Besides the loss of life and widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure, Russia's war on Ukraine has also had a profound environmental impact.

As Russia's war on Ukraine entered its 53rd day on Monday, footage showed that many trees had been burned or split open in the forests in the Irpin, Bucha, Borodyanka, and Hostomel areas, along with the surrounding villages in the Kyiv region that Ukraine retook from withdrawing Russian troops earlier this month.

In the fighting, ammunition has stuck in the trees, with unexploded shells, burnt vehicles, armored vehicles, and killed animals littering the forests.

The footage also showed the damage wrought by fuel from burned-out combat vehicles in the forests and fields.

Similar environmental scars had also been suffered in the Chernihiv region, close to Ukraine's border with Belarus and the scene of intense airstrikes./agencies

The governor of Russia's central bank said on Monday the country's economy has entered a difficult period of transformation provoked by sanctions. 

Speaking at the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, Elvira Nabiullina said Russia lost access to half of its international reserves due to sanctions.

“Now, due to sanctions, the Bank of Russia has at its disposal about half of the reserves. This does not allow to fully manage the situation with the currency in the domestic market and requires currency control. As the situation improves, we intend to reconfigure control over the movement of the currency," she said.

Further actions of the central bank will be commensurate with the level of risks, and barriers to foreign economic activity will decrease as the situation stabilizes, she promised.

Nabiullina stressed that the sanctions forced reconfiguration of the Russian economy.

“Our economy is entering a difficult period of structural changes related to sanctions. The sanctions primarily affected the financial market. Now they will increasingly begin to affect the real sectors of the economy.

“The main problems will be connected not so much with sanctions against financial institutions, but with restrictions on imports, logistics of foreign trade, and in the future, possibly, on the export of Russian products," she said.

Russia's war on Ukraine has drawn international condemnations, with the US, UK, and EU, among others, imposing a host of sanctions on Moscow.

Over 2,072 civilians have been killed and 2,818 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 4.93 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency./aa

The State of Kuwait expressed on Monday its utter condemnation and disgusted towards the acts of desecration perpetrated by Swedish extremists against the Holy Quran.

In a statement by the Foreign Ministry, Kuwait indicated that the act of burning the Quran was provocative towards Muslims around the globe and it was against all values of peace and harmony.

The statement called on the international community to take responsibility and action to stop such heinous deeds and prevent the abuse against religion./KUNA

The Social Reform Society, a Kuwaiti Charity Organization, issued a press statement about the deliberate abuse of the Holy Quran in Sweden under the pretext of freedom of expression. The text of the statement follows:

The Social Reform Society (SRS)

A statement concerning the deliberate abuse of the Holy Quran   under the pretext of freedom of expression in Sweden

In the name of Allah, praise be to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon His Messenger

The Social Reform Society (SRS) strongly condemns and denounces the deliberate abuse of the Holy Qur’an by a group of extremists from the far-right Stramkoros movement led by the Danish-Swedish extremist Rasmussen. The movement, which committed the crime of burning a copy of the Holy Qur’an in the Swedish city of Palma last Friday in a barbaric act, aiming at feeding the spirit of Hate, and provoking the feelings of Muslims in the holy month of Ramadan.

The Swedish police have done nothing effective to prevent this crime except for changing the location of the Stramkoros movement to burn the Holy Quran in order to avoid frictions under the pretext of freedom of expression. The Swedish police thus, enshrine the double European standards that prevent protests against Zionist crimes in Palestine concerning them anti-Semitism.

The Social Reform Society calls on all international, Islamic and Arab organizations to carry out their duty to criminalize incitement to hatred, discrimination and hostility against Islam and Muslims. The (SRS) also condemns all unacceptable acts and calls for the deterrence of those who have carried out such acts in order to preserve the spirit of peaceful coexistence between peoples and to uphold the values of justice and tolerance advocated by Islam.  

The (SRS) appreciates the condemnation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait in response to the popular and official Kuwaiti stance against the abuse of the Holy Quran and Islamic sanctities.

Social Reform Society (SRS)

Monday 17 Ramadan 1443 AH

18 April 2022

Arab and Muslim countries have strongly condemned the burning of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden, as a provocation to the feelings of Muslims, a grave insult to their sanctities, and an incitement to hatred and violence.

On Thursday, April 14, the far-right group, which is led by Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran, in southern Linkoping in Sweden, under police protection.

Following the burning of a copy of the Quran, Sweden witnessed clashes between police and protesters in the past days, during which a number of policemen were injured, and several cars were set on fire.

A Viral video shows youngsters smashing windows of police automobiles and shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls the act a “deliberate abuse” of the Holy Quran by extremists in Sweden.

In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the importance of spreading values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence.

UAE

Presidential advisor in the UAE, Anwar Gargash, considered the incidents of hatred and intolerance against Islam in Sweden a threat to the principle of coexistence, expressing his rejection of them.

Gargash said on his official page on Twitter, “The wave of hatred and intolerance that Sweden is witnessing against our true Islamic religion is rejected and poses a danger to its adoption of an ideology rejecting the principles of coexistence.”

The UAE chose to follow the path of tolerance and reflects positively on its multicultural society, he added.

Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry affirmed, that these abuses constitute a serious provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world and incitement against them that undermine the values ​​of coexistence and tolerance.

Qatar

Qatari Foreign Ministry described the incident as heinous, considering it “an act of incitement and a dangerous provocation to the feelings of more than two billion Muslims in the world.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed Qatar’s total rejection of all forms of hate speech based on belief, race or religion.

Bahrain

Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Bahrain’s denunciation and strong condemnation of extremists in Sweden burning copies of the Holy Qur’an, considering it a “provocative act of Muslims’ feelings, a grave insult to their sanctities, and incitement to hatred and violence.”

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that “such hateful practices are incompatible with freedom of religion and belief and coexistence.”

Egypt

In the statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Egypt affirms its refusal to prejudice religious principles and beliefs, whatever they are, and to engage in provocative practices that contradict all human values ​​and principles, and stresses the need to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief as a basic human right.”

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Jordan

For its part, the official spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Haitham Abu Al-Foul, said, “This act is condemned and rejected, and it contradicts all religious values ​​and principles, human rights principles and basic freedoms, and fuels feelings of hatred and violence, and threatens peaceful coexistence.”

Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry demanded, on Sunday, the Swedish authorities, respond strongly and frankly to the burning of a copy of the Quran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, in a statement, that “his country condemns the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden by a racist Danish person under the pretext of freedom of expression under the auspices of the Swedish police.”

Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chargé d’Affairs of Sweden in Baghdad, Hakan Roth, following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.
Muslim World League

The Muslim World League condemned what it described as “the absurd and shameful act carried out by some extremists in Sweden”.

Arab countries called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to stop such unacceptable actions, work to spread the values ​​of tolerance, coexistence, and dialogue, and prevent abuse of all monotheistic religions.

The ‘Amir of Humanity’ Volunteer Team organized the longest Iftar table at the Friday Market recently under the auspices of the Voluntary Work Department in the Public Authority for Youth, reports Al-Qabas daily. In a statement to the daily, founder and head of the team Ali Karam revealed this is the third year they are holding the event. “It started in 2018 in Souk Mubarakiya where 6,000 people had Iftar.

In 2019, it was held in the Friday Market with 9,000 beneficiaries,” he added. After a two-year hiatus due to the Corona pandemic; the event was held once again on Friday with 11,200 beneficiaries. Many volunteer teams were part of the preparations for the event, Karam concluded./AT

   In the face of waning fears of COVID- 19 infections and the country taking necessary health measures by vaccinating a large number of citizens and residents, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation lifting travel restrictions the concerned authorities at the airport are preparing to organize summer flights starting next May, the first in nearly two years, reports Al-Qabas daily. The plan for summer flight schedules this year is different as airlines are keen to fly to new travel destinations linking Kuwait to the world, which will lead to a significant revival of travel, also because the Eid Al-Fitr festival coincides with the summer vacation.

According to an airport source the current summer season will be different and more popular than the past two years, which saw the highest rate of reluctance to travel due to severe restrictions and intense health requirements in many airports around the world. The source pointed out that the airlines operating at the airport exceed 42 and they have presented their summer flight schedules for this summer season to choose new and diverse travel destinations that witness high demand from travelers, especially tourist destinations.

The source revealed the most popular travel destinations are Istanbul, Antalya, Mycanos, Bodrum, Paris, Tbilisi, Trabzon, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai, Sarajevo, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Bangkok, Sharm El Sheikh, Baku, Frankfurt, and Riyadh. In the meantime, the operational sectors at the airport are preparing to start the countdown to raise the degree of readiness to receive travelers who will spend their summer vacation outside the country. The source pointed out that the plan of the agencies operating at the airport depends on improving the general performance of the operational and support sectors, as well as developing and improving services provided to passengers, raising work efficiency and trying to accommodate the increase in the number of passengers and users of Kuwait International Airport.

The source added the incoming and departure halls and accompanying services are equipped to ensure the speedy completion of work, coordination with customs and the Ministry of the Interior to shorten entry and departure procedures, and the introduction of additional “counters” for incoming and outgoing passengers, especially during peak times, and the formation of a 24-hour working team to follow up the progress of business, ensuring that the required services are provided to travelers to the fullest, and submitting periodic reports./AT