picked up prizes this awards season, stars 63-year-old McDormand as a widow, who in the wake of the U.S. economic recession, turns her van into a mobile home and sets out on the road, taking on seasonal jobs along the way.”We would like to dedicate this award to the nomadic community who so generously welcomed us into their lives,” Zhao, who won the director category, said in her acceptance speech.”Thank you for showing us that aging is a beautiful part of life, a journey that we should all cherish and celebrate. How we treat our elders says a lot about who we are as a society and we need to do better.””Nomadland” also won for cinematography.Outstanding British film went to #MeToo revenge movie “Promising Young Woman,” which also won original screenplay.The academy also paid tribute to Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, who died on Friday, at age 99. Philip was named BAFTA’s first president in 1959. His grandson Prince William is BAFTA’s current president.Following an outcry last year when BAFTA presented an all-white acting contenders list, more than half of this year’s 24 nominees were actors of color.Film veteran Anthony Hopkins won the leading actor category for portraying a man with dementia in “The Father.””I’m at a time in my life where I never expected to get this,” the 83-year-old told reporters of the award, adding his age had made making the movie “easy.”Youn Yuh-jung won supporting actress for “Minari,” in which she plays a grandmother who travels from South Korea to the United States to look after her grandchildren.The 73-year-old, who has won a Screen Actors Guild award and has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance, drew laughs in her acceptance speech when she jokingly said it was particularly meaningful to be recognized by “British people, known as very snobbish people.”Daniel Kaluuya, who has swept this awards season for his portrayal of late Black Panther activist Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah,” won supporting actor.”Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi” director Ang Lee received the BAFTA Fellowship, the academy’s top honor, for his contribution to film.
 

Країни в ОБСЄ засудили концентрацію військ Росії на кордоні з Україною – звіт

Держави-учасниці засідання засудили дії Росії та запропонували їй пояснити, коли вона планує завершити навчання та повернути війська на місце постійної дислокації

Арестович назвав «єдиний варіант», у якому можливе військове завершення окупації Донбасу

Спікер ТКГ вказав на те, що військовий сценарій на Донбасі становитиме загрозу для сотень, або й тисяч мирних жителів

Bavarian Leader Joins Race to Run as German Chancellor Candidate 

Bavarian premier Markus Soeder put himself forward on Sunday to run as the conservative candidate for German chancellor in a September election and said he would settle the question soon and amicably with his rival, the Christian Democrat (CDU) chief.  Pressure is mounting for a swift decision on whether Soeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), or the CDU’s Armin Laschet should stand for the two-party bloc in the Sept. 26 election, making them the candidate to succeed Angela Merkel.  “Markus Soeder and I had a long conversation before today. We declared our willingness to run for the chancellorship,” CDU leader Armin Laschet told a joint news conference.  Laschet lags Soeder in opinion polls but, as leader of the larger CDU, effectively has first refusal and enjoys the support of some powerful state premiers.  With September elections nearing, conservatives are pressing for a decision on the candidacy to end speculation which is highlighting divisions.  Laschet said the next step would come on Monday with CDU and CSU committee meetings but he gave no time for the decision.  “We want to win this election in the autumn – that is the main aim. And we are now thinking about the best formation,” said Soeder.  “There is a great expectation that a joint solution will be reached sooner rather than later,” said Soeder, stressing that the two rivals had agreed to show each other respect.  Conservatives nervous without Merkel   Laschet, 60, is a centrist widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, but he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions. Premier of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, his chaotic handling of the crisis has undermined his popularity.  Soeder, 54, is an astute political operator who has sided with Merkel during the pandemic. No CSU leader has become German chancellor.  Many conservatives are nervous about contesting the Sept. 26 federal election without Merkel, who has led them to four victories. She has ruled out standing for a fifth term and has not explicitly backed either candidate although she has hinted that she would back the CDU leader.  The conservative bloc has slipped to about 27% in polls, partly due to an increasingly chaotic management of the pandemic. In the 2017 election, it won almost 33%.  The Social Democrats have nominated Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as their candidate for chancellor, while the Greens plan to announce their nomination on April 19. 

Якщо Росія діятиме щодо України необдумано, «будуть наслідки» – Блінкен

«Президент Байден чітко про це говорив», нагадав Ентоні Блінкен

Кулеба провів 16 телефонних розмов із закордонними дипломатами на тлі ескалації Росії – МЗС

За словами речника, Україна в особі голови МЗС «отримала потужний сигнал солідарності від міжнародних партнерів»

Execution-Style Killing of Greek Journalist Sends Shockwaves across Europe, West

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has ordered an urgent investigation into the assassination of one of the country’s top crime reporters. Greek media have long been targeted by far-left organizations and anarchists in a show of violent defiance to what they call links between them and the nation’s political and financial establishment. However,  journalist killings are rare in Greece and if it is established that the reporter was gunned down for carrying out his duties, it will be the first such case in Europe in years.Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis left a marathon meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying he was determined to hunt down the killers of Giorgos Karaivaz.He called the assassination an abhorrent crime but said he is convinced authorities will soon find those responsible, and hand them over to justice to be dealt with.The race is on… and the stakes are high.Karaivaz was gunned down by a pair of masked men who pumped ten bullets into the crime reporter’s head, neck and left palm, leaving him dead in a pool of blood outside his home, in the balmy residential suburb of Alimos, south of Athens.Locals like Elias, a municipal gardener who refused to give his last name for fear of reprisals, said he saw the gunmen and was stunned by how calculating and calmly they conducted themselves.The actual gunshot(s) were not heard because they used a silencer, he said. The killers both came in on a motorbike, gunned down Karaivaz and left calmly, as if nothing had happened.Authorities say they are now putting together pieces of the mystery, trying to identify the assailants from surveillance cameras, burner phones and a string of forensic evidence that has so far been compiled.They believe Karaivaz had been tracked for days before gunmen committed the deadly shooting Friday, in broad daylight.Senior police officials told VOA they suspect the killing is linked to organized crime and a group called Mafia Greece, known for hiring foreign shooters to sort out differences in the underworld here.Eleftherios Economou, the deputy  citizens’ protection minister explains.There is no doubt, he said, that they are dealing with contract killers. This is a methodology, he said, authorities have seen in at least 19 similar style murders in the last three years here and this may make solving the case, so much more difficult.A woman reads newspapers headlines of the killing of a Greek journalist in Athens, April 10, 2021.Either way, experts say, the motive behind the Karaivaz killing remains unclear.If confirmed as related to the journalist’s work, then it will be the first assassination of a journalist in the European Union since the 2018 murder of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak in Slovakia.Karaivaz was a contributor to the Eleftheros Typos newspaper, and he founded the news website bloko.gr, which reported on crime.Leading officials across the European Union have issued sympathy statements, supporting free speech while urging the government and the authorities in Athens to hunt down the assailants.The U.S. Embassy in Athens said it would help any effort to defend the sacred right of free speech.Greek media offices and journalists are frequently targeted by far-left anarchists who routinely strike them in what they claim are attacks against the establishment.Nevertheless, journalist killings are rare here, raising concerns that freedom of speech in the country that gave birth to democracy may now be in serious peril. 

Religious Leaders Recall Prince Philip’s Spiritual Curiosity 

Churches in Britain held services Sunday to remember Prince Philip as people of many religions reflected on a man whose gruff exterior hid a strong personal faith and deep curiosity about others’ beliefs. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby led a service of remembrance at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England for the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Friday at the age of 99.  A tribute to Britain’s Prince Philip is projected onto a large screen at Piccadilly Circus in London, after the announcement of the duke’s death.Welby, who is set to preside at Philip’s funeral on Saturday at Windsor Castle, led prayers for Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, and contemplated “a very long life, remarkably led.”  In London’s Westminster Abbey, where Philip married the then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, Dean of Westminster David Hoyle remembered the former naval officer’s “self-effacing sense of service.”  Most people’s glimpses of Philip in a religious setting were of him beside the queen at commemorative services, or walking to church with the royal family on Christmas Day. But his religious background and interests were more varied than his conventional role might suggest.  Born into the Greek royal family as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, he was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church.The church of Saint George where Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elisabeth, was baptized, on the island of Corfu, Greece, Apr. 11, 2021.His father was exiled and his family left Greece when Philip was very young. He became an Anglican when he married Elizabeth, who as queen is supreme governor of the Church of England.  In the 1960s, he helped set up St. George’s House, a religious study center at the royal family’s Windsor Castle seat, where Philip would join clergy, academics, businesspeople and politicians to discuss the state of the world. He was a regular visitor to Mount Athos, a monastic community and religious sanctuary in Greece, and was a long-time patron of the Templeton Prize, a lucrative award for contribution to life’s “spiritual dimension” whose winners include Mother Teresa. FILE – Britain’s Prince Philip (L) is escorted during a visit to a ‘The Conservation Volunteers’ (TCV) conservation project at the Dersingham Bog Nature Reserve, on the Royal Sandringham Estate, in Sandringham, southern England, Sept. 30, 2013.Philip’s longstanding environmentalism, which saw him serve as patron of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, was connected to his faith. He organized a 1986 summit in Assisi, Italy where representatives of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism pledged to protect the environment. Philip said at the time that “a new and powerful alliance has been forged between the forces of religion and the forces of conservation.”  Blunt-spoken and quick-witted, Philip also was known for making remarks that could be deeply offensive, some of them sexist and racist. But former Archbishop of York John Sentamu, who was born in Uganda, said those who saw Philip as a bigot were wide of the mark. “If somebody challenged him, you would enter into an amazing conversation,” Sentamu told the BBC. “The trouble was that because he was the Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of the queen, people had this deference. “I’m sure sometimes he regretted some of those phrases, but in the end it’s a pity that people saw him as somebody who makes gaffes,” Sentamu said. “Behind those gaffes was an expectation of a comeback, but nobody came back, and the gaffe, unfortunately, stayed.” Inderjit Singh, a prominent British Sikh leader, said Philip had a strong knowledge of Sikhism and “contributed to the understanding and harmony between differing faith communities.” “He recognized what we should all recognize….We are all of one common humanity,” Singh said. Philip’s faith may have been partly a legacy of his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who established an order of nuns, sheltered Jews in Nazi-occupied Greece during World War II and is buried below a Russian Orthodox church in east Jerusalem. “I suspect that it never occurred to her that her action was in any way special,” Philip said on a 1994 trip to Israel, where he visited his mother’s grave. “She was a person with deep religious faith, and she would have considered it to be a totally human action to fellow human beings in distress.” His interests in religion and ecology have been passed on to his eldest son, Prince Charles. The heir to the throne is a strong environmentalist who has said he wants to be “defender of faiths” when he takes the throne, rather than the monarch’s official title as defender of the Anglican faith.  

Арестович заявив, що на режимі припинення вогню «хрест не поставили»

Арестович: мова зараз йде на рівні ТКГ, щоб повернутися до стану, який був безпосередньо після укладання угоди про режим припинення вогню

У Кремлі заявили, що ніхто не збирається рухатися до війни з Україною

Пєсков: ніхто взагалі не сприймає якусь можливість такої війни

French Lawmakers Approve a Ban on Short Domestic Flights 

French lawmakers voted late on Saturday to abolish domestic flights on routes than can be covered by train in under two-and-a-half hours, as the government seeks to lower carbon emissions even as the air travel industry reels from the global pandemic. The measure is part of a broader climate bill that aims to cut French carbon emissions by 40% in 2030 from 1990 levels, though activists accuse President Emmanuel Macron of watering down earlier promises in the draft legislation. The vote came days after the state said it would contribute to a 4 billion Euro ($4.76 billion) recapitalization of Air France, more than doubling its stake in the flag carrier, to shore up its finances after over a year of COVID-19 travel curbs. Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher dismissed criticism from the aviation industry that a pandemic recovery was not the time to ban some domestic flights and said there was no contradiction between the bailout and the climate bill. “We know that aviation is a contributor of carbon dioxide and that because of climate change we must reduce emissions,” she told Europe 1 radio. “Equally, we must support our companies and not let them fall by the wayside.” Air traffic may not return to pre-crisis levels before 2024, McKinsey analysts forecast. Some environmental campaigners have said the bill does not go far enough. A citizens’ climate forum established by Macron to help shape climate policy had called for the scrapping of flights on routes where the train journey is less than 4 hours. Saturday night’s vote in the National Assembly was the first. The bill goes to the Senate before a third and final vote in the lower house, where Macron’s ruling party and allies dominate. 

Зеленський намагався поговорити з Путіним після загибелі 4 військових на Донбасі – Арестович

Арестович: після 26 березня, коли загинули відразу 4 військовослужбовці і двох було поранено, президент Зеленський намагався провести консультації зі всіма лідерами, враховуючи Путіна

US Defense Secretary to Visit Israel, Germany, NATO Headquarters, UK

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel, Germany, NATO headquarters in Belgium and Britain starting on Saturday, the Pentagon said in a statement.“Secretary Austin will meet with his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss the importance of international defense relationships and reinforce the United States’ commitment to deterrence and defense, burden sharing, and enduring trans-Atlantic security,” said the statement released on Thursday.

Turkey’s Erdogan Calls for End to ‘Worrying’ Developments in Eastern Ukraine, Offers Support

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the “worrying” developments in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding that Turkey was ready to provide any necessary support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held more than three hours of talks with Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a previously scheduled visit, amid tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the conflict in Donbass. Kyiv has raised the alarm over a buildup of Russian forces near the border between Ukraine and Russia, and over a rise in violence along the line of contact separating Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Donbass. The Russian military movements have fueled concerns that Moscow is preparing to send forces into Ukraine. The Kremlin denies its troops are a threat but says they will remain as long as it sees fit. The United States says Russia has amassed more troops on Ukraine’s eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in Donbass. On Friday, Turkey said Washington will send two warships to the Black Sea next week. Speaking at a news conference alongside Zelenskiy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in line with international laws and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “We hope for the worrying escalation observed on the field recently to end as soon as possible, the cease-fire to continue and for the conflict to be resolved via dialogue on the basis of the Minsk agreements,” Erdogan said. “We are ready to provide any support necessary for this.” Major combat in Donbass ended with a truce agreed to in the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2015, whose implementation France and Germany have helped to oversee. Sporadic fighting continues despite repeated attempts to implement a cease-fire. Zelenskiy said the positions of Kyiv and Ankara coincided on threats in the Black Sea and the response to those threats, and added he briefed Erdogan on the developments in Donbass. “We discussed in detail the issues of security and joint counteraction to challenges in the Black Sea region and it is worth noting that the visions of Kyiv and Ankara coincide both regarding the threats themselves and the ways of responding to these threats,” he said. NATO member Turkey has forged close cooperation with Russia over conflicts in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as in the defense and energy areas. But it has criticized Crimea’s annexation and supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It also sold drones to Kyiv in 2019. Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey and Ukraine launched a platform with their foreign and defense ministers to discuss defense industry cooperation but added this was “not in any way a move against third countries.” Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the increase in violence in the conflict, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a call with Erdogan on Friday, accused Ukraine of “dangerous provocative actions” in Donbass. Kyiv said on Saturday Ukraine could be provoked by Russian aggravation of the situation in Donbass.