20/08/2025

WEDNESDAY | AUG 20, 2025

9

Zelensky ready to meet Putin

o Massive Russian attack reported

holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk,” said Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region. The attack was the largest so far this month with Russia launching 270 drones and 10 missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force. Maletskyi said scores of blasts shook the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure, leaving hundreds of people in the Poltava region without power. The Ukrainian air force said it downed 230 drones and six missiles but recorded strikes at 16 locations. – AFP/Reuters Israel studying Hamas reply to ceasefire proposal CAIRO: Israel is studying Hamas’ response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said yesterday of a potential deal for a 60 day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave. Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan. The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official. Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well. The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75% of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine. The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details. Israel’s plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have since stirred alarm abroad and among the estimated one million people presently living there. On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians yesterday, according to Gaza health officials. Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighbourhood on Gaza City’s outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing two women and a man, medics said. Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling. The Israeli military said it was checking the report. On Friday, it said its forces were operating in nearby Zeitoun to locate weapons, tunnels and gunmen. “It has been one of the worst nights in Sabra and Gaza City as the explosions are heard throughout the city,” said Nasra Ali, 54, a mother of five, who lives in Sabra. – Reuters

America gives a clear signal that it will be among the countries that will assist, coordinate and also be participants in security guarantees for Ukraine.” Zelensky said those plans would be “formalised in some way in the next week or 10 days”. After the meeting on Monday, Trump said he telephoned Putin and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents, with the aim of reaching a peace deal. “At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelensky was

meetings,” Zelensky said, according to a statement put out by his office. “I was able to show many things, even on the map, to all American colleagues regarding the situation on the battlefield.” Rather than concessions from Ukraine, the summit focused on arranging security guarantees in the event of a peace deal, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters afterwards. Trump said the guarantees “would be provided by the various European Countries (in) coordination with the United States of America.” Zelensky added that “it is important that the United States of

leaders supported me, that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin,” Zelensky said following the summit. Zelensky has come under increasing pressure to cede territory to end the grinding war, as Russia makes a series of advances. Ahead of the White House meeting, Trump had pushed Ukraine to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining Nato – both key demands made by Putin. But Zelensky stressed he had been able to present a clearer picture of the battlelines to Trump, who he met in a one-on-one in the Oval Office. “This was the best of our

WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he was willing to meet his Russian counterpart to end the war. Speaking to reporters after talks with US President Donald Trump and several European leaders at the White House, Zelensky said he was ready for what would be his first face to-face with Vladimir Putin since Moscow’s invasion nearly three and a half years ago. “I confirmed, and all European

Historic Swedish church relocates on trailers KIRUNA: With great fanfare, a historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden’s most beautiful buildings began its slow move from its longtime home in the Arctic town of Kiruna yesterday to allow the expansion of Europe’s biggest underground mine. allowing big yellow beams to be placed underneath so the building could be jacked up on the trailers. The move has generated widespread interest, with more than 10,000 people expected to line the streets of the town of 18,000 people. Kiruna’s old wooden church sits on a structure relocation rig with wheels for a two-day relocation trip to a new site. – REUTERSPIC

moved before, but usually in ports or industrial areas – not through small towns. The roads on the route have been widened, from 9m to 24m, and levelled to provide a smooth ride, a process that took a year, according to LKAB. The company offered to either financially compensate everyone affected by the town’s relocation, or to rebuild their homes or buildings. “But when it came to the church, we decided it was best to move it in one piece. We saw the value in that,” said LKAB project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson. “It is with great reverence we have undertaken this project. “This is not just any building, it’s a church.” The structure has been “thoroughly examined ahead of the move to protect its cultural assets in the best possible way, to ensure that the altarpiece and organ in particular are moved with care,” the mining company said. Both the altarpiece – painted by Sweden’s Prince Eugen (1865-1947), a pastel landscape inspired by his trips to Italy’s Tuscany and western Sweden – and the large organ with its more than 2,000 pipes have been meticulously wrapped and protected for the journey. The bell tower, which stands separately next to the church, will be moved next week. – AFP

Swedish television was broadcasting the entire journey live – a new iteration of the “slow TV” trend – with 30 cameras set up along the route. The town’s relocation process began almost two decades ago and is expected to continue for years to come. The new town centre was officially inaugurated in September 2022. The relocation of the church alone is expected to cost 500 million kronor (RM219.7 million) and is being paid for by LKAB. Designed by Swedish architect Gustaf Wickman, the imposing structure, which measures 40m tall, is a mix of influences and includes designs inspired by the region’s indigenous Sami people on the pews. The neo-Gothic exterior features slanting roofs and windows on each side, while its dark interior has elements of national romanticism as well as an Art Nouveau altarpiece. The church is one of 23 cultural buildings relocated in the Kiruna move. LKAB has called the relocation “a unique event in world history”. Other larger, heavier objects have been

Kiruna’s entire town centre is being moved because of the giant LKAB iron ore mine that dominates the region, whose ever deeper burrowing over the years has weakened the ground, increasing the risk of collapse in some parts. Kiruna Kyrka, an imposing 672-tonne Swedish Lutheran church from 1912, is being moved 5km on remote-controlled flatbed trailers, inching along at a pace of half-a kilometre an hour over two days to the new Kiruna town. The complex and costly logistical operation kicked off after a blessing by Bishop Asa Nystrom and Vicar Lena Tjarnberg, with the trailers’ 220 wheels slowly pulling out just after 8am (2pm in Malaysia) under sunny blue skies. One of the trickiest parts of the journey was the start, officials said, with the 1,200-tonne convoy required to make a turn and roll down a slight incline to reach the main road it was to travel on. In preparation of yesterday’s move, the ground around the church had been dug out,