The German and French foreign ministers yesterday made their first visit to Ukraine’s war-torn east since the beginning of the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in April 2014.
German Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, arrived in Kramatorsk, a city controlled by the Ukrainian army, a correspondent reported.
Both Ayrault and Steinmeier have urged Kiev’s pro-Western leaders to commit themselves more fully to a 13-point plan agreed in February last year under which the rebels would get partial autonomy within a unified Ukraine, an initiative unpopular among many Ukrainians.
The ministers were met by about 40 demonstrators in front of the office of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, who were protesting against the prospect of giving partial autonomy to the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Protesters brandished signs that said: “We are Ukraine” and “No to a special status for Donbass,” referring to eastern Ukraine’s industrial heartland.
In a meeting with OSCE monitors, the ministers were briefed about ceasefire violations and shown fragments of mines, grenades and other explosive devices found in the area.
The visit comes after one of the bloodiest days in weeks saw government forces and the separatists lose three fighters each.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
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