Brussels/Moscow, June 2
Russia’s envoy to NATO on Monday accused the Western alliance of encouraging the use of force by the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine and of hampering efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, Russian news agency RIA reported.

RIA quoted Alexander Grushko, who met ambassadors of NATO member states in Brussels, as saying “unprecedented” activity by the alliance near Russia’s borders was adding to tension and could undermine existing security arrangements.

At a meeting that showed the sides were “far apart” on the Ukraine crisis, which has brought ties to a post-Cold War low, NATO envoys accused Russia of backing armed rebels in Ukraine, an alliance spokeswoman said. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia in April to protest its annexation of Crimea, but left the door open to contacts at ambassadorial level or higher in order to allow the two sides to discuss ways out of the crisis.

The Western military alliance has sought to reassure eastern European allies alarmed by Russia’s takeover of Crimea by stepping up exercises and sending more fighter aircraft and ships to the region. “We have noticed unprecedented NATO activity near Russia’s borders. It is excessive, inappropriate, and weakens stability, security and predictability in the Euro-Atlantic region,” RIA quoted Grushko as saying.

He said “demonstrations of military muscle and calls for increased military spending” were “a dead-end street. These actions are fraught with increased tension ... and the erosion of the existing security system in the region.”

Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko and the pro-Western authorities in Kiev have defied Russia’s calls for an end to the government’s military operation against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“NATO is providing Kiev ... with technical support, thus encouraging the continuation of forceful actions,” Grushko was quoted as saying, adding that the alliance shared the blame for “the escalation of the situation” in eastern Ukraine.

A NATO spokeswoman said at the meeting in Brussels “it was very clear that the views on the crisis in Ukraine remain far apart and NATO allies repeated their very strong and clear position on the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea.” — Reuters

Kabul, June 2
The Afghan President is angry at being kept in the dark over a deal to free five Taliban leaders in exchange for a captured US soldier, and accuses Washington of failing to back a peace plan for the war-torn country, a senior source said on Monday.

The five prisoners were flown to Qatar on Sunday as part of a secret agreement to release Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who left Afghanistan for Germany on the same day. The only known US prisoner of war in Afghanistan, Bergdahl had been held captive for five years.

“The president is now even more distrustful of US intentions in the country,” said the source close to President Hamid Karzai’s palace in Kabul, who declined to be identified. “He is asking: How come the prisoner exchange worked out so well, when the Afghan peace process failed to make any significant progress?”

Karzai has backed peace talks with the hardline Islamist Taliban movement, which ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 and has fought a bloody insurgency since then against U.S.-led forces in the country. But they have come to little so far, and the group moved swiftly to dash hopes that the prisoner swap would rekindle negotiations between it and the Afghan government.

“It won’t help the peace process in any way, because we don’t believe in the peace process,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Sunday. The official close to the palace also said Karzai was worried about further deals being cut without his knowledge.

US ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham, speaking to reporters in Kabul, said the Karzai administration had been made aware of the impending prisoners’ swap. “It’s not behind the government’s back. The government’s known that we’re trying to (do) this for a long time, and they agreed to it and they supported it,” he said. — Reuters

Benghazi, June 2
Fierce fighting between Islamists and a rogue Libyan General killed 16 persons in Benghazi today, triggering fears of an all-out war as hospitals urged citizens to donate blood.

Officials at two hospitals in the eastern city, the birthplace of the NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, said at least 11 soldiers and five civilians were killed, and 26 people wounded.

An air force commander said the clashes erupted when three Islamist groups, including Ansar al-Sharia, attacked a base of elite forces who support the renegade General, Khalifa Haftar.

Images posted on the Internet showed army assault helicopters firing missiles at suspected Islamist targets.

The fighting was the bloodiest since 76 persons were killed in mid-May when Haftar unleashed an offensive dubbed “Operation Dignity” to purge Libya of Islamists he brands “terrorists”.

It triggered panic in Benghazi, Libya’s second city where hospitals appealed to people to donate blood and doctors called on the combatants to spare the lives of civilians.

“Benghazi is suffering, people are fed up, spare them,” the head of the Benghazi Medical Centre, Doctor Leila Buigiguis, said in remarks broadcast on television. Residents cowered indoors and many shops and businesses were closed as gunfire rang out and explosions shook Benghazi, witnesses said.

Haftar spokesman Mohamed al-Hijazi called on residents in combat zones across Benghazi to evacuate, in an apparent warning that the fighting could escalate.

The latest bloodshed comes a day after Haftar’s forces launched fresh air raids on Islamists in Benghazi, with one strike targeting a meeting of Ansar al-Sharia, one of his aides said. — AFP 

Madrid, June 2
Spain's King Juan Carlos, who led Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy but faced royal scandals amid the nation's near financial meltdown, announced today he will abdicate in favour of his son, making way for a "new generation." The king told Spaniards in a nationwide address that he first started thinking seriously about giving up the throne when he turned 76 in January.

He said today that the 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe is ready for the post and will "open a new era of hope combining his acquired experience and the drive of a new generation."

The abdication was first announced by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who did not say when the handover would happen because the government must now craft a law creating a legal mechanism for the abdication and for Felipe's assumption of power.

Juan Carlos has been on the throne for 39 years and was a hero to many for shepherding Spain's democratic and economic transformation, but has had repeated health problems in recent years.

His longstanding popularity took a big blow following royal scandals, including an elephant-shooting trip he took in the middle of Spain's financial crisis during which he broke his right hip and had to be flown from Botswana back to Spain aboard a private jet for medical treatment.

The king's image was also tarnished by the investigation of his son-in-law, who is suspected of embezzling large amounts in public contracts.

His daughter Princess Cristina in January was forced to testify in the fraud and money-laundering case targeting her husband Inaki Urdangarin, an Olympic handball medalist turned businessman. She became the first Spanish royal to be questioned in court since Juan Carlos took the throne.

In his speech the king did not mention any of the scandals, and played down his health issues.

Felipe would presumably take the title King Felipe VI. He has a law degree from Madrid's Autonomous University and obtained a masters in international relations from Georgetown University in the United States.

Felipe is married to Princess Letizia, a former television journalist, and they have two daughters. Like his father, Felipe has travelled the globe trying to maintain Spain's influence especially in former Latin American colonies, while seeking to promote the nation's international business interests. — AP

Kabul, June 2
An Indian aid worker was today abducted from Herat in Afghanistan, days after the Indian consulate in the province was attacked by heavily-armed gunmen.

The worker, who was working with a charity there, was abducted earlier in the day, according to top official sources. More information was awaited about the identity and other details of the Indian national. Confirming the abduction, the spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said, “Indian national working with an NGO in Herat province of Afghanistan has been kidnapped. Our Mission is pursuing the matter with local authorities.” — PTI