International
Afghan stuck in Belarus border camp risks dying: charity
AFP
A 52-year-old Afghan woman stuck in a makeshift migrant camp on the border between Belarus and Poland risks dying without urgent help, a charity helping the migrants told AFP on Wednesday.
The group of some 30 migrants has been stuck on the EU’s eastern frontier for more than two weeks, with Polish border guards and soldiers preventing them from entering to make asylum claims.
While Poland has flown in hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan in recent days, the government has ruled out allowing in migrants who it says are being forced across the border by the Belarusian regime in a “hybrid attack” on the European Union.
“We are concerned for the life of a 52-year-old woman,” said Kalina Czarnog from the Ocalenie (Salvation) foundation.
The foundation said the woman has respiratory and renal problems and a total of 12 migrants are now seriously ill.
“They do not have drinking water. They have had nothing to eat since yesterday,” the foundation, whose representatives have been communicating with the migrants through megaphones since Polish soldiers are preventing them access, said on Twitter.
Thousands of migrants — mostly from the Middle East — have crossed the border from Belarus into the eastern EU states of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in recent months.
Brussels believes the regime in Minsk is deliberately engineering the influx in retaliation against EU sanctions — an accusation Belarus denies.
The Polish government says the migrant camp is just outside its border and that Belarus should therefore be helping but Warsaw’s position has been criticised by the liberal opposition, human rights organisations and some Catholic leaders.
The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic on Wednesday joined calls for Poland to take in the migrants, a day after the UN refugee agency made a similar plea.
Mijatovic said in a statement that the situation was “alarming”.
“Pushing people back, denying them access to fair asylum procedures, or simply leaving them stuck in a humanitarian emergency cannot be the answer of a Council of Europe member state” bound by international human rights rules, she said.
Poland this week said it would build a 2.5-metre (8.2 foot) high barbed wire fence along the border to keep the migrants out and plans to double troop numbers assisting border guards to 2,000.
International
Ukraine declares nationwide energy emergency amid russian attacks and extreme cold
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday declared a nationwide energy state of emergency amid continued Russian military attacks and extreme winter weather, with nighttime temperatures dropping as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius.
“The consequences of Russian attacks and worsening weather conditions are severe (…) Overall, a state of emergency will be declared for Ukraine’s energy sector,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement posted on social media following a meeting with senior officials.
Zelensky announced the creation of a “permanent coordination headquarters” to manage the crisis in the capital, Kyiv, and tasked former defence minister and current energy chief Denys Shmyhal with overseeing support efforts for affected individuals and communities, including addressing power outages, heating shortages and other “practical issues.”
“There are many problems that require urgent solutions,” the president said, noting that repair crews, energy companies, municipal services and the State Emergency Service are working “around the clock” to restore electricity supplies. Kyiv has been particularly affected after Russian strikes last Friday disabled key parts of the power grid, as daytime temperatures hover around minus 12 degrees Celsius and plunge to minus 18 at night.
Zelensky added that public authorities will “maximize efforts with partners to obtain the necessary equipment and additional support,” while the government will ensure “maximum deregulation of all processes” to speed up the connection of backup power equipment to the grid. He also confirmed that work is underway to significantly increase electricity imports into Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader further instructed his Cabinet to review curfew regulations in light of the extreme cold, arguing that citizens must have the greatest possible access to assistance centers, while businesses should be given flexibility to plan their operations according to the state of the energy system.
International
France joins Denmark’s ‘Operation Arctic Resistance’ in Greenland amid U.S. tensions
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in the early hours of Thursday (Wednesday afternoon in El Salvador) that France will take part in “Operation Arctic Resistance,” after Denmark announced it would expand its military presence in Greenland amid rising tensions with the United States over Washington’s stated ambitions regarding the semi-autonomous territory.
“At Denmark’s request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, ‘Operation Arctic Resistance,’” Macron said in a brief message posted on social media at 5:18 p.m.
The French president added that “the first French military elements are already on their way, with others to follow,” though he did not specify the number of troops being deployed or the scale of France’s planned contribution.
The governments of Sweden, Norway and Germany have also confirmed the deployment of military contingents to Greenland. Germany’s armed forces will send a 13-member reconnaissance team to the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, to take part in a mission scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday, according to the German Ministry of Defence.
Denmark’s announcement came shortly before a Danish delegation met at the White House with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Washington’s plans regarding Greenland. Copenhagen said the military activities would be carried out “in close cooperation with NATO allies.”
International
Iran closes airspace amid U.S. threats and deadly nationwide protests
Iranian authorities closed the country’s airspace in the early hours of Thursday, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, amid growing threats of a possible U.S. attack as protests across the country continue and have reportedly left thousands dead.
According to FlightRadar24, the Iranian government suspended all flights to and from the country, except for international flights that have received special authorization. The notice was initially issued for a duration of just over two hours.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days threatened to strike Iran if its security forces failed to halt the deaths linked to weeks-long protests that began in Tehran and later spread to other Iranian cities. Despite the threats, the White House said diplomacy remains Trump’s preferred option.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump claimed that “the deaths in Iran have stopped” and said there would be no executions of protesters following his warnings to Tehran. He added that his administration would seek to verify those claims.
“I’ve been told the deaths in Iran are stopping. They’ve stopped, and that there are no plans for executions,” Trump told reporters, cautioning that the United States would be “very upset” if those assurances proved to be untrue.
The statements contrast with reports from rights groups. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said on Wednesday that more than 3,400 people have been killed since the protests erupted. Meanwhile, Kurdish-Iranian rights group Hengaw reported this week that a 26-year-old Iranian man, Erfan Soltani, was facing execution as of Wednesday.
Ukraine declares nationwide energy emergency amid russian attacks and extreme cold
France joins Denmark’s ‘Operation Arctic Resistance’ in Greenland amid U.S. tensions
Iran closes airspace amid U.S. threats and deadly nationwide protests
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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