Category: European Union

The Kremlin is using uncertainty following the ouster of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, and the potential loss of Russia’s military toehold in Syria, to accuse the United States of sowing instability in the country.  On Dec. 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaled that the end of the Assad regime would push Russia to “make certain adjustments to Russia’s military presence in Syria.”  Lavrov said the continued deployment of Russian forces and the future of its bases “could be the subject of negotiations with the new Syrian leadership.”  Particularly of concern to Moscow are the fates of its Tartus naval base and the Hmeimim air base located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. The naval base established by the Soviet Union during the cold war, and the air base in 2015 as a strategic command post, both served as Russia’s military hubs in the Middle East.   Amid this backdrop, Russian intelligence is pushing conspiracy theories that the U.S. and allies are planning attacks on those facilities and otherwise seeking to destabilize the country.  On Dec. 28, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, accused U.S. and British intelligence agencies of “working out plans to stage a series of terrorist attacks on the Russian military facilities in Syria.”  Those plans, the SVR claimed, without evidence, would involve the use of Islamic State, or IS, militants.   Russia has long propagated the false narrative that the U.S. sought the ouster of Assad to destabilize the Middle East and control its oil resources.  Despite Russia’s claim, the U.S. has worked for years to eradicate the IS threat, including with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in Syria’s northeast.   The U.S. and SDF defeated IS in its final holdout, Baghuz, near Syria’s Iraqi border, in March 2019. That year, U.S. forces killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in northwestern Syria.   The Kurds oversee prisons housing thousands of IS fighters and their families.  Russian forces, by contrast, regularly targeted armed groups who were fighting IS, and did not prioritize fighting IS terrorists during Moscow’s intervention in Syria.  On Dec. 19, the U.S. Defense Department announced an additional 1,100 U.S. personnel had been deployed to Syria, bringing the total to 2,000 U.S. troops, to help stabilize the situation in the post-Assad era.   At the same time, the United States Central Command, CENTCOM, has announced multiple airstrikes against IS targets to prevent the terrorist group from reestablishing foothold … “Russia ramps up disinformation efforts as its grip weakens over post-Assad Syria” →

LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.  The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said.  “These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited,” said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham.  Four of the sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway show paths taken by gigantic, long-necked, herbivores called sauropods, thought to be Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to nearly 18 meters in length. A fifth set belonged to the Megalosaurus, a ferocious 9-meter predator that left a distinctive triple-claw print and was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two centuries ago.  An area where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between the carnivores and herbivores.  “Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found,” said Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.  Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints discovered in a limestone quarry in the area were considered one of the world’s most scientifically important dinosaur track sites. But that area is mostly inaccessible now and there’s limited photographic evidence because it predated the use of digital cameras and drones to record the findings.  The group that worked at the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will aid future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked and the speed at which they moved.  “The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out,” said Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum. “Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants we can bring to … “‘Dinosaur highway’ tracks dating back 166 million years discovered in England” →

CETINJE, Montenegro — Shock and dismay prevailed in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 people, including two children, in a western town before killing himself.  At least four others were wounded in the shooting rampage in Cetinje on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl, officials said. This was the second such incident in the town in the past three years.  The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, officials have said.  The attacker, who first fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. He died after shooting himself in the head, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said.  Residents of Cetinje, a town of some 17,000 people, were stunned and grief-stricken.  “I knew all of these people personally, also the attacker. I think when he did that, he was out of his mind,” said Vesko Milosevic, a retiree from Cetnje. “What do I know, he went from place to place and killed people. It’s a catastrophe.”  Vanja Popovic, whose relatives are among the victims, said that “we are all in shock.”  “How can I feel after this?” Popovic said. “No one expected it. You can’t even ask anyone anything.”  Police had dispatched a special unit to search for the attacker in the town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Podgorica, the capital. All roads in and out of the city were blocked for hours as police swarmed the streets.  Saranovic said that the shooter had died while being taken to a hospital in the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his injuries.”  Officials have said that the attacker was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted. He then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.  Prosecutor Andrijana Nastic said Thursday that the attacker went to six locations during the shooting rampage, including the last one, where he shot himself.  Four men were killed at the bar, Nastic said. The shooter then moved on to another location where he killed four more people, and then two children at a third site. He then went on to kill two more people at two other locations before eventually shooting himself, Nastic said.  “Further investigation will determine the exact circumstances of the events,” she added.  The government has declared three … “Montenegro mourns after gunman kills at least 12 people before shooting himself” →

Rome — Italy’s foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday to demand the immediate release of reporter Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa. The ministry said in a statement it had relayed “serious concern” over Sala’s detention and stressed the need for humane treatment and respect for her human rights.   Italian media have reported that Sala is in solitary confinement in a freezing cold cell with a neon light left on night and day. Her glasses have been confiscated and she has had hardly any contact with the outside world. The secretary general of the Italian foreign ministry, Riccardo Guariglia, demanded that embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Sala and provide her with “the comfort items that she has been denied so far”, the ministry said. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Monday that Sala had been arrested for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”. It gave no further information. Sala was detained three days after an Iranian businessman, Mohammad Abedini, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on a U.S. warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its foreign ministry was quoted in Iranian media as saying Abedini’s arrest violated international law. In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.   Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to discuss Sala’s case with her foreign and justice ministers later on Thursday, her office said. …

Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 47 drones Russian forces launched overnight at areas in central and eastern Ukraine. Russia used a total of 72 drones in its attacks, the military said. Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Odessa and Sumy regions. Officials in those areas did not immediately report any major damage. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones, mostly along the Russia-Ukraine border. Intercepts took place in Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Kaluga and Voronezh. The governors of Bryansk and Kaluga said there were no reports of casualties or damage in their regions. Thursday’s attacks came a day after Russian forces killed at least two people in Kyiv. Some information for this story came from Reuters. …

LONDON — Parts of the United Kingdom were flooded Wednesday as heavy rains and powerful winds continued to disrupt New Year’s celebrations. Several communities in the Manchester area were flooded, with several homes evacuated and cars submerged up to their roofs on roads and in parking lots after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in two days. A major incident was declared and mountain rescue teams were called in to help firefighters respond to swamped properties and stranded vehicles, Greater Manchester Police said. “There’s still probably likely to be further flooding across the course of the day,” Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said. “We are potentially expecting the flood situation to get worse before it gets better.” Tom Coulthard said the rain started late Tuesday afternoon and poured all night where he lives in Didsbury, south of Manchester, topping river banks and forcing a hotel to be evacuated before dawn. Roads and highways were closed in the area. “All the local rivers and water courses have sort of filled up and flooded around the area,” said Coulthard, a geography professor at the University of Hull. “That’s really probably a sign of just how our weather is changing, how climate is shifting.” The deluge and gusts derailed New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations, leading to cancelations in Edinburgh and several other cities. Events planned for New Year’s Day, including nippy outdoor swims and a bathtub boat race, were scrapped. London, which was able to launch its massive fireworks display on the River Thames in front of Big Ben, had to postpone the start of its New Year’s Day parade and grounded inflatable floats due to the blustery and soggy conditions. Cheerleaders and members of bands that marched through central London pulled transparent coverings over their bright costumes to take shelter from rain. Warnings that indicate flooding is expected were issued at one point to more than 150 communities across the U.K., with most being in northern England. Later in the day, dozens of those warnings had been lifted. Several trains were canceled because of high water around the tracks and some highways were closed. With temperatures dropping, there were ice warnings until late Thursday morning for Northern Ireland, parts of north Wales, England and Scotland. And a three-day snow warning was issued for the coming weekend for much of England and Scotland. …

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 21 drones that Russian forces used in attacks overnight targeting multiple areas across northern and eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched a total of 43 drones, and that its air defenses shot down drones over the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odesa and Poltava regions. Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram that falling drone debris damaged five residential buildings but did not hurt anyone. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported a building fire caused by a drone attack, as well as a drone hit near a highway. He added there were no casualties in his region. Russia’s defense ministry said Monday it intercepted a drone over the Belgorod region located along the Russia-Ukraine border. Regional officials in Kursk also said Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian missile early Monday. Some information for this story was provided by Reuters. …

OSLO, NORWAY — Finnish police said on Sunday they had found tracks that drag on for dozens of kilometers along the bottom of the Baltic Sea where a tanker carrying Russian oil is suspected of breaking a power line and four telecoms cables with its anchor.  The Cook Islands-registered Eagle S was boarded by Finnish police and coast guard officials on Thursday and sailed into Finnish waters where the crew of the impounded tanker is being questioned.  Baltic Sea nations have been on high alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NATO said on Friday it would boost its presence in the region.  A break in the 658 megawatt (MW) Estlink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia occurred at midday on Wednesday, leaving only the 358 MW Estlink 1 linking the two countries, grid operators said. They said Estlink 2 might not be back in service before August.  Finnish police suspect the Eagle S caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed.  Investigators have identified a “dragging track” but have yet to find a missing anchor, Sami Paila, tactical leader and detective chief inspector of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, said in a statement.  “The track is dozens of kilometers in length,” Paila said.  Photos taken of the Eagle S on Friday showed the vessel missing its port side anchor.  Finland’s customs service believes the ship is part of a “shadow fleet” of aging tankers being used to evade sanctions on exports of Russian oil.  The Kremlin said on Friday that Finland’s seizure of the ship was of little concern to it.  Russia has denied involvement in any of the previous Baltic infrastructure damage incidents.  …

As harsh winter weather descends on Ukraine, UNICEF and other aid organizations are helping communities in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region prepare for the cold season. Many locals have lost jobs and reliable income sources because of the war and cannot afford heating. Among them is the Malakey family, whose two children have disabilities. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy. …

ZAGREB — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriatic Sea state, but is unlikely to get an outright majority in the first round of voting Sunday. President Zoran Milanović, who is often compared to Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents, faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union. The two are expected to face off in the second round on Jan. 12 if no contender gets more than 50% of the vote, according to pre-election polls. The most popular politician in Croatia, 58-year-old Milanović had served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, Milanovic has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and continuous sparring between the two has lately marked Croatia’s political scene. “Since the election silence is still on, I just want to call on people to get out and vote. To support me,” Milanović said after he voted Sunday. He predicted there would be a second round in two weeks. Plenković, the prime minister, has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and NATO. He has labeled Milanović “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing. “The difference between him and Milanović is quite simple: Milanović is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Milanović has criticized the NATO and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, though it is a member of both NATO and the EU. Milanović has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a NATO-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war.” His main rival in the election, Primorac, has stated that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East.” His presidency bid, however, has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia’s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. During the election campaign, Primorac has sought to portray himself as a unifier and Milanović as divisive. “Today is an extremely important day,” Primorac … “Croatia holds presidential election with incumbent NATO, EU critic favored “ →

Paris — At least three migrants died early Sunday while attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain from northern France, authorities said. The deaths were confirmed after an early morning rescue operation involving French emergency services and the navy’s “Dauphin” helicopter.  Around 50 people were stranded in the water and on the beach near Sangatte at around 6 a.m., according to the regional prefecture. Rescuers assisted 45 individuals, including four who were transported to hospitals.  Three unconscious people were pulled from the water but could not be revived, despite efforts by medical teams.  An investigation has been opened by prosecutors in Boulogne-sur-Mer.  Jacques Billant, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said an overcrowded boat may have contributed to the tragedy.  “There were more people attempting to board than the boat could hold,” he said during a press conference Sunday.  Sunday’s tragedy comes during a spike in Channel crossing attempts as 2024 draws to a close. Officials have noted a significant increase in attempted crossings over the past days.  “Since Dec. 24, 23 maritime incidents have been thwarted by internal security forces, saving over 1,000 lives,” said Billant. “But crossing attempts continue, despite extremely dangerous sea conditions. The water is icy, so survival time in the water is very short.”  This year has been one of the deadliest for migrants attempting the perilous journey between France and England, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, with at least 76 deaths reported by officials.  Billant blamed human traffickers for putting lives at risk.  “These are low-quality boats put into the water solely for profit by these criminal networks, which have no regard for the lives of these children, women and men,” he said.  In November, a French court convicted 18 people in a migrant-smuggling trial that shed light on the lucrative but often deadly clandestine business of transporting people across the English Channel.  Despite French and British efforts to stop it, the route remains a major smuggling corridor for people fleeing conflict or poverty. Migrants favor the U.K. for reasons of language, family ties or perceived easier access to asylum and work.    …

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days. “We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. […] We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told Azerbaijani state television. Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials. “Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said. The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike. Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash. “First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said. Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident” though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the conversation. The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has begun at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land. Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny. Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting … “Azerbaijan’s president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally “ →

LONDON — The U.K. will end a tax exemption for private schools Wednesday, the center-left Labour government has announced, in a move set to raise over £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) for public education. After years of worsening educational inequalities, from Jan. 1, private schools will have to pay 20% value added tax on tuition fees, which will be used to fund thousands of new teachers and improve standards in state schools. “It’s time things are done differently,” finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement Sunday. The funding will “go towards our state schools where 94% of this country’s children are educated,” she said. The policy was promised by Labour in its election campaign and officially laid out in its inaugural budget in October. It hopes the move will bring in $1.9 billion for the 2025-2026 school year and rise to $2.1 billion a year by 2029-30, which will be used to fund 6,500 new teachers in the public sector. Tuition fees in private schools already average $22,600 a year, according to the Independent Schools Council, which represents private schools. That figure is set to rise, with the government estimating that tuition fees will increase by around 10%, with schools taking on part of the additional cost. “High and rising standards cannot just be for families who can afford them,” said education secretary Bridget Phillipson. Opponents of the reform say state school enrolment will explode if the private sector is lost, increasing the cost to the government. But studies contradict this. The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated that the number of children in state schools will actually fall by 2030 due to a projected population decline. Several research centers also point out that the disparity between private and state schools widened sharply under the 14-year Conservative rule. The Labour government won a landslide election in July promising to boost economic growth and improve public services. …

TALLINN, ESTONIA — Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president’s website said Saturday.  The announcement came amid persistent oppression in the run-up to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko’s decadeslong rule.  Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released, but the statement posted on the website of the president said that all of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature.”  The statement said the group included 11 women and 14 of those pardoned suffered from chronic illnesses.  “All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration said in a statement, using wording familiar from a series of previous group pardons in the past six months.  Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko since the summer of 2024. In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, according to Belarus’ oldest and most established human rights group, Viasna.  Most were jailed following mass anti-government protests in 2020, when Lukashenko secured his sixth term in a vote widely condemned as fraudulent.  According to Viasna, over 1,250 political prisoners remain behind bars. No prominent opposition figures, many of whom have not been heard from for months on end, have been released.  They include Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Viasna founder Ales Bialiatski; Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who planned to challenge Lukashenko at the ballot box in 2020 but was jailed before the vote; and Viktar Babaryka, who was also imprisoned after gaining popularity before the election.  The mass pardons come amid a new wave of repression, said Viasna activist Pavel Sapelka, as Minsk prepares to hold new presidential elections in January 2025 that are likely to hand Lukashenko a seventh term in office.  “Lukashenko is sending contradictory signals (to the West), pardoning some but jailing twice as many political prisoners in their place,” Sapelka said. “Repression is intensifying, and authorities are trying to root out any signs of dissent before the January elections.”  Belarusian authorities engineer harsh conditions for political prisoners, denying them meetings with lawyers and relatives, and depriving them of medical care. At least seven political prisoners have died behind bars since 2020, according to Viasna.  Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 30 years, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, … “Belarus’ leader pardons 20 more prisoners; rights groups say repression continues” →

LONDON — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73.  Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said.  Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after spotting her onstage in the play “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” which also starred Vanessa Redgrave.  “Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time.  Decades later, Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film.  They alleged that they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli told the pair they would wear only body makeup, and that the camera would be positioned in a way that would not show nudity. They alleged they were filmed in the nude without their knowledge.  The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found their depiction could not be considered child pornography and the pair filed their claim too late.  Whiting was among those paying tribute to Hussey on Saturday. “Rest now my beautiful Juliet no injustices can hurt you now. And the world will remember your beauty inside and out forever,” he wrote.  Hussey was born on April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school.  She also starred as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television series “Jesus of Nazareth,” as well as in the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” and horror movies “Black Christmas” and “Psycho IV: The Beginning.”  She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandson.  …

ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey’s foreign minister discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday the need to act in cooperation with the new Syrian administration to ensure the completion of the transition period in an orderly manner, the ministry said.  In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Ankara would not allow Kurdish YPG militia to take shelter in Syria, the ministry spokesperson said.  During the call, Blinken emphasized the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that “upholds human rights and prioritizes an inclusive and representative government,” according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.  Blinken and Fidan also discussed preventing terrorism from endangering the security of Turkey and Syria, the statement said.  …

KYIV, UKRAINE — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all.  Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven frontline soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.  Since being caught unaware by the lightning Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40% of the 984 square kilometers of Kursk they seized in August.  Its full-scale invasion three years ago left Russia holding a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted that he hopes controlling Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the whole 1,000-kilometer front line, and Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east.  “We have, as they say, hit a hornet’s nest. We have stirred up another hot spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major in the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.  Border raid turned occupation  Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeast Ukraine.  It began on August 5 with an order to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained leverage and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Gathering his men, one company commander told them: “We’re making history; the whole world will know about us because this hasn’t been done since World War II.  Privately, he was less certain.  “It seemed crazy,” he said. “I didn’t understand why.”  Shocked by the success achieved largely because the Russians were caught by surprise, the Ukrainians were ordered to advance beyond the original mission to the town of Korenevo, 25 … “Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing hard-won land in Kursk to Russia” →

As Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its third year, centers focused on soldiers’ rehabilitation and mental health are appearing across Ukraine. An active serviceman started one such place in his native village in the Carpathian Mountains. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Videographer and video editor: Yuriy Dankevych …

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. The Kremlin said in a statement that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, due to a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land Wednesday. It stopped short of saying the plane was shot down by Russian air defenses. According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.” The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while trying to land. There were 29 survivors. On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon. Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesperson John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. Neither Kirby nor the Azerbaijani minister directly addressed the statements blaming air defenses. Kirby told reporters Friday that the U.S. has “seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” but he refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point to external impact,” as does witness testimony. Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny. Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic. Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea. He didn’t comment on statements from some aviation experts who pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems. Earlier this week, Rosaviatsia cited unspecified early evidence as showing that the pilots … “Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan for ‘tragic incident’ of plane crash” →

ISTANBUL — A delegation from Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish DEM party is due on Saturday to visit jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul, a party source said. “The delegation left in the morning,” the source told AFP, without elaborating how they would travel to the island for security reasons. The visit would be the party’s first in almost 10 years. DEM’s predecessor, the HDP party, last met Ocalan in April 2015. On Friday, the government approved DEM’s request to visit Ocalan, who founded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, nearly half a century ago and has languished in solitary confinement since 1999. The PKK is regarded as a terror organization by Turkey and most of its Western allies, including the United States and European Union. The DEM party delegation is made up of two lawmakers — Sirri Sureyya Onder and Pervin Buldan. They are not expected to make a statement after the visit, the same source told AFP. Detained 25 years ago in a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces in Kenya after years on the run, Ocalan was sentenced to death. He escaped the gallows when Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2004 and is spending his remaining years in an isolation cell on the Imrali prison island south of Istanbul. Saturday’s rare visit became possible after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to come to parliament to renounce “terror” and to disband the militant group. Bahceli, who heads the ultra-nationalist MHP party, is fiercely hostile to the PKK. Erdogan backed the unprecedented appeal as a “historic window of opportunity.” “My dear Kurdish brothers, we expect you to firmly grasp [Bahceli’s] sincerely outstretched hand,” he said in October, urging them to join in efforts to build what he called the “century of Turkey.” Soon after Bahceli’s call, Ocalan was allowed his first family visit since March 2020, prompting DEM to make its own request to the Justice Ministry to visit the 75-year-old militant. PKK militants subsequently claimed responsibility for an attack in October on a Turkish defense firm that killed five. That delayed the government approval of DEM’s request. For several years up to 2015, Ocalan was engaged in talks with authorities, when then-Prime Minister Erdogan called for a solution for what is often called Turkey’s “Kurdish problem.” The peace process and a truce collapsed in 2015, … “Turkey’s pro-Kurd party to meet jailed PKK leader on Saturday” →

Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine military’s general staff said in a statement on Telegram the attack took place on Thursday and was conducted by Ukraine’s air force. “As a result of the strike, a depot for storage, maintenance and repair of Shahed kamikaze drones, made of several protected concrete structures, was destroyed,” it said. “This military operation has significantly reduced the enemy’s potential in terms of conducting air raids of strike drones on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.” Moscow has not made any comment on the attack. Russia has regularly launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine throughout its 34-month invasion. For the past several months, Moscow has launched near-daily barrages of dozens of drones at Ukraine, hoping to damage its infrastructure and wear down air defenses leaving them less able to shoot down missiles. Ukraine’s air force said earlier on Saturday it had downed 15 out of 16 drones launched by Russia overnight, with the other one disappearing from radar. …

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Idil Abdullahi Goley’s journey seeking a better life in Europe started in Somalia with a $6,500 payment to local smugglers. It ended a month later with fellow migrants around her dying at sea, one of them screaming and reciting the Muslim profession of faith.  The deaths of 25 migrants last month in boats off the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar brought to light yet another route that some in Africa are taking in dangerous bids for Europe.  Goley was one of the 48 people rescued. She spoke to The Associated Press about the journey that thousands of Somalis embark on every year as extremist attacks and climate shocks destroy hopes and livelihoods at home.  Some Somalis head for the Gulf countries via the Red Sea and Yemen. Others, like Goley, gamble on a longer sea voyage south, toward the French island territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, the poorest territory in the European Union.  Somalis are among an estimated 100,000 migrants living in Mayotte, according to French authorities. The migrants are part of communities affected after Cyclone Chido leveled entire neighborhoods on December 14.  The International Organization for Migration has estimated that 2 million people migrated from Somalia in 2021 in search of work, the latest data available.  Children left behind Goley, 28, heard about the smugglers from friends who had traveled the route and raised the $6,500 fee from her small tea shop business in the capital, Mogadishu, and from her brother and mother. She hoped to reach Europe and pay them back. She left her three small children behind.  Her journey began with a flight from Mogadishu to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Then she and others took a bus to the port city of Mombasa, where they set off in fishing boats for Mayotte, more than 620 miles (997 kilometers) away. They hoped to request asylum there.  After three days at sea, the group of about 70 migrants was transferred to smaller boats, whose engines started to fail. The smugglers said they would fix the engines and left with them on another boat, leaving the migrants drifting without water and food. They started catching fish and collecting rainwater to survive.  It was nearly cyclone season, and waves were choppy.  Goley said she tried to save the life of an infant whose mother was also on board but struggling.  “But she died right in front of me. … “Somali migrant who survived boat sinking wants to try again for Europe” →

VOA Russian spoke with U.S. officials, politicians and experts to see how U.S. relations with China and Russia could change under the incoming Donald Trump administration. Experts say Beijing may be worried about Trump’s plans for the swift end of the war in Ukraine, while North Korea’s involvement in the war could become a lightning rod in China-Russia relations. Click here for the full story in Russian. …

VOA Russian speaks to aviation expert Konstantin Kryvolap, who takes apart Moscow’s official versions of the crash of the Russia-bound Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan and says a Russian missile was the only viable cause. Kryvolap says as soon as the first photos and videos from the crash site started to trickle in, this became obvious, taking into account the shrapnel damage on the plane fuselage. Click here for the full story in Russian. …

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on the founder of Georgia’s ruling political party, which has steered the country away from a pro-Western stance and toward Russia, U.S. officials said Friday. The State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chair Bidzina Ivanishvili with penalties “for undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation,” according to a statement. The designation of Ivanishvili is the latest in a series of sanctions the United States has slapped on Georgian politicians, lawmakers and others this year. The sanctions include freezes on assets and properties that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions or that might enter U.S. jurisdictions as well as travel bans on the targets and members of their families. “We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protestors, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.” Ivanishvili is a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister. In 2012, he founded Georgian Dream, the longtime ruling party. Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws like those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights, prompting the European Union to suspend Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely. In October, Georgian Dream won another term in a divisive parliamentary election that has led to more mass protests. Last month, the country’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a four-year suspension of talks on Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, fueling further public outrage. …

ZAGREB, CROATIA — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection this weekend against an array of contenders, including the candidate backed by the conservative government. President Zoran Milanovic is seen as a favorite ahead of Sunday’s presidential election, although he is unlikely to score an outright victory. If none of the eight contenders gain more than half of the ballots cast in the first round, a runoff between the top two will be held on Jan. 12. The most popular politician in Croatia, 58-year-old Milanovic served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, Milanovic has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. The continuous sparring between the two has lately marked Croatia’s political scene. Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Plenkovic’s Hrvatska Democratska Zajednica party, or Croatian Democratic Union party, has backed pediatrician and university professor Dragan Primorac for the presidency. Primorac has sought to portray himself as a unifier and Milanovic as divisive. Although the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Milanovic has criticized the European Union’s support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, although it is a member of NATO and the EU. Milanovic has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a NATO-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “No Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war.” His main rival in the election, Primorac, has stated that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East.” His presidency bid, however, has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia’s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. Political expert Andjelko Milardovic said Milanovic’s reelection would be good for democracy in Croatia because the ruling party holds a tight grip over all other government institutions. “We are interested to see a balance and control of power,” said Milardovic. Milanovic is backed by center-left Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party. Some analysts believe that Marija Selak Raspudic, a conservative independent candidate polling third in pre-election surveys, could stand a better chance against Milanovic if she somehow makes it to the runoff. Selak Raspudic was close to a right-wing party in the past but now runs … “Croatia’s president seeks reelection, faces several contenders in Sunday’s vote” →