Shelves in Russian shops are filled with bottles and cans of Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and Delirium Tremens
While many Western companies seek to distance themselves from Russia, the Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce boasted of the success of its Belgian beers, which were the drink of choice in Russian stores.
The chamber of commerce released a video showing shelves in Russian stores filled with bottles and cans of Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and Delirium Tremens.
The Chamber notes with satisfaction that until now their monthly sales have remained at the levels of the beginning of 2022.
Their representative specifies that since beer and food products are not subject to European sanctions, they still have the right to transport and sell them in Russia. It is also possible to produce Belgian beers there, as long as the Russian companies that decide to do so have purchased the relevant licenses.
“We are happy that even in Russia they can still drink Belgian beer, as we are convinced that it is the best amber liquid in the world,” wrote the representative of Stella Artois on Twitter.
A little later he deleted his comment. The brag from the makers of Stella Artois comes as another iconic Belgian brand – Leffe – faces calls to boycott its products.
They were sent after the management of Leffe decided to open seven breweries on the territory of Russia. They announced this intention days ago and it caused an avalanche of angry reactions.
According to some analysts, behind the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce is its representation in Russia – respectively Russian citizens.
So far, the Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce, which represents accredited trade unions both in Belgium and abroad, has declined to comment on the matter.
The Federation only confirmed that the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Russia is one of their members, which is completely free to advertise its products.
Orient Express – In 1887, the first Orient Express train to Istanbul left Vienna. In fact, his very first journey on the legendary train was on October 4, 1883. A test train called the “Luxury Lightning Train” traveled the distance Paris – Vienna – Paris in early October 1882. The first menu on board included oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, hunter’s chicken, beef tenderloin with potatoes, green salad, chocolate pudding and other desserts.
The carriages are painted blue and gold, the train travels twice a week between Paris and Istanbul, passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. The train is not direct. It stops at Giurgievo (in Romania), crosses the Danube River via the Ruse ferry, and then another train runs the distance between Ruse and Varna, a port on the Bulgarian Black Sea. From there an Austrian steamer takes passengers to Istanbul. In 1885, the service became daily from Paris to Vienna and back.
In the summer of 1889, the railway line to the Turkish capital was completed and the train continued directly from Bucharest to Istanbul. It is a curious fact that in 1894 the company that created the train opened several luxury hotels for its passengers in Istanbul. One of these hotels is the Pera Palace Hotel in the Beyoglu district. The hotel has welcomed many famous guests, including high-ranking statesmen and artists, since 1892. Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Greta Garbo, Kemal Atatürk, Alfred Hitchcock, Honore de Balzac, Mata Hari, Nikita Khrushchev, Queen Elizabeth II, are among the famous guests of the hotel.
After several route changes, two wars, and a decline in its prestige during the Cold War era, the train’s regular service to Istanbul and Athens was discontinued in 1977. The train ceased to serve a regular service, but still survives as a seasonal tourist attraction.
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has announced that he is considering leaving his post.
“Today I learned that I am the longest-serving head of republics in the Russian Federation. I have been leading the republic for 15 years now. I think my time has come before they expel me,” Kadyrov announced in a video published on his Telegram channel, as quoted by TASS.
The president of the Chechen Republic thinks he “deserved an indefinite and long vacation” on t.me/RKadyrov_95/2786, where the 1:38-minute video already has 15,158 comments.
According to Kadyrov, he was once “the youngest and most inexperienced” among statesmen. “He’s still so inexperienced now, but his youth has gone somewhere. We, the Caucasians, the Chechens, have a saying: “No matter how respected, long-awaited the guest is, if he leaves on time, it is even more pleasant”, … I hope that you will support me and understand – concluded the Chechen leader.
“What we’re observing is stronger than anything we’ve thought possible so far,” the researchers said
Some of Switzerland’s smaller glaciers have lost significant amounts of ice this summer amid record-breaking heat, forcing scientists to suspend some of their measurement programs because there is no ice left, DPA reported.
“What we’re observing is stronger than anything we’ve thought possible so far,” said Matthias Huss, who leads the Glamos glacier measurement network at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Some of the layers of the Korvach Glacier in southeastern Switzerland, which formed about 7,000 years ago, have melted, he told DPA. The dating of the ice is based on earlier measurements made by the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
The measurement program in Korvach will be terminated because there is no ice left at the measurement sites, Huss said. “So the only thing left for us to do is collect all the material and clean up.”
Scientists from the Glamos program have been measuring glaciers for decades, estimating levels of snowpack in winter and snowmelt in summer.
The team decided to phase out its measurement programs on three smaller glaciers in 2019 – at Pizolgletcher, Vadret dal Korvach and Schwarzbachfirn.
In the short term, however, they hoped to continue the measurements a little longer as the rate of loss slowed last year. “But the losses this summer were too bad,” Huss said, referring to the unprecedentedly hot weather, which means it is technically no longer possible to measure further ice loss.
With the onset of the heating season, more and more European countries face a real danger of spending the winter in the dark and cold. Switzerland is also on the verge of an energy crisis, which is preparing for a serious shortage this year.
The country has innovative plants, but it may not be enough to meet the needs of the Swiss. The authorities in the country are trying to keep cool, but preemptively call people to make savings.
“Switzerland should aim to reduce its gas consumption by 15% during the winter period – like the EU countries. Why do we do that? Because we are totally dependent on gas supplies from abroad,” said Simonetta Somaruga, minister of Switzerland’s energy sector.
The war in Ukraine and tensions between the West and Russia have exposed breakthroughs in Swiss energy. 60% of the electricity in the country is produced by hydroelectric plants. However, they do not have the capacity to cover the needs during the winter season.
“We import 30% of our energy resources – mostly from Germany and France. But this year it will be more complicated because Germany will not be able to export and France has closed half of its nuclear power plants,” said Stéphane Genou, an energy expert.
Switzerland cannot make up the shortfall with its own nuclear power plants. There are only 4 of them in the country, and they are among the oldest in Europe. In recent years, a new type of hydroelectric power plant has been imposed here.
France wants to restart all its temporarily shut down nuclear plants by winter
At the foot of Mont Blanc between two lakes and at a depth of 600 meters is the headquarters of Nantes de Drance.
Its construction among the rocks took 14 years, and this month it is time for it to be operational. Access to it is through specially built 17-kilometer tunnels in the mountain. Here, through a complex system, water is pumped from two water sources, which overflows now into one, then into the other pool.
“We use the times when there is a lower demand for electricity to pump the water to the upper dam. And in the hours when more electricity is needed – morning and evening – we release the water back to the lower dam through the turbines,” explained Robert Gleitz , a manager in an energy company.
The plant thus arranged can use water from the same water source again and again and produce electricity whenever it is needed.
Thanks to huge pipes with a diameter of 7 meters, in just 20 hours water can be pumped from the upper dam and 900 megawatts of electricity can be produced.
“There are two huge advantages – the first is that it is a kind of huge battery that can store energy, and the second – very quickly and easily we can supply the necessary amounts of electricity to the Swiss grid,” said Robert Gleitz.
This type of plants are innovative, but insufficient and late, experts believe.
“We have probably relied too much on this type of energy. We have concentrated on the production of electricity from the dams and have allowed ourselves to fall behind significantly in other areas such as the use of solar panels for example,” said Nicola Wurtrich, an energy expert.
Only 5% of electricity in Switzerland is produced by photovoltaics. There are also only 40 wind turbines. In order for Switzerland to become energy independent, the government has set a goal of at least 750 turbines by 2050, and solar panels on 1/3 of all roofs in the country.
The Balkan Peninsula has always been a troubled and politically unstable region. It is a place of interweaving of dangerous conflicts already by virtue of the fact that this region was formed as a space where the East and the West are in direct contact, where the religious systems of Islam and Christianity, Orthodoxy and Catholicism come into contact. This has predetermined the situation that can be characterized as a confrontation between civilizations.
The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 was one of the most significant events in the second half of the 19th century. It had a huge impact on the destinies of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, on the foreign policy of the great states. The war began in the conditions of a powerful rise of the national liberation movement against the oppression of the Ottoman Empire and a public movement unprecedented in the history of Russia in support of it. It was the latter that led to the birth of Russian military correspondence.
The topicality of the topic under consideration is determined by its lack of development in the scientific literature. The only research on the problem of the correspondence of the Balkan theater of military actions in the pre-revolutionary literature is the cycle of articles by V. Apushkin.[1] But, regardless of the rich factual material, it contains a mass of inaccuracies, obfuscation of facts, especially in relation to official government correspondents.
The object of the present study is the correspondence of the Balkan theater of military operations during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878. It is necessary to note that in the given work the word “correspondence” is used in two meanings: generalizing, as a synonym of the concept of “journalism”; and specifically, denoting the letters, telegrams, etc. sent by the correspondents. In the indicated case, “correspondence” means everything related to the activities of the correspondents, i.e. the first of the given meanings of the term.
The purpose of the research is to analyze the conditions and results of the work of the correspondents of the Balkan Military Theater in the period 1877-1878. Based on the purpose, the author solves the following tasks:
– to clarify the quantitative and qualitative composition of correspondents of the Russian and foreign press in the Active Army;
– to examine and compare the conditions and quality of work of foreign and Russian correspondents;
– to evaluate the work of the Field Headquarters of the Active Army with the correspondents of the army;
– to illuminate and show the internal differences in the environment of Russian and foreign correspondents;
– to study the war materials contained in the correspondence of Russian correspondents, their submission and direction.
The geographical framework of the work covers the territory of modern Bulgaria, as well as parts of Romania and Turkey. The chronological framework of the work: from the autumn of 1876, when preparations for the war and the formation of the Field Staff began, to the spring of 1878, that is, the end of the war with Turkey.
Speaking of Russian military journalism, it should be noted that it was born precisely in the course of the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-1878. As the late 19th – early 20th century historian V. Pushkin wrote, “as the war begins spontaneously, and equally spontaneously, a “possibility” arose for the Russian periodical press to have its own correspondents in the theater of war … This was conditioned, first of all, by patriotic feelings and the desire to convey the truth about the war during the conduct of the war, and not after her”.[2]
Journalists from Russian publications were admitted to the theater of hostilities at the request of the responsible editors and publishers of the newspapers. They were posted to the Field Headquarters as official correspondents.
The Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878) aroused interest both in Russia and in other European countries. In the Russian Empire, where literacy increased after the reforms of the 1860s, all sections of the population were interested in the affairs of the Slavic peoples (Serbs, Bulgarians, etc.), as well as in hostilities. Russia declared itself as the defender of the “Slavic brothers”, and this affirmation was the basis of the ideology of the empire’s Balkan policy. Concealing the interests of the “fraternal Slavic peoples” through protection, the Russian governments in the 19th – early 20th centuries pursued entirely pragmatic goals: control of the Black Sea coast and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. As for the ordinary population of the Russian Empire, they, not seeing in their majority the real reason for the events, sincerely believed that they were helping the related peoples to free themselves from the Ottoman rule. Hence the increased interest in the war and the waves of patriotism associated with it.
In the Western countries in relation to this war and its course were their own interests of a political and military nature, the characteristics of which go beyond the scope of our study. We can only note that they provided support to the Balkan peoples only when it benefited them, and not the oppressed population of the Balkans. As for the military interest, it was completely natural in the light of the military reforms taking place in Russia in the 1860s and 1870s. The military specialists of the great powers needed to see the renewed Russian army in action and practically assess its combat capability.
All of the above is the reason for sending to the theater of hostilities correspondents of periodicals both from Russia and from other European countries. Often, military correspondents were direct participants in the battles, as a rule – officers who combined writing skills with the ability to lead an army.
Already in November 1876, from the beginning of mobilization, at the request of the Minister of Internal Affairs A.E. Timashov was posted to the headquarters of the Active Army in the capacity of a correspondent of the “Government Gazette” newspaper, the lieutenant of the Life Guards of the Ulan Regiment V.V. Krestovsky. It should be noted that the specified edition was an official body of the Ministry of the Interior.
The introduction of correspondents in the army was, from the very beginning of the war, immediately placed under the control of the military authorities. This control, indeed, did not have a strict character. At the headquarters of the Active Army, at the beginning of the war, a special position was created, to which they appointed the former teacher at the Academy of the General Staff, the colonel of the General Staff M.A. Gasenkampf. Attached during the entire war to the Commander-in-Chief, he kept a journal of combat operations, compiled urgent reports to the emperor, participated in the discussion of plans for military operations, deciphered reports from the military agents of Russia in European countries entering the headquarters. His main task was to bring the military correspondents to the Active Army. In order to work in the theater of hostilities, anyone who wanted to was obliged to receive from M.A. Gasenkampf permission, after which he was issued special identification marks, and he could be considered an army correspondent.
On April 17, 1877, M.A. Gasenkampf drew up a report to the Chief of Staff of the Active Army, in which he proposed conditions for the admission of correspondents into the army. Noting that the press has a great influence on public opinion, both in Russia and abroad, M.A. Gasenkampf proposes to allow correspondents at the front, but subject to the following conditions.
– Russian correspondents should be admitted upon request by the editors and publishers of the respective newspapers;
– foreign – on the recommendation of Russian embassies and high-ranking persons;
– preliminary censorship should not be instituted, but all correspondents should be obliged not to report any information about the movement, location, number of troops and their upcoming actions. It was supposed to warn the correspondents that, for failure to fulfill the above-mentioned duty, they would be recalled from the army;
– to monitor the implementation of their commitment to propose to the editors to deliver all issues of the newspapers in which correspondence from the theater of war will be printed;
– to provide the correspondents with the opportunity to receive from the head of correspondents at the headquarters of the Active Army all the information that the chief of the army headquarters recognizes as useful or possible to communicate to them. For the same, it was proposed to appoint certain hours.[3]
M.A. Gasenkampf writes that “requiring a friendly tone from the correspondents, in equal measure, as well as their preliminary censorship, will be to our detriment: both will receive immediate publicity, and will lay a firm foundation for public distrust of these correspondents , which will be admitted”. The colonel notes that “in this case, there may even be a fear that public opinion will rather trust those newspapers that will engage in fabricating false and malicious correspondence about our army. From such newspapers as, for example, “Neue Freie Presse”, “Pester Lloyd”, “Augsburger Zeitung” such behavior could be expected”. “And since public opinion,” the colonel continued in his report, “is such a force at the present time that we must not ignore, the seditious correspondents of the most influential press bodies are powerful movers and even creators of this opinion, it is better to try to arrange the correspondents in our favor”.[4] In general, as observed by N.V. Maximov, influential correspondents who represented company publications were allowed in the army, but at the same time they were made to understand that one cannot enter a foreign monastery with one’s own statute.[5]
On April 19, the Grand Duke approved the note and confirmed M.A. Gasenkampf in the position of leading the correspondents.
Correspondents began to flock back in April. Their secondment to the army headquarters has begun, to accompany it in the course of hostilities and to give the latest timely reports. The question was raised and identification marks for them. The proposal of the foreign correspondents Mac Gahan and de Westin in such a capacity to use a white armband with a red cross in the army headquarters they found inconvenient. At the suggestion of M.A. Gasenkampf, initially correspondents allowed to accompany the army were required to have a badge on the left sleeve of their uniform. It was a round copper plate on which were engraved an eagle (the coat of arms of the Russian Empire), the number of the correspondent, the inscription “correspondent” and the seal of the Field Commandant’s Office of the Army. To verify his identity, each correspondent had to have a photograph with a written confirmation of his identity, signed by M.A. Gasenkampf, and stamped with the stamp of the Field Commandant on the reverse.[6] Also approved was the Colonel’s proposal to establish reception hours for correspondents at the headquarters of the Active Army from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
On June 7, 1877, however, Order No. 131 was issued for the troops, according to which a new insignia was introduced for distinguishing correspondents. A tricolor (black-yellow-white in color) silk armband was introduced. It depicted the heraldic eagle around which the inscription “correspondent” was placed in a semicircle. The personal number of the correspondent was embroidered under the inscription with gold thread. The seal of the Field Headquarters or the Field Commandant’s Office of the Army had to be placed on the outside and inside of the bandage.[7] Without these insignia, correspondents were not allowed in the positions. The rights of correspondents were also applied and enjoyed by the artists, who were of the same kind as modern photojournalists. The freedom of movement of army correspondents was not restricted, but they were required to report any change in their residence to army headquarters.[8]
Correspondents arrived in the army gradually. This can be judged from the diary entries of M.A. Gasenkampf, immediately after registering them. Thus, on April 22 In 1877 he wrote: “So far only: Mac Gahan, de Westin, Dannhauer (“Militär Wochenblatt” and “Nationalzeitung”) and von Maree (“Über Land und Meer”) have been admitted. The last two are retired officers. Today I presented for the signature of the Grand Duke a telegram from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for permission for Russian correspondents to follow the army and send their correspondence by post and telegraph directly to their newspapers”.[9] On April 24 he was introduced to Daily News correspondent Archibald Forbes.[10] From May 7 is the following note: “Two English artists, correspondents of illustrated magazines, appeared today; both are admitted. The correspondent of “Peterburgski Vedomosti” Mozalevsky and the Bavarian Count Tattenbach-Reinstein, unknown why he ended up among the correspondents of the Prague newspaper “Politik” also appeared.[11] On May 5, M.A. Gasenkampf noted that “the correspondents already number 11 and in addition 5 artists: one French, one German, two English and one Russian (V.V. Vereshtagin)”.[12] Record of May 16: “The number of correspondents reached 23, including 7 Russians: Maksimov, Mozalevsky, Karazin, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Fyodorov, Rapp and Sokalsky. Karazin and Fyodorov are artists at the same time”.[13]
Notes
[1] Apushkin V., “War of 1877-78 in correspondences and novels”, Military Collection, No. 7-8, 10-12 (1902); Nos. 1-6 (1903).
[2] Apushkin V., “War of 1877-78 in correspondences and novels”, Military Collection, No. 7 (1902), p. 194.
[3] Gasenkampf M., My Diary 1877-78, p. 5.
[4] Ibid., pp. 5-6.
[5] Maksimov N.V., “About the Danube”, No. 5 (1878), p. 173.
[6] Gasenkampf M., My Diary 1877-78, p. 9.
[7] Krestovsky V., Two months in the active army…, item 1, p. 169.
[8] Ibid, p. 170.
[9] Gasenkampf M., My Diary 1877-78, p. 9.
[10] Ibid, p. 12.
[11] Ibid., p. 20.
[12] Ibid., p. 22.
[13] Ibid., p. 28.
(to be continued)
With abbreviations from: Canadian American Slavic Studies. – 2007. – Vol. 41. – No. 2. – R. 127-186; portal “Russia in colors”: https://ricolor.org/about/avtori/gokov/
Note on the author.: Oleg Aleksandrovich Gokov was born on March 26, 1979 in the city of Kharkiv. After completing his secondary education, he entered the Faculty of History of Kharkiv National University “V.N. Karazin”, who graduated with honors in 2001. In 2004, he defended his candidate’s thesis ahead of schedule “The role of the officers of the General Staff in implementing the foreign policy of the Russian Empire in the Muslim East in the second half of the 19th century.” Since 2004, he has been working at the Kharkiv National Pedagogical University “G.S. Frying pan”. Candidate of historical sciences, associate professor in the Department of World History, with more than 40 scientific and teaching-methodological publications in publications in Ukraine, Russia and the USA. The sphere of his scientific interests is the recent history of the countries of the East and military intelligence.
Source of the illustration: Vinogradov V.I. Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878 and liberation of Bulgaria. – M.: Mysl, 1978. – pp. 8-9.
He abolished its previous governing bodies and appointed an interim Sovereign Council
After years of controversy, Pope Francis took control of the Order of Malta today, removing its previous governing bodies and appointing an interim Sovereign Council, reported AFP.
In a decree published by the Vatican, the pope announced that he had promulgated the order’s “new Constitutional Charter” and it “came into effect immediately.” Francis ordered “the recall of all appointees to high posts, the dissolution of the current Sovereign Council and the creation of a temporary Sovereign Council” with 13 members already appointed by him personally. The latter must organize an extraordinary General Chapter (general meeting, note AFP) in January, which will implement all the Pope’s decisions, the decree specifies.
The Order of Malta, founded in Jerusalem and recognized by the Pope in 1113, is both a state-like entity without territory based in Rome, a religious order and an influential charitable organization. Today, it counts 13,500 knights, among them fifty clergy, who carry out its medical and humanitarian activities with the help of over 100,000 employees and volunteers working in 120 countries.
The crisis in the order itself and in its relations with the Vatican began with a disruption in the leadership of the organization in 2016, when the Grand Master of the Order of Malta – its head – demanded the resignation of its Grand Chancellor. Some knights of the order objected and demanded that the Pope intervene. Francis sent a commission of inquiry and obtained the resignation of the Grand Master; all decisions of the latter were annulled. The Pope appointed his special delegate to the Order of Malta, after which extensive reform of the organization’s Constitutional Charter began to be prepared.
Difficult discussions developed over the issue of the sovereignty of the Order of Malta. The draft reform of the Constitutional Charter, prepared by the papal delegate, provided for the order to be “subject of the Holy See”, that is, of the Vatican, but the knights did not agree because of fears that the order would not be reduced to the scale of a “spiritual association”.
In his decree, Pope Francis recalled a decision made in 1953 by the Court of Cardinals, according to which “the prerogatives of the Order (. . .) do not represent the totality of prerogatives and power rights that sovereign states have.”
“Accordingly, as a spiritual order, it (. . .) is subordinate to the Holy See,” concludes Pope Francis.
On July 13, the ousted leader, his wife and two bodyguards took an Air Force plane to the Maldives and from there to Singapore
Former Sri Lankan head of state Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in July after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home and office to protest the country’s economic crisis.
Rajapaksa flew into Colombo International Airport on Friday from Bangkok via Singapore.
On July 13, the ousted leader, his wife and two bodyguards took an Air Force plane to the Maldives and from there to Singapore. There, the president officially resigned. Two weeks later he left for Thailand.
For months, Sri Lanka suffered a severe economic crisis that sparked extraordinary protests and unprecedented public anger that eventually forced Rajapaksa and his brother, the former prime minister, to step down.
The bankrupt country’s situation has been worsened by global factors such as the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but many hold the once-powerful Rajapaksa family responsible for mismanaging the economy and plunging it into crisis.
The economic collapse has led to months-long shortages of essentials such as fuel, medicine and cooking gas due to a lack of foreign currency.
Although cooking gas supplies have been restored through World Bank support, shortages of fuel, critical medicines and some food items persist.
The island nation has suspended payments on nearly €6.94 billion in foreign debt due this year. The country’s total external debt amounts to more than 50.9 billion euros, of which 27.8 billion euros must be repaid by 2027.
On Tuesday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over after Rajapaksa resigned, reached a tentative agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package of 2.9 billion euros over four years to help the country recover.
In April, protesters began camping outside the president’s office in the heart of Colombo, calling for the president’s resignation.
Before Rajapaksa resigned, his older brother stepped down as prime minister and three other close family members left their cabinet positions.
The new president of the country suppressed the protests. His first action as a leader involved the dismantling of protest tents in the middle of the night when the police forcibly removed the demonstrators from their place.
Further damage to the embattled Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine “cannot” be allowed to happen, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi was speaking on Thursday after he and IAEA experts visited Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which has seen repeated shelling in recent weeks, sparking fears of a catastrophe.
“It’s obvious that the plant, and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated, several times. [Whether] by chance [or deliberately], we don’t have the elements to assess that. But this is a reality that we have to recognize, and this is something that cannot continue to happen,” he told journalists.
“Wherever you stay, wherever you stand, whatever you think about this war, this is something that cannot happen, and this is why we’re trying to put in place certain mechanisms and the presence of our people there, to try to be in a better place.”
The Zaporizhzhia plant houses six of the 15 nuclear reactors in Ukraine.
It has been occupied by Russian forces since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine, now in its seventh month.
Both sides have accused the other of shelling the plant.
An IAEA expert mission finally arrived there on Thursday, following months of diplomatic negotiations.
In a video posted on his official Twitter account that day, Mr. Grossi reported that the experts had completed an initial tour of the plant, though there is still more to do.
“My team is staying on,” he said, adding “most importantly, we are establishing a continued presence from the IAEA here.”
The 14-member mission deployed from Vienna on Monday in efforts towards ensuring nuclear safety and security at the plant, undertaking vital safeguard activities, and assessing the working conditions of the Ukrainian staff there.
Renewed shelling last week hit the area of the plant’s two so-called special buildings, located about 100 metres from the reactor buildings, as well as an overpass area.
WHO donates ambulances to Ukraine
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered 11 first aid ambulances to Ukraine amid ongoing attacks against healthcare in the country, the UN agency reported on Friday.
The vehicles will be handed over to the Emergency Medical Service Department in Lviv, then distributed throughout Ukraine.
The donations were made possible through support from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which ensures that urgently needed humanitarian assistance reaches people caught up in crises.
“These ambulances will save lives and go a step further in ensuring that timely access to emergency care during the war is strengthened and maintained,” said Dr. Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
He was speaking at a handover ceremony alongside Ukraine’s Health Minister, Dr. Viktor Liashko, who emphasized that international support is a powerful tool in sustaining the country’s medical system during wartime.
“Emergency healthcare workers are the first ones to arrive at the scene of an accident and do everything they can to save people’s lives,” he said.
“Thanks to modern ambulances, healthcare workers not only provide timely transport for people who are injured or in critical condition from the accident scene to a medical facility, but also stabilize their condition during transport.”
WHO and partners have donated more than 30 ambulances to Ukraine’s Ministry of Health since the war began on 24 February, with more deliveries expected later in the year.
The agency has also delivered more than 1,300 metric tonnes of life-saving medical supplies to the country, including power generators, oxygen supplies for medical facilities, and medicines to help treat noncommunicable diseases.
Winter support for vulnerable groups
Also on Friday:
A UN Humanitarian Fund has allocated $70 million to kick-start winter assistance and address the needs of people with disabilities, older persons and vulnerable women in Ukraine.
“This is the Fund’s largest single allocation since its creation in 2019. Funding goes directly to local civil society organizations and volunteer groups on the front lines,” said Eri Kaneko, Associate UN Spokesperson, speaking to journalists in New York.
The Fund is managed by the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.
Some $118 million has been released so far this year to help five million people across Ukraine with food, water, shelter, health interventions and educational support.
On 31 August 2022, Commission-General Philippe Lazzarini briefed Members of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs about the deteriorating situation of Palestine refugees in the Middle East, including the impact of the Ukraine crisis and the last escalation in Gaza earlier this month. During the exchange of views in Brussels, the Commissioner-General also addressed the critical financial situation of the Agency and thanked the Members of the European Parliament for playing a key role in the fruitful EU-UNRWA partnership.
European Commission Brussels, 09 Aug 2022
The European Union confirmed today its role as a long-standing, predictable and reliable partner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and one of its largest donors.
The European Commission adopted €261 million as the multiannual contribution that will allow to secure predictable financial resources to the Agency for the provision of essential services to Palestine refugees. In line with the EU-UNRWA Joint Declaration 2021-2024, it includes the EU’s three-year funding for UNRWA for a total of €246 million, coupled with an additional €15 million from the Food and Resilience Facility to address food insecurity and mitigate the impact of the Ukraine war.
High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell, said: “The EU as UNRWA’s long-term partner is committed to continue with political and financial support for its activities. UNRWA remains crucial for providing the necessary protection and essential services for Palestine refugees, supporting peace and stability in the region. The EU will continue to support UNRWA in all its fields of operations, including in East Jerusalem. Our support to UNRWA is a key element in our strategy of contributing to the promotion of security, stability and development in the region, which also helps to keep alive the prospects of sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi, said: “We remain a reliable and predictable partner, and a top donor of UNRWA. Others need to step up and join the EU in providing predictable multiannual funding. The Agency plays a stabilising role in the region. It must continue to do so, with a clear focus on its core mandate. We will continue to work with UNRWA to strengthen the Agency’s governance systems and help step up transparency and sound management. We remain also firmly committed to promote quality education for Palestinian children and ensure full compliance with UNESCO standards in all education material.”
Background
Since 1971, the strategic partnership between the European Union and UNRWA has been based on the shared objective of supporting human development, humanitarian and protection needs of Palestine refugees and of promoting stability in the Middle East.
On 17 November 2021, UNRWA Commissioner General Lazzarini, HR/VP Borrell, and Commissioner Várhelyi signed the EU-UNRWA “Joint Declaration on EU support to UNRWA (2021-2024)”, marking the 50th anniversary of the EU-UNRWA partnership. In the Joint Declaration, the European Union commits to continue supporting UNRWA politically and securing predictable, multi-annual financial resources. UNRWA is experiencing significant challenges in fulfilling its mandate due to recurrent financial shortfalls.
There is an urgent need for UNRWA to reform and to identify innovative ways to maintain the provision of services to refugees. The EU supports UNRWA in taking forward these internal reform efforts to secure a sound and sustainable financial basis, which includes focusing on core services for the most vulnerable.
In addition to that, the EU continues to do its utmost to reach out to existing and potential donors to put the Agency on a sustainable fiscal model and to ensure fairer contribution sharing.
