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Zelensky urges more leaders to visit Kyiv after daring visit by 3 NATO prime ministers.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the leaders of three NATO-member international locations who traveled into the war-torn capital of Ukraine for a rare assembly on Tuesday and urged others to do the identical.

The leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia who traveled to Kyiv “concern nothing,” Mr. Zelensky mentioned after the assembly, including, “I’m positive that with such buddies, with such international locations, with such neighbors and companions, we’ll actually be capable to win.”

The leaders mentioned not solely growing sanctions towards Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, but in addition “plans to rebuild our nation after the top of hostilities,” Mr. Zelensky’s workplace mentioned, projecting an air of confidence regardless of a brutal marketing campaign that has already pushed greater than two million Ukrainians to hunt refuge in neighboring international locations.

Mr. Zelensky has sought to rally worldwide assist by way of nightly movies that he posts on social media, in addition to digital conferences with world leaders — together with a speech to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.

However Tuesday’s assembly in Kyiv, which Russian forces have focused however up to now failed to beat, was a uncommon, in-person gathering for Mr. Zelensky and outdoors leaders. At the least one attendee wore a inexperienced protecting vest whereas sitting on the desk with Mr. Zelensky, in accordance with {a photograph} posted on the president’s official web site.

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Mr. Zelensky additionally invited different world leaders to affix him in Kyiv, and as soon as once more pressed allies to implement a no-fly zone over the nation, which they’ve resisted out of issues of being drawn right into a direct battle with Russia.

“I invite all buddies of Ukraine to go to Kyiv,” Mr. Zelensky mentioned in a press release posted on his official Telegram channel. “It may be harmful right here. As a result of our sky shouldn’t be but closed to Russian missiles and planes.”

He added: “You understand for positive that the eyes of all of the individuals of the world at the moment are targeted on our capital, on Ukrainians.”

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Middle East Crisis: Critically Ill Children Allowed to Leave Gaza for First Time Since May

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Sixty-eight people, including sick and injured patients and their escorts, crossed the border to get treatment, the Israeli military said. The evacuation was carried out in coordination with the U.S., Egypt and the international community.

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Taiwan issues travel advisory after China vows to execute independence supporters

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Taiwan issues travel advisory after China vows to execute independence supporters

The Taiwanese government warned its citizens not to travel to mainland China on Thursday after Beijing threatened to execute residents who support the island’s independence.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liang Wen-chieh issued the warning during a routine press conference. The Chinese government announced a new policy targeting “separatists” last week, and said it would pursue the death penalty for “diehard” supporters of Taiwanese independence.

“I want to stress: Democracy is not a crime; it’s autocracy that is the real evil. China has absolutely no right to sanction Taiwan’s people just because of the positions they hold. What’s more, China has no right to go after Taiwan people’s rights across borders,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Wednesday.

“I also want to call on China to face up to the existence of the Republic of China and have exchanges and dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected, legitimate government,” he said, using Taiwan’s formal name. “If this is not done, relations between Taiwan and China will only become more and more estranged.”

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The Taiwanese government warned its citizens not to travel to mainland China on Thursday after Beijing threatened to execute residents who support the island’s independence. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

China has long considered Taiwan to be its territory, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened to take the island by force in recent years.

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China’s Taiwan Affairs Office clarified on Wednesday that the threat of execution applies only to a small number of Taiwanese independence “diehards’ evil words and actions.”

Xi Jinping

China has long considered Taiwan to be its territory, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened to take the island by force in recent years. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)

The move is the latest escalation of tensions between Taipei and Beijing. Recent months have also seen China conduct extensive military drills surrounding the island. China has used the drills as intimidation, typically following events connecting the U.S. and Taiwan.

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China first conducted live-fire drills in 2022 after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. D-Calif., traveled to Taiwan. It was the first time a U.S. speaker visited the island in over 25 years. 

Chinese soldier looking through binoculars with a military ship in the background

Recent months have also seen China conduct extensive military drills surrounding the island, typically following events connecting the U.S. and Taiwan. (Lin Jian/Xinhua via AP)

Beijing’s execution threat comes just days after the U.S. approved the sale of $360 million in drones, missiles and other equipment to Taiwan.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Serbian police shut down cultural exchange festival with Kosovo

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Serbian police shut down cultural exchange festival with Kosovo

The festival ban comes a day after the EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said no progress had been made during talks in Brussels towards implementing an EU-backed agreement towards normalising ties between Belgrade and Pristina.

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Serbian police have banned a festival that promotes cultural exchange with Kosovo following a rally by far-right protesters outside the venue. 

In a statement, Belgrade police cited security concerns as the reasons for stopping the event from going ahead, saying they wanted to prevent ‘danger to the security of people and property and to public peace and order on a larger scale.’ 

The police statement also said that the anti-festival protest, which saw several dozen right-wing extremists gather outside the festival venue, waving Serbian flags and banners saying ‘No surrender’, had also been banned. 

Several Serbian government officials have sharply criticised the festival in recent days, describing it as anti-Serb.

While the festival has been held alternatively in Serbia and Kosovo for the past decade, this year’s ban in Serbia illustrates a general toughening of the government’s stance toward its critics.

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The Mirëdita, dobar dan festival, whose name means ‘hello’ in Albanian and Serbian, is organised by youth groups from Serbia and Kosovo and was due to open on Thursday with a theatre show from Kosovo.

According to the festival’s website the event, which was due to run for two days, aims to ‘enrich regional perspectives and foster cooperation and peacebuilding’.

No progress

The festival ban came a day after the EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said no progress had been made during talks in Brussels towards implementing an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti had met to discuss an EU-backed plan to normalise ties. However, unresolved issues, including Pristina’s demands that Belgrade hands over the suspected organisers of the Banjska attack, blocked further progress.

Speaking after the meetings, Borrell said that the European Union will continue to exert all its efforts and capacity to normalise relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

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“Kosovo was not ready for this, Kosovo was not willing to do this trilateral meeting. Serbia was ready to do it, but you need two to dance tango and we need two to sit around the table in order to continue the dialogue,” Borrell added.

Borrell said on Wednesday ahead of the meeting that a new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina would “hopefully send a different message and end in a different note.”

Brussels has warned both Belgrade and Pristina that refusal to compromise jeopardises Serbia and Kosovo’s chances of joining the bloc.

Kosovo, a former Serbian province, declared independence in 2008, a move Belgrade does not recognise.

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