International

Zelenskiy defiant as Russia intensifies attacks on eastern cities, seizes territory

Published

3 years ago

June 21, 2022

Men walk out of a damaged residential building in Donetsk (© Reuters/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO )

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine acknowledged difficulties in fighting in the east of the country as Russian forces captured territory and intensified pressure on two key cities ahead of an EU summit this week expected to welcome Kyiv’s bid to join the bloc.

The governor of the Luhansk region, scene of the heaviest Russian onslaughts in recent weeks, said the situation was “extremely difficult” along the entire front line as of Monday evening and the Russian army had gathered sufficient reserves to begin a large-scale offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had predicted Moscow would escalate attacks ahead of the EU summit on Thursday and Friday. In his regular address to the nation on Monday evening, he was defiant, while also referring to “difficult” fighting in Luhansk for Sievierodonetsk and its sister city Lysychansk.

“We are defending Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk, this whole area, the most difficult one. We have the most difficult fighting there,” he said. “But we have our strong guys and girls there.”

Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russian forces controlled most of Sievierodonetsk, apart from the Azot chemical plant, where hundreds of civilians have been sheltering for weeks. The road connecting Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk to the city of Bakhmut was under constant shell fire, he added.

“Lysychansk has been suffering from massive Russian shelling all day. It is impossible to establish the number of casualties as of yet,” Gaidai said.

Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador of the self-styled Luhansk People’s Republic to Russia, said its forces were “moving from the south towards Lysychansk” with firefights erupting in a number of nearby towns.

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“The hours to come should bring considerable changes to the balance of forces in the area,” he said on Telegram.

Approval by EU leaders for Ukraine to become an official candidate to join the bloc would be marked as a triumph in Kyiv.

It applied for membership just four days after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. It would take years to attain, but for the EU to reach deep into the heart of the former Soviet Union would bring about one of Europe’s biggest economic and social transformations since the Cold War.

A view shows a damaged residential building in Donetsk1
(© Reuters/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO )

“I think that’s very likely it would happen,” U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday when asked whether he felt Ukraine would become an EU member.

ATTRITIONAL PHASE

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a “special operation” to degrade its military capabilities and root out what it calls dangerous nationalists.

The war has entered a brutal attritional phase in recent weeks, with Russian forces concentrating artillery firepower on Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Donbas, which Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.

Ukrainian officials reported three civilian deaths in Russian shelling in the Donetsk region on Monday and another three in shelling in the Kharkiv region.

In Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest Black Sea port, which is blockaded by the Russian navy, a Russian missile attack destroyed a food warehouse on Monday, Ukraine’s military said.

Washington and its European allies have provided weapons and financial assistance to Ukraine but avoided direct involvement in the conflict. Some American citizens, however, have volunteered to fight for Ukraine.

CAPTURED AMERICANS

On Monday, the Kremlin said two Americans detained in Ukraine were mercenaries not covered by the Geneva convention who should face responsibility for their actions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s comments were the first formal acknowledgment that the two, identified in U.S. reports as Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were being held.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said they had been in touch with Russian authorities regarding any U.S. citizens who may have been captured.

“We call on the Russian government – as well as its proxies – to live up to their international obligations in their treatment of any individual, including those captured fighting in Ukraine.”

This month, a separatist court sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan to death after they were caught fighting for Ukraine.

Peskov also said U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, held in Russia for over two months, was being prosecuted for drug offenses and was not a hostage.

A 52-year-old U.S. citizen, Stephen Zabielski, was killed in combat in Ukraine on May 15, according to an obituary published by his family and affirmed by the State Department, making him at least the second American to die in the war.

International concern has focused on trying to restore Ukrainian exports of food, now shut by a de facto Russian blockade. Ukraine is one of the world’s leading sources of grain and food oils, leading to fears of global shortages.

Russia blames the food crisis on Western sanctions curbing its own exports.

The war has also disrupted energy markets, including Russian shipments of oil and gas to Europe, still the continent’s main source of energy and Moscow’s primary income source. Moscow blames EU sanctions for a decline in gas volumes, saying they prevented it from restoring pipeline pumping equipment.

On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Washington is in talks with Canada and other allies to further restrict Moscow’s energy revenue by imposing a price cap on Russian oil.

Moscow, meanwhile, threatened to retaliate against EU member Lithuania for banning transport of coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology to Kaliningrad, a Russian outpost on the Baltic Sea surrounded by EU territory.

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Lithuania’s top diplomat and demanded Vilnius reverse the “openly hostile” move or Russia “reserves the right to take actions to protect its national interests.” Lithuania said EU sanctions obliged it to enforce the ban.

Kaliningrad’s governor said Russia’s foreign ministry would summon the EU ambassador to Moscow on Tuesday over the ban.

Reuters

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International

Canada offers cybersecurity training with job placements for immigrants

Published

19 hours ago

March 22, 2025

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Canada offers cybersecurity training with job placements for immigrants

The Canadian government, in collaboration with private sector partners, is offering a cybersecurity training programme in Calgary designed to support immigrants in securing employment in the growing tech industry.

The initiative provides hands-on learning and job placement opportunities in one of 16 entry-level cybersecurity roles. Participants will earn industry-recognized micro-credentials, equipping them with the skills needed to launch their careers.

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Funded by the Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade, the programme is delivered in partnership with ReTrain Canada and Manpower Canada. The 12-week training session, scheduled for March, will run Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Through this initiative, participants will gain expertise in cybersecurity fundamentals, encryption techniques, and applied penetration testing—all at no cost—while also receiving practical work experience to enhance their employability.

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International

US ends legal status for 500,000 immigrants

Published

19 hours ago

March 22, 2025

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US ends legal status for 500,000 immigrants

The United States said Friday it was terminating the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them weeks to leave the country.

President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations.

The order affects around 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a scheme launched in October 2022 by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and expanded in January the following year.

They will lose their legal protection 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security’s order is published in the Federal Register, which is scheduled Tuesday.

That means immigrants sponsored by the program “must depart the United States” by April 24 unless they have secured another immigration status allowing them to remain in the country, the order says.

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Welcome.US, which supports people seeking refuge in the United States, urged those affected by the move to “immediately” seek advice from an immigration lawyer.

The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program, announced in January 2023, allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.

Biden touted the plan as a “safe and humane” way to ease pressure on the crowded US-Mexico border.

But the Department of Homeland Security stressed Friday that the scheme was “temporary.”

“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” it said in the order.

Trump last week invoked rare wartime legislation to fly more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which has offered to imprison migrants and even US citizens at a discount.

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International

UK announces new passport application fees starting April 2025

Published

3 days ago

March 20, 2025

Trends Admin

UK announces new passport application fees starting April 2025

The UK government has confirmed it will introduce new fees for passport applications beginning on April 10th, 2025.

The changes, which are still subject to parliamentary approval, will see a rise in costs for both online and paper applications, affecting adults and children alike.

According to the UK Home Office, the adjustments will apply to both domestic and overseas passport applications.

The fee increases,  as stated, are part of an ongoing effort to ensure the passport system is financially self-sustaining, reducing the need for funding from general taxation. The Home Office clarified that the government does not make any profit from the fees.

Fee increases for domestic applications

Starting April 10th, 2025, the fee for a standard online application within the UK will rise for both adults and children. The cost for an adult’s application will increase from £88.50 to £94.50, while for children it will go up from £57.50 to £61.50.

Postal applications will also see an increase, with the adult fee rising from £100 to £107 and the child fee increasing from £69 to £74.

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Charges to premium service fees

The Premium Service, which allows for passport issuance within one day, will also become more expensive.

For adults, the fee will rise from £207.50 to £222
For children, the fee will increase from £176.50 to £189.

This service is available for those who need a passport urgently and are applying from within the UK.

Higher costs for overseas applications

For individuals applying from overseas, the standard online application fee will also increase;

The adult fee will rise from £101 to £108, and the child fee will increase from £65.50 to £70
For paper applications made abroad, the adult fee will rise from £112.50 to £120.50, while the child fee will increase from £77 to £82.50.

The Home Office stated that the new fees are necessary to maintain the passport service and ensure it is financially viable. The fees contribute to covering the cost of processing passport applications, offering consular support to UK citizens overseas, and managing UK border services.

“The fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders,” the office said.

It is also related that in 2024, 99.7% of standard applications from the UK were processed within three weeks, where no additional information was required. Customers are advised to apply well in advance of their travel plans to avoid delays.

These fee adjustments are in line with guidelines from HM Treasury, which regularly reviews passport fees.