BLOGONITY

Washington / belgrade, serbia — An encounter with police in the Serbian city of Pirot earlier this year unnerved investigative reporter Slavisa Milanov. A journalist for the independent media outlet FAR, Milanov was driving with a colleague in February when they were pulled over by police, who asked the pair to accompany them to a station to be tested for illegal substances. Once there, Milanov said he was asked to leave his phone and personal belongings behind during a check. The drug tests were negative, but when police handed Milanov his phone, he noticed the settings had been changed. Suspecting that spyware may have been installed, he reached out to Amnesty International. In a report published this week, the international watchdog confirmed Milanov’s suspicions, finding forensic evidence that spyware was installed on the phones of several journalists and activists, including Milanov. In at least two cases, software provided by Cellebrite DI — an Israeli company that markets products for government and law enforcement agencies — was used to unlock the phones prior to infection, the report found. Then, Serbian spyware called NoviSpy took covert screenshots, copied contacts and uploaded them to a government-controlled server.  “In multiple cases, activists and a journalist reported signs of suspicious activity on their mobile phones directly following interviews with Serbian police and security authorities,” Amnesty said. ‘Major consequences’ seen Aleksa Tesic, who has reported on spyware in Serbia for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, said the Amnesty report precisely documented for the first time cases showing technology abuse for the purpose of affecting civil liberties.    “We had various indications that this was happening before, because Serbia has been interested in advanced spy software for more than 10 years. But this could now have major consequences for democracy in Serbia,” Tesic said.   Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) rejected the findings. In a statement on its website, the agency said the report contained “nonsensical statements,” and that the BIA operates within local law.   The Serbian Interior Ministry also denounced the report as incorrect.   Milanov said the existence of spyware on his phone could “jeopardize me, my family, colleagues and my sources.” “If anything happens to any of us, I will hold the state responsible for it. I don’t see who else it could be,” he told VOA Serbian. Milanov is based in Dimitrovgrad, at the border of Serbia and Bulgaria, 330 kilometers from Serbia’s … “After a police stop in Serbia, journalist finds spyware on phone  “ →

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says the leaders of Ukraine and Russia should be “prepared to make a deal” to end the brutal conflict that has consumed Ukraine since 2022. He also slammed President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory with U.S.-provided weapons – hinting that when he takes office, he may reverse that move. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington. Iuliia Iarmolenko, Kim Lewis and Kateryna Lisunova contributed. …

MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey Cyclone Chido’s destruction and was immediately confronted with a firsthand account of devastation across the French territory.  “Mayotte is demolished,” Assane Haloi, a security agent, told Macron after he stepped off the plane.  Macron had been moving along in a line of people greeting him when Haloi grasped his hand and spoke for a minute about the harrowing conditions the islands faced without bare essentials since Saturday when the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French territory off the coast of Africa.  “We are without water, without electricity, there is nowhere to go because everything is demolished,” she said. “We can’t even shelter, we are all wet with our children covering ourselves with whatever we have so that we can sleep.”  Numbers of dead unknown  At least 31 people have died and more than 1,500 people were injured, more than 200 critically, French authorities said. But it’s feared hundreds or even thousands of people have died.  Macron arrived shortly after The Associated Press and other journalists from outside were able to reach Mayotte to provide accounts from survivors of the horror over the weekend when winds howled above 220 kph (136 mph) and peeled the roofs and walls from homes that collapsed around the people sheltering inside.  In the shantytown Kaweni on the outskirts of the capital Mamoudzou, a swath of hillside homes was reduced to scraps of corrugated metal, plastic, piles of bedding and clothing, and pieces of timber marking the frame where homes once stood.  “Those of us who are here are still in shock, but God let us live,” Nassirou Hamidouni said as he dug in the rubble of his former home. “We are sad. We can’t sleep because of all of the houses that have been destroyed.”  Macron took a helicopter tour of the damage and then met with patients and staff at a hospital, who described having to work around the clock.  A woman who works in the psychological unit became emotional as she described staff becoming exhausted and unable to care for patients.  “Help the hospital staff, help the hospital,” pleaded the woman, whose name was not known. “Everyone from top to bottom is wiped out.”  More help on the way  Macron, who was wearing a traditional red, black and gold Mayotte scarf over … “France’s Macron visits cyclone-devastated Mayotte as residents plead for aid” →

After a French court Thursday found all 51 defendants guilty in a drugging-and-rape case, the victim, Gisele Pelicot said that the trial has been a “difficult ordeal,” but that she never regretted making the case public. Following a four-month trial in the southeastern city of Avignon, Pelicot’s ex-husband of 50 years, 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot, received a sentence of a maximum of 20 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in September to repeatedly drugging his wife, raping her while she was unconscious and recruiting strangers to join him over a period of 10 years. The five-judge panel handed Pelicot’s 50 co-defendants, a group of men from 27 to 74 years old, sentences ranging from three to 20 years in prison. In her first comments following the verdicts, Gisele Pelicot told reporters her first thoughts were with her three children and her grandchildren, “because they are the future, and it is also for them that I have fought this battle.” She said she was also thinking of all the other families affected “by this tragedy.” Finally, she said, “I think of the unrecognized victims whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same struggle.” Pelicot has become a symbol of courage and resilience to many, and crowds of supporters gathered outside the courthouse as the case went on. Asked by reporters about complaints by her supporters that the sentences were too lenient, Pelicot said she respected the court and the decision. She said, “I trust, now, in our capacity to collectively seize a future in which each one of us, woman and man, may live in harmony with mutual respect and understanding.” Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. …

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — China has allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board a Chinese bulk carrier at the center of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, the Danish foreign minister said on Thursday. The Yi Peng 3 vessel is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fiber-optic cables in November and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed the matter. Investigators quickly zeroed in on the ship, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic data showed that the vessel’s coordinates corresponded to the time and place of the breaches. The Baltic Sea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged on Nov. 17 and 18, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was caused by sabotage. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Thursday said his country had facilitated a meeting earlier this week between representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and China, helping break a monthlong standoff. “It is our expectation that once the inspection has been completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail towards its destination,” Lokke Rasmussen said. LSEG data showed Yi Peng 3 remained anchored in the same spot in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden. Swedish police in a statement said they participated on board the vessel as observers only, while Chinese authorities conducted investigations. “In parallel, the preliminary investigation into sabotage in connection with two cable breaks in the Baltic Sea is continuing,” the police said. The actions taken on board the ship on Thursday were not part of the Swedish-led preliminary investigation, the police added. The breaches happened in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone and Swedish prosecutors are leading the investigation on suspicion of possible sabotage. Western intelligence officials from multiple countries have said they are confident the Chinese ship caused the cuts to both cables. They have expressed different views on whether these were accidents or could have been deliberate. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had urged the ship to return to Sweden to aid the investigation. The was no immediate response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry outside of business hours on Thursday. …

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden’s administration prepares to transfer power to the incoming team of President-elect Donald Trump, VOA Ukrainian Iuliia Iarmolenko spoke with Michael Carpenter, the National Security Council director for Europe. Carpenter discussed the Biden administration’s final efforts to strengthen Ukraine and why it would take more time and resources from Washington to start successful negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. VOA: In September, we talked about Ukraine’s “victory plan” and now it seems like the conversation is moving towards the negotiation process. Do you think the victory of Ukraine is still possible? And is there something that the Biden administration can still do to help Ukraine achieve that goal? Michael Carpenter, Senior Director for Europe at National Security Council: I do. I do think victory is possible. I think Ukraine must prevail. I think for the good of the international order, for the good of security in Europe and for the good of all those brave Ukrainians that are fighting for their freedom, it must prevail. The question is, what can we do now to set Ukraine up to be in a position of strength? It’s going to take a dedicated effort of providing additional security assistance in order to stabilize the lines. And it’s going to take a range of other efforts, including macro financial assistance, humanitarian support, support for the energy sector. But this is underway. And this administration, although it only has a month left in office, will continue to surge the support and it will spend every penny. Every dollar of security assistance that has been authorized for Ukraine will be obligated by the end of this year.  VOA: But is there enough time? The Pentagon yesterday said that they might not be able to use every dollar, every penny of the remaining funding to provide security assistance.  Michael Carpenter: Oh, they will. They will. Now, some of that security assistance is on contract, so some of it will not arrive until 2025. But all of the money will be spent down by January 20th.   VOA: Air defense continues to be the biggest issue for Ukrainian civilians. In that remaining time, will the air defense be prioritized in order to give Ukrainian civilians some kind of protection?   Michael Carpenter: Of all the capabilities that Ukraine needs, air defense is the most important one because this goes to the protection of cities which … “White House: NATO membership necessary for Ukraine security guarantees but invitation decision up to next president” →

AVIGNON, France — A French court found all 51 defendants guilty on Thursday in a drugging-and-rape case that horrified the world and transformed the victim, Gisele Pelicot, into a stirring symbol of courage and resilience.  Pelicot’s ex-husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, had pleaded guilty to drugging her repeatedly for almost a decade to rape her and to offer up her unconscious body for sex to dozens of strangers he had met online, while video recording the abuse.  A panel of five judges sentenced him to the maximum 20 years in jail, as requested by prosecutors.   The court imposed generally shorter terms than the four-to-18 years demanded by the prosecution for the other defendants, almost all of whom were accused of raping the comatose Gisele Pelicot.   In all, the court found 47 of the defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.  A cheer went up outside the court in the southern French city of Avignon among the victim’s supporters when news of the first guilty verdicts filtered out.  Many of the accused had denied the charges, saying they thought it was a consensual sex game orchestrated by the couple and arguing that it was not rape if the husband approved.  Dominique Pelicot, 72, denied misleading the men, saying they knew exactly what they were doing. “I am a rapist like the others in this room,” he said during testimony.  Gisele, who is also 72, waived her right to anonymity during the trial and demanded that horrifying videos of the serial abuse, which were recorded by her former husband, should be seen in court, saying she hoped this would help other women speak up.  The trial has triggered protest rallies around France in support of Gisele, and spurred soul searching, including a debate on whether to update France’s rape law, which at present makes no mention that sex should involve consent.  Gisele stared down her abusers with steely determination in the packed courtroom day after day, scoffing at any claim that she might have been a willing participant.  “I’ve decided not to be ashamed, I’ve done nothing wrong,” she testified in October. “They are the ones who must be ashamed,” she said.  Horrifying secrets The Pelicots’ children, David, Caroline and Florian, arrived in court to hear the verdict alongside their mother. The siblings have spoken out forcibly against their father, rejecting his … “Dominique Pelicot jailed for 20 years in landmark French mass rape trial” →

Moscow — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian forces were moving towards achieving their primary goals on the battlefield in Ukraine and touted what he said was the invincibility of Russia’s new hypersonic missile.   Fielding questions on state TV during his annual question and answer session with Russians, Putin said Moscow’s forces were advancing along the whole of the battle front.  “I must say that the situation is changing dramatically… There is movement along the entire front line. Every day,” he said.  Western and Russian military analysts say Russia is advancing in eastern Ukraine at the fastest pace since 2022, taking village after village and threatening strategically important cities such as Pokrovsk, a major road and rail hub.  “Our fighters are reclaiming territory by the square kilometer every day,” Putin said.  He said the fighting was complex, so it was “difficult and pointless to guess what lies ahead… (but) we are moving, as you said, towards solving our primary tasks, which we outlined at the beginning of the special military operation.”  “Everyone is fighting, literally heroically. And they are fighting right now. Let us wish them all…good luck, victory and to return home,” he said.  Discussing the continued presence of Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, Putin said Kyiv’s troops would definitely be forced out, but declined to say exactly when that would happen.  Putin also touted what he said was the invincibility of the “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile which Russia has already test- fired at a Ukrainian military factory, saying he was ready to organize another launch at Ukraine and see if Western air defense systems could shoot it down.   “There is no chance of shooting down these missiles,” said Putin.   “Let Western experts propose to us, and let them propose to those in the West and the U.S. who pay them for their analysis, to conduct some kind of technological experiment, say, a high-tech duel of the 21st century.   “Let them determine some target for destruction, say in Kyiv, concentrate all their air defense and missile defense forces there, and we will strike there with Oreshnik and see what happens. We are ready for such an experiment, but is the other side ready?” he said.  …

Officials in Russia’s Rostov region reported a fire Thursday at an oil refinery after a wave of attacks from several dozen Ukrainian aerial drones. Rostov acting Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram that the fire happened at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and was later extinguished. Slyusar reported one person was injured in the attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Rostov, part of a total of 84 drones it shot down mostly over regions bordering Ukraine. The ministry said the other intercepts took place over Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Tambov and Krasnodar. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian drone attacks damaged several residential buildings. Ukraine’s military said Thursday its air defenses shot down 45 of 85 Russian drones used in overnight attacks targeting the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava and Sumy regions. The military also said Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and municipal property in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that the areas damaged included a school and a hospital in Kryvyi Rih. Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  …

WASHINGTON — The Commerce Department’s efforts to curb China’s and Russia’s access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons, according to a report published Wednesday by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Biden administration imposed export controls to limit the ability of China and Russia to access U.S.-made chips after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The agency’s Bureau of Industry and Security, according to the report, does not have the resources to enforce export controls and has been too reliant on U.S. chip makers voluntarily complying with the rules. But the push for bolstering Commerce’s export control enforcement comes as the incoming Trump administration says it is looking to dramatically reduce the size and scope of federal government. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” to dismantle parts of the federal government. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. BIS’s budget, about $191 million, has remained essentially flat since 2010 when adjusted for inflation. “While BIS’ budget has been stagnant for a decade, the bureau works diligently around the clock to meet its mission and safeguard U.S. national security,” Commerce Department spokesperson Charlie Andrews said in a statement in response to the report. Andrews added that with “necessary resources from Congress” the agency would be “better equipped to address the challenges that come with our evolving national security environment.” In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, chair of the subcommittee, pointed to news reports of the Russian military continuing to acquire components from Texas Instruments through front companies in Hong Kong to illustrate how the export controls are failing as an effective tool. Blumenthal in a statement called on “Commerce to take immediate action and crack down on the companies allowing U.S.-made semiconductors to power Russian weapons and Chinese ambition.” Texas Instruments said it opposes the use of its chips in Russian military equipment and the illicit diversion of its products to Russia. “It is our policy to comply with export control laws, and any shipments of TI chips into Russia are illicit and unauthorized,” the company said in a statement. “If we find evidence indicating product diversion, we investigate and take action.” … “US effort to curb China’s and Russia’s access to advanced computer chips ‘inadequate,’ report finds” →

WASHINGTON — They were promised a chance to earn money, get an education abroad, and gain work experience. Instead, they found themselves assembling military drones in Russia and, in one case, subjected to a Ukrainian drone strike. A series of investigative reports has shed light on a Russian labor recruitment program that has allegedly lured young African women to work at an industrial park in provincial Russia with false promises and coerced them into contributing to the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine. The reported victims of the program, which attracts recruits largely through online job advertisements, includes women from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. Media reports from The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and others have exposed the operation, entitled Alabuga Start, but VOA reporting has found that African countries have largely failed to intervene or give an official response. Some even appear to be building ties with the Russian entity behind the program. That entity called the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, has been intensifying its outreach across the African continent, according to David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security and the researcher behind a report exposing the program that exploited the young women. “In some of the initial investigations of this, the recruiters in Africa were oblivious when they were asked where these women were going,” Albright said, adding that some are now aware and that he hopes there will be “pushback from these governments about what exactly [Alabuga is] recruiting these women to do.” Albright said representatives from Alabuga recently visited Sierra Leone, Zambia and Madagascar, signing memorandums of cooperation with local organizations, despite the reports of misleading recruitment practices and questionable labor actions. Albright said the young women are forced to handle toxic materials, which he says is forbidden in Russian labor law. But African and other governments have also been willing to send their citizens off to Alabuga Start. VOA discovered a series of documents online indicating the government ministries had officially promoted the program. VOA reached out to authorities of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Nigeria but several emails and phone calls went unanswered. VOA also requested comment from Alabuga and the Russian Embassy in Washington but received no response. Recruitment under false pretenses Located 1,000 kilometers to the east of Moscow in Russia’s Tatarstan region, the city of Yelabuga, … “Expert: Several African governments unaware of young workers in Russian drone factories” →

With the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the beginning of Russia’s withdrawal from Syria, Moscow’s great power prestige and ambitions have suffered another blow, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Click here to see the full story in Mandarin.  …

washington — Experts on cybersecurity and online foreign influence campaigns are urging social media company Bluesky, whose app has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, to step up moderation to counter potential state-sponsored influence efforts. Over the past month, Bluesky, a microblogging platform with its roots in Twitter, has seen one of its biggest increases in new user registrations since it was publicly released in February. Over 25 million are now on the platform, close to half of whom joined after the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Rose Wang, Bluesky’s chief operating officer, said in a recent interview that Bluesky does not intend to push any political ideologies. “We have no political viewpoint that we are trying to promote,” she said in early December. Exploiting users’ political leanings Many who joined Bluesky have cited user experience as one of the reasons for migrating from social media platform X. They also have said they joined the platform after Election Day because they are critics of Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump. Some commentators in the U.S. have questioned whether Bluesky is risking becoming an echo chamber of the left. Some experts contend the platform’s liberal-leaning users could be exploited by foreign propagandists. Joe Bodnar, who tracks foreign influence operations for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told VOA Mandarin that Russian propaganda often appeals to the anti-establishment left in the U.S. on contentious topics, like Gaza, gun violence and America’s global dominance. “The Kremlin wants to make those arguments even louder,” Bodnar said. “Sometimes that means they play to the left.” So far, at least three accounts that belong to RT, a Russia-controlled media outlet, have joined Bluesky. Sputnik Brazil is also actively posting on the platform. VOA Mandarin found that at least two Chinese accounts that belong to state broadcaster CGTN have joined the platform. Bluesky does not assign verification labels. One way to authenticate an account is for the person or organization to link it to the domain of its official website. There are at least four other accounts that claim to be Chinese state media outlets, including China Daily, the Global Times and People’s Daily. None of the three publications replied to VOA’s emails inquiring about these accounts’ authenticity. Additionally, Beijing has played heavily to the Western left on certain global issues. China has consistently called for a ceasefire in Gaza and blamed the West for supporting Israel. But those familiar … “Bluesky could become target of foreign disinformation, experts warn” →

BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary-general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders. But Mark Rutte appeared frustrated at growing speculation in NATO capitals about when those peace talks might start and whether European peacekeepers would be involved, saying that speaking publicly about it plays into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “High on the agenda is to make sure that the president, his team in Ukraine, are in the best possible position one day when they decide to start the peace talks,” Rutte told reporters as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his residence in Brussels. The focus, Rutte said, must be “to do everything now to make sure that when it comes to air defense, when it comes to other weapons systems, that we make sure that we provide whatever we can.” He said that another issue up for discussion would be “how to make sure that when peace comes one day that we also think about the economy of Ukraine now, but also after a future peace deal.” Zelenskyy posted on Telegram that he would hold talks with the leaders of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland and U.K. representatives, who were in Brussels. He’s also due to take part in an EU summit in the Belgian capital on Thursday. Zelenskyy said that the meeting would provide “a very good opportunity to speak about security guarantees for Ukraine, for today and for tomorrow.” Ukraine sees NATO membership as the ultimate security guarantee, but the U.S. and Germany lead a group of countries that oppose this while war continues. After separate talks with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is making reinforced support for Ukraine its ″absolute priority″ and will continue giving Ukraine ″the means to defend itself and to make Russia’s war of aggression fail,″ according to Macron’s office. Noting his recent meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Zelenskyy, Macron said he will maintain a ″tight dialogue with Ukraine and its international partners to work for a return to a fair and lasting peace,″ the statement said. At NATO headquarters earlier, Rutte had said the terms of any peace talks should be up to Ukraine, Russia and any others at the negotiating … “NATO chief aims to put Ukraine in position of strength for peace talks with Russia” →