United Nations: Russia unleashed a blistering war of words against Britain and the United States at the UN Security Council on Thursday, again denying it was responsible for poisoning a former double agent in England.
“It’s some sort of theater of the absurd. Couldn’t you come up with a better fake story?” Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told the council. “We have told our British colleagues that ‘you’re playing with fire and you’ll be sorry.’“
Sergei Skripal, a former double agent, and his daughter Yulia were found in a critical condition on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.
London has blamed Russia but the Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement. Britain says the poisoning was carried out with a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union.
The row has triggered a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and inflamed tensions between Russia and Western governments.
“A propaganda war is being waged against Russia,” railed Nebenzia, claiming that the goal was “to discredit and even de-legitimize Russia.”
“This is all using the method of Dr. Goebbels,” he added in reference to Nazi Germany’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
In her response, British Ambassador Karen Pierce said London had conveyed Russia’s demand for consular access to the spy’s daughter Yulia Skripal and that the British government had acted entirely properly within international convention.
“I won’t take any lectures on morality or on our responsibilities,” said Pierce, “from a country that, as this council debated yesterday, has done so much to block the proper investigation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.”
“It’s yet another attempt by Russia to use this Security Council for political gains,” said US diplomat Kelley Currie.
“This is not a tactic that is appropriate for this body,” she said in reference to Russia’s reference to Goebbels.
Russia on Wednesday requested the UN Security Council meeting, the same day that Moscow called a meeting of the global chemical watchdog, but failed in its bid to join a probe into the Salisbury incident by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
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Russia rails against Britain at UN, denies Skripal role
Russia rails against Britain at UN, denies Skripal role
- London has blamed Russia but the Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement.
- The row has triggered a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions
’Starting anew’: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
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