Six-time Miami Open champ Novak Djokovic pulls out, cites scheduling issues
Djokovic’s announcement follows his shock defeat last week to world number 123 Luca Nardi at Indian Wells. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will skip the Miami Open saying, less than a week after a surprise loss at Indian Wells, that he needs to balance his “private and professional schedule”. Djokovic’s announcement Saturday on his social media accounts follows his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat to unheralded Luca Nardi on Monday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. “At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule. I’m sorry that I won’t experience some of the best and most passionate fans in the world,” Djokovic wrote. Nardi, who is ranked number 123, became the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event, surpassing number 122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami. The 20-year-old Italian got into the field as a “lucky loser”, a player who stumbled on the final hurdle in qualifying but made it into the main draw as a replacement for an injured player who pulled out before the first round. The 36-year-old Djokovic is a six-time champion in Miami. The men’s hardcourt tournament begins on March 20. Djokovic, a record 24-time Grand Slam champion, is 8-2 on the season but is yet to win a title in 2024. Adblock test (Why?)
As climate change threatens Arabica beans, can quality Robusta save coffee?
Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam – The white-walled room in a house on the outskirts of Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam’s coffee capital, is quiet. The only thing breaking the silence is the occasional beep of an electronic scale, or the sound of coffee being poured into a measuring glass. A handful of people, all wearing white lab coats, concentrate on their work. “This is really a lab,” says Nguyen Van Hoa, as he walks around the room in the white lab coat he wears over his jeans and trainers. A young man, Hoa calls himself a “green bean hunter” and is the owner of Stone Village Lab and Education, a company that researches and sources high-quality coffee beans for cafes and coffee businesses. Now and then, he stops at a desk to demonstrate how many beans to add to each cup and the ideal water temperature. Baristas and cafe owners come here from all over the country to learn about coffee, from the capital Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. He holds out a cup with a small serving of dark brown coffee brewed from a blend he has been working on for seven years. “It will change the mind of anyone who thinks that you cannot make good coffee from Robusta,” he says. This – changing the minds of the many Robusta sceptics – is what has occupied Nguyen Van Hoa for the past few years. In the coffee industry, Robusta is known as the inferior sibling of Arabica, lacking the latter’s complexity and sweeter, smoother notes. Robusta is almost always mass-produced and cheap. “The Robusta market is only looking for the best price. But we can change that,” Nguyen Van Hoa says. They must. The Arabica coffee bean which is near-universally synonymous with quality coffee, is under serious threat from climate change. Reforming the image and quality of the much-maligned – but, as its name suggests, resilient – Robusta coffee bean is crucial for the future of coffee. Nguyen Van Hoa – who calls himself a ‘green bean hunter’ – is the owner of Stone Village Lab and Education, which specialises in developing high-quality Robusta coffee, in Vietnam [Jenny Gustafsson/Al Jazeera] And Vietnam is where that change may well happen. It is the world’s largest producer of Robusta – and second to Brazil in overall coffee production, and the bean comprises 95-97 percent of all the coffee grown in the country. This has been the case since French colonists brought coffee plants to the region in the 1850s. “The idea was to ‘just bring the beans and the more you bring the more [money] you make’,” explains Timen Swijtink, managing partner at the coffee company Lacaph in Ho Chi Minh City. In the decades that followed, coffee plantations grew in popularity. After Vietnam’s first commercial coffee processing plant was built in 1950, the industry continued to expand. Then, in 1986, Vietnam introduced Doi Moi (“reinvention”), which shifted the country’s post-war economic focus to be more market oriented. Since then, the country’s annual coffee bean production has exploded, up from 18,400 tonnes to more than 1.9 million tonnes. Today, 90 percent of Vietnam’s coffee is grown around Buon Ma Thuot, on the Central Highlands plateau, between 500 metres (1,640 feet) and 800 metres (2,625 feet) above sea level. Here, in every direction, vast fields of bright green coffee plants stretch into the horizon. In the autumn, the small cherries, which are about the size of grapes and grow in bunches, weigh down the branches and change from green to red – a sign that they are ready for harvest. Workers at Nguyen Van Hoa’s coffee lab in Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam’s ‘coffee capital’ [Jenny Gustafsson/Al Jazeera] ‘The plants are happy together’ Just south of Buon Ma Thuot, not far from Nguyen Van Hoa’s coffee lab, is the Aeroco coffee plantation – eight hectares in size (20 acres) – which Anh Nguyen Tu and her husband, Le Dinh Tu, have run since 2017. Quality is not top of the list for the big, multinational companies that turn the majority of Vietnam’s coffee beans into instant coffee for the soft drink and pharmaceutical companies that use caffeine in their products. Both buy beans cheaply and in bulk. But at Aeroco, the focus is very much on growing “fine” Robusta. Le Dinh Tu is an agricultural engineer. Before shifting to specialty coffee, the couple provided organic fertilisers to farmers for 18 years. “It took three years until we could survive from coffee, there are many costs involved when you want to work in a sustainable way,” says Anh Nguyen Tu. Wearing a straw hat as protection from the afternoon sun, she walks out among the plants. She explains the growing process. “We grow in three layers. First grass, then coffee, then trees like jackfruit and pepper. This is to balance the ecosystem. The plants are happy together,” she says. Planting this way benefits both the bushes and the land. It gives the coffee plant much-needed shade, and helps the soil retain its nutrients. A worker harvests coffee cherries at a farm in Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam, on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 [Maika Elan/Bloomberg via Getty Images] Anh Nguyen Tu picks and carefully scratches a pale red cherry with her nail to determine if it is fully ripe. If the beans are harvested too early, the coffee will not have the round and sweet aftertaste typical for quality coffee. “These cherries need a bit more time,” she says, then walks towards an open space where a group of employees are gathering beans which had been laid out on canvases in the sun. It’s a time-consuming process. To properly dry and ferment the beans, they must be turned every 30 minutes, and then brought indoors in the afternoon. “I had no idea how patient you must be when growing coffee,” says Pham Thi Duyen, one of the workers. She wears a green shirt, just like the others in
UN says acute malnutrition spreading fast among children in Gaza
Israel says it will send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new truce proposal. The main United Nations aid agency operating in Gaza has said that acute malnutrition was accelerating in the north of the Palestinian enclave as Israel prepared to send a delegation to Qatar for new truce talks on a hostage deal with Hamas. On Saturday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished, putting more pressure on Israel over the looming famine. “Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post. On Friday, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new proposal for a ceasefire with an exchange of hostages and prisoners. A source familiar with the talks told the Reuters news agency that the delegation will be led by the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to convene the security cabinet to discuss the proposal before the talks start. Netanyahu’s office has said the Hamas offer was still based on “unrealistic demands”. Repeated efforts failed to secure a ceasefire before the holy month of Ramadan, which started a week ago, with Israel saying it plans to launch a new offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, starting a two-day visit to the region, voiced concerns about an assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering, saying there was a danger it would result “in many terrible civilian casualties”. On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said he had approved an attack plan on Rafah and that the civilian population would be evacuated. It gave no timeframe, and there was no immediate evidence of extra preparations on the ground. Humanitarian crisis Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 31,553 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the strip. The assault has also devastated the enclave, forcing nearly all the inhabitants from their homes, leaving much of the territory in rubble and triggering a massive hunger crisis. “Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post. Hospitals in Gaza have reported some children dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Western countries have called on Israel to do more to allow in aid, with the UN saying it faced “overwhelming obstacles” including crossing closures, onerous vetting, restrictions on movement and unrest inside Gaza. A first delivery into Gaza by the World Central Kitchen, pioneering a new sea route via Cyprus, arrived on Friday and was off-loaded, the charity said. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said a second cargo of food aid was ready to depart by sea from Cyprus on Saturday, while the United States and Jordan said they carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid. In a CNN interview, Queen Rania of Jordan called the airdrops “literally just drops in the ocean of unmet needs” and accused Israel of “cutting off everything that is required to sustain a human life: food, fuel, medicine, water”. Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded on a cargo ship in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Indian navy captures ship from Somali pirates, rescuing 17 crew members
Navy captures MV Ruen off the Indian coast, ending the three-month hijacking of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier. Indian naval forces including special commandos have seized a cargo vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates and rescued 17 crew members, a spokesperson for the navy said. In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, the navy said that all 35 pirates on board the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel MV Ruen had surrendered, and the ship had been checked for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband. The MV Ruen was hijacked late last year and the navy said it first intercepted the vessel on Friday. “The pirates onboard the vessel have been called upon to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians they may be holding against their will,” the navy said in a statement. “The Indian navy remains committed to maritime security and safety of seafarers in the region,” it added. The vessel may have been used as the base for the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia earlier this week, the European Union naval force said. The hijacking of the Ruen in December was the first successful takeover of a vessel involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. #INSKolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender & ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members in the evening today #16Mar 24 from the pirate vessel without any injury.#INSKolkata had carried out the… https://t.co/eKxfEdMRES pic.twitter.com/tmQq2fG8yE — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 16, 2024 Somali pirates have caused chaos in important global waterways for a decade, but had been dormant until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year. India has deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The subcontinent’s navy has also increased its surveillance of the Arabian Sea after a recent spate of attacks in the region. In January, the navy rescued all crew members from a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea. At least 17 incidents of hijacking, attempted hijacking and suspicious approaches have been recorded by the Indian navy since December 1. Data from the Indian navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region shows at least three hijackings in December. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Everybody’s fight’: Palestinians hail the sacrifice of Corrie, Bushnell
Twenty-one years ago today, an Israeli soldier drove an 80,000-pound (26,287kg) bulldozer over a 23-year-old woman from Olympia, Washington. Her name was Rachel Corrie, and she was part of an international team of peace activists who had volunteered to protect Palestinian homes from demolition by Israeli settlers. The US magazine, Mother Jones, gave this account of her final hours: “At two o’clock on the afternoon of Sunday, March 16, Rachel Corrie received a cell-phone call from a comrade in the International Solidarity Movement. ‘The Israelis are back,’ she told Corrie. ‘Get over here right away. I think they’re heading for Dr. Samir’s house.’ The news alarmed Corrie. Samir Nasrallah was a Palestinian pharmacist who lived with his wife and three children a few hundred yards from the battle-scarred Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Corrie and other pro-Palestinian activists based in Rafah had frequently spent the night in Nasrallah’s house, acting as human shields against the Israeli tanks and bulldozers, clearing a security zone around the border. Almost every other structure in the area had been knocked down in recent months; Nasrallah’s abode now stood alone in a sea of sand and debris. Certain that the pharmacist’s house was about to be razed, Corrie caught a taxi to the Hai as-Salam neighbourhood. The paved roads of downtown Rafah gave way to sandy tracks lined with scrabbly olive groves, mosques, modest houses, and dirt pitches where Corrie often played football – badly but enthusiastically – with local youths. At 2:30pm, a neighbour of Nasrallah’s named Abu Ahmed caught sight of the activist hurrying past his house. Slight, hazel-eyed, with high cheekbones and dirty blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, she carried a megaphone in one hand and an orange fluorescent jacket in the other. “Come inside and have some tea,” he urged her. But Corrie told him she did not have time, and he watched as she disappeared around the corner of his house, heading towards the roar of machinery. This much has never been contested: placing herself in the path of an Israeli bulldozer that she believed was about to flatten Nasrallah’s house, Rachel Corrie was crushed to death—her skull fractured, her ribs shattered, her lungs punctured.” Witnesses said that Corrie’s death was no accident; the bulldozer’s operator had deliberately run over her, then put the vehicle in reverse. Palestinians in Gaza hailed her as a “martyr”, holding a massive funeral for her, dedicating an annual football tournament to her memory, renaming a street in the West Bank for her, and building a shrine to her strewn with wreaths and olive branches. On the fourth anniversary of her death, Palestinian youth activists organised a permanent art exhibit of Corrie’s personal belongings at a government site in Rafah, from which they hung placards that expressed sentiments such as “Rachel Corrie died as a Palestinian” and “We welcome her in the highest esteem and honour.” Every year, on the anniversary of her death, Arab newspapers commemorate her sacrifice, and Palestinian scholars and diplomats pay homage to her. A United States Marines jacket, flowers and candles are placed outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington at a memorial for Aaron Bushnell, an active duty United States Air Force member who died after setting himself on fire outside the embassy in an act of protest against the war in Gaza [Bonnie Cash/Reuters] ‘Sacrificed everything for Palestinians’ In a YouTube video posted Friday, Lowkey, a British hip hop artist of Iraqi ancestry cited Corrie’s death to rebuke narratives that date the current conflict only back to Hamas’ attack on Israeli settlers last year, saying, “Rachel Corrie died as a US citizen defending Palestinian homes in Gaza. . . this didn’t begin on October 7th. Rachel Corrie represented the conscience of humanity. Through her, that basic aversion to watching human suffering was channelled. She gave her life to the Palestinian cause.” Corrie’s sacrifice has special resonance this year, however, not just because of Israel’s five-month siege and blockade of Gaza, but because of the equally shocking death of Aaron Bushnell nearly three weeks ago. On the afternoon of February 25, Bushnell, dressed in his US Air Force uniform, livestreamed himself while walking to the Israeli embassy in Washington while calmly declaring his intentions. “I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest but, compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.” Once he had reached the front steps outside the embassy, he poured a flammable liquid atop his buzz-cut head, lit himself on fire, and shouted “Free Palestine!” several times before collapsing in a heap onto the pavement. As was the case following Corrie’s death 21 years earlier, Palestinians and antiwar activists hailed the 25-year-old Bushnell as a “martyr”. In a statement published on Telegram a few days after his death, Hamas wrote that the US pilot ” immortalised his name as a defender of human values and the oppression of the suffering Palestinian people because of the American administration and its unjust policies”. Continuing, Hamas wrote admiringly of Bushnell’s effort to highlight the “massacres and Zionist genocide” against Palestinians. Similarly, the mayor of the Palestinian town of Jericho, Abdul Karim Sidr, named a street for Bushnell only days after his death, declaring that he “sacrificed everything” for Palestinians. “We didn’t know him, and he didn’t know us. There were no social, economic or political ties between us. What we share is a love for freedom and a desire to stand against these attacks [on Gaza],” Sidro told a small crowd assembled on the new Aaron Bushnell Road, which adjoins a street named after the iconic Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. In Yemen, Bushnell’s image can be seen on billboards across the capital city of Sanaa. And in Portland, Oregon, a group of US military veterans burned their uniforms in a gesture of solidarity with Bushnell. Jericho City Councilman
Is the Palestinian Authority still relevant?
Under US pressure to reform the PA, Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a new prime minister. Amid mounting pressure from the United States, the Palestinian Authority is shaking up its leadership. President Mahmoud Abbas has named his financial adviser as the new prime minister. Sixty-nine-year-old Mohammed Mustafa has ample experience in economics, but little in politics. The move has surprised many – violence is escalating in the occupied West Bank and Israel’s war on Gaza shows no sign of ending. So, how could this appointment shape the future of the PA? And does it have enough backing from Palestinians to move forward? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Tahani Mustafa – Senior Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group Mansour Shouman – Canadian Palestinian citizen journalist who reported from Gaza between October 2023 and February 2024 Mustafa Barghouti – Secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Adblock test (Why?)
Sixteen Nigerian soldiers killed in attack in Delta state
The soldiers were on a mission to stop the conflict between two communities in the Bomadi region. Sixteen Nigerian soldiers have been killed on a mission to halt clashes between two communities in the southern state of Delta, an army spokesperson said. The troops from the 181 Amphibious Battalion deployed in the Bomadi region, had responded to the conflict in the Okuoma community when they were killed on Thursday, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau said in a statement on Saturday. “The reinforcement team led by the commanding officer was also attacked, leading to the death of the commanding officer, two majors, one captain and 12 soldiers,” he said. The chief of defence has also directed an immediate investigation and the arrest of those involved, according to Gusau. “So far, a few arrests have been made while steps [are] in place to unravel the motive behind the attack,” he added. There are frequent clashes, sometimes deadly, over land or compensation for oil spills by energy companies in many Delta state communities. Moreover, conflict has also continued to roil Nigeria’s northern and central regions, where armed groups are active and government forces have been accused of committing abuses. Earlier this year, at least 30 people were killed in renewed violence in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, where clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farming communities have erupted for years. The state lies in the Middle Belt, a region seen as the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Inter-communal violence has been common in the region, which is home to dozens of ethnic minorities, such as the Mwaghavul. Clashes in the region and the northwest are rooted in community tensions over land between nomadic herders and Indigenous farmers, but exacerbated by the effects of climate change and population rise in the region. Adblock test (Why?)
US prosecutors investigating Meta for role in illicit drug sales, WSJ says
The Wall Street Journal report also says the Food and Drug Administration is helping to investigate the Facebook owner. US prosecutors in Virginia are probing whether Facebook-parent Meta’s social media platforms facilitated and profited from the illegal sale of drugs, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Citing documents and people familiar with the matter, the article published on Saturday reported that prosecutors sent subpoenas last year and have been asking questions as part of a criminal grand jury probe. The report added that prosecutors have also been requesting records related to drug content or illicit sale of drugs via Meta’s platforms and said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been helping with the investigation. “The sale of illicit drugs is against our policies and we work to find and remove this content from our services”, a spokesperson for Meta told the WSJ. “Meta proactively cooperates with law enforcement authorities to help combat the sale and distribution of illicit drugs,” he added. Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said on social media platform X on Friday that Meta had collaborated with the US Department of State, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Snapchat to help disrupt the sale of synthetic drugs online and educate users about the associated risks. “The opioid epidemic is a major public health issue that requires action from all parts of US society,” Clegg, said. The opioid epidemic is a major public health issue that requires action from all parts of US society. That’s why @Meta has joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harms alongside the @StateDept @UNODC & @Snapchat to help disrupt the sale of synthetic drugs online + educate users… — Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) March 15, 2024 This is not the first time Facebook’s parent company has been taken to court by lawyers in the United States. Last year, a lawsuit was filed in Delaware by several investment funds claiming that Meta’s directors and senior executives have long known about rampant human trafficking and child sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram, but have failed to address the predatory behaviour. David Ross, a lawyer for Meta, argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the alleged conduct of the company’s leaders has not resulted in Meta suffering “corporate trauma” as required by Delaware law. The company also argues that the lawsuit’s claims are based on speculation that it might face future harm or loss. In a statement, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company has spent “over a decade fighting these terrible abuses both on and off our platforms and supporting law enforcement in arresting and prosecuting the criminals behind it”. Adblock test (Why?)
Thailand’s flourishing cannabis culture under threat as gov’t seeks ban
Thodsapol Hongtong is enjoying a smoke with his friends at the Green Party, a venue where recreational cannabis enthusiasts meet in the Thai capital Bangkok to chat and have a good time. But it’s a pastime that may be coming to an end. The 31-year-old influencer, who runs his own cannabis shop, regularly touts recreational marijuana as good for the country’s economy on his online platform Channel Weed Thailand. The booming cannabis sector could be worth $1.2bn by next year, according to an estimate by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. “Where [else] in the world can we lie around on the beach and enjoy a joint,” Thodsapol told the Reuters news agency, taking a puff from his bong. But the Thai government is looking to stamp out cannabis culture with a ban on its recreational use to be rolled out by the end of the year. Medical use will still be permitted. In an interview with Reuters last month, Thai Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew described recreational marijuana as a “misuse” of cannabis that has a negative impact on Thai children and could lead to other drug abuses. Recreational cannabis flourished in Thailand after the country became the first in Asia to fully decriminalise the substance in 2022, enabling a new public wave of weed appreciation culture. Neon signs of cannabis leaves in multiple languages are visible on many street corners in Thai towns and cities, marking the tens of thousands of shops, spas, bars and gaming lounges where a variety of cannabis strains are readily available. Many streetside shops in tourist areas sell smoking paraphernalia, while cannabis-related festivals became more common, like last year’s joint-rolling competition in the resort island of Phuket that drew in weed aficionados from around the world. The Thai government’s draft law banning recreational use of cannabis will be up for cabinet approval later this month. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia says two killed in Ukrainian shelling and drones hit oil refinery
Ukraine launched a series of attacks as Russians entered the second day of voting in the presidential election. Ukrainian shelling in the southern Russian city of Belgorod has killed two people and a drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil refinery south of Moscow, officials have said, while Russian authorities claimed to have thwarted a new attempt by saboteurs to cross the border. Saturday’s attacks occurred as Russians entered the second day of voting in a presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin‘s rule by another six years. A man and a woman died in the attack, and three other people were wounded, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. It marks the latest exchange of long-range missiles and rocket fire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Five people were also wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in the village of Glotovo, some two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Gladkov said. Russia’s Ministry of Defence also said Saturday that it had thwarted attempts by “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups” to enter the country from Ukraine’s Sumy region. That followed an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian opponents of the Kremlin on Tuesday in the Belgorod and Kursk regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said that Moscow’s military and security forces killed 30 fighters while thwarting the latest incursion. The Russian Volunteer Corps – one of the groups who claimed to have crossed the border on Tuesday, who say they are “fighting for the freedom of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples” – released a video on social media Saturday claiming to have captured 25 Russian soldiers. Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims, as well as disinformation and propaganda. Ukrainian drone attacks A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil refinery on Saturday that burned for hours before it was brought under control. Interfax news agency quoted the emergencies ministry as saying that “open burning” at the Syzran refinery had been halted, but measures were still under way to extinguish it completely. It was not clear how the fire would affect production at the plant, which has the capacity to process 8.5 million tonnes of crude oil a year, or 170,000 barrels per day. An attack on another refinery, Novokuibyshevsk, was thwarted on Saturday, the local governor said. Both plants are owned by Rosneft and located in the Samara region southeast of Moscow, some 800km (500 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory. A Ukrainian drone also dropped an explosive close to a polling station in the Russian-annexed Zaporizhia region of Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS said. No injuries or damage were reported. The attacks come a day after a Russian assault on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least 20 people. The ballistic missile attack blasted homes in the southern city on Friday, followed by a second missile that targeted first responders who arrived at the scene, officials said. More than 50 people are still in the hospital following the attacks, Odesa Deputy Mayor Svitlana Bedreha said on Saturday, according to Ukrainian state media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised a “just response” to the attack in a video address on Friday evening. Adblock test (Why?)