United Nations, June 29 (IANS) In the aftermath of Russia's missile attack on a crowded Ukrainian shopping mall, India has called the deaths of civilians "deeply disturbing".India's Deputy Permanent Representative R.Ravindra said on Tuesday: "Reports of deaths of civilians in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict are deeply disturbing and in this regards we express our grave concern. In recent years, critical civilian infrastructure in urban areas have become easy targets in situations of armed conflict"."The issue of the protection of civilian objects in armed conflicts should be considered within the framework of applicable international laws," he said, during a briefing on the Ukraine situation while not naming Russia as the perpetrator of the attack.Monday's missile attack on the Kremenchuk shopping centre left at least 18 people dead and 21 missing while wounding scores.India has been holding a delicate position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine criticising Moscow in diplomat speak without naming it, while facing criticism from some in the West that it was not sufficiently ranged against Russia.But Ravindra noted that in April "India had (also) unequivocally condemned the killing of civilians in Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation".After Russia withdrew from Bucha in March, bodies of several hundred people were discovered in mass graves and reports of attacks on civilians emerged."India has also been sending humanitarian supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours, which include medicines and other essential relief material", Ravindra added.In a stinging attack on Russia, while briefing the Council, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said: "The depravity of the war was again on full display yesterday following the missile strike in Kremenchuk"."This incident, which should be investigated, was the latest in a new wave of airstrikes and missile attacks in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and other cities far from the frontlines, with many civilians killed or injured", she said.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke through a video link, called for declaring Russia a "terror state" and punishing it.He said that if any other country had committed the atro allegedly allowing its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters, who fleeced consumers out of more than $197 million.In its lawsuit, the FTC alleged that for years, the company turned a blind eye while scammers took advantage of its failure to properly secure the money transfer services offered at Walmart stores."The company did not properly train its employees, failed to warn customers, and used procedures that allowed fraudsters to cash out at its stores", according to the FTC's complaint."While scammers used its money transfer services to make off with cash, Walmart looked the other way and pocketed millions in fees," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection."Consumers have lost hundreds of millions, and the Commission is holding Walmart accountable for letting fraudsters fleece its customers," he said in a statement late on Tuesday.The FTC is asking the court to order Walmart to return money to consumers and to impose civil penalties for Walmart's violations.In media reports, Walmart described the lawsuit as both "factually flawed and legally baseless."Walmart acts as an agent for multiple money transfer services, including MoneyGram, Ria and Western Union, offering some services under its own brand, like "Walmart2Walmart" and "Walmart2World".According to the complaint, tens of millions of money transfers are sent or received at Walmart stores each year, where they are processed by Walmart employees."Walmart's practice of turning a blind eye to fraud had grave consequences for consumers," according to the complaint.The complaint cited numerous instances in which law enforcement investigations found that scammers relied on Walmart money transfers as a primary way to receive payments, including in telemarketing schemes like IRS impersonation schemes, relative-in-need "grandparent" scams, sweepstakes scams, and others.Based on information from fraud databases maintained by MoneyGram, Western Union, and Ria, from 2013 to 2018 more than $197 million in payments that were the subject of fraud complaints were sent or received at Walmart, with more than $1.3 billion in related payments also possibly connected to the fraud.The FTC has filed the complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
--IANS na/dpb
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