Namibia’s President Hage Geingob dies aged 82
The African leader announced last month that he had begun treatment for cancer. Namibian President Hage Geingob has died at the age of 82, his office has said, less than three weeks after it was announced he would undergo treatment for cancer. Geingob died on Sunday at Lady Pohamba Hospital in the capital Windhoek with his wife and his children at his side, acting president Nangolo Mbumba said in a statement posted on Geingob’s official Facebook page. “The Namibian nation has lost a distinguished servant of the people, a liberation struggle icon, the chief architect of our constitution and the pillar of the Namibian house,” Mbumba said. “At this moment of deepest sorrow, I appeal to the nation to remain calm and collected while the Government attends to all necessary state arrangements, preparations and other protocols. Further announcements in this regard will be made.” Geingob’s office announced last month that he had begun treatment following the discovery of “cancerous cells” during a routine colonoscopy and gastroscopy. The announcement did not provide details of the African leader’s diagnosis or prognosis but said he would continue to carry out his presidential duties. Geingob’s office later announced that he would travel to the United States for medical care and would return to Namibia on February 2. Geingob, who also served a 12-year stint as prime minister, had a history of health problems that preceded his election as Namibia’s third president in 2014. In 2013, the anti-apartheid activist-turned-politician underwent brain surgery, and the following year he revealed that he had survived prostate cancer. Last year, Geingob announced he had undergone aortic surgery in neighbouring South Africa. Namibia, a former German colony that gained independence from South Africa in 1990, is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in November. Geingob was ineligible to run for reelection as Namibia’s constitution limits the president to a maximum of two terms in office. The ruling SWAPO Party’s presidential candidate, Nandi-Ndaitwah, would be the country’s first female head of state if elected. Adblock test (Why?)
People detained at Russia protest calling for troops to return from Ukraine
About two dozen people, mostly journalists, were briefly detained at a protest in central Moscow, as wives and other relatives of Russian servicemen mobilised to fight in Ukraine called for their return, according to media reports. The soldiers’ relatives gathered on Saturday to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just outside the Kremlin walls. They marked 500 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 ordered a “partial mobilisation” of up to 300,000 reservists in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The call-up was widely unpopular and wives and relatives of some of the reservists have campaigned for them to be discharged and replaced with contract soldiers. Saturday’s demonstration was organised by one such campaign group, The Way Home, that on Friday posted on Telegram calling on “wives, mothers, sisters and children” of reservists from across Russia to come to Moscow to “demonstrate [their] unity”. “We want our husbands back alive,” one of the protesters, who only gave her name as Antonina for fear of reprisals, is heard saying in a video published by independent Russian news outlet SOTAvision. Antonina insisted she does not want compensation from the Russian government if her husband is killed, and said she would instead “either go to a convent or follow him”. ‘Unauthorised’ event Saturday’s demonstration was the ninth and largest of similar weekly gatherings organised by The Way Home. One popular Russian Telegram news channel estimated that some 200 people turned out. The Reuters news agency reported that about 20 people were detained and then released at the protest, including a Reuters journalist who was covering the story and an AFP video journalist. According to OVD-Info, an independent website that monitors political arrests in Russia, police detained 27 people during the protest, mostly journalists. Police had detained the group of Russian and foreign reporters – all men – outside Red Square and took them to a police station. According to SOTA, most were later released, although a male protester was still in detention on Saturday evening. Additionally, a number of people were also detained at other locations in central Moscow, also protesting against the mobilisation, OVD-Info said. Allies of jailed Kremlin foe Alexey Navalny and Russian opposition politician Maksim Kats voiced support for the protest on Friday, while the Moscow prosecutor’s office early on Saturday warned Russians not to participate in “unauthorised mass events”. ‘A great tragedy’ Calls from wives and relatives to bring mobilised Russian reservists home have been ignored by the state-controlled media, and some pro-Kremlin politicians have sought to cast them as Western stooges. Protesters on Saturday angrily rejected the accusation. Maria Andreyeva, whose husband and brother are fighting in Ukraine, told SOTAvision that she saw the fighting in Ukraine as “a great tragedy that happened between two brotherly peoples”. “Almost every Russian has relatives in Ukraine, close and distant, so … this is a situation that has struck us to the core. After the second world war, it seemed to us that our grandfathers died so that there would never be another [conflict],” Andreyeva said. Saturday’s protest came weeks before the Russian presidential election, scheduled to take place in March, that Putin is all but assured to win. After Andreyeva and others laid flowers at the monument, they headed to Putin’s campaign headquarters to present their demands to him. Last month, another Russian presidential hopeful met with Andreyeva and other soldiers’ relatives campaigning for their return. Former local legislator Boris Nadezhdin, who openly opposes the war in Ukraine, criticised the Kremlin’s decision to keep them in the ranks as long as the fighting continues. “We want [the authorities] to treat people who are doing their duty in a decent way,” Nadezhdin said. Adblock test (Why?)
The Sikh kitchen that feeds Manila’s moneylenders
Manila, Philippines – “Don’t treat this like a full dinner. Only take small portions,” a mother warns her son as he reaches for a second helping of zarda – saffron-hued, sweetened rice topped with heaps of raisins and cashews – on the crowded buffet-style table at the Khalsa Diwan Temple in Manila. “We must not waste anything.” I overhear her while standing in line to sample the different varieties of barfi, a dense, milk-based fudge laden with sliced almonds – a popular sweet from the Indian subcontinent. The mother and son are among the 100-plus members of the Metro Manila Sikh community who have gathered here in late August to celebrate the Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib, a commemoration of the first opening ceremony of Sikhism’s central religious scripture. It is a busy day for the community kitchen, the langar. Dozens of volunteers snake their way through the crowd to serve rotis, fresh off the tandoor. Sitting cross-legged in rows across the main hall of the gurdwara, or Sikh place of worship, attendees dip roti into shahi paneer, a creamy curry with pockets of hard cheese, or happily spoon up the gajar ka halwa, a fragrant carrot pudding, neatly portioned off inside large steel trays. Surveying the room, I momentarily forget that I am in the Philippines. People gather to eat at the main dining hall at the temple [Sonny Thakur/Al Jazeera] The birth – and longevity – of moneylending in Manila Founded in 1929 by a small group of Punjabi migrants, Khalsa Diwan Temple is Manila’s oldest gurdwara. It marked the beginning of a budding Sikh community in the Philippines. Punjabi migrants, who form the bulk of the India diaspora population in the Philippines (nearly 82 percent), began to trickle into the country in the 1920s, explains Joefe Santarita, a professor at the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman. First, they tried their hand at farming, then moved to small-scale businesses. “From that experience”, Santarita says, “they realised Filipino families needed money.” A shift towards moneylending likely happened during World War II when there was an urgent need for capital among micro-entrepreneurs in rural areas, he adds. While financial inclusion in the Philippines has improved dramatically since then, 44 percent of Filipinos did not have access to a formal bank account as recently as 2021, according to the Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The Punjabi migrants tapped into a consistent demand from this unbanked community, offering loans for small-scale entrepreneurs or micro-enterprises – and not asking for documents or collateral. To compensate, loans are offered at a hefty 20 percent interest. Today, the moneylending community is interwoven throughout the Philippines, even if it largely sits on the fringes of the law. Moneylenders are now an integral part of the country’s informal economy, zipping through neighbourhoods on their motorbikes to solicit new clients and service existing ones. They operate on an informal basis without any permits, often cultivating new clients by offering various goods, such as small electrical appliances, on instalments. The returns are so lucrative, many Indian migrants, mostly from the state of Punjab, move to the Philippines to pursue moneylending. However, no business happens at the gurdwara, which functions as an anchor of the Sikh community. Here, the moneylenders leave their work behind to perform sewa (“selfless service” in Punjabi). One way is to help keep the huge community kitchen running as a place where anyone, regardless of religious denomination, can get a free meal. People enjoy food in the main dining hall at the gurdwara [Sonny Thakur/Al Jazeera] When I visit the gurdwara again on a February afternoon, the langar is quiet. A small group of Indian medical students sits cross-legged, dipping thick whole wheat chapati into a mashed masoor dal. The dal is simple but flavourful, spiced with heaps of onion, garlic and red chilli powder. The food at the gurdwara is different from back home in their state of Andhra Pradesh on India’s southeastern coast, but they are enjoying it. The quality, they say, keeps them coming back. “It’s also free,” Vikram Seetak, the temple’s head, reminds me when I tell him the students love his food. Seetak has been working in the gurdwara kitchen since 1999. Unlike the majority of his peers at the gurdwara, Seetak did not go into moneylending. After moving to Manila from a small town near Jalandhar in eastern Punjab, where he worked at his family’s mithai (sweets) shop, he took up a job at the nearby South Asian grocery store. After a few months, he became a full-time cook at Khalsa Diwan. The fresh produce used for meals is donated by the community and cooked by volunteers [Sonny Thakur/Al Jazeera] Seetak now heads a team of eight: a mix of Indian-origin and Filipino cooks, one of whom has worked with him for the past 20 years. He likes being in charge of the kitchen. “I have to do the mixing of the spices myself,” he tells me while straining a thick batter of gram flour and sugar syrup into a large deg, a thick aluminium pot. He is making badana, more commonly known as boondi – bite-sized, sharply sweetened, fluorescent orange balls – in preparation for the weekend’s festivities. In addition to catering a wedding at the gurdwara, Seetak and his team are gearing up to celebrate the birth, in 1630, of the seventh Sikh guru, Guru Har Rai. Vikram Seetak, who runs the kitchen at the temple, cooks the morning’s last batch of food [Sonny Thakur/Al Jazeera] By late afternoon, the gurdwara is teeming with volunteers preparing food. They chop tomatoes and onions and sort heaps of spinach to prepare a gurdwara staple: palak pakoray (spinach pakora), which is spinach leaves dipped in a gram flour batter, spiced with roasted coriander seeds and red chilli powder and then fried. There will also be vegetarian “mutton”. “It has to be a full vegetarian menu,” Seetak says in response to my quizzical look. “So
Qatar wins against Uzbekistan in heated Asian Cup quarterfinal
After a heated quarterfinal match, it came down to penalties. Qatar’s goalkeeper Barsham had three saves, pushing his team into the semifinals of the Asian Cup. Uzbekistan striker Odildzhon Hamrobekov says his team could not have given any more. “We came to the pitch to win but a penalty [shootout] is always won by the team who have more luck,” he told the official broadcast. “Everything was perfect at the Asian Cup – all the organisation – so I would like to thank them. “I would like to express my gratitude to all the support given by the fans.” There will be relief and joy in the Qatari camp after keeping their dream of a home title win alive. There will also be some celebrations before the team and its fans begin preparations for Wednesday’s semifinal against a strong Iran side at Al Thumama Stadium. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 150,000 protest in Berlin against Germany’s far right
Mass demonstrations are taking place in Germany in the fourth week of protests against the far right. Approximately 150,000 people took to the streets of the capital Berlin on Saturday, police said. Similar protests were also taking place in cities including Dresden and Hanover, in a sign of growing opposition to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. On Saturday, Berlin police said people were still flocking to the Reichstag parliament building, where protesters gathered under the slogan “We are the Firewall” to protest against right-wing extremism and to show support for democracy. “Whether in Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: in small and large cities across the country, many citizens are coming together to demonstrate against forgetting, against hatred and hate speech,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on the social media platform X. He said the protests were “a strong sign in favour of democracy and our constitution”. The AfD’s success has stoked concern among Germany’s mainstream parties, who fear it could sweep three state elections in eastern Germany in September, even though recent polls have shown a slight decline in AfD support. Earlier this week, a Forsa poll showed that backing for the AfD dropped below 20 percent for the first time since July, with voters citing nationwide demonstrations against the far right as the most important issue. According to the poll, the AfD remains in second place behind the main opposition conservatives on 32 percent, while Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats polled third at 15 percent. The mass protests began following a report last month that two senior AfD members had attended a meeting to discuss plans for the mass deportation of citizens of foreign origin. The AfD has denied that the proposal represented party policy. Adblock test (Why?)
How far will the US go in attacking Iran-linked targets in the Middle East?
Washington has carried out attacks against pro-Iran groups in Syria and Iraq. The United States says its attacked at least 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, using long-range bombers flown directly from the US. They were carried out in response to a drone attack on an army base in Jordan last weekend, that killed three American soldiers. Armed groups backed by Iran are targeting the US for its support for Israel’s war on Gaza. President Joe Biden says the US’s attacks are just the beginning of its retaliation. So how will Iran react? And could this lead to a wider regional conflict? Presenter: Adrian Finighan Guests Mohammad Marandi – Professor at the University of Tehran Renad Mansour – Senior research fellow and director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House Lawrence Korb – Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and former US assistant secretary of defense Adblock test (Why?)
Iran beat Japan 2-1 for a place in AFC Asian Cup 2023 semifinal
Education City Stadium, Qatar – Iran, backed by their thousands of vociferous supporters, have knocked out favourites Japan and earned a spot in the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 with a famous 2-1 win. In a match billed as an early final of the tournament – given both teams’ history in the competition, their FIFA rankings and strong squads – Iran turned the tables on the four-time champions on a cool Saturday afternoon at Education City Stadium in Qatar. In a tournament that is now well-known for its late drama, Iran’s captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh delivered one of the most famous goals in his country’s Asian Cup history with a heart-in-mouths stoppage-time penalty that booked Team Melli a place in the second semifinal on Wednesday. The opening minutes of the game saw Japan make several bursts towards Iran’s goal but failed to convert their chances, much to the delight of the large Iranian contingent positioned behind it. Hidemasa Morita changed that with his goal in the 28th minute and the small groups of Japanese fans scattered around the stadium finally made their presence felt. However, it did little to deter Team Melli’s supporters, who took up their synchronised clapping and chanting by a few more notches. Japan fans celebrate their team’s goal [Showkat Shafi/ Al Jazeera] The team, one of the oldest squads at the tournament, pulled up their socks after half-time and began a back-and-forth contest with the Samurai Blue as they sought an equaliser. Perhaps they were out to impress their coach, Amir Ghalenoei, who had slammed the team for missing several chances to score against Syria in their round-of-16 match on Thursday. “I’m not really happy with the performance of a few players but I’m very happy with the discipline we showed,” Ghalenoei had said. Iran’s first goal finally came 10 minutes into the second half as Mohammed Mohebi slotted Sardar Azmoun’s through pass into the Japanese goal and sent their fans into a frenzy. Their unwavering support had finally paid off. Iran fans celebrate the equalising goal [Showkat Shafi/ Al Jazeera] More than two-thirds of the spectators were either dressed in Iran’s colours or carrying Iranian flags. Some, like Wafai Salar, had travelled from across the Arabian Gulf to back their team. He came to Doha 10 days ago from the western Lorestan province to back his team in the latter stages of the tournament. “We must not doubt our team,” Salar told Al Jazeera before the match. The belief was reiterated by 72-year-old super fan Mohamed Mirza, who said the team did not feel the absence of their star striker Mehdi Taremi, who missed out on account of his two yellow cards in the game against Syria. “We have 24 Taremis in the squad,” he shouted after the match. “I have been living in Qatar for decades and have seen three Asian Cups here, so now the team owe me a trophy,” Mirza said before resuming his chants for Iran. Indeed, Ghalenoei’s team showed they were up for the challenge against heavy favourites Japan by defending their goal and following it up with runs into the Japanese half. One of these, late into stoppage time, resulted in Iran winning a penalty. The late drama was too much for some fans, who turned their backs to the pitch before the penalty was taken by Jahanbakhsh. Once the ball was deposited in the top left corner, pandemonium broke out in the stands and on the pitch. Iran’s substitutes ran onto the pitch to celebrate and their fans jumped out of their seats. Iran’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh celebrates after winning the match [Aijaz Rahi/AP] Three minutes later, the referee’s full-time whistle confirmed Japan’s dismissal. The Japanese fans seated behind their goal held their heads in their hands and shed tears of agony and disbelief. Across the aisle, nine-year-old Iran fan Ario was crying, as well. The dramatic last-minute penalty was too much to take for the young supporter. “I was so nervous before the penalty was taken, I peeled the skin off my fingers,” he told Al Jazeera as tears fell down his cheek. Ario, a Canadian Iranian citizen, has never been to the country of his parents’ birth but would one day like to play for Team Melli. “I get so excited every time I see them play, so I want to be like them one day,” he said. Iran football team fan Ario at Education City Stadium [Hafsa Adil/Al Jazeera] Ghalenoei’s men will give Ario and the millions of Iran fans the world over another chance to ride the wave of emotions when they take on the winner of the Qatar vs Uzbekistan quarterfinal in four days’ time. For old-timers like Mirza, it may even be a case of third-time lucky if the three-time champions walk away with the trophy on February 10. [Al Jazeera] Adblock test (Why?)
Sri Lanka signs free trade deal with Thailand to revive economy
Sri Lanka seeks to foster growth after its economy contracted 3.8 percent last year, according to World Bank estimates. Thailand and Sri Lanka have signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a move Sri Lanka hopes will help it emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades. “This move aims to enhance market opportunities, with negotiations covering various aspects such as Trade in Goods, Investment, Customs Procedure, and Intellectual Property Rights,” read a statement published on Saturday by the Sri Lankan president’s media department. The island nation has been renewing a focus on trade deals to foster economic growth and help its battered economy, which is estimated by the World Bank to have contracted 3.8 percent last year after a severe foreign exchange crunch plunged it into a wider financial crisis. A delegation headed by Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin arrived in Colombo on Saturday to sign the FTA along with other agreements. Srettha will also attend Sri Lanka’s 76th Independence Day celebrations on Sunday. The delegation headed by the Prime Minister of #Thailand Hon. Srettha Thavisin was ceremonially welcomed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat.#DiplomacyLK @MFA_SriLanka @SLinBangkok #LKA #PMD pic.twitter.com/8d8gZLNqnz — President’s Media Division of Sri Lanka – PMD (@PMDNewsGov) February 3, 2024 “This will provide tremendous business opportunities for both sides. We encourage our private sectors to explore the potentials of two-way trade and investment,” Srettha told a joint media briefing following the signing of the deal. The two countries also signed a new air services agreement. Bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Thailand was worth about $460m in 2021, Sri Lankan central bank data showed. Sri Lanka exports mainly tea and precious stones to Thailand and imports electronic equipment, food, rubber, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Overshadow Gaza crimes’: World reacts to US attacks on Iraq and Syria
The United States has conducted a wave of air strikes on Iran-aligned targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for an attack that killed American soldiers in Jordan. On Saturday, Iraq said 16 people, including civilians, were killed on its soil, and a monitoring group reported 18 people were killed in Syria. Washington has warned of more strikes to purportedly deter the Iran-backed “axis of resistance” amid Israel’s war on Gaza. In announcing the overnight attacks, US President Joe Biden said: “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.” Here is how the world reacted to the US action: Iran “The attacks are a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, international law, and a clear violation of the United Nations Charter,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nasser Kanaani. “In addition to an all-out support of the US for four months of relentless and barbaric attacks by the Zionist regime against the residents of Gaza and the West Bank, and military attacks on Yemen and violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, last night’s attacks on Syria and Iraq were another adventurous action and another strategic error by the US government which will have no result but to intensify tensions and instability in the region.” “The attacks merely support the goals of the Zionist regime. Such attacks increasingly involve the US government in the region and overshadow the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza.” Iraq “This aggressive strike will put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss,” the Iraqi government said in a statement, and denied Washington’s claims of coordinating the air raids with Baghdad as “false” and “aimed at misleading international public opinion”. The presence of the US-led military coalition in the region “has become a reason for threatening security and stability in Iraq and a justification for involving Iraq in regional and international conflicts”, read the statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office. “Iraq reiterates its refusal to let the country be an arena for settling scores,” said government spokesperson Basim Alwadi. Yahya Rasool, the Iraqi military spokesperson, said the attacks “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences”. “The outcomes will have severe implications on the security and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region,” Rasool added. Syria The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the strikes served to “inflame the conflict in the Middle East in an extremely dangerous way” and added to Washington’s “record of violations against Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its people, proving once again that it is the main source of global instability”. The military said: “The area targeted by the American attacks in eastern Syria is the same area where the Syrian Arab Army is fighting the remnants of the Daesh [ISIL] terrorist organisation, and this confirms that the United States and its military forces are involved and allied with this organisation, and are working to revive it as a field arm for it both in Syria and Iraq by all dirty means.” “The aggression of the American occupation forces at dawn today has no justification other than an attempt to weaken the ability of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the field of fighting terrorism, but the army.” Islamic Resistance in Iraq The coalition of US and Israel-opposed armed groups in Iraq, which had “suspended” its attacks earlier this week, said it launched drones at a US base in Erbil. Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed reported from Baghdad that Iraqi groups have also carried out attacks with missiles targeting the al-Tanf military base in Syria which is home to US personnel, as well as the Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq. Hamas “We condemn in the strongest terms the American aggression against Iraq and Syria, and consider it a dangerous escalation, an infringement on the sovereignty of the two Arab countries, and a threat to their security and the stability of the region, in service of the occupation’s expansionist agenda and covering up its horrific crimes against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” read a statement from Hamas. “The administration of US President Biden bears responsibility for the consequences of this brutal aggression against both Iraq and Syria, which adds fuel to the fire, and we affirm that the region will not witness stability or peace except by stopping the Zionist aggression, crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people in the Gaza Strip, and ending the Zionist-Nazi occupation.” European Union “Everybody should try to avoid that the situation becomes explosive,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. While Borrell did not address the US strikes directly, he repeated a warning that the Middle East “is a boiler that can explode”. He pointed to the war in Gaza, violence along the Israel-Lebanon border, bombings in Iraq and Syria, and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. “That’s why we call everybody to try to avoid an escalation.” United Kingdom “The UK and US are steadfast allies. We wouldn’t comment on their operations, but we support their right to respond to attacks,” a British government spokesperson said in a statement. “We have long condemned Iran’s destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to a number of militant groups.” Poland “Iran’s proxies have played with fire for months and years, and it’s now burning them,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels. Poland’s Radoslaw Sikorski was the first EU foreign minister to directly comment on the strikes [Radek Pietruszka/EPA] US House speaker Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, accused Biden of “placating” Tehran after the strikes, and said that “to promote peace, America must project strength”. Analysts “I’m not surprised there has been this reprisal
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 710
As the war enters its 710th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, February 3, 2024. Politics and diplomacy The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that parts of Ukraine’s case against Russia, arguing that Moscow baselessly accused Kyiv of genocide to justify the 2022 invasion, can move forward. Two French volunteer aid workers were killed in a Russian drone attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said, confirming reports from the regional governor and other officials. Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, reiterated Kyiv’s call for an international investigation into the crash over the Russian region of Belgorod to determine whether the cargo plane carried weapons or passengers along with the crew. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov suspended a senior official while authorities investigate suspected corruption in the procurement of weapons, his ministry said. The Ukrainian government informed the White House that it plans to fire Valerii Zaluzhny, the country’s top military commander overseeing the war against Russia, two sources told the Reuters news agency. Fighting The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said its troops had repelled 19 attacks around the town in the eastern Donetsk region and a further 10 in nearby areas. Two Ukrainian drones struck a primary oil processing facility at the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Ukrainian source told Reuters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the arrival of two new air defence systems that he said could “shoot down anything”. Adblock test (Why?)