World News | UN Human Rights Body Mulls Investigation

Geneva, Mar 3 (AP) The U.N.'s top human rights body is holding an urgent debate on the situation in Ukraine and the possibility of creating a panel to investigate any abuses during Russia's war with its neighbour.

The meeting is set to culminate in a vote Friday on whether to set up a three-person expert panel, following Russia's invasion last week.

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The vote by the 47-member-state body, which counts Ukraine and Russia as members, offers a bellwether of international sentiment about the Kremlin's invasion. It comes a day after the U.N. General Assembly in New York voted 141-5, with 35 abstentions, to demand an immediate halt to Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

The panel would seek to collect and analyze evidence that could be used by a court, such as the International Criminal Court, which has already launched its own investigation over Russia's invasion.

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Helsinki: In the latest economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Finnish national airline Finnair says it is planning temporary layoffs of up to 90 days for its flight crews.

That is due to the closure of Russian airspace, which is causing significant changes to long-haul traffic and is a severe financial blow for the carrier.

Meanwhile, the biggest Czech carmaker Skoda Auto says it is halting car production at its two Russian plants and all exports to Russia over aggression against Ukraine.

Skoda Auto belongs to Volkswagen Group, which has halted all its business in Russia. Russia was Skoda's second-biggest market in 2021.

Flat-pack furnishings retailer Ikea also said it was temporarily closing its operations in Russia and halting all exports and imports involving Russia and Belarus.

The Swedish group added that the decision will have a direct impact on 15,000 IKEA workers.

The tourism sector in Egypt, where nearly 20,000 Ukrainian tourists are said to be stranded, is also expected to take a hit.

Ukrainians account for the country's second-largest number of European visitors, especially to Egypt's Red Sea resorts. More than 1.4 million Ukrainian tourists reportedly visited Egypt in 2021.

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Jerusalem: Two buses carrying more than 100 Jewish refugee children from a foster home in Odesa are making their way across Europe to Berlin, where the local Jewish community will provide them with accommodation.

The children are just a few of the roughly 1 million people who have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded it last week.

Rabbi Mendy Wolff, 25, spoke to the Associated Press on Thursday as the convoy made its way across Romania, after the group crossed from Ukraine into Moldova the previous day.

He said many of 105 children, the youngest only 37 days old, lack proper documentation, which prevented them from fleeing the Black Sea port of Odesa until Wednesday.

“We cannot fly because nobody has documents,” he said. Instead they are making a roughly 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) overland trek across the continent to the German capital.

The Jewish children have received financial assistance from Jewish aid groups, and diplomatic support from Israel, Germany and other European states, who have facilitated their swift passage so that they reach Berlin before sundown on Friday, when the Jewish Sabbath begins.

“We're not making them feel for a second that they are refugees, that's our main thing,” said Wolff, an Odesa native who is fleeing his hometown.

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Brussels: A senior European Union official says that in the wake of Ukraine's formal application this week to join the bloc, bids for entry are also expected “imminently” from Moldova and Georgia.

The two eastern European countries are already part of EU outreach programs, but a membership request would be a major development in their relations with the 27-nation bloc.

Any membership application and consideration is a process that would take many years and involve fundamental political adjustments, ranging from trade, to rule of law measures and anti-corruption commitments.

The EU official who spoke Thursday asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of recent geopolitical developments after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)