Norway gives $103 million to Ukraine to secure electricity
Norway gives $103 million to Ukraine to secure electricity/node/2531936/world
Norway gives $103 million to Ukraine to secure electricity
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway speaks during the plenary session at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on June 16, 2024. (Keystone via AP)
Norway gives $103 million to Ukraine to secure electricity
Norwegian PM says the fund will go toward repairs in the Kharkiv area
Kharkiv has been hit particularly hard by Russian attacks recently
Updated 17 June 2024
AFP
OSLO: Norway said Sunday that it would provide 1.1 billion kroner ($103 million) to Ukraine to help repair its energy infrastructure and secure the country’s electricity supply before next winter.
“Russia is carrying out massive, systematic attacks to paralyze the power grid, but Ukrainians are working day and night to maintain essential electricity supplies for the population,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.
According to new estimates, more than 50 percent of Ukraine’s power production capacity has been destroyed, the government said.
“We are in close dialogue with Ukraine on how it can use these funds most effectively. The Ukrainians themselves have the best insight into what is needed,” Store said, adding that it was important to begin infrastructure repairs before the onset of winter.
Norway said it had already been decided that 120 million kroner would go toward repairs in the Kharkiv area, which has been hit particularly hard by Russian attacks recently.
Solar panels will be installed at seven maternity units and operating theaters in the Kharkiv area, Store said in the statement, which was issued as he attended a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland.
In 2022, Norway provided 2.1 billion kroner in funding to the Ukrainian energy sector, and 1.9 billion kroner last year.
The Scandinavian country has pledged 75 billion kroner in military and civilian aid to Ukraine for the five-year period 2023-2027, with funding allocated each year in line with Ukraine’s needs.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister highlights importance of ties with Japan
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi stated that Japan is committed to continuing its efforts toward a two-state solution for Palestine
Iwaya stated that Jordan is playing an important role amid the fluid international situation
Updated 22 sec ago
Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Jordanian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Al Safadi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa in Tokyo on Friday and highlighted the importance of the partnership between Jordan and Japan, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi stated that Japan is committed to continuing its efforts toward a two-state solution for Palestine and establishing peace and prosperity in the region in coordination with Jordan, which, he said, was a vital part of stability in the region.
Iwaya welcomed his Jordanian counterpart and appreciated the visit to Japan and the Osaka-Kansai Expo of Crown Prince Hussein, who had “fruitful discussions” with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on Thursday.
Iwaya stated that Jordan is playing an important role amid the fluid international situation and added that he hopes to work closely with Jordan toward achieving a “two-state solution” for Palestine and establishing long-term peace and stability in the region.
The two foreign ministers met previously in Munich and Iwaya said the high-level visits and meetings “symbolize the strategic partnership between our two countries.”
He also offered condolences for those affected by the flooding in Petra.
Foreign Minister Safadi said he appreciated support from Japan in various fields, including economic reforms. He also congratulated Japan on the success of the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
He explained the latest regional situation and Jordan’s diplomatic efforts and stated that Jordan attaches great importance to cooperation with “close partner” Japan. He also expressed his gratitude for the assistance Japan has extended to Jordan thus far.
He added that he was looking forward to “in-depth discussions about the challenges we face in the region, particularly efforts to stop the Israeli aggression in Gaza and to confront the massive humanitarian disaster it is suffering, in addition to discussing the situation in Syria and the situation in the region in general.”
“We emphasize the importance of Japan’s role,” he said. “Japan is highly respected in our region, and Japan’s policies are aimed at achieving security, stability, peace and development. These are also the goals of our policies in Jordan.”
Discussions centered on bilateral cooperation and various issues in the Middle East.
Putin and Trump exchanged World War Two anniversary greetings via aides, Kremlin says
“These were warm words, mutual congratulations on our common great celebration,” Ushakov said
Russia marked the anniversary on Friday
Updated 55 min 20 sec ago
Reuters
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump congratulated each other via their aides on the 80th anniversary of the Soviet and allied victory in World War Two over Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Friday.
’Through their aides, the Russian president and President Trump exchanged congratulations on the occasion of our common celebration,” Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, told state TV’s Channel One.
“These were warm words, mutual congratulations on our common great celebration,” Ushakov said.
Russia marked the anniversary on Friday with a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square attended by dozens of world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping.
The TASS state news agency reported that Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, had not been present at the parade.
Weary border residents in Indian-administered Kashmir struggle to survive
Villagers hid in bunkers, behind rocks and bushes on mountain slopes, many watched their homes being reduced to rubble
Exchange of heavy fire has destroyed or severely damaged dozens of homes along the border, forcing many to flee
Updated 09 May 2025
AFP
URI, India: Mohammad Naseem says his neighbors laughed when he borrowed money and built a concrete bunker under his home in a village near the disputed Kashmir border.
But this week, when mortar bombs rained in Salamabad, 38 people — men, women, and children — huddled in it as about a dozen shells exploded outside in quick succession.
One of them destroyed Naseem’s home.
“Many of us would have died had we not moved into the bunker,” Naseem, a 34-year-old hotel chef, told AFP.
“We grabbed our children and rushed inside. It got so packed that after some time we felt suffocated, two of our children became unconscious,” he said.
“The children had to be hospitalized after daybreak when the shelling stopped.”
Mohammad Naseem, a hotel chef speaks with AFP while holding a remnant in front of his house that was destroyed by mortar bombs, in Uri on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
Other villagers hid behind rocks and bushes on the mountain slopes. Some watched their homes being reduced to rubble.
Deadly confrontations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan erupted after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing an April 22 attack on tourists on the Indian-administered side of the disputed territory, which killed 26 people.
Pakistan denies the charge.
“We took our children out and went up the mountain slope holding them tightly as bombs exploded around us,” Naseer Ahmed Khan, 50, said outside his damaged house on Thursday.
“Our life is worth nothing. At any time, entire families could be wiped out,” Khan said. “Our children are not able to sleep and we cannot have a meal in peace.”
The exchange of heavy fire has destroyed or severely damaged dozens of homes in Uri, about 100 kilometers (66 miles) from the Kashmir capital Srinagar, forcing many to flee to safer areas in towns like Baramulla, about 50 kilometers away.
Sajjad Shafi, a local lawmaker told AFP that about 10 percent of Uri’s population — some 22,000 people — fled since the latest fighting began.
On Friday, many more were fleeing in buses and trucks provided by the government or driving off in their own cars.
“How can we stay here?” Rubina Begum said outside her destroyed home. “The government should lodge us somewhere safe.”
An Indian flag lies in front of a damaged shop following overnight shelling from Pakistan at Gingal village in Uri district, north of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, on May 9, 2025. (AP)
Begum’s daughter, Saima Talib, added: “We have nothing left except the clothes we are wearing.”
Displaced people are struggling to find food and work and many are now sheltering in government buildings in Uri.
Mohammad Lateef Bhat, a road construction worker, said: “I work as a laborer with army’s border roads organization but their work also stopped.”
“This morning I came to the market looking for work but there is nothing,” Bhat said.
Some vegetable sellers briefly set up shop before closing.
Mohammad Bashir was also despondent.
“I came to the market to find some work so I can buy some food for my family (of eight) but there is nothing,” Bashir, 60, said.
The death toll from India and Pakistan’s biggest clashes in decades passed 50 on Friday with each accusing the other of staging drone attacks in waves.
Farooq Ahmed Khan, 35, a bus driver from Sultandhaki village near the border, said “this fighting has made our life miserable.”
Nagni, a rare mixed settlement of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, sits on mountain slopes near the Indian army’s border headquarters in Uri.
Villagers say 35 of the 50 families there have fled.
Badal, a 22-year-old student who only gave his first name, was cleaning up after his sister’s wedding at his freshly painted home.
He showed a crater caused by a mortar bomb that landed a few meters away on the night of the wedding.
“Luckily there was no loss of life but a lot of damage. What we need.. is bunkers, but there are none.”
“This village has always been a target of Pakistani attacks in the past because the (Indian) army headquarters are nearby,” said Sahil Kumar, another Nagni resident.
Locals say they are fed up.
“I say there should be a war just to decide where Kashmir goes,” said Farooq Ahmed Khan, the bus driver.
“I will also go to fight in that war so that this trouble ends for good,” Khan said.
Kyiv’s EU allies endorse tribunal to try Russian leaders
“Russia’s aggression cannot go unpunished and therefore establishing this tribunal is extremely important,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said
The new tribunal is not expected to be able to try Putin while he is in office
Updated 09 May 2025
AFP
LVIV, Ukraine: Ukraine’s EU allies on Friday endorsed the creation of a tribunal to try Russia’s top leaders over the invasion, as Kyiv pushes for Vladimir Putin himself to be brought to justice.
EU foreign ministers were gathering in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv in a symbolic show of support on the same day Russia commemorates the end of World War II with a grand military parade in Moscow.
European efforts to create the tribunal appear to have sped up since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, courting Putin in a bid to end the war and raising fears Moscow could escape justice for good.
“There is no space for impunity. Russia’s aggression cannot go unpunished and therefore establishing this tribunal is extremely important,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has already issued arrest warrants for Putin and other Russian officials for the forced deportation of children and strikes on Ukraine’s energy targets.
But the ICC doesn’t have the jurisdiction to prosecute Russia for the more fundamental decision to launch the invasion in the first place.
However, the new tribunal is not expected to be able to try Putin while he is in office due to a principle of international law that gives immunity to presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.
“This tribunal is being set up to pass appropriate sentences in the future,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in Lviv.
He added Kyiv wanted the “inevitable punishment for all,” including the “president of Russia, the prime minister of Russia and the foreign minister of Russia.”
Putin earlier on Friday had evoked Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to rally the country round his three-year offensive at a grand military parade in Moscow in front of key allies, including China’s Xi Jinping.
There are fears in Ukraine that Russian officials may escape justice, especially after Trump initiated a rapprochement with Putin in the hopes of ending the war.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jury to be seated in hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial
Combs pleads not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
Twelve jurors and six alternates to be chosen
Updated 09 May 2025
Reuters
NEW YORK: A jury of 12 New Yorkers is due to be chosen on Friday in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who could face decades or even life in prison if convicted.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution — all felonies.
Over three days this week, the judge overseeing the case questioned nearly 100 prospective jurors on subjects including what they had heard about Combs’ case and any experiences they had had with sexual assault.
With input from defense lawyers and prosecutors, US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan dismissed the jurors he deemed unfit to serve and settled on 45 candidates qualified to serve fairly and impartially.
On Friday, lawyers for each side will take turns striking candidates until a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates is chosen — a chess match with potentially decisive implications in the outcome of the trial.
Combs, a Harlem native who founded the pioneering record label Bad Boy Records and discovered iconic rappers including the Notorious B.I.G., was arrested last September and has been held in a Brooklyn federal lockup since then.
The charges marked the stunning downfall of a titan of the music industry who once held a ceremonial key to the city of New York and was known for throwing lavish parties for A-list celebrities.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office say that for two decades Combs used his business empire to lure women into his orbit with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs.”
In court papers, prosecutors allege Combs kept his victims obedient by drugging and blackmailing them. He is accused of kidnapping a person at gunpoint, dropping a Molotov cocktail into a car and hitting, choking and dragging victims in acts of violence dating back to the 1990s.
Combs’ lawyers have said prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalize Combs’ “swinger lifestyle.” They have signaled they plan to attack the credibility of the alleged victims who will testify by seeking to show they had financial incentives to accuse Combs. They have said the women gave inconsistent accounts of the alleged assaults to investigators.
Subramanian has said the trial will last around eight weeks, with the alternate jurors serving as backups in case jurors are unable to finish. Any verdict must be unanimous.
The trial is expected to feature testimony from three, or possibly four, accusers including Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie.
Combs faces more than 50 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, including one by a plaintiff who says he was 10 years old at the time of the alleged attack.
Combs has denied wrongdoing in those cases and claimed his accusers are seeking a payday.
