September 23, 2024 - The Entrepreneur Times

Ukraine Accuses Russia of Violating Maritime Law

Posted on September 23, 2024July 9, 2025 by Gaurav

THE HAGUE: Ukraine Accuses Russia of Violating Maritime Law, Ukraine accused Russia at an international court on Monday (Sep 23) of flouting sea law by trying to keep the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and annexed Crimea under its sole control.

Kyiv began proceedings at the Hague-based intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 after Moscow began building the 19km Crimea Bridge link to the peninsula it seized from Ukraine two years previously.

The bridge is crucial for the supply of fuel, food and other products to Crimea, where the port of Sevastopol is the historic home base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and became a major supply route for troops after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Kyiv, which wants the bridge demolished and has targeted it with attacks, says Russia built it low to keep international ships out while allowing smaller Russian ones through the strait connecting the Sea of Azov and Black Sea.

“Russia wants to take the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait for itself,” Ukraine’s representative Anton Korynevych told arbitrators at the opening of hearings.

Russia dismissed Ukraine’s case as groundless and hopeless.

Its representative Gennady Kuzmin denied any Russian interference with navigation and said anyway the arbitration court had no right to rule in the case. “Besides the lack of jurisdiction over these claims, they are simply wrong,” he said.

The Kerch Strait case is one of multiple proceeding at international courts and institutions that Ukraine is pressing against Russia.

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Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets Urges Safety

Posted on September 23, 2024July 9, 2025 by Gaurav

JERUSALEM: Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets Urges Safety, Israel unleashed its most widespread wave of air strikes against Hezbollah on Monday (Sep 23) and warned Lebanese citizens to evacuate areas where the armed group was storing weapons, moving closer to all-out war.

“We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon, the actions will continue until we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video published by his office on Monday.

“These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure.”

He was speaking after the Israeli military targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon’s south, eastern Bekaa valley and the northern region near Syria.

The latest attacks came amid some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire in a conflict raging alongside the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Earlier, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that air strikes on houses in Lebanon, in which “Hezbollah hid weapons” were imminent.

Residents of southern Lebanon received calls from a Lebanese number ordering them to immediately distance themselves 1,000m from any post used by Hezbollah, a Reuters reporter in the south, who received the call, said.

Lebanon’s information minister Ziad Makary said his ministry had received a similar call ordering the building to evacuate, but said the ministry would do no such thing. “This is a psychological war,” Makary told Reuters.

A Lebanese person living in Beirut’s Manara area said her family received a call on their landline.

The Saudi embassy is very close, like two minutes walking distance from us, but apparently they are targeting everyone now. It was a long 30-40 second message.”

“Hezbollah is endangering you. Endangering you and your families,” Hagari said.

The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon had “seen an intensification of bombardments throughout the area of operations, close to the Blue Line but also deeper south,” its spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Reuters, referring to the line demarcating the Lebanese-Israeli border.

NEXT: South Africa Aims to Reform Black Empowerment System

South Africa Aims to Reform Black Empowerment System

Posted on September 23, 2024July 9, 2025 by Gaurav

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa Aims to Reform Black Empowerment System, The head of South Africa’s flagship Black economic empowerment plans to introduce additional incentives and potential fines to improve corporate participation and curb exploitation of the system meant to tackle the country’s gross inequality, he said.

The African National Congress, which had ruled unchallenged for 30 years until it lost its parliamentary majority in May elections, is under intense pressure to improve the lives of Black people left disadvantaged by decades of white minority rule.

The empowerment law enacted in 2003 created a scorecard system that encourages companies to hire and promote Black people by offering them tax breaks and access to government contracts.

Two decades later, unemployment is five times higher for Black people than for white people and income inequality is the worst in the world, according to the World Bank, and critics say the empowerment policy has not worked.

“There’s no society that can be viable with (this) level of inequality,” Tshediso Matona, head of the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Commission told Reuters.

Under the voluntary programme, companies earn points in categories such as Black ownership, management control and skills development.

However, Matona says some companies inflate their scores by falsely listing Black people as managers, a practice commonly known in South Africa as “fronting”, a crime under the law.

The commission, which refers cases of infringement to state prosecutors, has received 1,348 complaints of fronting since 2017, said Matona. In 2022, only 141 of about 400 listed companies submitted a report.

Matona said he hoped to enhance company incentives for compliance while “naming and shaming” and possibly fining those which fail to submit the reports.

“On this one (Black empowerment), we are unequivocal,” Ramaphosa told reporters over a week ago, describing racial inequality as an “existential challenge” for South Africa.

NEXT: Kremer Out for Rugby Championship Decider

Kremer Out for Rugby Championship Decider

Posted on September 23, 2024July 11, 2025 by Gaurav

BUENOS AIRES : Kremer Out for Rugby Championship Decider, Influential Argentina loose forward Marcos Kremer will miss his country’s decisive Rugby Championship clash against South Africa this weekend after hurting his knee in last Saturday’s home win over the Springboks, the Argentine Rugby Union said on Monday.

Kremer hobbled off midway through the second half of Argentina’s 29-28 home victory over the World Cup winners in Santiago del Estero and was left out of the 28-man squad for South Africa where the two countries meet again in Nelspruit on Saturday.

The experienced Kremer’s absence will be a blow to the Pumas’ hopes of another upset win as they need a bonus point victory at the Mbombela Stadium to snatch the Rugby Championship away from top of the table South Africa.

The Springboks have a five-point lead over Argentina in the standings going into the final round of this year’s southern hemisphere championship.

Kremer, who has 72 caps, is the only omission among the forwards from the squad for last week’s test but among the backs Ignacio Mendy, Matias Orlando and Justo Piccardo have been cut for the trip as the size of the squad is reduced to 28.

Squad:

Backs: Tomas Albornoz, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Gonzalo Bertranou, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Santiago Chocobares, Lucio Cinti, Bautista Delguy, Gonzalo Garcia, Rodrigo Isgro, Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni

Forwards: Bautista Bernasconi, Ignacio Calles, Pedro Delgado, Thomas Gallo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Santiago Grondona, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Franco Molina, Julian Montoya, Joaquin Oviedo, Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo, Ignacio Ruiz, Joel Sclavi, Lucio Sordoni.

NEXT: Beijing Condemns US Trade Ban on Cars

Beijing Condemns US Trade Ban on Cars

Posted on September 23, 2024July 11, 2025 by Gaurav

BEIJING: Beijing Condemns US Trade Ban on Cars, China warned the United States on Monday (Sep 23) not to take “discriminatory actions” against its firms, following reports Washington is planning to ban the sale of vehicles using Chinese and Russian technology.

Bloomberg and other media reported Sunday, citing sources, that the United States was mulling new rules that would ban hardware and software made in China from its vehicles.

Asked about the reports, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China urged “the US to respect market principles and provide an open, fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises”.

“China opposes the US’s broadening of the concept of national security and the discriminatory actions taken against Chinese companies and products,” Lin said.

“China will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” he added.

The rules, if confirmed, would mark the latest escalation of a simmering trade row between the US and China.

In May, Washington unveiled steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports like electric vehicles and semiconductors.

The tariff hikes hit US$18 billion worth of Chinese imports, targeting strategic sectors like EVs, batteries, critical minerals and medical products, the White House said.

Apart from tariff increases including those on solar cells, the US Trade Representative’s office confirmed that a 50 per cent duty on semiconductors – a sharp rise from before – would start in 2025.

US President Joe Biden has accused Beijing of “cheating” rather than competing on trade.

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