Russian authorities bring in trains to fight oil depot fire

Russian authorities bring in trains to fight oil depot fire
Black smoke rises from the site of fire following an explosion at an oil depot, which was recently hit by a drone what local authorities called a Ukrainian military strike, in the settlement of Kavkazskaya in the Krasnodar region, Russia, Mar. 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 22 March 2025
Follow

Russian authorities bring in trains to fight oil depot fire

Russian authorities bring in trains to fight oil depot fire
  • Regional officials said four trains were drafted into the site at Kavkazskaya
  • 473 firefighters and 189 pieces of equipment were engaged in the operation

MOSCOW: Authorities in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region brought in firefighting trains loaded with water on Saturday to help battle a blaze still raging at an oil depot following a Ukrainian drone attack.
Regional officials, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said four trains were drafted into the site at Kavkazskaya, where the fire first broke out last Tuesday.
Firefighters were tackling a fire still burning at one of the tanks at the site covering 1,250 sq. meters (13,500 square feet) while also trying to cool other equipment at the site.
The statement said 473 firefighters and 189 pieces of equipment were engaged in the operation.
On Friday, depressurization of the burning tank triggered an explosion and the release of burning oil.
Reports on Friday said the fire covered some 10,000 square meters.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said this week the attack amounted to a violation of a proposed ceasefire on energy sites in the more than three-year-old war, agreed between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
The accord fell short of a wider agreement that the US had sought, and which was accepted by Ukraine, for a blanket 30-day truce.


UK must sanction Israel over Gaza, say hundreds of senior lawyers, academics

A boy looks for some food on a pile of garbage in Gaza City, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
A boy looks for some food on a pile of garbage in Gaza City, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

UK must sanction Israel over Gaza, say hundreds of senior lawyers, academics

A boy looks for some food on a pile of garbage in Gaza City, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
  • In letter to PM, over 800 signatories call for urgent pressure to safeguard international legal system
  • ‘Decisive action’ can ‘avert the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza’

LONDON: The UK must issue sanctions on the Israeli government and push for its suspension from the UN, a group of more than 800 senior lawyers, former judges and academics has said.

They added that this would encourage Israel to meet its “fundamental international legal obligations” amid international outrage over the war in Gaza, The Guardian reported.

The appeal came in a letter to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who delivered a joint statement last week alongside the leaders of France and Canada threatening Israel with “concrete actions.”

Starmer must act without delay and take “urgent and decisive action ... to avert the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza,” the letter said.

It was signed by figures including former Supreme Court justices Lord Sumption and Lord Wilson, Court of Appeal judges and more than 70 king’s counsels.

They accuse Israel of carrying out war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law against Palestinians.

The letter warned that there is mounting evidence in Gaza of genocide, which is either being perpetrated or at serious risk of taking place.

It cited recent comments by Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who said the country’s military would “wipe out” the presence of Palestinian life in Gaza.

“All states, including the UK, are legally obliged to take all reasonable steps within their power to prevent and punish genocide; to ensure respect for international humanitarian law; and to bring to an end violations of (the right to self-determination),” the letter said.

“The UK’s actions to date have failed to meet those standards … The international community’s failure to uphold international law in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory contributes to a deteriorating international climate of lawlessness and impunity and imperils the international legal system itself. Your government must act now, before it is too late.”

Last week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended negotiations over a new free trade agreement with Israel.

But he must place further pressure by reviewing existing trade links, imposing sanctions and suspending the 2030 strategy for building closer UK-Israel ties, the letter said.

Israeli ministers and senior military officials must be immediately placed under sanctions, signatories said, accusing them of inciting genocide and sponsoring illegal settlement-building.

Israel has also carried out “an unparalleled assault on the UN,” the letter said, highlighting its banning of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and repeated “attacks on UN premises, property and personnel.” The Israeli strategy points to a “broader challenge to the UN charter system itself,” it added.

Signatory Guy Goodwin-Gill, emeritus fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford, said: “Now is the time for the UK to show its commitment to the rule of law and to a future in which Palestinians can freely fulfil their right to self-determination.

“Everyone must be free from persecution, from displacement and ethnic cleansing, from the devastation and death deliberately inflicted on them in their homes, schools and hospitals, in their farms and villages. No one should ever be a refugee in their own land.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

The letter to Starmer adds further pressure on him to take action against Israel amid mounting international anger over Gaza.

A significant number of MPs from both the ruling Labour Party and opposition Conservative Party have said the UK’s recent actions do not go far enough.


Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘incomprehensible’ Gaza carnage

Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘incomprehensible’ Gaza carnage
Updated 13 min 11 sec ago
Follow

Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘incomprehensible’ Gaza carnage

Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘incomprehensible’ Gaza carnage
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the Israeli military strikes on Gaza "no longer reveal any logic to me"
  • 51 percent of Germans oppose weapons exports to Israel according to a published survey

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered his most severe rebuke of Israel to date on Tuesday, criticizing massive air strikes on Gaza as no longer justified by the need to fight Hamas and “no longer comprehensible.”
The message, delivered from a press conference in Finland, reflects a broader shift in public opinion but also a greater willingness from top-ranking German politicians to criticize Israel’s conduct since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
There was similar criticism from Merz’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul and calls among his junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, to halt arms exports to Israel or else risk German complicity in war crimes.
While not a complete rupture, the shift in tone is significant in a country whose leadership follows a policy of special responsibility for Israel, known as the Staatsraeson, due to the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust.
Germany, along with the United States, has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, but Merz’s words come as the European Union is reviewing its Israel policy and Britain, France and Canada also threatened “concrete actions” over Gaza.
“The massive military strikes by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip no longer reveal any logic to me. How they serve the goal of confronting terror. ... In this respect, I view this very, very critically,” Merz said in Turku, Finland.
“I am also not among those who said it first ... But it seemed and seems to me that the time has come when I must say publicly, (that) what is currently happening is no longer comprehensible.”
The comments are particularly striking given that Merz won elections in February promising to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on German soil in defiance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Merz also has hanging in the chancellery a picture of Zikim beach, where Hamas fighters arrived on boats during their rampage in 2023 that killed around 1,200 people.
The Chancellor plans to speak to Netanyahu this week, as attacks on Gaza killed dozens in recent days and its population of 2 million is at risk of famine. He did not reply to a question about German weapons exports to Israel, and a government official told a briefing that this was a matter for a security council presided over by Merz.
Israel’s ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, acknowledged German concerns on Tuesday but made no commitments.
“When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend,” Prosor told the ZDF broadcaster.
PRESSURE FROM BELOW?
Merz’s comments come on top of a groundswell of opposition to Israel’s actions. A survey by Civey, published in the Tagesspiegel newspaper this week, showed 51 percent of Germans opposed weapons exports to Israel.
More broadly, while 60 percent of Israelis have a positive or very positive opinion of Germany, only 36 percent of people in Germany view Israel positively, and 38 percent view it negatively, a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation found in May.
This represents a notable change from the last survey in 2021, when 46 percent of Germans had a positive opinion of Israel. Only a quarter of Germans recognize a special responsibility toward the state of Israel, while 64 percent of Israelis believe Germany has a special obligation.
In another striking rebuke of Israel, Germany’s commissioner for antisemitism Felix Klein this week called for a discussion about Berlin’s stance on Israel, saying German support after the Holocaust could not justify everything Israel was doing.
Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann said popular opinion in Germany toward Israel has reacted the same way as in other countries.
“The difference is in the political elites — the political elite is still under the influence of the lessons of WWII in a very one-dimensional way: ‘Jews were our victims during WWII, so we have to take sides with the Jews wherever they are and whatever they do,’” he said.
“You can feel it in the reaction of the new foreign minister, Wadephul, and indirectly the fact that Merz didn’t repeat his promise to invite Netanyahu. This is an unprecedented situation where the pressure from below is forcing the political class to reconsider.”


Indonesia intercepts record meth haul from Golden Triangle

Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency officers show a 2-ton methamphetamine haul seized off Riau Islands.
Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency officers show a 2-ton methamphetamine haul seized off Riau Islands.
Updated 16 min 53 sec ago
Follow

Indonesia intercepts record meth haul from Golden Triangle

Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency officers show a 2-ton methamphetamine haul seized off Riau Islands.
  • 2 tonnes of meth bound for Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, narcotics agency says
  • Separate drug bust this month turned up 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 768 kg of methamphetamine

JAKARTA: Indonesia has marked the biggest seizure of drugs in its history as authorities intercepted 2 tonnes of methamphetamine coming from the Golden Triangle, the world’s most notorious drug-producing region.

The drug bust, carried out by a joint task force from the National Narcotics Agency, the Indonesian Armed Forces, Customs, and the National Police, was a five-month intelligence-based operation.

As the Sea Dragon Terawa vessel, which carried the narcotics, entered Indonesian waters last week, it was escorted to Tanjung Uncang port in Batam for a customs search and crew inspection.

During the search, authorities discovered cardboard boxes wrapped in clear plastic, each containing numerous green tea packages containing 2,000 packages of methamphetamine weighing 2,115 kg, the narcotics agency said in a press conference on Monday.

“The 2-tonne methamphetamine (bust) is the largest seizure in the history of drug eradication in Indonesia,” the narcotics agency’s head, Marthinus Hukom, told reporters.

Six crew members — four Indonesians and two Thais — have been arrested by police. Under Indonesian law, they could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

They are believed to be part of the same group that was behind another drug haul intercepted in the waters off Riau Islands earlier this month.

The crew of the Aungtoetoe99 vessel — comprising nationals of Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand — was arrested on May 13 with 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 768 kg of methamphetamine.

Hukom said they were offered 50,000 baht ($1,500) per trip by a syndicate operating in the Golden Triangle region.

The Golden Triangle, where the borders of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand meet, has been synonymous with the global drug trade. From the 1950s to the early 2000s, it was one of the largest heroin-producing regions.

Recently, it has also become a major source of methamphetamine, especially meth pills and crystal meth, much of which is trafficked throughout Asia and beyond.

“Information from partners indicates that there is an international narcotics syndicate from the Golden Triangle region whose operations involve a network of illicit drug distribution in Indonesia,” Hukom said.

“The narcotics carried by the vessel Sea Dragon Terawa are suspected to have been intended for distribution to several countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.”


Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate

Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate
Updated 23 min 57 sec ago
Follow

Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate

Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate
  • Issa al H admitted guilt on his first day in court
  • The 27-year-old is accused of swinging his knife at a crowd of revellers at a festival

DUESSELDORF: A Syrian man stood trial in Duesseldorf on Tuesday over a knife attack claimed by Islamic State in which three people were killed, a case that stirred debate over foreigner crime in Germany and paved the way for a crackdown on migration.
The 27-year-old defendant, identified as Issa al H, is accused of swinging his knife at a crowd of revellers at a festival in the western town of Solingen last year, stabbing several people from behind.
He faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, and is also charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
Issa al H admitted guilt on his first day in court, where he appeared in a blue jumpsuit with his head bowed before him, only raising his head occasionally.
“I have brought heavy guilt upon myself,” he said via a statement read by his attorney.
He offered his apology to the relatives of the victims and said he was prepared to accept his punishment.
He did not comment on the allegation that he committed the crime in coordination with the Islamic State militant group.
If convicted, the defendant faces life imprisonment.
The Solingen attack raised an outcry and drew calls for tough action against foreign perpetrators of violent crime in the run-up to Germany’s February election, won by the conservatives under migration hard-liner Friedrich Merz.
His coalition government, which took office earlier this month, has closed Germany’s borders to undocumented migrants and vowed to ramp up deportations to Syria and Afghanistan.


Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to derail peace talks

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to derail peace talks
Updated 47 min 13 sec ago
Follow

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to derail peace talks

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to derail peace talks
  • Russia accuses Ukraine of derailing peace talks as the Kremlin continues to reject an unconditional and full ceasefire agreement by Kyiv and Western allies

MOSCOW: Russia said Tuesday that its massive aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent days were a “response” to escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its own civilians, accusing Kyiv of trying to “disrupt” peace efforts.
Moscow fired hundreds of drones at Ukraine between late Friday and early Monday, killing more than a dozen people and saturating the country’s air defenses.
US President Donald Trump, who has been seeking to broker an end to Moscow’s three-year invasion, said Vladimir Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” and threatened Russia with sanctions over the attacks.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war have accelerated in recent weeks, with Russian and Ukrainian officials holding direct talks for the first time in three years earlier this month but the Kremlin has shown no signs of scaling back its maximalist demands.
“Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
Russian air defenses destroyed 2,331 Ukrainian drones between May 20 and 27, more than half of which were intercepted in areas outside the battlefield, the ministry said.
“Civilians, including women and children, were injured,” it said, describing its recent strikes on Ukraine as a direct “response.”
Moscow said it had only hit “military targets” in Ukraine but Ukraine said at least 13 civilians were killed in Russian attacks on Sunday.
Kyiv accused Russia of trying to evade responsibility for the killings.
“We need to end this eternal waiting — Russia needs more sanctions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram Tuesday.
Russia’s invasion, launched in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and ravaged large parts of the east and south of the country.


For three of the past four nights, Russia pummelled Ukraine with hundreds of drones in what Kyiv described as a weekend of “terror.”
Moscow fired fewer drones at Ukraine overnight into Tuesday but strikes still damaged buildings in the northern Sumy region and hurt multiple people in the regions of Kherson and Kharkiv, officials said.
In a rare rebuke of Russia’s Putin, Trump said on social media late Sunday Washington time: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!“
“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!“
The Kremlin played down Trump’s criticism on Monday, saying Putin was taking measures “necessary to ensure Russia’s security” and that everyone was feeling “emotional” at the moment.
Ukraine and Russia sent back 1,000 people each over the weekend in their biggest ever prisoner exchange, while Moscow said it was preparing a document outlining its peace terms.
But that document was still not ready on Tuesday, despite Russia announcing it would present it to Ukraine once the prisoner swap was complete.
Moscow has consistently rejected a call by Kyiv and its Western allies for an unconditional and full ceasefire, and has called for Kyiv to drop its NATO ambitions and cede territory it already controls.
“As soon as the memorandum is ready, it will be sent to Kyiv. We hope that the Ukrainian side is doing the same,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.