Washington has demanded that Kiev go at least 45 days without a scandal, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak

Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak has claimed that his country was given a “yellow card” by the US and must do all it can to avoid receiving a second one. His comments came after the US Congress voted to omit funds for Kiev from a short-term spending deal that averted a government shutdown in Washington.  

Writing on his Telegram channel on Monday, Zheleznyak acknowledged that Ukraine has serious corruption problems and said it must now be “holier than the Pope” if it wants to receive continued US assistance. 

The MP further argued that Ukraine has become a “hostage” of US domestic politics. However, Kiev must still press Washington to set aside funding for it in the government budget, which is set to be agreed upon within the next six weeks as part of the deal reached by US lawmakers on Saturday night, Zheleznyak insisted.  

“The main complaint against us is corruption,” the Ukrainian MP pointed out. “We must spend these 45 days without A SINGLE major corruption scandal. As far as I know, this is exactly what our representatives were told when they visited [the US]. No nonsense or pretentiousness.” 

Zheleznyak stated that Ukrainian authorities must demonstrate their resolve in fighting corruption and should crack down on the biggest offenders, regardless of how “important” they may be to the president. Without providing names, Zheleznyak claimed there is a specific list of people who have become symbols of corruption in Ukraine and have been “cheating” international partners.  

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“Either they go to hell, or we get assistance. The choice is obvious,” the MP wrote. He added that the international community pays particular attention to state-owned enterprises, reconstruction, military procurement, customs, and law enforcement in Ukraine. 

The leading figures in all these areas are “stupid corruptors” and should immediately be removed to preempt potential corruption scandals, Zheleznyak claimed.  

Elsewhere, fellow Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko has suggested that Kiev needs to be more proactive in attempting to secure funds from Washington. According to the lawmaker, Ukraine should dispatch permanent delegations to the US Congress, send MPs to every US state to “convince” Americans of the need to support Ukraine, and even pledge to join any future military campaigns launched by Washington.

Ban on fuel exports and a drop in lending have been weighing on output, media report

Industrial production in Russia declined in August for the fourth month in a row, despite the strong performance of the country’s defense-related enterprises, the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on Sunday, citing official statistics from Rosstat, and economists.

According to the report, production had started to slow even before the sharp depreciation of the ruble in July and the ensuing key-interest-rate hike by the central bank.

In August, the country’s output level decreased by 0.9% in monthly terms, according to an estimate by the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CAMAC). Overall, in the period January to August industrial growth amounted to less than 1% thanks to a strong first quarter, CAMAC calculates.

The Gazeta report indicated that the slowdown in growth is associated with tightening export (and partly import) restrictions as well as a deterioration in credit lending to enterprises. The growing output of Russia’s defense sector has not yet compensated for the general slowdown in its industry, the newspaper suggests. The previous slight easing of export restrictions reportedly ensured output expansion in July, primarily in oil refining, metallurgy and chemistry, as well as in the production of vehicles. In August, growth in all these sectors either stopped or weakened significantly, economists told the paper.

READ MORE: Russia restricts fuel exports

The recent temporary ban on the export of refined petroleum products will also negatively affect industrial production volumes, the head of the country’s Energy Ministry Nikolay Shulginov has warned. The Russian government introduced a temporary halt on sales abroad of diesel and gasoline this month, in order to stabilize the domestic fuel market.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section

The gathering is taking place amid a gloomy counteroffensive outlook and US aid concerns

The foreign members of the EU’s member states convened their inaugural meeting outside the bloc’s territory in Kiev on Monday.

“We are convening a historic meeting of EU Foreign Ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU,” Borrell said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) prior to the meeting.

The purpose of this gathering in Kiev, as Borrell explained, is “to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people.”

Separately, in comments made alongside Ukrainian FM Dmitry Kuleba, the EU foreign policy chief explained that the meeting will be “informal,” as it's taking place outside the bloc’s borders.

Ministers will engage in a “high-level political debate” during this session, although no specific conclusions or decisions are expected. The focus will be on assessing the situation on the battlefield and “brainstorming” ways to support Ukraine further in its conflict with Russia.

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Among the topics on the agenda is the promotion of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ten-point peace plan, which calls for Russian withdrawal from territories claimed by Kiev, war reparations from Moscow, and a war crimes tribunal. Russia has promptly rejected this proposal as “unrealistic,” viewing it as a sign of Kiev’s unwillingness to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

The meeting came at a time when Russia claims that the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive has faltered. Last month, Russian President Putin stated that over 71,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the operation began in early June. Ukraine’s territorial gains have been limited to capturing a few small villages distant from the main Russian defense lines.

There are also concerns about the flow of US aid following the absence of Ukrainian funding in the recent last-minute budget deal struck by Congress late on Saturday to avert a US government shutdown.

On Sunday, however, Borrell promised that Brussels would “continue supporting and increasing our support” to Ukraine regardless of Washington’s decisions.

READ MORE: ‘Not much time’ to help Ukraine – Biden

According to EU data, the bloc and its member states have already provided Ukraine with over $88 billion in aid since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

The provisional measure will increase the federal minimum wage “without causing undue inflation,” President Bola Tinubu says

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced an increase in the wages of lower-paid government employees on Sunday, in an attempt to resolve a dispute between labor unions that were planning a nationwide strike this week.

The president said in a speech marking the 63rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence that the “average low-grade” worker would receive an extra 25,000 naira ($32) per month for the next six months.

The temporary measure comes after talks with “labor, business, and other stakeholders,” Tinubu said, adding that it aims to “enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation.”

The increase, which is expected to take effect this month, raises the minimum wage to 55,000 naira ($71).

Last week, the National Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Abuja called for an indefinite strike to begin on October 3 in protest at the government's “unwillingness” to address the rising cost of living.

Living and transport costs in Nigeria have risen since Tinubu, who took office on May 29, ended a fuel subsidy as part of reforms aimed at cutting the budget deficit. The devaluation of the local currency – the naira – has increased the cost of goods.

Talks with labor unions have stalled, prompting strikes, as workers accuse Tinubu of economic mismanagement.

Joe Ajaero, president of Nigeria’s labor association, said last month that the situation had become so dire that many workers were unable to pay for their transport to work.

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In his speech on Sunday, Tinubu urged Nigerians to support his government during the economic crisis.

“I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future,” he said, reiterating his pledge to strengthen the economy and cut transportation costs.

The president also announced the deployment of “cheaper, safer compressed natural gas (CNG) buses across the nation,” claiming they will run at a “fraction of current fuel prices, positively affecting transport fares.”

The government is also promising cash payments to 15 million “vulnerable households” from October to December of this year.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's Ministry of Information said in a separate statement on Sunday that government officials had met with the leaders of the main labor unions and agreed that “the issues in dispute can only be resolved when workers are at work, not when they are on strike.”

The NLC and TUC will “consider the offers by the Federal Government with a view to suspending the planned strike to allow for further consultations,” according to the ministry.

Footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry has shown the aftermath of an artillery hit in Donbass

The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage of what it said was the destruction of Ukrainian armored vehicles on the Donbass front line. The target was covered by trees but was reportedly identified by drones and taken out by artillery fire.

The engagement took place near the village of Urozhaynoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to the ministry. The settlement has been the scene of intense fighting between Ukraine and Russia since the summer.

The video shot from the air appears to show the same location – a crater-dotted field bisected by lines of trees – at different points in time. In one part of the footage, a cloud of smoke erupts from among the trees, as if produced by an explosion. The latter part of the clip shows a thinning plume of smoke rising from the same location, before a new blast sends more smoke into the air and ignites a secondary fire.

The ministry did not provide details on when the footage was taken. On Sunday, it reported conducting aerial and artillery strikes against several Ukrainian units in the DPR, including near Urozhaynoye. The location was mentioned in other ministry briefings throughout the week.

The small village drew national attention in Russia last week, after President Vladimir Putin met with three soldiers and a sergeant whose unit fended off a Ukrainian assault near Urozhaynoye in late August.

Despite being outnumbered by more than two to one, the group turned the tide on the attackers, with two defenders sustaining injuries, the ministry reported.

READ MORE: Drone strikes rare Swedish-donated Ukrainian tank (VIDEO)

The president awarded decorations to the service members, including one who received the Gold Star of the Hero of Russia, the country’s highest honor.

Egypt became Moscow’s top trading partner on the continent, the Economy Ministry says

Trade turnover between Russia and African countries saw a significant increase of 43.5% during the first eight months of 2023 compared to the same period a year ago, business daily RBK  reported on Monday, citing the Russian Economy Ministry.

In monetary terms, the trade volume amounted to $15.5 billion, while Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya were named among Russia’s top trading partners.

“Africa has a rich resource base, but no production technologies; Russian technologies for developing deposits and extracting minerals are necessary,” Economy Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said in a report seen by the media. “High rates of urbanization raise demand for our experience in the construction of houses, roads and railways, ports, oil and gas pipelines, and utility networks.”

Earlier this year, Reshetnikov predicted that Russian trade with Africa would double by 2030.

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the trade turnover between Russia and Africa totalled $18 billion. At the same time, the Federation Council reported that Russian exports to African nations amounted to $14.8 billion.

READ MORE: African country resumes imports of Russian wheat

According to the president, machinery and equipment, chemical products, and food account for more than 50% of Russian exports to the continent.

The Bank of Russia had previously reported that 12.7% of Russian exports to Africa were carried out in rubles in July 2023, while nearly 79% of payments were made in “other currencies” that mainly included the Chinese yuan, compared to 39% recorded in June 2023.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section

The German government reportedly disclosed the case involving the Czech Republic case to an MP

The Czech Republic has confiscated at least one car with Russian license plates under Brussels’ controversial rules, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday, citing information from the German government.

Last month, the EU instructed member states to investigate Russian-registered private vehicles on their soil as potentially violating the bloc’s sanctions against trade with Russia. Most member states bordering the country have since banned such cars altogether, with some even considering confiscating those inside their borders.

The Czech Republic has reportedly impounded at least one vehicle with Russian license plates. The German federal government shared this information with an MP, who inquired into how his nation and other members of the EU have implemented the restrictions.

Izvestia said it obtained the response given on September 21 to Eugen Schmidt, a member of the opposition Alternative for Germany party. No details about the reported seizure were offered.

The Czech government publicly said it did not intend to confiscate Russian cars after the EU guideline was released.

“We will not confiscate goods and cars from Russian citizens in the internal market because they have already been cleared to be in the EU territory,” Czech Minister for European Affairs Martin Dvorak said at the time.

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Customs chief Hana Prudicova said her nation may be required to enforce sanctions on Russian goods if they arrive by air. But otherwise, “it is obvious that these vehicles should not enter the territory of the Czech Republic at all,” she explained.

The EU introduced stringent trade restrictions against Russia in response to the Ukraine crisis. Germany was among the first countries to embrace an interpretation that provided legal grounds for seizing Russian cars, with the initial cases reportedly occurring in May.

The initial EU guidelines called for rigorous examination of various goods carried by Russian travelers, even extending to their clothing and personal care items. However, Brussels later acknowledged that personal belongings presented a minimal risk of sanctions evasion.

Moscow has blasted the seizure threat as an example of the EU’s “racism” towards Russian citizens. Finland, a Russian neighbor that has banned Russian cars, has acknowledged that such measures do “hurt normal people,” as Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen explained.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” she said, claiming that Russians must realize that the Ukraine conflict “comes with a price.”

Ukraine was previously angered by the billionaire’s refusal to allow the use of Starlink for a planned attack on Crimea

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ridiculed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky over his demands for more financial support from the US and its allies amid the conflict with Russia.

Posting on his X (formerly Twitter) social media platform on Sunday, Musk shared the popular ‘stressed guy’ meme with Zelensky’s face photoshopped onto it and with a caption reading: “When it’s been five minutes and you haven’t asked for a billion dollars in aid.”

The post had already gained more than 25 million views and over 350,000 likes at the time of writing.

The ‘stressed guy’ meme features an image of a male student whose neck and forehead are bulging with veins while he sits beside a girl in a classroom. The picture is commonly shared for humorous descriptions of frustrating or uncomfortable situations.

Musk’s post comes after Zelensky attempted to drum up more support from the US during a visit to Washington in September. According to US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Ukrainian president told him that “if we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.”

pic.twitter.com/W9i9YEM8uA

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2023

The administration of US President Joe Biden has provided Kiev with around $46 billion since the beginning of the conflict with Russia in February 2022. However, no funding for Ukraine was included in the last-minute budget deal struck by Congress late on Saturday which allowed the US to avoid a federal government shutdown.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was among the Republicans to oppose the Biden administration’s request to allocate $6 billion more to Ukraine, said that the priority must be protecting America’s borders.

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The Zelensky government considered Musk among its backers early in the conflict with Russia, when SpaceX donated $80 million worth of Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine. Kiev’s forces have relied heavily on the system for communications.

However, the billionaire was involved in a spat with Ukrainian officials and social media users last October after he proposed a peace plan to settle the conflict. Musk suggested that Russia should “redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision,” while Ukraine would commit to neutrality and drop its claim to Crimea. Four former Ukrainian regions voted to join Russia a year ago, while Crimea held a similar referendum in 2014 after a Western-backed coup in Kiev.

Zelensky reacted to the idea by launching a social media poll, asking followers “which Elon Musk” they “like more” – the one “who supports Ukraine” or the one “who supports Russia.” Kiev’s then ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnik, went further by telling the US billionaire to “f**k off.” A few days after the row, the Ukrainian military reportedly began experiencing problems with Starlink services.

Musk’s biography by historian Walter Isaacson, which came out in September, described an indecent last autumn in which the billionaire allegedly told his engineers to shut down satellite internet coverage in Crimea amid an attempted Ukrainian drone assault on the Russian peninsula. According to Isaacson, the tech entrepreneur concluded that “allowing the use of Starlink for the attack… could be a disaster for the world.” 

READ MORE: Ukraine seeking alternative to Musk technology – El Pais

Ukrainian presidential aide Mikhail Podoliak claimed that Musk was “committing evil and encouraging evil” with his decision, which he said was the result of “a cocktail of ignorance and big ego.”

Critics accuse Trudeau government of trying to crush free speech with new regulations for online services

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC ) announced new conditions for online streaming services broadcasting in the country. According to the news release posted on Friday, the body is requiring content providers earning $10 million or more in annual revenue to provide information about their activities and complete a registration form by November 28.

The regulatory plan is devised to ensure that the streaming services make “meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content,” the CRTC said.

“We are developing a modern broadcasting framework that can adapt to changing circumstances. To do that, we need broad engagement and robust public records,” Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, CRTC said as quoted by the website.

Still, the move was widely criticized in Canada and beyond. Elon Musk, the X (formerly Twitter) CEO slammed the Trudeau government for trying to suppress free speech in the country. “Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful.” Musk said in an X post on Sunday.

Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful. https://t.co/oHFFvyBGxu

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2023

The remarks come in response to a tweet by a journalist and columnist Glenn Greenwald, who re-posted the CRTC news release criticizing the “censorship.” 

“The Canadian government, armed with one of the world’s most repressive online censorship schemes, announces that all “online streaming services that offer podcasts” must formally register with the government to permit regulatory controls,” Greenwald lamented in his post.

The Canadian government, armed with one of the world's most repressive online censorship schemes, announces that all "online streaming services that offer podcasts" must formally register with the government to permit regulatory controls:https://t.co/wHOloLgnY2 pic.twitter.com/6noTYceVsg

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 1, 2023

Other X users also blasted the “shocking” government decision that was not debated or voted on by the Parliament, calling it a part of his government’s Internet censorship strategy.

READ MORE: Why Trudeau values his extremist allies over India’s goodwill

The new rules arise from the Online Streaming Act, formerly known as Bill C-11, that took effect in April this year. The legislation has given new powers to Canada’s broadcasting regulator and includes the ability to impose financial penalties against people and businesses that violate certain provisions of the Broadcasting Act or its regulations.

In August this year, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram among others, pulled news content from their platforms in Canada in retaliation to new legislation requiring internet giants to pay publishers for the news articles shared on their social media sites.

Google said last month they would follow the suit if “the serious structural issues” with the legislation are not resolved.

Helipay wants to simplify cross-border settlements between businesses

Chinese payment company Helipay is in talks with Russian banks to set up cross-border transactions, the company’s development director told the International Banking Forum in Sochi on Friday. 

According to Rustem Zakirzyanov, the service is looking for a bank that can enable instant payments by Russian customers for Chinese goods. He explained that this is currently problematic, citing payments from Russian clients for Chinese cars, which can take months to process.

“When Helipay receives such an opportunity, it will rapidly attract a huge number of small and medium-sized businesses, and other Chinese enterprises to cooperate with Russia,” Zakirzyanov was quoted as saying by RBK.

He added that Helipay is currently negotiating with three Russian credit institutions, one of which is considered systemically important. Zakirzyanov refused to name the banks, citing the confidentiality of negotiations.

For Helipay to start operating in Russia, legislative amendments will be needed to allow a payment service company to enter into a correspondent agreement with a credit institution.

READ MORE: Chinese banks sharply increasing market share in Russia – FT

“This is contrary to [Russian] legislation, which currently allows only interbank correspondent relations,” Zakirzyanov noted, adding that any such transactions need approval from the Russian central bank.

Helipay was established in 2013 and has a payment business license issued by the People’s Bank of China, according to the company’s official website. The service specializes in transfers and payments, including cross-border payments for small and medium-sized businesses.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section

State borrowing grew by almost 10% in the first six months of the year

Russia’s state debt rose by almost 10% in the first half of the year, as the government needed the funds to support the economy, Izvestia newspaper wrote on Friday, citing Russia’s Accounts Chamber’s report on budget implementation.

Government borrowing between January and June soared by 9.8% and is projected to reach 25.1 trillion rubles ($256 billion) by the end of the year, accounting for 16.7% of Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The domestic debt increased by $14 billion (+7.4%) in the first six months and has now reached $206 billion, closely approaching the upper limit of $211 billion set by the Finance Ministry for this year.

At the same time, the share of internal borrowing in the total debt structure decreased from 82.3% to 80.5%, the report noted. The amount of domestic debt in securities as of July had risen by $14 billion since the beginning of the year and now amounts to $198.9 billion.

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Meanwhile, Russia’s external debt dropped by $1.2 billion and totaled $56.2 billion out of the upper limit of $66.6 billion, data showed. This comes as Russia reduced the volume of borrowing under government guarantees in US dollars by $1.1 billion to $18.5 billion. 

The government has been forced to borrow more funds internally as the country’s ability to borrow abroad has been reduced due to Ukraine-related Western sanctions. This saw domestic debt rise sharply in 2022, up to $194 billion, while the country’s external debt dropped to around $41 billion. 

According to the law on the federal budget for 2023-25, the volume of Russian state debt will increase to around $259 billion by the end of 2023, $282.6 billion in 2024, and $305 billion by the end of 2025. As a result, in the three-year period, the government plans to keep the volume of Russia’s state debt below 20% of GDP.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section

Bernard Arnault’s lawyer argued that the CEO of LVMH is too respectable to engage in petty money laundering

French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault is being probed over a suspicious financial transaction involving a Russian businessman Nikolai Sarkisov, according to the Paris public prosecutor's office.

The case was brought to light by the French newspaper Len Monde, which reported earlier last week, citing a December 2022 document from France’s Tracfin financial intelligence unit, that Sarkisov acquired real estate at the Alpine ski resort of Courchevel in 2018 via a complex transition in which Arnault allegedly had provided a loan through one of his companies. 

The prosecutors did not disclose the target of the preliminary investigation, but confirmed that potentially suspicious financial transactions between Arnault and Sarkisov had been added to the inquiry after the office received an alert from Tracfin.

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“A preliminary investigation has been underway since 2022, and... the Tracfin report drawing the attention of the prosecution to operations concerning Mr. Bernard Arnault and Mr. Sarkisov, likely to characterize acts of money laundering, was attached to this procedure,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Bernard Arnault controls French luxury group LVMH, the parent company of such brands as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Moët, Hennessy and many other, while the billionaire’s  personal fortune fluctuates and he is considered to be the wealthiest or second richest man in the world, depending on the day. His lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, called the allegations “as absurd as they are baseless.” 

“Who can seriously imagine that Mr. Bernard Arnault, who for the past 40 years has built France and Europe’s top companies, would engage in money laundering to expand a hotel? I think that the senseless nature of these allegations cannot escape anyone,” Laffont said in a statement to Reuters.

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Nikolai Sarkisov, who co-owns an insurance company Reso-Garantiya with his brother, also denied the allegations. Reso-Garantia Deputy CEO Igor Ivanov, told CNBC in an email that neither the company, nor Sarkisov personally, had been involved in the transaction, and that the French investigators made no requests for any documents from the company.

“Mr Sarkisov and Mr Arnault have never met,” Ivanov stated, adding that “all transactions were carried out by French companies, through French notaries by French lawyers on all sides. This was a usual real estate deal.”

In France a preliminary investigation does not necessarily imply wrongdoing as the presumption of innocence applies.

Ben Wallace, who once called Ukraine a British “battle lab,” has urged Kiev to “reassess the scale” of mobilization

Former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has claimed that Kiev is succeeding in its counteroffensive but to maintain momentum and “finish the job,” President Vladimir Zelensky must throw more and younger Ukrainians into battle, while the West provides them with weapons to defeat Russia.

Throughout the summer, Kiev’s forces have ultimately failed to make any notable territorial gains and have suffered heavy casualties as they tried to break through Russia’s defenses consisting of vast minefields, as well as heavy artillery and swarms of drones. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the number of Ukrainian servicemen killed since the start of the counteroffensive has surpassed 83,000. 

Wallace, however, believes that “slowly but surely” Ukrainian forces have been “adapting tactics, absorbing lessons, and making the best of the equipment we have all gifted them,” and that Kiev’s victory is imminent as long as the government “plays its part.”

“The average age of the soldiers at the front is over 40. I understand President Zelensky’s desire to preserve the young for the future, but… just as Britain did in 1939 and 1941, perhaps it is time to reassess the scale of Ukraine’s mobilization,” Wallace wrote in an opinion piece published by The Telegraph on Sunday.

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Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that such heavy casualties were the result of Kiev throwing untrained soldiers into “senseless assaults and slaughter.” He added that these “cynical actions by the West and their henchmen in Kiev are only pushing Ukraine towards self-destruction.”

Back in July, Wallace called Ukraine a “battle lab” for the British military during a report to the parliament.

“Let us not pause for one day,” he stated on Sunday. “The world is watching to see if the West has the resolve to stand up for our values and the rules-based system. What we do now for Ukraine will set the direction for all of our security for years to come.”

Mobilization in Ukraine has been ongoing since the start of the conflict and had some bumps recently. The country has been hit by scandals involving conscription chiefs, prompting President Vladimir Zelensky to announce in August that he was firing all regional draft heads in the country.

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The Ukrainian government has relaxed eligibility standards for recruits, declaring people with certain mental and physical conditions fit for duty. After the launch of Russia’s military operation, Kiev barred men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Kiev also recently ordered female medics and pharmacists to register for possible enrolment, reportedly causing an exodus of women in those professions.

The Russian military leadership in the meantime has no plans to conduct mobilization as its current needs are fulfilled by career military service members, including those who volunteered to fight in Ukraine, according to a senior official. The Russian president reported earlier this month that some 300,000 people had enrolled in the Russian army this year alone.

Gandhi’s desire for harmony with nature and the environment remains significant with the current focus on climate action and sustainability

On the 154th anniversary of the birth of my paternal grandfather, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, on October 2, which is also celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence, I think it is fitting to understand the relevance of the “Apostle of Peace” in a fractured world. 

Gandhi has evolved into a timeless idea, whose relevance goes beyond India, his country of origin. A global search has long been in progress to understand his values and ideals. The world will be a better place if we live up to his experiments with truth.

I consider myself fortunate to have spent the first 14 years of my life with him – Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse in Delhi on January 30, 1948 – and in my advanced years, I am still coming to terms with his lofty values and ideals.

To an impressionable young girl, who was unaware of the trappings of modern-day technology, gadgets and gizmos, he had tried to instill in me an inner quest for that elusive moment with truth in his inimitable ways.

As a doting grandfather, he would often ask me how I was improving my handwriting, what new knowledge I had acquired, and whether I was doing my daily physical exercise. I continue to cherish those simple joyous moments of life.

Gandhi’s is a celebration of an exceptional life: full of adventure. It was “Sattvik Shakti” (Sanskrit for pure spiritual energy). Even now, more than 75 years since his passing, I’m still possessed by his beatific smile and the inner strength of his spiritual energy.

The world may like to remember him as an advocate of non-violence. But to my mind, he was a philosopher and spiritual leader, who selflessly dedicated his life to forging a consensus.

The partition of the Indian subcontinent into two countries (India and Pakistan) at the stroke of a young nation’s independence in 1947 pained him immensely as he could not come to terms with the petty craving for power and wanton greed for materialism. It was a blow that he could never recover from till his tragic end.

Gandhi died an unhappy man. He was despondent about rapid urbanization and mindless industrialization. He was an aesthete at heart and opposed corporate greed and crony capitalism that continues to bedevil us.

He was an internationalist, who had an exceptional ability to turn foes into friends like a clinical psychologist. He could read people’s minds with consummate ease while never, ever compromising his own conviction.

Perhaps this fascinating strength of his character came into its own during his non-violent fight against colonial British rule through his civil disobedience movement, which had started in 1930.

I have realized that Gandhi is a symbol of Everyman. He believed that non-violence and peace are a celebration of our consciousness to honor life and creation. This celebration of our consciousness should be translated into the objective of a people’s movement for cleaning the human mind of violence and protecting the environment from pollution. This celebration is a universal message that goes beyond social, political and religious divisions.

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For Gandhi, non-violence meant much more than just a lack of violence. Non-violence is an action and introspection. It is the courage of truth with love. It is the reawakening of the spirit in harmony with nature and environment and all forms of life, whose significance has acquired an all-new dimension amid the global conversation around climate action and sustainability.

Consider his struggle for independence against the imperial British forces. It was the struggle of an ordinary colonized Indian in search of truth, liberation and independence. The genesis of his freedom movement, which appears to have been lost on many historians, is fundamentally rooted in economics. The British were busy plundering our wealth, such as textiles manufactured in our mills, which found their way to England while Indians continued to languish in poverty.  

This led to the revival of khadi – the handspun and hand-woven cloth – and has since emerged as the thread of creation. Through the decades, khadi has become a source of livelihood and a fashion statement to millions of Indians. The “charkha,” a hand-spinning wheel and a defining image of Gandhi, is also a meditational therapy. Now, the world again needs to get acquainted with the fabulous texture of the handspun fabric and the hand-spinning wheel.

The “charkha” is also inseparable from Gandhi’s “satyagraha,” the policy of passive political resistance, which is epitomized in his mother power. 

He was a mother in a wider connotation of the word. He was a symbol of a common man, who through his extraordinary heroic deeds transformed into a larger-than-life power and an enduring symbol of empathy and compassion.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had no love lost for Gandhi, had grudgingly described him as a “seditious Middle Temple lawyer” now “posing as a fakir” (an ascetic) at the Round Table Conference in England in 1931. 

Gandhi, who wore a loin cloth and wrapped himself in a white sheet, braving the cold weather in England, had elicited a snide remark from Churchill. However, his support for the poor, his encouragement of boycotts of British goods, and his wish to eradicate religious differences and class distinctions were lost on Churchill. 

Gandhi’s relevance would not have stood the test of time had it not been for his wife Kasturba, who predeceased him in 1944. At every stage of his life, Kasturba, who got married to him at the tender age of 13, questioned her husband’s moves. Her challenge strengthened his power of conviction, helping him to revisit his thoughts and ideals. Kasturba was his sounding board as a life partner.

Gandhi also had a great ability to keep in touch with people in a technology-challenged age. He was a die-hard family man, who loved to spend time with his children, grandchildren, and loved ones, and also built a network of loyal supporters, ardent admirers and skeptics by keeping in touch with them through letters and word of mouth.

The British underestimated the power of this “fakir” and bowed to his “satyagraha.” Gandhi’s ideals continue to inspire his followers and admirers – many of whom may not be acquainted with the intricacies of his fascinating life. 

I shall be in Arunachal Pradesh, the remote and largest northeastern state in the country, on October 2 to celebrate the 154th anniversary of his birth. I am going to visit Arunachal at the invitation of Robin Hibu, the first Indian Police Service officer from the state, who plans to convert his residence into a Gandhi memorial museum.

Such selfless acts of dedication and devotion show that posterity has not forgotten Gandhi’s values and ideals. And as long as people like Hibu are among us, the Gandhian way of life will continue to ignite young minds.

(As told to Joydeep Sen Gupta, Asia editor)

However benevolent their goals, Western governments have ruined the public’s trust with their attempts at narrative control

In the past week, stories in the media have been warning about the latest Covid-19 variant, the latest in a long list. It doesn’t seem like people are listening anymore.

In the minds of much of the public, the pandemic is long over and is firmly a thing of the past. The last thing most people want is another trip down the rabbit hole of restrictions, lockdowns, masks and vaccinations, with the past few years having seriously undermined the credibility of governments and public trust in them to do the right thing. And Western governments no longer have the political will or interest to dare make unpopular decisions, even if some are sounding the alarm.

The pandemic in many respects was a turning point in government-public relations in Western countries, precisely because it was the first outbreak of such scale to occur in the age of mass social-media culture, where people, more connected than ever before, have the unrestricted capability to voice their own opinions, to hear the opinions of others, and with these to enact dissent against governments and their policies. The social-media era has already provided many significant challenges to state structures as it is, with Western governments scrambling to reassert a “narrative control” over their populations that they've since lost.

Social-media freedom has played a critical role in – if not outright caused – outcomes which have shocked elites, be it the election of Donald Trump in the US, or Brexit in Britain. Subsequently, Western ruling classes have increased censorship and narrative policing on social media platforms through denouncing viewpoints they don’t like as “misinformation” or even as malicious propaganda by foreign actors like China or Russia. The Covid-19 pandemic thus saw one of the most comprehensive censorship campaigns Western governments had ever undertaken (at least before that of the Ukraine conflict), especially when it came to those who sought to question or challenge the need for vaccines. Governments have tried to aggressively reassert narrative control, stomping out dissent against their views, broadcast by establishment media.

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It would be foolish to deny that vaccines were important in combating the Covid-19 pandemic, even critical to saving lives, especially among the elderly and the vulnerable, but the manner in which this issue was conducted by governments has produced wholesale distrust in authority at large. That is not because vaccines are 'bad' but because people saw the profits being raked in by their Big Pharma producers, saw how aggressively governments were pushing for their implementation, and were skeptical as to whether the whole thing really served the “public interest.” In other words, the method (propaganda and censorship) defeated the objective (introducing vaccines to save lives).

Big Pharma, of course, refers to a group of multinational drug- and medicine-producing companies which wield enough political influence and connections to be able to steer the public narrative towards endorsing their own products and which therefore exerts a monopoly over the perceived solutions to a health crisis or problem. These companies profited wholesale over the pandemic and to some extent influenced government policies over the issue. But more specifically, the narrative was steered to argue that the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were the only ones you should use, with Chinese and Russian competitors often receiving targeted negative coverage.

Therefore, as it goes, public criticism of pandemic-related policies has grown because it is now more widely believed that these companies, armed with the media, exert “scaremongering” to fulfil their commercial goals. Combined with the influence of social media, this has created large-scale distrust, despite all evidence of how harmful and deadly the early forms of Covid were, especially for the sick and the elderly, and of the significant numbers of Covid-related deaths being reported to this day. As a result, continuing to sound alarm bells about new variants and the spread of the disease does more harm than good, because it reinforces perceptions that the media are attempting to scare populations with something that is not a real threat.

The pandemic has had a politically exhausting effect that also came with a choppy transition back to 'real' life. The public is not interested in making sacrifices again in the name of a disease that is already perceived to have 'gone away,' especially when it is believed there is an agenda behind doing so – not just Big Pharma’s but also one of power centralization, censorship and narrative-control by governments. The pandemic and the Ukraine conflict together have marked part of a shift whereby Western states have sought to reassert power lost during the social-media era, but have only achieved the opposite effect.

The US leader reassures Americans that Washington will keep supporting Kiev as critics insist the country has more urgent priorities

US President Joe Biden has urged the Congress to “stop playing games” and vote on a separate aid package for Ukraine as soon as possible to ensure that American support for Ukraine remains uninterrupted, after all new funding for Kiev was dropped from a stopgap bill that averted the government shutdown.

Speaking from the White House on Sunday after signing the last-minute government funding package that omitted assistance to Ukraine, Biden said that he expected the Republican House Speaker Keven McCarthy to “keep his commitment to secure passage and support needed to help Ukraine.” 

“We have time, not much time, and there’s an overwhelming sense of urgency,” stressed Biden, “Stop playing games, get this done.”

“And I want to assure our American allies and the American people and the people of Ukraine that you can count on our support. We will not walk away,” he added.

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However, critics long argued that Americans have more important priorities to worry about, and that Washington should have stronger safeguards against the misappropriation of the funds and supplies it sends to Kiev. Many lawmakers noted that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in the Congress is proving increasingly difficult.

Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader, said that while he remains committed to helping Ukraine, the US own security issues should be a “bigger priority for US lawmakers.” 

“The American border matters and more Americans are dying on our border than Americans are dying in Ukraine,” said McCarthy in an interview with CBS on Sunday, and suggested that future financial packages for Ukraine must contain provisions to ensure American border security.

Washington has provided Ukraine with at least $46 billion in military supplies alone since the escalation of the conflict, in addition to many billions in other kinds of financial aid.

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The head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Aleksey Danilov, suggested that the West should tell Kiev exactly how long it is planning to support it, as Kiev's backers have been unable to clearly define what their “as long as it takes” pledges mean.

The EU top diplomat insisted that the bloc's military aid to Ukraine will not depend on the decisions taken by the US. Brussels plans to continue and further increase its military assistance to the Ukrainian forces, Josep Borrell, told journalists during his visit to Kiev on Sunday.

Ankara claims “20 targets used by terrorists” were destroyed in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish warplanes have conducted airstrikes against the suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) strongholds inside the Iraqi Kurdistan, in response to a suicide bombing attack near the Interior Ministry headquarters in Ankara on Sunday.

The Turkish defense ministry said that “20 targets used by terrorists” were destroyed in an “air operation” that was carried out in the regions of Metina, Hakurk, Qandil and Gara in northern Iraq around 9pm on Sunday.

Ankara said that the goal of the air raid was to “neutralize the PKK and other terrorist elements, prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq against our population and our law enforcement agencies, and ensure the security of our borders.”

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On Sunday morning, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside the Interior Ministry in Ankara, while his accomplice was neutralized by the security forces. There were no casualties, but two police officers were injured in the standoff, according to officials.

The militant group allegedly claimed responsibility and said the attack was meant to send a “warning” to the Turkish government, according to the PKK-linked Firat news agency. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the blast “the latest attempt” to inflict terror on the Turks, adding that those who “threaten the peace and security of citizens have not achieved their goals and never will.”

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The PKK and its affiliates have been waging an insurgency since the 1980s demanding political and cultural autonomy with the final goal of establishing an independent Kurdish State, laying claim to territories in southeast Türkiye and northern parts of Iraq and Syria.

The attack occurred on the day when Türkiye’s parliament reconvened from a recess for a new session, during which among it is scheduled to consider Sweden’s NATO membership. Stockholm’s bid remains in limbo as Ankara demanded it do more to battle Islamophobia and extradite individuals accused of terrorism, namely those said to be linked to the PKK.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom condemned the attack in Ankara, saying on Sunday that he was “appalled by the suicide bomb,” and that his country “stands firm in its long-term commitment and partnership with Turkiye to fight all kinds of terrorism.”

Brussels “regrets” the US Congress decision not to include military aid for Kiev in its spending bill, the EU top diplomat says

The EU's military aid to Ukraine will not depend on the decisions taken by the US, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, told journalists during his visit to Kiev on Sunday. Brussels plans to continue and further increase its military assistance to the Ukrainian forces, he added. 

“We have not waited for the [US] decision to be taken to increase our propositions to support Ukraine,” the official said when asked about the EU’s reaction to the US Congress removing military aid for Kiev from its short-time spending bill passed over the weekend. 

Brussels still regretted the American lawmakers’ decision “deeply and thoroughly,” Borrell said, expressing his hope that “this will not be a definitive decision, and Ukraine will continue having the support of the US.”

The EU Commission had earlier proposed creating a fund for Ukraine worth €50 billion ($52.8 billion), the bloc’s top diplomat said, adding that he also suggested creating a similar fund amounting to €20 billion ($21.13 billion) within the European Peace Facility at an EU foreign ministers meeting in August. 

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“Let's see what'll be happening in the US but from our side, we will continue supporting and increasing our support,” the official said. The EU's top diplomat also maintained that the bloc’s military aid for Kiev is “permanent structured” and does not depend on the decisions of other nations or the results of the Ukrainian operations. 

His comments came amid the continued Ukrainian offensive, which has failed to bring about any major changes to the frontlines over some four months since its launch, despite massive Western military aid before its start and heavy Ukrainian losses over its course. 

“We are facing an existential threat for Europe,” Borrell claimed, adding that if Brussels wants the Ukrainian troops to be “more successful, we have to provide them with better arms and quicker.”

He still hinted that Kiev should be more grateful for the bloc’s efforts. In some cases, “our support is not being perceived as important as it is,” the EU top diplomat said, insisting that “it is.” He then said that the total military aid from Brussels and the EU member states to Ukraine amounted to €25 billion ($26.4 billion). The bloc’s cumulative military, financial and humanitarian support reached €85 billion ($89.8 billion), he added.

Statements made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the UN General Assembly were “very inappropriate,” Warsaw says

Kiev should never forget which nations helped it “most,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Sunday. The official blasted Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky over his speech at the UN General Assembly and warned Ukraine against closer relations with Berlin.

“It was Poland that welcomed a few million Ukrainians under our roofs, it was the Poles that accepted the Ukrainians, it was us,” Morawiecki said at the convention of his Law and Justice (PiS) party in the city of Katowice. “It is worth not forgetting about it, President Zelensky,” he added, branding the Ukrainian leader’s speech some weeks ago at the UN assembly “very inappropriate.”

Zelensky claimed during his UN speech that “some of our friends in Europe play out solidarity in a political theater, turning the issue of grain into a thriller.” His remarks were made as Kiev and Warsaw are at odds over Ukrainian grain exports.

Relations between the two neighbors soured after Warsaw refused to lift its ban on Ukrainian grain, citing the need to protect its own farmers from the influx of cheap produce. Kiev, in turn, lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization, insisting that the restrictions imposed by Poland were illegal.

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Amid the row, Morawiecki claimed that Warsaw was “no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine.” His message was then toned down by President Andrzej Duda, who said Poland would still supply Kiev with arms, but only obsolete ones.

On Sunday he also claimed that Kiev might be dropping ties with Warsaw in favor of closer relations with Berlin. The prime minister warned Ukraine against such a move, essentially suggesting that Germany would be ready to abandon Kiev in favor of a deal with Moscow at any time.

“I warn you, the Germans will always want to reach an understanding with the Russians over the heads of Central European states,” he stated, adding that Poland had “helped [Ukraine] the most at a time when the Germans wanted to send 5,000 helmets to … Kiev.” Morawiecki was referring to the first months of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, when Berlin was extremely reluctant to supply Ukraine with heavier weaponry. Since that time, Germany has sent self-propelled howitzers, air defense systems, and Western-made tanks to Ukrainian troops.

Berlin has so far not commented on Morawiecki’s allegations.

Further casualties in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow benefit nobody, says Slovak party leader Robert Fico

The Slovak Social Democracy (SMER-SD) party will not support further military aid for Ukraine, its leader, Robert Fico, told journalists on Sunday. Fico’s party took the lead in the parliamentary elections held over the weekend and is now poised to start talks about forming a government.

“Slovakia and the people of Slovakia have bigger problems than Ukraine,” he said at a press conference following the announcement of the election results. The SMER-SD won around 23% of the vote, with its closest competitor, Progressive Slovakia (PS), receiving some 18%.

When asked about his party’s stance on helping Kiev, Fico said that, if his party successfully forms a government, it would still be ready to help, but only in a humanitarian way. “We are prepared to help with the reconstruction of the state, but you know our opinion on arming Ukraine,” he said.

The SMER-SD conducted an election campaign under the slogan “Not a single round,” suggesting that it would end military assistance to Kiev. An EU and NATO member state with a population of around 5.5 million, Slovakia has already supplied Ukrainian forces with armored personnel carriers, howitzers, and its entire fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.

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Last week, Fico vowed at one of his campaign rallies that his party would not “send a single round [of ammunition] to Ukraine” if it won the election. On Sunday, the politician, who is a former prime minister, described the ongoing conflict as a great tragedy, adding that prolonging the standoff would only make things worse.

“We will do everything we can to start peace negotiations as quickly as possible,” he said, referring to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. “Further killing does not benefit anyone,” Fico added.

Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova said on Sunday that she would formally ask Fico to form a new government on Monday.

With no party set to win a majority, Slovakia will need to form a coalition government. The pro-European HLAS (Voice) party, which took third place with 14.7%, did not rule out a possible alliance with SMER-SD. Fico also received congratulations on his election victory from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who said it would “always [be] good to work together with a patriot.”

A victory by Fico and his party has reportedly sparked concerns in the US. According to Russian foreign intelligence, Washington had sought to keep the previous Slovakian government in power.