KYIV: Some 30,415 people including nearly 8,000 children have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine due to shelling and attacks, Russia’s human rights commissioner said in remarks published on Monday.
Tatyana Moskalkova, the commissioner, told news outlet Argumenty I Fakty in an interview that the evacuees have been placed in nearly 1,000 temporary accommodation centers across Russia.
Ukraine, subjected to an invasion from Russia since February 2022, has retaliated with shelling and other attacks on Russia’s border regions, with the military saying the strikes target infrastructure key to Moscow’s war effort.
Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into the Kursk region in August, taking control of dozens of settlements and holding most positions since.
Moskalkova said she had received appeals regarding more than 1,000 Russian citizens from Kursk, whose whereabouts are unknown and who were said to have been taken by Ukrainian forces.
Reuters could not independently verify Moskalkova’s reports. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Both sides deny targeting or imprisoning civilians but thousands have died in the war, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.
Moskalkova also told the news outlet that she has visited more than 2,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia and that similar visits with Russian prisoners have been conducted by her counterpart in Ukraine.
Russia says more than 30,000 evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine
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Russia says more than 30,000 evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine
- Ukrainian forces turned the tables against aggressor Russia by launching an incursion into the Kursk region in August, taking control of dozens of settlements and holding most positions since
WHO says low taxes are making sugary drinks, alcohol more affordable
- The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years
- “Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they’re not simple,” said Ghebreyesus
NEW YORK: Sugary drinks and alcohol are not being sufficiently taxed and remain affordable, making it harder to tackle the chronic health problems caused by these beverages, according to two reports from the World Health Organization.
The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years, arguing it would help cut consumption of the products which contribute to diseases such as diabetes, as well as raise money at a time when development aid is shrinking and public debt is rising.
According to a report from WHO, sugary drinks have become more affordable in 62 countries in 2024 compared with 2022. In a separate report, the health agency said beer has become more affordable in 56 countries during the same period.
“Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they’re not simple. They can be politically unpopular and they attract opposition from powerful industries with deep pockets and a lot to lose, but many countries have shown that when they’re done right, they’re a powerful tool for health,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus.
Last year, the health agency launched the “3 by 35” initiative to push countries to raise the prices of sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco by 50 percent over the next 10 years through taxation.
WHO expects the tax initiative to raise $1 trillion by 2035, based on evidence from health taxes in countries such as Colombia and South Africa.
Soda makers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, and Mondelez, which manufactures Oreo cookies, have faced scrutiny from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, recommending that consumers avoid highly processed foods and eat more protein and less sugar to achieve a healthy diet.
