Khabarhub brings to you glimpses of major international developments of the day that you need to know from the world of politics, business/economy, sports, entertainment and more.
Russia-Ukraine resume talks online
As the war in Eastern Europe entered its sixth-week talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators resumed online on Friday after meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.
The talks come in the aftermath of an attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod that the Russian side alleged was carried out by the Ukrainian forces. According to the local officials, Russian forces are blocking the Ukrainian effort to deliver aid to the besieged, southeastern port city of Mariupol, reported Al Jazeera.
Moreover, the regional officials say that some of Moscow’s troops withdrawing from near Kyiv and Chernihiv. After the delegation-level meeting between Russia-Ukraine in Istanbul, the Russian delegation announced steps for a “drastic reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions” and the possibility of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian FM Lavrov meets PM Modi as India-Russia ties deepen
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is paying an official visit to India, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday after holding talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Taking to Twitter, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote, “Russia Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov was received by Prime Minister @narendramodi during his official visit to #India.”
The meeting is quite significant as it comes at a time when India continues to stay neutral over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Lavrov on Friday said that India can mediate between Moscow and Kyiv as the peace talks between the two counties failed to come up with solutions yet to end the war.
Chile to Open Fight Over Disputed Waters at Top UN Court
Chile opens a case against Bolivia at the U.N.’s highest court Friday over a river both countries claim rights to, the latest installment of water-related rows between the South American neighbors.
Chile wants the International Court of Justice to declare the Silala River, which flows from Bolivia, an “international water course” and give it equal rights to its waters.
Santiago claims it has been denied those water rights since 1999.
Back in 2016 it dragged La Paz before the Hague-based ICJ — set up after World War II to rule in disputes between countries.
In a legal game of pingpong, Bolivia then counter-sued Chile, asking the ICJ to rule that it had “sovereignty… over the artificial flow of Silala waters engineered, enhanced, or produced in its territory,” and demanded that Chile pay compensation.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also previously sought to use the dispute over the river as a bargaining chip in Bolivia’s larger fight to gain access to the Pacific Ocean, which it lost to Chile in a war in the 19th century.
But the ICJ in 2018 sank Bolivia’s bid for entry to the sea, saying Chile had “no case to answer” as it was “not legally obligated to negotiate such a move.”
Evacuation buses departing from Russian-held Melitopol, according to Ukrainian officials
A column of buses evacuating civilians from the Russian-held city of Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia had departed Friday, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
“About 500 people are on buses departing from Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia,” Tymoshenko said on Telegram. “About 300 private cars joined the evacuation column.”
Fedorov said more than 1,000 people had assembled near an exit point to wait for the evacuation.
“I assure those thousands of Melitopol residents who wanted to, but for various reasons could not evacuate today, our team will not stop!” he said. “We are already forming another humanitarian convoy, which will soon deliver the necessary aid to Melitopol and pick up people from the city on the way back.”
Russian logistics hub ablaze, Moscow blames Ukraine
A fuel depot was ablaze at one of Russia’s main logistics hubs for its Ukraine war effort on Friday, after what Moscow described as a cross-border air raid by Ukrainian helicopters, the first of its kind in the five week war.
Ukraine said it would neither confirm nor deny responsibility for the huge fire at the fuel depot in Belgorod, a Russian city near the border which has served as a logistics hub for Russian troops fighting in nearby eastern Ukraine.
Security camera footage of the depot, from a location verified by Reuters, showed a flash of light from what appears to be a missile fired from low altitude in the sky, followed by an explosion on the ground. The regional governor said two Ukrainian helicopters had been involved in the raid.
Biden authorizes release of 1 mn barrels of oil per day from US strategic reserve for six months
In order to keep oil prices under control, US President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) announced to release of one million barrels of oil per day from the country’s strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months.
The US, EU and other nations barred imports of Russian oil and gas over the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Today, I’m authorizing the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months -over 180 million barrels -for the Strategic -from the -from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Biden announced. “This is a wartime bridge to increase oil supply until production ramps up later this year.
And it is by far the largest release from our national reserve in our history,” he added. He continued saying, “we’ll use the revenue from selling the oil now to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when prices are lower so we’ll be ready — we’ll be ready for future emergencies.”
Biden said he has been coordinating with its allies and partners around the world.
India, Australia to sign interim free trade deal on Saturday
After years of negotiations, Australia and India will sign an interim free trade deal on Saturday which will eliminate 85 per cent tariffs on Australian goods exports to India.
The deal with India unlocks a market of almost 1.4 billion consumers and would strengthen Australia’s economy.
“This agreement opens a big door into the world’s fastest-growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more,” said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a statement.
China introduces digital Yuan in real estate sector
China has introduced the use of digital Yuan in the real estate sector with payments worth around USD 87,000 for 3 construction projects.
The payments were made through the digital wallets of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, reported local media.
The move comes after China witnessed a decline in the real estate boom. Real estate giant Evergrande is finding it difficult to pay its debts in the face of government policies designed to curb the boom.
UK media regulator Ofcom suspends KTV’s license following serious breach of broadcasting rules
The UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) on Friday suspended Khalsa Television Limited’s license to broadcast after an investigation found the KTV channel in breach of broadcasting rules.
The KTV television channel broadcasts to the Sikh community in the United Kingdom.
Ofcom investigation found that Prime Time, a 95-minute live discussion program, included material likely to incite violence.
The presenter of the program made a number of statements throughout the program which, taken together, promoted violent action, including murder, as an acceptable and necessary form of action to further the Khalistani cause.
As per Ofcom, this was a ‘serious breach’ of rules on incitement of crime and disorder. Given the serious nature of this breach, and for the reasons set out in the suspension notice, the media regulator suspended Khalsa Television Limited’s license to broadcast in the UK with immediate effect.
Khalsa Television Limited now has 21 days in which to make representations to Ofcom. Following this process, Ofcom will decide whether to revoke Khalsa Television Limited’s license.
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