16:14
Moscow regrets the suspension of ExoMars
The head of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), Dmitry Rogozin, said he bitterly regrets the suspension of the Russian-European ExoMars mission, announced by the European Space Agency (ESA) in connection with the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
“This is a very bittersweet event for all space enthusiasts,” he wrote on Telegram as the ExoMars mission planned to launch an ESA rover heading for the planet Mars in September using a Russian launch vehicle and lander.
16:06
Argument erupted in Austria over jewelry donated by Putin
On Thursday, the Austrian press reported on the existence of precious jewelry that Vladimir Putin offered to the ex-minister, who was appointed by the far right in 2017. Worth 50,000 euros, these white gold earrings with sapphires were given to Karin Kneissl as a thank you for being invited to her wedding in August 2018, according to the daily newspaper Kronen Zeitung.
The jewels are currently in the reserves of the government, which returned them in February 2020, a foreign ministry spokeswoman told AFP. After leaving the government, Karin Kneissl was appointed to the board of directors of Russian oil giant Rosneft in June 2021, joining former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
15:54
8,000 refugees in Switzerland
Switzerland’s federal authorities have registered about 8,000 refugees who have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion, according to estimates released Thursday. “More than 1,000 people can be registered at federal asylum centers every day,” the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said in a statement.
15:44
Turkey as a guarantor of the agreement?
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged Turkey to become “one of the guarantors” of a possible agreement with Russia, his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday during a visit to Lviv in western Ukraine.
“Ukraine made a proposal on a collective security treaty: P5 (ed. note: five permanent members of the Security Council), plus Turkey and Germany,” he specified, assuring that “the Russian Federation did not object to this.”
15:34
I’A replica of the Russian manufacturer of anti-virus software Kaspersky
The Federal Information Security Administration (BSI) on Tuesday recommended avoiding the use of antivirus software from a manufacturer “that may itself conduct offensive operations, be forced to attack systems against its will, or become the victim of a cyberattack itself.” without his knowledge, which was monitored or used as a tool for carrying out attacks against his own clients”, in particular, against Kaspersky Anti-Virus.
In an open letter, the founder of the program, Evgeny Kaspersky, denies these allegations: “These are speculations that are not supported by any objective evidence and do not contain any technical details. The reason is simple. In the company’s 25-year history, no evidence of malicious use or abuse of Kaspersky Lab has been discovered or demonstrated, despite countless attempts to do so. »
15:21
War to ‘cleanse’ Russian society of ‘traitors’, Kremlin says
“In such situations, many people turn out to be traitors and leave our lives on their own. Someone is leaving, someone is leaving the country. This is cleansing. Others break the law and are punished according to the law, ”explained the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.
In an insulting speech to his government yesterday, President Vladimir Putin vigorously defended his military operation in Ukraine. “Every people, especially the Russian people, will always be able to recognize scum and traitors, spit them out like spitting a fly out of their mouth,” he said.
15:17
21 people died as a result of the strike in Merefa
At least 21 people were killed by artillery fire and 25 people were injured Thursday in the town of Merefa, near the besieged city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the regional prosecutor’s office said. “Russian soldiers fired artillery at the city of Merefa in the Kharkiv region around 3:30 am (2:30 French time) on Thursday. A school and a cultural center were destroyed. 21 people died, 25 were injured, 10 of them are in serious condition,” the prosecutor’s office of the Kharkiv region said on its Facebook page.
14:58
ExoMars mission suspended
14:51
“Large Russian groups now have nothing to fear”
“Large Russian groups that feared sanctions now have nothing to fear. They can easily come to the peninsula, especially banks, and work actively in the region,” Vladimir Putin was almost delighted.
“The restrictions imposed against Russia create many problems, but that’s not all, they also open up new opportunities,” he added at a government meeting on the economic situation in Crimea, eight years after its annexation by Moscow.
14:39
About fifty Turks were able to leave Mariupol
About thirty Turks are still in the Mariupol mosque, and about fifty were able to escape from the Ukrainian city besieged by Russian troops, the president of the Association of Places of Worship said.
“About 30 Turks are still in the mosque, about 50 people have left. About 70 more Turks are still in Mariupol, but their fate is unknown, the city is under heavy shelling, I have no information about them,” said Ismail Hajioglu, president of the Suleyman Mosques Association, who himself is in Odessa, Ukraine.
14:27
Increase in military spending in Lithuania
Lithuania on Thursday increased defense spending for this year to 2.52% of its GDP (compared to 2.05% as originally planned). This decision is due to the fact that the Baltic country, a member of the EU and NATO, is afraid of becoming the next target of Moscow if the Russian army manages to take Ukraine under its control.
14:14
France can contribute to the investigation of the International Court of Justice
14:02
Purchasing power is falling EEgypt
Facing growth sometimes up to 50%, Egypt, the leading importer of Russian and Ukrainian wheat, will regulate the price of unsubsidized bread for the first time. Added to this is another risk, according to JP Morgan, which suggests currency devaluation. Enough to bring back painful memories in this country, which already suffered a devaluation of nearly 50% in 2016 as part of an austerity decree in exchange for a €10.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
13:36
Joe Biden meets Xi Jinping
US President Joe Biden will talk on the phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in particular, about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House reports.
This is to “keep channels of communication open between the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” US executive spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
13:27
UNESCO to provide body armor to journalists
The United Nations will provide the first batch of 125 helmets and bulletproof vests with the “press” logo so that “the maximum possible number of journalists working in Ukraine have this vital equipment,” she said. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, five journalists have died – three Ukrainians, a French-Irish, an American.
13:14
Norway unhappy with military profits
Fueled by sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, rising oil prices and, above all, gas prices could bring the Scandinavian kingdom nearly 1,500 billion crowns (150 billion euros) in additional revenue for oil and gas companies this year, according to Bank Nordea. A windfall that makes the country uncomfortable. “If there are times when it is not interesting to make money, then today, against such a background, this is exactly the case,” admits Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland on TV2.
13:04
Refugee trafficking risk warning
The Council of Europe warns of the risk of Ukrainian refugees falling into human trafficking networks, calling on member states to protect them “as a matter of urgency”. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “about three million people have been forced to leave Ukraine, take refuge in neighboring countries, and then throughout Europe,” recalls a group of experts on combating human trafficking, according to which “90% of them are women and children.”
12:54
“From 50 to 60 thousand housing offers” have been determined for Ukrainian migrants
On the BFMTV microphone, Emmanuel Vargon, Delegate Minister for Housing, announces that “between 50 and 60,000 housing offers” have been identified in France to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. “We must mobilize the maximum number of free houses,” the minister said, while more than 17,000 Ukrainians have already been admitted to France.
12:38
“The wreckage is huge, everything is destroyed”
France Inter managed to contact the survivors of the shelling of the Mariupol theater. “I can’t tell you what happened. I do not remember. I can only say that the impact was slightly less strong on our side of the building. But the ceiling collapsed. I have a head injury, but I’m alive! Olga said into the radio microphone. She left the building with her mother and two children. But without a husband, he “remained under the rubble.”
12:26
Ukraine must stop violating the rights of Russian prisoners
“Ukrainian authorities should stop posting videos of imprisoned Russian soldiers on social media and sending messages to expose them, especially those who are being humiliated or threatened,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
12:21
Over three million refugees, including over 100,000 in 24 hours
The UN has also identified about two million internally displaced persons.
Half of the refugees are children.
12:09
Lilian, entrepreneur, ‘dropped everything’ to help refugees in Poland
11:51
The Mariupol City Hall confirms that the theater’s bomb shelter withstood the shelling
“The bomb shelter of the Mariupol Drama Theater withstood the shelling. Work has begun on dismantling the rubble, people are returning to the surface, ”the mayor’s office writes in a Telegram message.
11:37
Pianist Boris Berezovsky loses agent after defending himself against invasion
The agent of the famous Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky decided not to represent him abroad after the artist called on Russian television to cut off the electricity in Kyiv.
“We strongly condemn the statements made during his speech, and, alas, we are forced to suspend the representation of Boris Berezovsky in our office,” the producers said.
11:20
The price of a barrel of Brent oil recovers by 5%
The price of a barrel of Brent oil, the benchmark for black gold in Europe, jumped by about 5% due to the war in Ukraine.