Vatican court hits climate activists with tough fines

TWO climate protesters who glued themselves to the base of an ancient sculpture in the Vatican Museums have been ordered to pay damages of 28,000 euros ($30,250), activists said Tuesday.

The two Italian environmentalists—members of the Last Generation group – were also handed suspended prison sentences for sticking their hands to the base of the Laocoon statue.

“Judges at the Vatican City State Tribunal sentenced Ester (Goffi) and Guido (Viero) to nine months (suspended) and a fine of 1,620 euros, and ordered them to pay damages of more than 28,000 euros,” Last Generation said.

The group said it would appeal.

The stunt was one of a number of eye-catching acts in recent months designed to focus attention on the urgency of weaning the world off fossil fuels.

During their protest in August 2022, Goffi and Viero unfurled a banner reading “Last Generation. No gas, referring to their risk to democratic institutions and human rights.

He said that the code of conduct should be based on a commitment to information integrity, human rights and support for independent media.

“We must learn from the mistakes of the past. Digital platforms were launched into the world without sufficient awareness or assessment of the potential damage to societies and individuals,” Guterres said.

“The era of Silicon Valley’s ‘move fast and break things’ philosophy must be brought to a close.” AFP

22 US soldiers hurt in chopper ‘mishap’

TWENTY-TWO US soldiers were injured in a helicopter accident in northeastern Syria at the weekend that did not involve any reported enemy fire, US Central Command said Tuesday.

“A helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria resulted in injuries of various degrees to 22 US service members” on Sunday, Centcom said in a statement.

“The service members are receiving treatment for their injuries and 10 have been evacuated to higher care facilities,” it said.

“The cause of the incident is under investigation, although no enemy fire was reported.”

The United States has about 1,000 troops deployed in Syria as part of international efforts to combat jihadists, and periodically carries out strikes targeting militants in the country.

US bases have been repeatedly targeted in the past year, with cells linked to the Islamic State group claiming responsibility for some of them.

In March the United States carried out air strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria after a US contractor was killed in a drone attack on a US-led coalition base near the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria.

At the time, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least 19 people were killed in the US air strikes.

The conflict in Syria has killed around half a million people since it began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, spiralling into a complex battlefield involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists. AFP

3 killed in wave of Russian strikes

A RUSSIAN missile strike killed three people and wounded 32 in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday, authorities said, as air attacks were reported in Kyiv and other cities.

In Kryvyi Rih, the birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a five-storey building was destroyed, said the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region that includes the city.

“According to initial reports, three of its residents died. 25 people were injured,” Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. “There are still people under the rubble.” no coal” under the marble statue, which was not touched.

Lysak said three cruise missiles were shot down but others got through. Air raid alerts were sounded across Ukraine as the capital Kyiv and the northeast city of Kharkiv also came under missile and drone attacks.

“According to initial reports, the enemy used Kh-101/555 cruise missiles,” the Kyiv city military administration said.

“The Vatican, which is one of the world’s last remaining absolute monarchies, proves by this verdict how hypocritical it is,” the group said.

It said the punishment—“for a few drops of glue on a block of marble underneath the Laocoon” – was “out of proportion and absurd,” saying the protest was “simply to highlight what the pope has written and advised.”

Pope Francis, who has been outspoken in his commitment to environmental concerns, regularly stresses how crucial it is to preserve the planet for future generations.

The Ancient Roman statue of Laocoon shows the mythical priest and his sons being crushed to death by giant sea serpents after trying in vain to warn the Trojans of an impending catastrophe – the wooden horse gifted to them by the Greeks. AFP

Ukraine eyes Australian F-18 fighter jets to help war effort

UKRAINE has asked Australia about the condition of dozens of retired F-18 fighter jets, the country’s ambassador told AFP on Tuesday, eyeing a potential weapons transfer that could significantly boost Kyiv’s airpower.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko said an initial request had been made about the state of an estimated 41 planes stored at an air base north of Sydney. “There has been a request for information,” Myroshnychenko said.

“Ukraine is looking at fighter jet capabilities, including this one.”

Ukraine recently won long-sought White House approval to acquire advanced “fourth generation” US-made aircraft such as the F-16.

Although decades old, the F-16 would be a massive upgrade on Ukraine’s stock of Soviet-era MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets – posing a potent threat to Russian air and ground forces.

Several Western nations have signalled an interest in supplying Ukraine with F-16s, but Ukraine’s interest in Australia’s jets is the first time F-18s have been publicly discussed.

Mick Ryan, a strategist and retired Australian major general, told AFP that the F-18s could help “level the playing field” against Russia’s larger and betterequipped air force—helping prevent strikes on Ukrainian towns, cities and critical infrastructure.

“The key capabilities the Ukrainians would be after would be longer range sensors and longer range weapons than they currently have with MiG-29s,” Ryan said.

“If they can level the playing field with the Russians in this regard, they can push missile launching aircraft further away from Ukraine and push back ground attack aircraft as well.”

Ukraine currently has an estimated 82 fighter and attack jets, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance publication.

But any F-18 deal appears some way off, requiring diplomatic and logistical cooperation between Canberra, Washington and Kyiv.

It is unclear how many of the F-18s are still operable, although one source familiar with the negotiations put the figure at between 12 and 16 jets. AFP

“All enemy targets in the airspace around Kyiv were detected and successfully destroyed by the forces and means of air defence,” it said, adding there was no immediate information on any casualties or damage.

The fresh wave of air attacks came after Ukraine claimed to have retaken several villages and made advances in its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

“More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded,” Zelensky said on Twitter.

“The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih continues.”

In Kharkiv, civilian infrastructure was hit in a drone attack, said the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.

“According to initial reports, a utility company in the Kyivskyi district, as well as a warehouse in Saltivskyi district got damaged. A fire broke out as a result of the explosion on the latter,” he said. AFP