Author: Mirits

Officials in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region said Tuesday a Russian missile attack killed at least one person and injured 16 others. Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram the attack damaged an infrastructure facility, restaurant and shopping areas, as well as residential buildings. Ukraine’s military said Tuesday that Russia’s overnight attacks included nine missiles and 17 drones, with Ukraine’s air defenses destroying 12 of the drones. The drone intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Poltava regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod, Kursk and Tula regions. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said an explosive device dropped from a drone hit a residential building and injured one person. NATO’s secretary-general said Monday the alliance will continue to support Ukraine, despite threats from Russia. Speaking at NATO’s Ukraine mission in Wiesbaden, Germany, Mark Rutte said the message for Russian President Vladimir Putin “is that we will continue, that we will do what’s necessary to make sure that he will not get his way. That Ukraine will prevail.” The NATO alliance is “the strongest military alliance in world history, serving 1 billion people,” Rutte said. We stand ready to confront any threat. We will never get intimidated by our adversaries.” Monday was Rutte’s first visit to the Ukraine mission known as NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, which will eventually take over the coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Monday that the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine had delivered a “quite detailed” report on “the intentions of the Russians for the fall and winter” for their continuing invasion of Ukraine. The report included revelations about North Korea’s involvement in the war and Russia’s relationship with other countries that “unfortunately, are investing in prolonging the war.” President Zelenskyy warned that “whoever helps Russia, we will respond as toughly as necessary to defend Ukraine.” He said, “There will be respective work with our partners to ensure that Russia’s intentions do not work.” Zelenskyy added that this week, “Ukraine will present to all our partners in Europe our strategy for compelling Russia to bring this war to a just end.” The strategy, known as the “victory plan,” has not yet been made public. Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.   … “Deadly Russian missile attack hits Mykolaiv” →

TALLINN, Estonia — The last time any of Maria Kolesnikova’s family had contact with the imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist was more than 18 months ago. Fellow inmates at the penal colony reported hearing her plead for medical help from inside her tiny, smelly cell. Her father, Alexander Kolesnikov, told The Associated Press by phone from Minsk that he knows she’s seriously ill and tried to visit her several months ago at the facility near Gomel, where she is serving an 11-year sentence, but has failed whenever he goes there. On his last attempt, he said the warden told him, “If she doesn’t call or doesn’t write, that means she doesn’t want to.” The 42-year-old musician-turned-activist is known to have been hospitalized in Gomel in May or June, but the outcome was unclear, said a former prisoner who identified herself only as Natalya because she feared retaliation from authorities. “I can only pray to God that she is still alive,” Kolesnikov said in an interview. “The authorities are ignoring my requests for a meeting and for letters — it is a terrible feeling of impotence for a father.” Kolesnikova gained prominence when mass protests erupted in Belarus after the widely disputed August 2020 election gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. With her close-cropped hair, broad smile and a gesture of forming her outstretched hands into the shape of a heart, she often was seen at the front of the demonstrations. She became an even greater symbol of defiance in September of that year when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her. Driven to the Ukrainian border, she briefly broke away from security forces in the neutral zone at the frontier and tore up her passport, then walked back into Belarus. She was convicted a year later of charges including conspiracy to seize power. Natalya, whose cell was next to Kolesnikova’s before being released in August, said she had not heard her talking to guards for six months. Other inmates heard Kolesnikova’s pleas for medical assistance, she said, but reported that doctors did not come for “a very long time.” In November 2022, Kolesnikova was moved to an intensive care ward to undergo surgery for a perforated ulcer. Other prisoners become aware of her movements because “it feels like martial law has been declared” in the cellblock, Natalya said. “Other prisoners are strictly forbidden not only to talk, but even … “Ailing and silenced in prison, Belarus activist symbolizes the nation’s repression” →

Copenhagen, Denmark — Pollution, habitat degradation, climate change and overuse of freshwater resources are putting a strain on Europe, with only a third of its surface water in good health, the European Environment Agency warned  Tuesday. “The health of Europe’s waters is not good. Our waters face an unprecedented set of challenges that threatens Europe’s water security,” EEA executive director Leena Yla-Mononen said in a statement. Only 37% of Europe’s surface water bodies achieved “good” or “high” ecological status, a measure of aquatic ecosystem health, the EEA report said. Meanwhile, only 29% of surface waters achieved “good” chemical status over the 2015-21 period, according to data reported by EU member states. Europe’s groundwaters — the source of most drinking water on the continent — fared better, with 77% enjoying “good” chemical status. Good chemical status means the water is free of excessive pollution from chemical nutrients and toxic substances like PFAS and microplastics. Surface water is threatened by air pollution — such as coal burning and car emissions — as well as the agriculture industry, whose dumped waste contaminates the soil. “European agriculture needs to increase its use of more sustainable organic and agro-ecological practices, accompanied by incentives and a change in our food and dietary habits,” the report said. The European agency analyzed 120,000 surface water bodies and 3.8 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of groundwater body areas in 19 EU countries and Norway. It called on EEA member states to halve their use of pesticides by 2030. “We need to redouble our efforts to restore the health of our valued rivers, lakes, coastal waters and other water bodies, and to make sure this vital resource is resilient and secure for generations to come,” Yla-Mononen said.  Climate change effects, including extreme droughts and flooding, and the overuse of freshwater resources are putting a strain on Europe’s lakes, rivers, coastal waters and groundwaters “like never before,” the EEA said. Governments must prioritize reducing water consumption and restoring ecosystems, it said. …

london — Britain’s aviation regulator said Tuesday that it would allow drones to inspect infrastructure such as power lines and wind turbines, a move the authority has described as a significant milestone.  The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said earlier this year that it wanted to permit more drone flying for such activities as well as for deliveries and emergency services. It selected in August six projects to test it.  Drones inspecting infrastructure will now be able to fly distances beyond remote flyers’ ability to see them.  “While some drones have been flying beyond visual line of sight in the U.K. for several years, these flights are primarily trials under strict restrictions,” the CAA said.  Under the CAA’s new policy, some drones will be able to remain at low heights close to infrastructure where there is little or no potential for any other aircraft to operate. It will also reduce costs, the CAA said.  Drones will inspect power lines for damage, carry out maintenance checks of wind turbines and even be used as “flying guard dogs” for site security.  The CAA will work with several operators to test and evaluate the policy, which according to the regulator’s director, Sophie O’Sullivan, “paves the way for new ways drones will improve everyday life.”  …

ROME — Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders.  A naval ship departed from the island of Lampedusa with 16 men — 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt — who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya. The ship is expected to arrive Wednesday morning, a ministry spokesman said.  Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government formally opened the two centers in Albania Friday where Italy plans to process thousands of male migrants requesting asylum after being intercepted in international waters while trying to cross to Europe.  The centers can accommodate up to 400 migrants at first, with that expected to increase to 880 in a few weeks, according to Italian officials.  Women, children, older people and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. Families will not be separated.  The five-year deal was endorsed last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as an example of “out-of-box thinking” in tackling the migration issue, but human rights groups say it sets a dangerous precedent.  A spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns, said Monday that one of its teams was conducting an “independent mission” on board the ship to monitor the screening process.  The agency, also known as UNHCR, has agreed to supervise the first three months to help “safeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it.”  The agreement, signed last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. The migrants will retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.  The two centers will cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years. The facilities will be run by Italy and are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards will provide external security.  Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the migration burden. …

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses.  The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898.  Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Long-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win consumers who have balked at high-priced EVs.  Here’s a look at the show’s opening day on Monday.  More new models from China  Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporate artificial intelligence technology.  Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact electric-powered SUV, the B10. It will be manufactured in Poland for European buyers, said Leapmotor’s head of product planning, Zhong Tianyue. Leapmotor didn’t announce a price for the B10 that will launch next year.  Leapmotor also said a smaller electric commuter car it showcased in Paris, the T03, will retail from a competitive 18,900 euros ($20,620). Those sold in France will be imported from China but assembled in Poland, Zhong said.  Leapmotor also announced a starting price of 36,400 euros ($39,700) in Europe for its larger family car, the C10.  Sales outside of China are through a joint venture with Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest carmaker. Leapmotor said European sales started in September.  Xpeng braces for tariff hit  Attending the Paris show for the first time, the decade-old Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng unveiled a sleek sedan, the P7+.  CEO He Xiaopeng said XPeng aims to deliver in Europe from next year. Intended European prices for the P7+ weren’t given, but the CEO said they will start in China at 209,800 yuan, the equivalent of 27,100 euros, or $29,600.  XPeng’s president, Brian Gu, said the EU’s threatened import duties could complicate the company’s expansion plans if Brussels and Beijing don’t find an amicable solution to their trade dispute before an end-of-October deadline.  Brussels says subsidies help Chinese companies to unfairly undercut EU industry prices, with Chinese-built electric cars jumping from 3.9% of the EV market in 2020 to 25% by September 2023.  “The tariff will put a lot of pressure on our business model. It’s a direct hit on our margin, which is already not very high,” Gu said.  Vehicles for … “Paris Motor Show opens during brewing EV trade war between EU, China” →

Warsaw — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday defended a plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as human rights and civil society organizations express concerns about the move.   Poland has struggled since 2021 with migration pressures on its border with Belarus — which is also part of the European Union’s external border.   “It is our right and our duty to protect the Polish and European border,” Tusk said Monday on X. “Its security will not be negotiated.”   Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of organizing the mass transfer of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the EU’s eastern borders to destabilize the West. They view it as part of a hybrid war that they accuse Moscow of waging against the West as it continues its nearly three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine.   Some migrants have applied for asylum in Poland, but before the requests are processed, they travel across the EU’s border-free travel zone to reach Germany or other countries in Western Europe. Germany, where security fears are rising after a spate of extremist attacks, has recently responded by expanding border controls at all of its borders to fight irregular migration. Tusk called Germany’s move “unacceptable.”   Tusk announced his plan to temporarily suspend the right for migrants to seek asylum at a convention of his Civic Coalition on Saturday. It will be part of a strategy that will be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.   Dozens of nongovernmental organizations urged Tusk in an open letter to respect the right to asylum guaranteed by international conventions, which Poland signed, including the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and Poland’s own constitution.   They argued that fundamental rights and freedoms must be respected.   “It is thanks to them that thousands of Polish women and men found shelter abroad in the difficult times of communist totalitarianism, and we have become one of the greatest beneficiaries of these rights,” the letter said.   It was signed by Amnesty International and 45 other organizations that represent a range of humanitarian, legal and civic causes.   Tusk argued that Finland also suspended accepting asylum applications after facing migration pressure on its border with Russia.   “The right to asylum is used instrumentally in this war and has nothing to do with human rights,” Tusk said on X on Sunday.   A spokesperson for the … “Polish leader Tusk defends decision to suspend asylum law” →

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s deputy defense minister, senior members of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and three airlines over allegations that they supplied drones, missiles and other equipment to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.  Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari is one of seven senior officials now banned from traveling in Europe and whose assets in the bloc were frozen. The EU said he “is involved in the development of Iran’s [drone] and missile program,” given his high-level defense role.  Iran Air, Mahan Air and Saha Airlines had their assets frozen. The EU said their planes were “used repeatedly to transfer Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles and related technologies to Russia, which have been used in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”  EU foreign ministers endorsed the sanctions at a meeting in Luxembourg.  In March, the bloc had warned that “were Iran to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine, the EU would be prepared to respond swiftly, including with new and significant restrictive measures.”  EU member countries, except for Hungary, have been supplying weapons and ammunition as well as economic and other support to Ukraine worth some 118 billion euros ($129 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.   …

Moscow — A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison. Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-tracked trial. His lawyers’ asked the court to sentence him to a fine. In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, speaking Russian, reaffirmed that he fully recognized his guilt and asked the judge for clemency. “I’m asking the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to observe Russian laws,” he said in Russian. He said that he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he began studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about having patience that better days lie ahead. Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Vinatier’s arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine. Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country’s security. Vinatier is an adviser for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization. It said in June that it was doing “everything possible to assist” him. The prosecutors charged that Vinatier had collected military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-22. The Russian citizens weren’t named in the indictment. Vinatier’s lawyers argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed at his career as a political scholar who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles have been friendly to the country. While asking the judge for clemency, Vinatier pointed at his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of. The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent. Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of its actions in Ukraine. …

Geneva — The head of the U.N. refugee agency warned on Monday that displacement crises in Lebanon and Sudan could worsen, but said tighter border measures were not the solution, calling them ineffective and sometimes unlawful. Addressing more than 100 diplomats and ministers in Geneva at UNHCR’s annual meeting, Filippo Grandi said an unprecedented 123 million people are now displaced around the world by conflicts, persecution, poverty and climate change. “You might then ask: what can be done? For a start, do not focus only on your borders,” he said, urging leaders instead to look at the reasons people are fleeing their homes. “We must seek to address the root causes of displacement, and work toward solutions,” he said. “I beg you all that we continue to work — together and with humility — to seize every opportunity to find solutions for refugees.” Without naming countries, Grandi said initiatives to outsource, externalize or even suspend asylum schemes were in breach of international law, and he offered countries help in finding fair, fast and lawful asylum schemes. Western governments are under growing domestic pressure to get tougher on asylum seekers and Grandi has previously criticized a plan by the former British government to transfer them to Rwanda. In the same speech he warned that in Lebanon, where more than one million people have fled their homes due to a growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the situation could worsen further. “Surely, if airstrikes continue, many more will be displaced and some will also decide to move on to other countries.” He called for a drastic increase in support for refugees in Sudan’s civil war, saying lack of resources was already driving them across the Mediterranean Sea and even across the Channel to Britain. “In this lethal equation, something has got to give. Otherwise, nobody should be surprised if displacement keeps growing, in numbers but also in geographic spread,” he said. The UNHCR response to the crisis that aims to help a portion of the more than 11 million people displaced inside Sudan or in neighboring countries is less than 1/3 funded, Grandi said. The number of displaced people around the world has more than doubled in the past decade. Grandi, set to serve as high commissioner until Dec. 2025, said the agency’s funding for this year had recently improved due to U.S. support but remained “well below the needs.” …

Chisinau, Moldova — For many Moldovans, President Maia Sandu has become a symbol of change as she seeks to chart a new pro-European path for the former Soviet Republic.   Since Moscow invaded Moldova’s neighbor Ukraine, Sandu has lobbied for the West to support her country and hear its concerns that it could be the Kremlin’s next target.   She is now running for a second term on October 20 after defeating a Moscow-backed incumbent in 2020.   Applying for Moldova to join the EU in 2022, Sandu, 52, has laid out wide-ranging reforms to fight graft and bring in investment.   In stirring speeches, she has warned of a tough but worthy road ahead for one of Europe’s poorest countries, with a population of 2.6 million.   “Joining the European Union is Moldova’s Marshall Plan,” Sandu said in a speech last month, referring to the economic recovery plan put in place after World War II to rebuild Europe.   ‘Rollercoaster journey’   Born in the village of Risipeni near the Romanian border before Moldova gained independence in 1991, Sandu obtained a master’s degree in international relations in Chisinau and another in public policy after studying at Harvard University in the United States.   After a stint in the economy ministry, she worked as an economist at the World Bank’s office in Chisinau for more than seven years and later as an adviser of the executive director to the World Bank in Washington.   After two years in Washington, in 2012, she received an “unexpected” offer from Moldova’s government to return and become education minister, kicking off what she has described as a “rollercoaster journey” that ended up in her becoming the country’s first woman president.   “The resistance to change, the overwhelming problems in the education sector, the hate speech I was confronted with, all made my life really difficult,” she recalled in a 2022 speech at Harvard University, describing how this built her “resilience.”   In her drive to rid her country of corruption, Sandu founded her own party in 2016, the center-right Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).   “It took quite some thought and ultimately a leap of faith to go into politics, instead of choosing a different, quiet and comfortable career path,” she said in her speech at Harvard.   She ran for president in 2016, but failed to win. In 2019, she was Moldova’s prime minister before trying for the post of president again, this time defeating Moscow-backed incumbent … “Pro-European President Maia Sandu: a force for change in Moldova “ →

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dijon, France — The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), a sort of “U.N. of wine” which brings together experts from the sector, called for “sustainable development” of the vine Sunday, following a ministerial meeting in France. “The effects of climate change amplify” the challenges facing the vine, stressed 37 members out of 50 participating in the meeting at the OIV headquarters in Dijon. The signatories encourage “biodiversity reservoirs, such as grape varieties and the entire ecosystem that surrounds them, by limiting soil erosion, capturing carbon … and reducing waste,” adds the ministerial declaration, the first in the history of the organization which is celebrating its centenary this year. The OIV has set itself the “objectives” of “supporting innovation, ambitious, resilient and sustainable cultural and oenological practices … as well as biodiversity such as the conservation and use of diversity in the vine, the exploitation of new vine varieties and efficient water management.” The “sustainability” of vines and wine also applies to “economic and social” matters, explained the director general of the OIV, New Zealander John Barker, at a news conference, stressing the need for the sector to adapt to the decline in wine consumption. Created on November 29, 1924, by eight countries (Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Tunisia), the OIV today brings together 50 countries, covering 88% of world wine production, with the notable absence of the United States, which slammed the door in 2001, after the failure of its candidate for its presidency. China will become the 51st member state in November. The organization is not political but brings together technical and scientific experts who exchange information on the sector and try to harmonize standards at the international level. …

Since May 2024, heavy fighting has been going on near the village of Hlyboke, some 30 kilometers from Kharkiv, and animals are the victims of active fighting just as much as locals. Volunteers recently rescued four ponies from Hlyboke, and now these horses are giving back… in their own way. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. …

Reykjavik, Iceland — Iceland’s three-party coalition government collapsed Sunday over disagreements on policy issues, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said, with new elections to be held in November. Benediktsson, head of the conservative Independence Party, told reporters that tensions had mounted within the left-right coalition on issues ranging from foreign policy to asylum seekers and energy. The coalition had been made up of the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the center-right Progressive Party. The issues “were less discussed in the last election than need to be discussed now”, Benediktsson said, emphasizing “how different the (Left-Green) Movement’s vision for the future is, compared to what I want to stand for.” “It is best if the government has a common vision,” he told the online media site Visir, adding: “It’s disappointing when projects run aground or circumstances change.” He said he would meet Monday with Iceland’s President Halla Tomasdottir to submit a proposal for the dissolution of parliament and parliamentary elections at the end of November. Benediktsson, one of Iceland’s most experienced politicians, has previously served as finance minister, foreign minister and prime minister. He said he had strong backing from his party and planned to stand in the November election. A Gallup poll published on October 1 showed that the coalition government had the support of just one-fourth of voters, at 24.6 percent, the lowest score Gallup has recorded for an Icelandic government in 30 years. The three parties combined came in behind the Social Democrats, which were credited with 26.1 percent. Benediktsson took over as prime minister in April 2024 after Katrin Jakobsdottir, of the Left-Green Movement, resigned to run for the presidency, which she failed to win. The three parties were reelected in 2021, winning 38 of the 63 seats in parliament, up from the 33 they had held since the previous election in 2017. But the Left-Green Movement emerged weaker, losing three seats to hold just eight, while its right-wing partners both posted strong showings.   …

Paris — Chinese state-owned carmaker GAC is exploring the manufacture of EVs in Europe to avoid EU tariffs, the general manager of its international business told Reuters on Sunday, joining a growing list of Chinese companies planning local production.  The company is among China’s largest automakers and is targeting 500,000 overseas sales by 2030. It does not yet sell EVs in Europe but will launch an electric SUV tailored to the European market at the Paris Auto Show, which kicks off Monday.  GAC still viewed Europe as an important market that was “relatively open” despite moves by the European Commission to impose tariffs on EVs made in China, Wei Heigang said, speaking in Paris ahead of the show.  “The tariffs issue definitely has an impact on us. However, all this can be overcome in the long term … I am positive there is going to be a way to get it all resolved,” he said.  “Local production would be one of the ways to resolve this,” he added. “We are very actively exploring this possibility.”  Discussions were at a very early stage and the company was still considering whether to build a new plant or share — or take over — an existing one, according to Wei.  The compact SUV on display in Paris, a 520-kilometer (323-mile) range vehicle called “Aion V,” should launch in some European markets in mid-2025, priced at less than 40,000 euros ($43,748), though the final price has not yet been set, GAC said.  After that launch, the next GAC vehicle due for sale in Europe will be a small electric hatchback, to be released in late 2025.  …

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron called on Iran’s leader Masoud Pezeshkian to support a “general de-escalation” in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in a telephone conversation Sunday, his office said. Macron stressed “the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and to use its influence in this direction with the destabilizing actors that enjoy its support.” Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fighting Israeli troops in Lebanon. The Iranian presidential website said that in his conversation with Macron, Pezeshkian had called for an end to “crimes” in Lebanon and Gaza. They discussed ways to secure a “cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel,” a statement on the website said. Pezeshkian “asked the French president to work together with other European countries to force the Zionist regime to stop the genocide and crimes in Gaza and Lebanon,” the statement added. The Israeli army is engaged in close combat with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon this Sunday, where it announced for the first time the capture of an enemy fighter. It is also intensifying its airstrikes against the pro-Iranian formation. For its part, the Lebanese Islamist movement said it was fighting Israeli soldiers at the end of the afternoon “with automatic weapons” and “rockets” in at least four villages bordering Israel, with the Israeli army doing “face to face combat.”   After having weakened the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, Israel moved the front of the war to Lebanon, saying it wanted to allow the return to northern Israel of some 60,000 inhabitants, displaced by the rocket attacks carried out for a year by Hezbollah in support for Hamas. …

Madrid — Thousands protested Sunday in Madrid to demand more affordable housing amid rising anger from Spaniards who feel they are being priced out of the market. Under the slogan “Housing is a right, not a business,” residents marched in the Spanish capital to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions. Twelve thousand people took to the streets, according to the Spanish government. “Spaniards cannot live in their own cities. They are forcing us out of the cities. The government has to regulate prices, regulate housing,” said nurse Blanca Prieto, 33. In July, Spain’s government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings. It plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have licenses. Spain is struggling to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens’ concerns over unaffordable high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative tourist rentals. In a separate demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday against the America’s Cup yachting race, protesters blamed the international sporting event for pushing up rental prices and bringing more tourists into an overcrowded city. Residents of the Canary Islands and Malaga have also staged protests this year against the rise in tourist rentals. Seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation in these tourism hot spots, with many resorting to sleeping in caravans or even their cars.  …

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Kyiv — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman urged international organizations Sunday to respond to a claim that several Ukrainian prisoners of war were executed in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv had launched an incursion in August. DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site close to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, said Russian troops shot and killed nine Ukrainian “drone operators and contractors” on Oct. 10 after they had surrendered.  Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram that he sent letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the claim, calling it “another crime committed by the Russians.”  Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said Russian troops had killed 16 captured Ukrainian soldiers in the partially occupied Donetsk region.  There was no immediate response from Russian officials.  Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday that its air defenses had shot down 31 of 68 drones launched at Ukraine by Russia overnight into Sunday in the regions of Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Sumy and Cherkasy. A further 36 drones were “lost” over various areas, it said, likely having been electronically jammed.  The air force added that ballistic missiles struck Odesa and Poltava while Chernihiv and Sumy came under attack by a guided air missile. Local authorities didn’t report any casualties or damage.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had launched around 900 guided aerial bombs, more than 40 missiles and 400 drones against Ukraine over the past week.  Zelenskyy appealed on social platform X to Ukraine’s allies to “provide the necessary quantity and quality of air defense systems” and “make decisions for our sufficient range”. Kyiv is still awaiting word from its Western partners on its repeated requests to use the long-range weapons they provide to hit targets on Russian soil.  In Russia, the Defense Ministry said that 13 Ukrainian drones were shot down over three regions of Russia: six each in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, and one in the Bryansk region, all of which border Ukraine. …

moscow — Speaking behind the thick white walls of Moscow’s ancient Danilov Monastery, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk is adamant: People must not be forbidden to pray in their chosen branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He speaks calmly, but Yakimchuk is one of many Orthodox Christians in Russia who are angry about a law passed by Kyiv in August that targets a Russia-linked Orthodox church that long dominated religious life in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration accuses the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of spreading pro-Russian propaganda in time of war and of housing spies, charges it denies. Under the law, the Russian Orthodox Church itself was banned on Ukrainian territory and a government commission was tasked with compiling a list of “affiliated” organizations – expected to include the UOC – whose activities will be outlawed, too. “In the 21st century, in the center of Europe, millions of people are being deprived of their basic civil rights,” Yakimchuk, wearing a black cassock and a large Orthodox cross around his neck, told Reuters in an interview. “Because what does it mean to ban a church, which is the largest religious denomination in Ukraine, no matter how much the current Ukrainian authorities would like to downplay its scale? Everyone understands perfectly well that it is impossible to forbid people to pray.” Whether the UOC retains the following it once did is disputed. An independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) that was set up after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 to be fully independent of Moscow has seen its popularity grow rapidly since President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian authorities say the UOC is fair game. They have launched dozens of criminal proceedings, including treason charges, against dozens of its clergy. At least one has been sent to Russia as part of a prisoner swap.   Church divided However, Yakimchuk’s denunciation of what he calls “absolute lawlessness” in Ukraine is a reflection of how the nearly 32-month war – which Moscow calls a “special military operation” – has divided Orthodox hierarchies in the two countries, even though they all adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The UOC tried to distance itself from Moscow once the war was underway, condemning Russia’s actions and removing references to the “Moscow Patriarchate” from its name. But those attempts angered clerics in Moscow, who have thrown their weight behind what they cast as Russia’s “holy war” in Ukraine … “Ukrainian move to ban Moscow-linked church stirs anger in Russia” →

paris — A 22-year-old Afghan was indicted and imprisoned in France on Saturday, accused of supporting the ideology of the Islamic State (IS) and of having “fomented” a “plan for violent action” in a football stadium or a shopping center. His arrest, which took place Tuesday in Haute-Garonne, has “links” with the arrest of an Afghan living in the United States and charged Wednesday with planning an attack on the day of the U.S. elections, the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (PNAT) said, confirming a source close to the case questioned by AFP. This 27-year-old Afghan, living in the southern U.S. state of Oklahoma, was in contact on the Telegram messaging service with a person identified by the FBI as an IS recruiter, according to American judicial authorities. According to the source close to the case, during their investigations, the American authorities transmitted information to the French authorities, triggering the opening of an investigation in Paris and leading to three arrests. On Tuesday morning in the southwest of France, three men, aged 20 to 31, two of whom are brothers, were arrested in Toulouse and Fronton by investigators from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), supported by the RAID, the police intervention unit, as part of a preliminary investigation opened on September 27 for “terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against persons.” “The investigations carried out have highlighted the existence of a plan for violent action targeting people in a football stadium or a shopping center fomented by one of them, aged 22, of Afghan nationality and holder of a resident card, several elements of which also establish radicalization and adherence to the ideology of the Islamic State,” the PNAT told AFP on Saturday. His lawyer, Emanuel de Dinechin, did not wish to comment at this stage. In accordance with the PNAT requisitions, he was charged with terrorist criminal association by an investigating judge, then placed in provisional detention. According to a source close to the case, this young man comes from the Tajik community in Afghanistan and his project, which he reportedly spoke about on Telegram, remained rather vague and unfinished. According to another source close to the investigation, he has been living in France for around three years. The other two men were released after their police custody. Reconfiguration The last arrests for a plan for violent action in France date back to … “Afghan man imprisoned in France, accused of planning ‘violent action’” →

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanians elect a new parliament Sunday in a vote dominated by concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats tipped to emerge as the largest party but well short of a majority. The outgoing center-right coalition of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has seen its popularity eroded by high inflation that topped 20% two years ago, by deteriorating public services and a widening gap between rich and poor. Polling stations open at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT). Results are expected after midnight local time. Opinion polls suggest Simonyte’s Homeland Union will win just 9%, behind the Social Democrats at 18% and the anti-establishment Nemunas Dawn at 12%, though the eventual shape of a future coalition will depend on how smaller parties perform. The Baltic state of 2.9 million people has a hybrid voting system in which half of the parliament is elected by popular vote, with a 5% threshold needed to win seats. The other half is chosen on a district basis, a process which favors the larger parties. If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote in a district, its top two candidates face each other in a run-off on October 27. Domestic issues have loomed large in the election campaign, with the Social Democrats vowing to tackle increased inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to help fund more spending on healthcare and social spending. But national security is also a major concern in Lithuania, which is part of the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as well as with Belarus, a close Moscow ally. Three quarters of Lithuanians believe that Russia could attack their country in the near future, a Baltijos Tyrimai/ELTA poll found in May. The main parties strongly support Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces and back increased defense spending. …

PRISTINA, KOSOVO — Persistent ethnic tension in north Kosovo could trigger a repeat of violence seen in the area last year when four people died in a gun battle and NATO peacekeepers were hurt in clashes, a senior official from the military alliance warned Saturday. Kosovo is predominantly ethnic Albanian, but about 50,000 Serbs in the north reject Pristina’s government and see Belgrade as their capital. A former Serbian province, Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a decade after a guerrilla uprising. U.S. Navy Admiral Stuart B. Munsch, commander of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples — which oversees NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo — said the alliance remained concerned about the risk of repeated violence in the volatile north. “Heated political rhetoric could inspire some nongovernment forces to commit violence such as what happened last year,” Munsch told reporters in Pristina. “I would not say that definitely conflict is coming; I think there is a persistent risk,” he said, referring to a lack of progress in EU-mediated talks between Kosovo’s government and Serbia. A police officer and three gunmen were killed in September 2023 when a group of heavily armed attackers entered from Serbia and attacked police in the village of Banjska. Four months earlier, more than 90 soldiers were injured when Serb protesters attacked NATO peacekeepers. Kosovo has accused Serbia of being behind the Banjska attack, but Belgrade has denied the accusations. The U.S. and the European Union, Kosovo’s leading global allies, have criticized the Pristina government for taking unilateral actions in the north that could spark ethnic violence and risk the lives of some 4,000 NATO troops on duty there. Kosovo rejects such criticism, and the issue has strained Pristina’s ties with its Western supporters. As part of the EU-mediated dialogue, Kosovo and Serbia have been holding talks for more than a decade to normalize their relations, but there has been little progress. Like the Serbs living in north Kosovo, Belgrade also considers Kosovo to be part of Serbia and refuses to recognize it as an independent state. …

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran has sent two locally made satellites to Russia to be put into orbit by a Russian space vehicle, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported Saturday, in the latest space cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite, is the first substantial effort by Iran’s private space sector, the report said. Russia sent Iranian satellites into orbit in February and in 2022, when U.S. officials voiced concern over space cooperation between Russia and Iran, fearing the satellite will not only help Russia in Ukraine but also help Iran monitor potential military targets in Israel and the wider Middle East. Kowsar could be used in agriculture, natural resource management, environmental monitoring and disaster management, Tasnim said. Hodhod is designed for satellite-based communications and could be used in remote areas with little access to terrestrial networks. In September, Iran carried out its second satellite launch this year using a rocket built by its Revolutionary Guards. The launch came as the United States and European countries accuse Tehran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia that could be used in its war with Ukraine. Iran has denied this. …

MOSCOW — An explosion at a gas station in Russia’s southern region of Chechnya killed at least four people, officials said Saturday. The explosion of a gas tank triggered a fire at the service station in the regional capital, Grozny, said Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, adding that two children were among the dead. The fire was extinguished. Grozny is about 1,500 kilometers south of Moscow. Regional authorities said a criminal investigation was opened. Last month an explosion at a gas station in the neighboring region of Dagestan killed at least 13 people and injured 23 others. …