KYIV: Ukraine authorities on Tuesday suspended consular services for men of fighting age living abroad, after announcing measures to bring them home amid manpower shortages in the army fighting Russia.
Ukraine’s army has been struggling to hold frontlines, partly due to a lack of soldiers over two years into Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry “announced a temporary suspension of accepting new applications for consular services” for men between 18 and 60.
It made an exception for documents allowing Ukrainians to return to Ukraine.
The move would likely oblige Ukrainian men to return from abroad to undergo administrative procedures that were previously available abroad.
The government has already adopted a mobilization law, due to come into force on May 18, that toughens penalties against draft dodgers and obliges men to keep their military registration up-to-date.
The ministry said men would be able to access consular services once the law came into force and “after updating their military registration.”
“Male citizen of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 with valid military registration documents will have full access to consular services,” the ministry said.
Ukrainian men have been forbidden to leave the country since the invasion began, apart from a few exceptions.
But some lived away before the war began, and Ukrainian media estimates that thousands more illegally fled the country.
Ukraine suspends consular services abroad for men of fighting age
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Ukraine suspends consular services abroad for men of fighting age
- Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry “announced a temporary suspension of accepting new applications for consular services” for men between 18 and 60
- It made an exception for documents allowing Ukrainians to return to Ukraine
A French high school student is arrested after fatally stabbing another student and wounding 3
A national police official said the attack occurred at the private Catholic Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides High School in Nantes
PARIS: A student at a French high school stabbed four other students at his school Thursday, killing at least one and injuring three others before being arrested, police said.
The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear. Fatal attacks are quite rare in French schools.
A national police official said the attack occurred at the private Catholic Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides High School in Nantes on France’s Atlantic coast.
The student stabbed four people with a knife during a lunch break before teachers subdued him, and he was later taken in by police, the official said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to national police policy.
Students at the school told French media at the scene that they had received an email from the assailant earlier in the day with unspecified grievances.
Education Minister Elisabeth Borne said on X that she is heading to the school with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to show “solidarity with victims and the school community.” The regional prosecutor announced a news conference for later Thursday.
Images from the scene showed police and armed military forces surrounding the school as the investigation got underway.
An official at the school, which is part of a complex housing a primary and middle school, would not comment on what happened, saying the school is concentrating on caring for the students who were on campus at the time. The school website was down.
Gangs in Haiti kill 4 soldiers and 4 civilians in bid to seize full control of the capital
- Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff
- In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Gangs trying to seize full control of Haiti have killed at least four soldiers and four armed civilians who worked with law enforcement to protect their communities, an official said Thursday.
Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff, a once peaceful community on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Two other soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians were killed in the community of Pacot inside the capital, he said.
On Wednesday night, the government said that at least four police officers and armed civilians from the community of Canapé-Vert, one of the few neighborhoods not controlled by gangs, were killed in the attacks.
In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies and picking up severed heads as trophies, saying, “We got the dogs.”
Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the prime minister’s office condemned the attacks in separate statements and said that multiple people were injured.
“The government reaffirms that the fight against insecurity remains its top priority,” the office said.
Gangs that control at least 85 percent of Port-au-Prince have launched recent attacks on previously peaceful areas that police and armed residents are trying to protect.
More than 260 people were killed in attacks on Kenscoff and Carrefour earlier this year, according to the UN political mission in Haiti.
Haitian police are working alongside a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police to repel gangs, although they have struggled in their efforts. The mission is underfunded and only has some 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned.
More than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless, according to the UN
Saudi exhibition takes Indonesians on virtual tour of Islamic heritage
- ‘Jusoor’ exhibition runs until May 3 at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta
- Visitors can also view rare manuscripts, learn Arabic calligraphy
JAKARTA: A week-long Saudi exhibition opened in Jakarta on Thursday, offering Indonesian visitors virtual tours of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, as well as a display of the features of the Holy Kaaba.
Organized by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, the display, titled “Jusoor” or bridges, is being held at the Istiqlal Mosque complex in Jakarta.
The event is free to the public and will run until May 3.
It was inaugurated by Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar and Saudi Arabia's Islamic Affairs Undersecretary Dr. Awwad bin Sabti Al-Anzi.
“This exhibition symbolizes the strengthening of cultural and diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, while also serving as a platform to introduce the rich history and civilization of Islam to the general public,” Umar said on social media.
“Through the collection of artifacts, ancient manuscripts, and interactive multimedia installations, (it) invites visitors to explore the Islamic world’s contribution to science, art and culture across time.”
Aside from the virtual tours of the two holy mosques, the Saudi exhibition in Jakarta features their scale models and photos of the Kaaba.
Designed to be educational and child-friendly, it also invites visitors to explore the printing of the Qur’an, view rare manuscripts, learn about Arabic calligraphy, and to taste qahwa — the traditional Arabic coffee.
Organizers are aiming to attract 1 million visitors.
“The exhibition, which aims to attract 1 million visitors, embodies the Kingdom’s efforts to spread moderation, serve the Holy Qur’an, and strengthen bridges of cultural and human communication between peoples,” the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs said in a statement on X.
According to Ahmad Zayadi, information director of Islamic affairs at Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry, the event showcases Saudi Arabia’s role in world culture and history.
“(The Kingdom’s) standing in the Islamic world makes it a center of civilization that is inseparable from mankind’s history and cultural development,” Zayadi said.
“We are showing the world that religion and culture are not just legacies of the past, but a strategic foundation to build future civilizations.”
Ramaphosa to meet Trump ‘soon’ to discuss strained South Africa-US relations
- "We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,'' Ramaphosa said
- “We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries"
JOHANNESBURG: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday he will “meet soon” with US President Donald Trump to discuss relations between the two countries.
Ramaphosa said he had spoken to Trump and the two leaders had also agreed to discuss the peace process in Ukraine and the end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths. We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations,” Ramaphosa said in a post on social media platform X.
“We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries,” he added. Ramaphosa did not indicate when the meeting with Trump was likely to take place.
Relations between South Africa and the US have deteriorated since Trump took office earlier this year.
Trump has criticized South Africa’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, which has seen the country take Israel to the International Court of Justice and accuse it of committing a genocide in Gaza.
Trump has also signed an executive order stopping all financial aid to South Africa and has also slapped South Africa with 37 percent trade tariffs on its exports to the US, which he subsequently paused for 90 days.
The cuts were an additional blow to the country after it also lost US funding for its key health programs including the fight against HIV.
Trump has also falsely accused South Africa of illegally seizing farms owned by white Afrikaner farmers after it enacted the Expropriation Act which empowers the government to expropriate land for public use.
He has offered to facilitate the resettlement of white Afrikaner farmers who wish to leave South Africa and move to the US
Last month, the US expelled Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the US, over his criticism of Trump, who has hinted that he may not attend the G20 summit of world leaders scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November.
Ramaphosa revealed his conversation with Trump as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on an official visit to South Africa.
Zelensky held a planned meeting with Ramaphosa at the government’s Union Buildings in Pretoria.
In rare criticism of Putin, Trump urges the Russian leader to ‘STOP!’ after a deadly attack on Kyiv
- “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump said
- “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Thursday offered rare criticism of Vladimir Putin, urging the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Russia struck Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. At least nine people were killed and more than 70 injured in the deadliest assault on the city since last July. The strikes took place just as peace efforts are coming to a head.
