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Russian strikes battered the northeast Ukraine region of Kharkiv Thursday, killing at least five people, hours ahead of the first face-to-face meeting since the start of the war between the Turkish and Ukrainian leaders.

Moscow, meanwhile, denied it had deployed any heavy weapons at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine where a recent escalation in fighting has increased fears of a nuclear disaster.

The head of the Kharkiv region Oleg Synegubov said Moscows forces had launched eight missiles from Russian territory at around 0430 local time (0130 GMT) striking across the city.

Three people died, including a child. Eight people, including two children, were rescued, the emergency services said.

Mr. Synegubov posted images from the scene of one strike showing the smouldering remains of several burnt out buildings and twisted wreckage of destroyed vehicles nearby.

In separate strikes on the town of Krasnograd south west of Kharkiv, bombardments that damaged residential buildings left two dead and two more injured, he said. Kharkiv. 175 days of horror. Daily terror, missile strikes on residential areas and civilians, a senior presidential aide, Mykhaylo Podolyak, wrote on social media.

The strikes in the war-scarred east of the country come a day after bombardments killed at least seven in the city and as the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN chief Antonio Guterres were convening in the western city of Lviv.

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The Hindu

LVIV Turkey's leader and the UN chief met in Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in a high-level bid to slow down a war raging for nearly six months with minimal results, reports claim.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would follow up with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, given that most of the matters discussed would require the Kremlin's agreement.

With the meetings held at such a high level it was the first visit to Ukraine by Erdogan since the war broke out and the second by Guterres some had hoped for breakthroughs, if not toward an overall peace, then at least on specific issues. But none was apparent.

Meeting in the western city of Lviv, far from the front lines, the leaders discussed such things as expanding exchanges of prisoners of war and arranging for UN atomic energy experts to visit and help secure Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is in the middle of fierce fighting that has raised fears of a catastrophe.

Erdogan has positioned himself as a go-between in an effort to stop the fighting. While Turkey is a member of NATO, its wobbly economy is reliant on Russia for trade, and it has tried to steer a middle course between the two combatants.

On the broader topic of peace efforts, the Turkish president urged the international community after the talks not to abandon diplomatic efforts to end the war that has killed tens of thousands and forced more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes.

He repeated that Turkey is willing to act as a "mediator and facilitator" and added, "I remain convinced that the war will end at the negotiating table."

In March, Turkey hosted talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but the effort to end the hostilities failed.

One major topic at the talks in Lviv was the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the complex.

Accusing Moscow of "nuclear blackmail," Zelensky has demanded that Russian troops leave the plant and that a team from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency be allowed in.

"The area needs to be demilitarized, and we must tell it as it is: Any potential damage in Zaporizhzhia is suicide," Guterres said at a news conference.

Zelenskyy and the UN chief agreed Thursday on arrangements for an IAEA mission to the plant, according to the president's website.

But it was not immediately clear whether the Kremlin would consent to the proposed terms. As for a pullout of troops, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said earlier that that would leave the plant "vulnerable."

Concerns about the plant mounted Thursday when Russian and Ukrainian authorities accused each other of plotting to attack the site and then blame the other side.

Guterres used the talks in Lviv to name General Carlos dos Santos Cruz of Brazil to lead a previously announced UN fact-finding mission to the Olenivka prison, where 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in an explosion in July. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each another for the blast.

An increase in grain exports was also on the agenda on Thursday. Earlier this summer, the UN and Turkey helped broker an agreement clearing the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tonnes of corn and other grain stuck in its Black Sea ports since the Russian invasion.

The blockage has worsened world food shortages, driven up prices and heightened fears of famine, especially in Africa. Yet even with the deal, only a trickle of Ukrainian grain has made it out some 600,000 tons by Turkey's estimate.

Zelenskyy said Thursday that he had proposed expanding the shipments. Guterres, for his part, touted the operation's success but added, "There is a long way to go before this will be translated into the daily life of people at their local bakery and in their markets." Euronews

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Saudi Gazette

The United Kingdom is in a period of national mourning, marking the passing of our head of state, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Global media has been transfixed, reporting on the minutiae of every aspect of the ascension of the new monarch and the commemoration of our former head of state. While the pageantry has been consuming, the constitutional process addictive (yes I am an addict) and the public grief tangible the traditions and formalities have also highlighted challenges in British and global society especially with regards to freedom of expression.

We have witnessed people being arrested for protesting against the monarchy. While the protests could be considered distasteful I certainly think they are that doesnt mean that they are illegal and that the police should move against them. Public protest is a legitimate campaigning tool and is protected in British law. As ever, no one has the right not to be offended. And protest is, by its very nature, disruptive, challenging and typically at odds with the status quo. It is therefore all the more important that the right to peacefully protest is protected.

While I was appalled to see the arrests, I have been heartened in recent days at the almost universal condemnation of the actions of the police and the statements of support for freedom of expression and protest in the UK, from across the political system.

What this chapter has confirmed is that democracies, great and small, need to be constantly vigilant against threats to our core human rights which can so easily be undermined. This week our right to freedom of expression and the right to protest was threatened and the immediate response was a universal defence. Something we should cherish and celebrate because it wont be long before we need to utilise our collective rights to free speech again.

Which brings me onto the need to protest and what that can look like, even on the bleakest of days. On Monday, the largest state funeral of my lifetime is being held in London. Over 2,000 dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in Westminster Abbey. The heads of state of Russia, Belarus, Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela and Myanmar were not invited given current diplomatic tensions. While I completely welcome their exclusion from the global club of acceptability, it does highlight who was deemed acceptable to invite.

Representatives from China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, North Korea and Sri Lanka will all be in attendance, all of whom have shown a complete disregard for some of the core human rights that so many of us hold dear. Can you imagine the conversation between Bolsonaro and Erdogan? Or the ambassador to Iran and the vice president of China?

While I truly believe that no one should picket a funeral the very idea is abhorrent to me that doesnt mean that there are no other ways of protesting against the actions of repressive regimes and their leadership, who will be in the UK in the coming days. In fact the British Parliament has shown us the way by banning representatives of the Chinese Communist Party from attending the lying in state of Her Majesty as a protest at the sanctions currently imposed on British parliamentarians for their exposure of the acts of genocide happening against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province. This was absolutely the right thing to do and I applaud the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon Lindsay Hoyle MP, for taking such a stance.

Effective protest needs to be imaginative, relevant and take people with you highlighting the core values that we share and why others are a threat to them. It can be private or public. It can tell a story or mark a moment. But ultimately successful protests can lead to real change. Even if it takes decades. Which is why we will defend, cherish and promote the right to protest and the right to freedom of expression in every corner of the planet, as a real vehicle for delivering progressive change.

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"Imagine the conversation between Bolsonaro and Erdogan" - Index on Censorship Index on Censorship - Index on Censorship

While his countrys economic crisis deepens not least due to his reckless policies Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and meddling in the Russian-Ukraine war. Hes spent the week trying to raise his international stature, restoring diplomatic relations with Israel and participating in high-level talks in Lviv which went nowhere. This is unlikely to end well for Erdogan at next years parliamentary elections.

With Thursdays surprise 100 basis-point Turkish interest-rate cut, one has to wonder whether Erdogan fits the definition of insanity by doing the same thing over again yet expecting a different result. Erdogan keeps pressuring the Turkish Central Bank to cut interest rates with a view to curbing inflation even as with each chop the Turkish lira plumbs new lows and inflation soars to new highs.

The latest interest-rate cut comes as Turkeys inflation is almost 80% and the lira has already lost a further 25% of its value this year. The countrys international reserves are depleted, and investors are increasingly concerned about Turkeys ability to service its external-debt obligation. This is reflected in a widening in Turkish credit-default swaps to their highest level in the past 20 years and to very high dollar-borrowing rates for Turkey.

Making Erdogans monetary policy all the more difficult to understand is that it flies in the face of basic economic theory and experience. If there is one thing on which almost all economists can agree, its that higher interest rates are needed to regain control over galloping inflation and a currency in freefall. This highlights how out of sync Erdogans monetary policy is with the tightening interest-rate cycle underway in the rest of the world. Most of the worlds major central banks, including most notably the Federal Reserve, are raising interest rates to regain control over inflation.

Again byaggressively cutting interest rates at a time of already very high inflation and external economic weakness, not only is Erdogan risking putting his country further on the path to hyperinflation; he also seems to be inviting a full-blown currency crisis by further incentivizing domestic residents to ship their capital abroad. Such a crisis would make it very difficult for the country to service its external-debt obligations, which could require the imposition of economically damaging capital controls.

Heightening the risk of a currency crisis is the Federal Reserves interest-rate hiking cycle, which is causing a generalized repatriation of capital from the emerging market economies. So too is Turkeys gaping external current-account deficit, which has been adversely affected by higher international oil prices and the European economic slowdown.

If Erdogans reckless monetary policy makes no economic sense, it also makes no political sense. In June 2023, Erdogan will face the electorate in scheduled parliamentary elections. One would have thought the last thing hed want is voters mad at him because of galloping inflation and a collapsing economy. Yet thats what hes setting himself up for by pursuing his highly idiosyncratic monetary policy.

Rudi Dornbusch, the late MIT economist, famously said that currency crises take a lot longer to occur than you might have thought likely. When they do occur, however, they do so at a much faster pace than you thought possible.

Erdogan would do well to heed Dornbuschs warning and make an early monetary-policy U-turn to regain control over inflation. He might thereby spare his country from yet another full-blown currency crisis in the run-up to next years election.

He might also spare us from a debt crisis in yet another medium-sized emerging market economy, which is the last thing an already-challenged global economy needs.

If theres a silver lining to Turkeys economic mess, it is that Erdogan will likely be forced to leave the political stage after next years election. If that happens, we might have a more reliable Turkish NATOpartner to help us in standing up to Russia in its war with Ukraine.

DesmondLachmanis a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He was a deputy director in the International Monetary Funds Policy Development and Review Department and the chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney.

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Erdogan fiddles in Moscow as Istanbul burns - nypost.com

IRYNA BALACHUK FRIDAY,19 AUGUST 2022, 1:04 p.m.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan said that during the negotiations in Lviv, he offered Turkey as a host location for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency, referencing Erdogan's comments to journalists on the plane after returning from Lviv

Quote from Erdoan: "Mr Zelenskyy and I discussed all aspects of our bilateral relations. I reiterated our support for Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty. Just as I told Mr Putin during my visit to Sochi. I reminded Mr Zelenskyy that we can host a meeting between them."

Details: The Turkish President said that he would like to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant with Putin and to ask him to take concrete actions.

Erdoan also said that during the tripartite meeting with Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, steps to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain had been discussed.

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Erdogan offers Zelensky opportunity to organise meeting with Putin