Britain’s King Charles said Tuesday there is “no excuse” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed against Kenyans during the East African nation’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule.

The monarch made the acknowledgement during a state banquet in Nairobi at the start of a four-day state visit by Charles and Queen Camilla. The visit comes ahead of celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Kenya’s independence on December 12.

More than 10,000 Kenyans were killed and others rounded up, detained and tortured during the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau uprising at the hands of British authorities between 1952 and 1960.

Charles told the attendees the “wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.” He said that by addressing the past with “honesty and openness,” the two nations could “continue to build an ever closer bond in the years ahead.”

But the king did not offer a full-fledged apology for the atrocities as many Kenyan activists are demanding.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who hosted the banquet, said the response to African independence movements was “monstrous in its cruelty.” Ruto acknowledged that while Britain has made efforts to “atone for the death, injury and suffering” inflicted on Kenyans, “much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations.”

Britain agreed to a $24 million settlement in 2013 for more than 5,000 Kenyans who suffered abuse during the revolt.

Charles’s visit to Kenya is his first to a member country of the 56-nation Commonwealth, comprised mostly of former British colonies, since his succession to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, last year. Her historic 70-year reign began in 1952 when her father, King George VI, died while then-Princess Elizabeth was visiting Kenya with her husband, the late Prince Philip.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday on the first leg of a trip to Central Asia, a region long regarded as Russia’s backyard which has drawn fresh Western attention since the war in Ukraine began.

Oil-rich Kazakhstan has already emerged as a replacement supplier of crude to European nations turning off Russian supply and an important link in the new China-Europe trade route bypassing Russia.

At a meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Macron complimented Kazakhstan for refusing to side with Moscow on Ukraine and said the two countries signed business deals, including a declaration of intent for a partnership in the much-sought area of rare earths and rare metals.

Russia has voiced concern at the West’s growing diplomatic activity in former Soviet Central Asian nations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week the West was trying to pull Russia’s “neighbours, friends and allies” away from it. 

“I don’t underestimate by any means the geopolitical difficulties, the pressures … that some may be putting on you,” Macron told Tokayev.

“France values … the path you are following for your country, refusing to be a vassal of any power and seeking to build numerous and balanced relations with different countries in the interest of your people. Such a philosophy is close to France.”

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where Macron goes next, have refused to recognise Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories and have pledged to abide by Western sanctions against Moscow, while calling both Russia and Western nations such as France their strategic partners.

“We respect our friends, we are here when they need us and we respect their independence,” Macron said. “And in a world where major powers want to become hegemons, and where regional powers become unpredictable, it is good to have friends who share this philosophy.”

In addition to oil, Kazakhstan is a major exporter of uranium, and France’s Orano already operates a joint venture with its state nuclear firm Kazatomprom. 

“We can call your visit historic, very important,” Tokayev told Macron.
…

The abbreviation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been named the Collins Word of the Year for 2023, the dictionary publisher said on Tuesday.

Lexicographers at Collins Dictionary said use of the term had “accelerated” and that it had become the dominant conversation of 2023.

“We know that AI has been a big focus this year in the way that it has developed and has quickly become as ubiquitous and embedded in our lives as email, streaming or any other once futuristic, now everyday technology,” Collins managing director Alex Beecroft said.

Collins said its wordsmiths analyzed the Collins Corpus, a database that contains more than 20 billion words with written material from websites, newspapers, magazines and books published around the world.

It also draws on spoken material from radio, TV and everyday conversations, while new data is fed into the Corpus every month, to help the Collins dictionary editors identify new words and meanings from the moment they are first used.

“Use of the word as monitored through our Collins Corpus is always interesting and there was no question that this has also been the talking point of 2023,” Beecroft said.

Other words on Collins list include “nepo baby,” which has become a popular phrase to describe the children of celebrities who have succeeded in industries similar to those of their parents.

“Greedflation,” meaning companies making profits during the cost-of-living crisis, and “Ulez,” the ultra-low emission zone that penalizes drivers of the most polluting cars in London, were also mentioned.

Social media terms such as “deinfluencing” or “de-influencing,” meaning to “warn followers to avoid certain commercial products.” were also on the Collins list.

This summer’s Ashes series between England and Australia had many people talking about a style of cricket dubbed “Bazball,” according to Collins.

The term refers to New Zealand cricketer and coach Brendon McCullum, known as Baz, who advocates a philosophy of relaxed minds, aggressive tactics and positive energy.

The word “permacrisis,” defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity” was the Collins word of the year in 2022.

In 2020, it was “lockdown.” In 2016, it was “Brexi.t”

 
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A Russian court on Tuesday denied the appeal filed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva against her pretrial detention on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent.     

Kurmahseva’s lawyer had requested pretrial restrictions for the journalist other than placement in pretrial detention, but the Supreme Court of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan denied the appeal. Last week, a district court ordered her to be held in pretrial detention until at least December 5.  

Kurmasheva participated in Tuesday’s closed-door hearing via video link from a detention center in Kazan, Tatarstan’s capital. The Prague-based journalist faces up to five years in prison for violating the country’s “foreign agent” law, which Moscow typically uses to target critical journalists and activists.  

Kurmasheva and RFE/RL deny the charges against her.  

A dual U.S.-Russian national who works with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service, Kurmasheva traveled to Russia in May for a family emergency. Her passports were confiscated when she tried to leave the country in June.    

She was waiting for her passports to be returned when she was detained on October 18.  

Jeffrey Gedmin, acting president of VOA’s sister outlet RFE/RL, has condemned Kurmasheva’s arrest as politically motivated and retaliation over her work.  

“Journalism is not a crime. She must be released to her family immediately,” Gedmin said. 

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.    

Kurmasheva is the second American journalist to be jailed in Russia this year.  

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been held in a Moscow prison since March on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government deny.  

Human rights and press freedom groups and U.S. officials have widely called for Kurmasheva and Gershkovich to be immediately released.  
…

Britain’s King Charles has begun a four-day visit to Kenya, his first trip to Africa since becoming king following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, last year. Addressing aspects of Britain’s colonial past, issues related to the climate crisis, education and the importance of national security will top the monarch’s agenda.

The royal visit kicked off with a welcoming ceremony at the State House led by Kenyan President William Ruto and the country’s first lady.

It was followed by a visit to Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum — a new location dedicated to telling Kenya’s history through Kenyan voices — where the king laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Right after, Charles and Queen Camilla went to the Eastlands local library, where young and old lined up inside to greet the couple.

Joel Aluoch grew up in the area and couldn’t believe the king was paying a visit to the library he’s known for so long.

“This is very phenomenal,” Aluoch said. “We are so elated to be in the group that’s going to meet the king, his majesty the king. It’s a lifetime experience. We are happy he chose to come to Eastlands where we were born and bred.”

VOA also spoke to a few other attendees, including Eva Aholi, Rahma Abdi and Lucy Vihenda, who were lucky to not only see the royal couple up close and personal, but even shook hands with them.

“I feel great. It’s a privilege to greet a king and a queen,” said Eva Aholi said. “I feel special.”

“I feel happy, and I told them, ‘Jambo’ and ‘Welcome to Kenya,'” Rahma Abdi said.

Lucy Vihenda echoed the others’ sentiments.

“It’s a privilege and an honor first of all to see the King and the Queen and to shake their hands,” she said. “We wish them well and tell them, ‘Karibu Sana Kenya.'”

“Karibu Sana Kenya” means “Big welcome to Kenya.”

This is the third foreign trip for the royal couple and their first to Africa since Charles became king last year.

Kenya holds symbolic significance for Charles’ family because of what it represented for his late mother, who was in Kenya when she learned her father had died and she had become queen.

The trip comes as the African nation celebrates 60 years of independence from Britain.

Javas Bigambo, a Kenyan lawyer and a governance specialist, recalled Kenya’s hard-fought struggle against British colonialism.

“There was a history of taking up the land of the locals when Kenya was a British protectorate from 1901 through the time of struggle through independence,” Bigambo said, “the Mau Mau struggle where a number of Kenyans suffered in the hands of the British.”

Ten years ago, Britain apologized and agreed to pay compensation to thousands of veterans of the Mau Mau nationalist uprising in Kenya, which was brutally suppressed by the British colonial government in the 1950s.

In Kenya, Mau Mau veterans and campaigners welcomed the apology at the time but said the compensation of about $3,500 per victim was not enough for the pain, suffering and long-term effects the community endured.

Other groups have also been asking for an apology and reparations. On Monday, the Kenya Human Rights Commission sent a 10-page document to the U.K. High Commission in Nairobi with its demands. Davis Malombe is the group’s executive director.

“We are raising a number of concerns with respect to the unresolved injustices by the colonial government when they were in the country between 1895 and 1963,” said Davis Malombe, the rights group’s executive director, “and also the other atrocities, which have been committed by the British multinational corporations and other actors from that time to date.”

VOA reached out to the embassy for comment but did not hear back.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will spend two days in Nairobi and then two days in the coastal city of Mombasa, where they plan to meet with environmental activists, conservationists, artists, entrepreneurs, veterans and young people.
…

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that Russia would be successful in Ukraine unless the United States kept up its support for Kyiv.

Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee on President Joe Biden’s request for $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security.

“I can guarantee that without our support [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will be successful,” Austin said during the hearing.

“If we pull the rug out from under them now, Putin will only get stronger and he will be successful in doing what he wants to do.”

Arguing that supporting U.S. partners is vital to national security, Biden requested $61.4 billion for Ukraine, about half of which would be spent in the United States to replenish weapons stocks drained by previous support.

Congress has already approved $113 billion for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. The White House has said it has less than $5.5 billion in funds to continue transferring weapons from U.S. stockpiles to Ukrainian forces fighting Russia.

The path forward for Biden’s latest funding plan looks uncertain. Democrats solidly back Biden’s strategy of combining Ukraine aid with support for Israel, as do many Republicans in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

But Republicans who lead the House of Representatives object to combining the two issues, joined by some party members in the Senate.

Austin said the Biden administration wanted Ukraine to continue operations through the winter, but Kyiv could not do that if they were forced to pause because of a lack of U.S. support.

Kyiv military officials said on Monday that Russia has bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and has switched its troops from defense to offense, but Ukraine has been preparing to repel the attacks.
…

French police opened fire on a woman after she threatened to blow herself up on a train heading into Paris on Tuesday.

The woman reportedly threatened other passengers and yelled phrases like, “You’re all going to get it,” “Allahu Akbar” and “Boom,” said Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez.

The woman was wearing a long robe known as an abaya, as well as a hijab, clothing typically worn by Muslims.

Two Paris police officers stopped the woman at the Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand station, in eastern Paris, where they initially attempted to calm down the woman before they “had no option but to open fire on this woman given the danger of the situation,” according to government spokesperson Olivier Veran.

Authorities said the woman was shot eight times and was treated on the scene by the Fire Service before being transferred to a nearby hospital, where she is in critical condition.

An investigation was launched into both the exact nature of the woman’s threats, as well as the use of firearms by the officers, which officials say happens every time a service weapon is discharged.

According to the police chief, a search of the woman concluded that she did not have any explosives on her at the time.

The suspect’s identity has not been confirmed, although there were indications the same person previously threatened urban patrols of the counterterrorism Sentinelle operation and had been put in a psychiatric ward over mental health issues.

France has been on heightened alert for attacks following the suspected Islamist attack in which a French school teacher was stabbed to death on Oct. 13.

Some information in this report was taken from The Associated Press and Reuters.
…

The inflation that has been wearing on European consumers fell sharply to 2.9% in October, its lowest in more than two years as fuel prices fell and rapid interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank took hold.

But that encouraging news was balanced by official figures showing economic output in the 20 countries that use the euro shrank by 0.1% in the July-September quarter.

Inflation fell from an annual 4.3% in September as fuel prices fell by 11.1% and painful food inflation slowed, to 7.5%.

The drop to under 3% is down from the peak of over 10% in October 2022 and puts the inflation figure at least within shouting distance of the European Central Bank’s target of 2% considered best for the economy.

But growth disappeared as output shrank after months of stagnation near zero.

Germany, the largest of the 20 countries that use the euro, saw its economy output fall by 0.1%, while No. 2 economy France only scraped out 0.1% growth, slowing from 0.6% in the previous quarter.

The lower inflation figure follows a rapid series of interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank. Higher central bank rates are the typical medicine against inflation that’s too high. They influence borrowing costs throughout the economy, raising the cost of credit for purchases such as homes or for expanding factories or offices. That reduces the demand for goods and thus restrains price increases.

But high rates can also slow growth. In recent months they have slammed credit-sensitive sectors like construction of new houses and business facilities. Meanwhile lingering inflation has still been high enough to hold back spending by consumers who had to set more money aside for necessaries like food and utility bills.

This burst of inflation was set off as the global economy rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to shortages of parts and raw materials. It got worse when Russian invaded Ukraine, sending energy prices soaring as Moscow cut off most natural gas to Europe.
…

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made an impassioned plea for peace on Tuesday from a Nepalese site venerated as Buddha’s birthplace, against a backdrop of conflict, including in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.

While on his visit to Nepal, Guterres has spoken of the urgent need for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to end the “nightmare” of bloodshed.

“In the Middle East, Ukraine, the Sahel, Sudan and many other places around the world, conflict is raging,” Guterres said.

“Global rules and institutions are being undermined as human rights and international law are trampled.”

Guterres held prayers at Lumbini in the south of the Himalayan nation, a site he called a place of “spirituality, serenity, and peace”.

The Buddha — who renounced material wealth to embrace and preach a life of non-attachment —founded a religion that now counts more than 500 million adherents.

“This is a place to reflect on the teachings of Lord Buddha. And to consider what his message of peace, interdependence, and compassion, means in today’s troubled world,” Guterres said.

“In these troubled times, my message to the world from the tranquil gardens of Lumbini is simple: Humanity has a choice. The path to peace is ours to take.”

Guterres on Monday visited the Everest region, which is struggling from rapidly melting glaciers, and on Tuesday warned that the “impacts of the climate crisis are mounting.”

“Humanity is at war with nature and at war with itself,” he said.

The Buddha’s birthplace was lost and overgrown by jungle before its rediscovery in 1896, when the presence of a third-century BC pillar bearing inscriptions allowed historians to identify it as Lumbini.

Since then, it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and is visited by millions of Buddhists every year.
…

Ukraine says a family of nine were shot and killed in their home in the Russian-occupied eastern town of Volnovakha.

Photographs of the home issued by authorities depict a gruesome crime scene, with the victims lying dead in their beds amid blood-splattered walls.

The Ukrainian-backed prosecutor’s office in Donetsk province, home to Volnovakha, says the murders occurred after the owner refused a demand by a group of men in military uniforms to vacate the house so Russians forces could stay there.  The office says the victims include two young children. 

Russian investigators say two soldiers from Russia’s Far East are being held in connection with the murders. The soldiers had signed contracts with Russia’s military to serve in Ukraine.  

Volnovakha has been occupied by Russian forces shortly after they launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  Pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk regions took over government buildings in 2014 and proclaimed the regions as independent “people’s republics.”

The move followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

The murders come as Ukrainian and Russian troops are engaged in a fierce standoff in eastern Ukraine as the war stretches into its second year.

Russian forces have launched a new offensive campaign around the city of Bakhmut, especially near the strategic town of Avdiivka.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive begun in June has made slow progress, recapturing several hundred square kilometers of territory.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters. 

 
…

The Spanish soccer official who provoked a players’ rebellion and reckoning on gender when he kissed an unwilling star player on the lips at the Women’s World Cup final trophy ceremony was banned for three years on Monday by the sport’s global governing body.

Luis Rubiales’ conduct at the Aug. 20 final in Australia — and his defiant refusal to resign as Spanish soccer federation president for three weeks — distracted many people from the women’s career-defining title win.

Rubiales is now barred from working in soccer until after the men’s 2026 World Cup. His ban will expire before the next women’s tournament in 2027.

Spanish authorities have launched a criminal investigation against Rubiales for kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the team’s 1-0 victory over England in Sydney, and his conduct in the fallout from the scandal.

Spanish prosecutors have formally accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion. Hermoso said that Rubiales pressured her to speak out in his defense amid the global furor.

Rubiales denied wrongdoing to a judge in Madrid who imposed a restraining order for him not to contact Hermoso, the record goal scorer for the Spain women’s team.

FIFA has said it was investigating whether Rubiales violated “basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.”

In another incident, at the final whistle in Sydney Rubiales grabbed his crotch as a victory gesture while he was in an exclusive section of seats and Queen Letizia of Spain and 16-year-old Princess Sofía were standing nearby.

A third incident FIFA judges cited to remove Rubiales from office during their investigation — “carrying the Spanish player Athenea del Castillo over his shoulder during the post-match celebrations” — was detailed in a ruling to explain why he was provisionally suspended.

Women’s soccer has seen allegations of sexual misconduct by male soccer presidents and coaches against female players on national teams.

Two of the 32 World Cup teams, Haiti and Zambia, had to deal with such issues while qualifying for the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Even before the Women’s World Cup, Rubiales — a former professional player and union leader — had been the target of unproven allegations of a sexual nature about his managerial culture, including at the national federation he led since 2018.

The Spanish players’ preparation for the Women’s World Cup also was in turmoil in the year ahead of the tournament because of their dissatisfaction with the leadership of their male coach, Jorge Vilda.

Vilda was supported by Rubiales to stay in the job despite 15 players asking last year not to be called up again because of the emotional pain it meant to play for the team. Three continued their self-imposed exile and refused to be selected for the World Cup.

As the Rubiales scandal continued into September, with lawmakers supporting the players, Vilda was fired by the federation’s interim management.

Rubiales resigned from his jobs in soccer on Sept. 10 after three weeks of defiance that increased pressure on him from the Spanish government and national-team players.

He also gave up his vice presidency of European soccer body UEFA which paid him $265,000 a year. One day later UEFA thanked Rubiales for his service in a statement that offered no backing to the women players.

When Rubiales resigned, he said he did not want to be a distraction from Spain’s bid to host the men’s 2030 World Cup in a UEFA-backed project with Portugal and Morocco.

That bid has since been picked by FIFA as the only candidate to host the 2030 tournament in a plan that now also includes its former opponents Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The Morocco soccer federation that partnered with Spain on the men’s 2030 World Cup later hired Vilda to coach its women’s national team. The Morocco women were a standout story at their World Cup reaching the last-16 knockout round in their tournament debut.

The quick forgiveness of Vilda fueled the view that soccer administrators’ actions often do not meet their claims of zero-tolerance of misconduct.

Rubiales can choose to appeal his three-year ban, first to FIFA and subsequently at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

FIFA said Rubiales has 10 days to request the full written verdict in his case which it would then publish.
…

Kyiv military officials said on Monday that Russia has bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and has switched its troops from defense to offense, but Ukraine has been preparing to repel the attacks.

Russia captured Bakhmut, theater of some of the bloodiest fighting of the 20-month-old war, in May. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June aimed at retaking occupied land in the country’s south and east, including Bakhmut.

“In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defense to active actions,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander of ground forces, wrote on Telegram.

Volodymyr Fityo, head of communications for Ukraine’s ground forces command, said Russian forces had been preparing since early this month to retake positions around Bakhmut lost during the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“We saw this, the intelligence reported everything. We had been preparing, strengthening our defensive positions, engineering fortifications and pulling up reserves,” Fityo told Reuters by telephone. “This does not come as a surprise for us.”

Both men said Russian forces were particularly active near the Ukrainian-held town of Kupiansk in the northeast, where Fityo said Russia had numerical superiority.

Reuters could not independently verify accounts on the battlefield.

In its nightly report, the Ukrainian General Staff said Kyiv’s forces remained on the offensive near Bakhmut.

“The enemy unsuccessfully tried to restore lost positions near Klishchiivka,” it said, referring to a village south of Bakhmut recaptured by Ukraine in September.

Russian troops also tried to advance in Synkivka, north of Kupiansk, but made no headway, it added.

Russia has also been concentrating much of its efforts in recent weeks on a bid to encircle and capture Avdiivka, a strategic town southwest of Bakhmut.
…

The first U.S.-made F-16 combat aircraft the Netherlands is donating to Ukraine will arrive in Romania’s training center within two weeks, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday. 

“I expect the Patriot missiles to be delivered shortly, to aid Ukraine in the upcoming winter. And the same speed applies to the F-16s,” Rutte during a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“The first ones will be shipped to the training center in Romania within the next two weeks so that day we will get ready for further training,” he added. 

Denmark, Norway and Belgium have also announced they will give F-16 jets to Ukraine. 

“What is happening now in Gaza and the terrorist attack on Israel and all the follow-up from that will not, shall not and cannot distract us from what is happening between you and Russia, the fact that you are fighting off the Russia aggression,” Rutte said. 

“We have to make sure that the world is able to focus both on Ukraine and of course is involved very much of what is happening now in the Middle East,” he added. 
…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ramping up his support of Hamas, prompting Israel to withdraw its diplomats. In a move analysts say is aimed at mitigating criticism by Western allies, Erdogan has taken a step to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership. But experts warn Erdogan may have miscalculated. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
…

Russian President Vladimir Putin called a meeting of top security and law enforcement officials on Monday, the day after a mob stormed the airport in the region of Dagestan after a plane from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv landed there.

Hundreds of angry men rushed onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, late on Sunday, looking for Israeli passengers, according to Russian news reports.

Dagestan’s Ministry of Health said more than 20 people were injured, with two in critical condition. It said the injured included police officers and civilians. The local Interior Ministry said 60 people were detained in the unrest. It was not clear if charges had been filed against any of them, but Russia’s Investigative Committee said it opened a criminal probe on charges of organizing mass unrest.

The crowd broke out onto the landing field and surrounded the airliner belonging to the Russian carrier Red Wings, with seemingly little resistance from the police, Russian news outlets reported.

Video and photos on social media showed some in the crowd waving Palestinian flags and some trying to overturn a police car. Others held hand-written banners saying “Child killers are not welcome in Dagestan” and “We’re against Jewish refugees.”

Some in the crowd examined the passports of arriving passengers, apparently in an attempt to identify those who were Israeli. The riot was later broken up.

The Makhachkala airport was to remain closed until 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.

The Kremlin on Monday blamed the unrest on “outside interference,” and Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting will discuss “attempts by the West to use the events in the Middle East to divide the (Russian) society.”

“It is well known and obvious that yesterday’s event around the Makhachkala airport is largely the result of outside interference, including information influence from outside,” Peskov told reporters at his daily news conference.

Also Monday, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti cited Dagestan Gov. Sergei Melikov as saying that the unrest was coordinated in a Telegram channel run by “traitors” based in Ukraine, with the goal of destabilizing the situation in Dagestan and fueling unrest.

According to Russia’s independent news cite Mediazona, local Telegram channels had said before the unrest that “refugees from Israel” were about to arrive in Dagestan. One such channel, Mediazona said, was founded by former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, who currently resides in Ukraine and claims to be involved with a guerilla movement inside Russia.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm the report. Ponomaryov has said he no longer has ties with the channel.

Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war between Israel and Hamas, a conflict that is giving Moscow bold new opportunities — to advance its role as a global power broker and challenge Western efforts to isolate it over Ukraine.

Following the Dagestan unrest, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel “expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”

Netanyahu’s office added that the Israeli ambassador to Russia was working with Russia to keep Israelis and Jews safe.

While voicing support for Palestinians in Gaza, the regional Dagestani government appealed to citizens to remain calm and not take part in such protests. The Supreme Mufti of Dagestan Sheikh Akhmad Afandi also appealed for peace.

“We understand and perceive your indignation very painfully. … We will solve this issue differently. Not with rallies, but appropriately. Maximum patience and calm for you,” he said in a video published on Telegram.

Dagestan Gov. Melikov promised consequences for anyone who took part in the violence, and wrote on Telegram that what happened at the airport was “outrageous and should receive an appropriate assessment from law enforcement agencies!”
…

Chinese and Russian military chiefs targeted the United States for criticism at a security forum in Beijing on Monday, even as China’s second most senior military commander vowed to boost defense ties with Washington.

The lack of regular communications between the U.S. and Chinese militaries has been a worry for Washington as tensions rise over various issues and given the risks of an accidental clash in the South China Sea or near Taiwan.

The Xiangshan Forum, China’s biggest annual show of military diplomacy, began on Sunday without a Chinese defense minister, who typically hosts the event, but including a U.S. delegation.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned the West that its involvement in the Ukraine war created grave danger.

“The Western line of steady escalation of the conflict with Russia carries the threat of a direct military clash between nuclear powers, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences,” Russia’s TASS state news agency cited Shoigu as saying at the forum.

Shoigu said the West intended to inflict “strategic defeat” on Russia in what he called a “hybrid war,” and praised Russia-China relations as “exemplary,” Russian state media reported.

Zhang Youxia, vice chairman, under President Xi Jinping, of China’s Central Military Commission, delivered veiled criticism of the United States and its allies, accusing “some countries” of trying to undermine China’s government.

But Zhang also stressed the need for improving military ties with the United States.

“We will deepen strategic cooperation and coordination with Russia and are willing to, on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, develop military ties with the U.S.,” Zhang said in an address closely watched by military attaches and diplomats.

Zhang held talks with Shoigu on the sidelines of the forum, China’s Xinhua state media reported.

China’s defense minister has in previous years delivered the forum’s keynote speech but Li Shangfu was sacked as defense minister last week without explanation and a replacement has not been named.

Reuters reported last month that Li, who has been missing for two months, was being investigated over corruption.

China and the U.S. have had no high-level military-to-military communications since the Washington-sanctioned Li was appointed in March.

‘Here and listening’

The U.S. defense department has sent a delegation led by Cynthia Xanthi Carras, China country director in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense.

Carras had a brief exchange with defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian at the forum, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chad Spragia, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, stressed the importance of U.S. participation.

“It’s important for the U.S. to be here and not cede the space to others. We’re here and we’re listening,” said Sbragia, who said he was attending there in a research capacity.

The participation of the U.S. delegation comes as the United States and China ramp up exchanges ahead of an expected summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi next month.

Last week, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, met Biden for an hour in talks the White House described as a “good opportunity” to keep open lines of communication between the two rivals.

Despite the conciliatory remarks about improving China-U.S. military ties, Zhang and some Chinese military officers gave no sign of a softer stance on issues such as Taiwan, which Beijing’s regards as its territory.

Chinese Lieutenant-General He Lei, speaking at a panel on Sunday, said that if China were to have to use force against Taiwan, “it will be a war for reunification, a just and legitimate war.”

In his speech, Zhang said that countries “should not deliberately provoke other countries on major and sensitive issues,” he said, adding that Taiwan was “a core interest” for China.

Many Western countries have either shunned the forum or are only sending low-level delegations.
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Russia would likely confiscate the assets of European Union countries, if the bloc takes frozen Russian funds to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, according to Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she was crafting a proposal that would take the profits from Russian frozen state assets to finance Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. 

“Such a decision,” Volodin said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, “would require a symmetrical response from the Russian Federation.  In that case, far more assets belonging to unfriendly countries will be confiscated than our frozen funds in Europe.” 

Russia said Sunday that it shot down 36 drones overnight over the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula.  Ukraine, which has stepped up its campaign against Russia, has not commented on the overnight attack. 

From their meeting in Japan Sunday, G7 trade ministers issued a joint statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “brutal, unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression.”

Russian universities have reportedly been instructed to stop any negative discussions during academic activities about any Russian political, economic and social trends, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday,

This move marks yet another “restriction of the information space in wartime Russia,” the ministry said, “making it more difficult to openly discuss policy issues.”

This restriction, the ministry said, will likely further add to “the trend of Russian policy-making taking place in an echo-chamber of politically acceptable, pro-Kremlin perspectives” in the runup to President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated bid for reelection in March, the British ministry said. 
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Sunday to stand up to “imperialist powers” as he led Turkish centenary celebrations in the shadow of Israel’s escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

Erdogan took centerstage during daylong events that both honored the republic’s secular founder and played up the achievement of Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party that has run Turkey since 2002.

“Our country is in safe hands, you may rest in peace,” Erdogan said after laying a wreath at the mausoleum of military commander and statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

“We will be successful and victorious. No imperialist power can prevent this,” Erdogan added in an evening address in Istanbul.

Ataturk is lionized across Turkish society for driving out invading forces and building a new nation out of the fallen Ottoman Empire’s ruins in the wake of World War I.

He formed as a Westward-facing nation that stripped religion from its state institutions and tried to forge a modern new identity out of its myriad ethnic groups.

It eventually became a proud member of the U.S.-led NATO defense alliance and a beacon of democratic hopes in the Middle East.

“We are Ataturk’s daughters, we are the children of the republic,” pensioner Nerguzel Asik said after watching a military parade in Istanbul.

“We feel ‘Turkishness’ in every way,” student Selin Gunes agreed.

Social transformation

But Ataturk’s social and geopolitical transformation of the overwhelmingly Muslim nation created divisions that weigh on Turkish politics to this day.

Erdogan tapped into these as he led his conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power over the leftist Republican People’s Party (CHP) formed by Ataturk.

He has spent much of the past decade testing the limits of Turkey’s secular traditions as well as its ties with the West.

These competing forces were on full display as Erdogan moved from honoring Turkey’s past to celebrating his own government’s achievements while he was prime minister and president.

Erdogan ended the day by overseeing 100 navy ships pass through the Bosphorus while screaming fighter jets performed aerobatics overhead.

“Turkey is a country that helps those who have no one, from the Balkans to the Caucasus, from Palestine to wherever there is a need,” Erdogan told the nation. “The Palestinian rally (in Istanbul) was a part of this.”

Palestinian cause

Sunday’s celebrations were partially eclipsed by Erdogan’s increasingly fierce attacks against Israel over its response to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The militants indiscriminately killed 1,400 people, most of them civilians in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor rave party, and took 220 hostages in a surprise raid that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the worst “since the Holocaust.”

Israel has retaliated with relentless airstrikes and an unfolding ground offensive that the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says has claimed more than 8,000 lives, most of them civilians.

Turkish state television also scrapped the broadcast of concerts and other festivities because of the “alarming human tragedy in Gaza.”

Erdogan’s lifelong defense of Palestinian rights has turned him into a hero across swaths of the Muslim world.

He announced that 1.5 million people attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday that drowned out national television coverage of the centenary.

Erdogan accused the Israeli government of behaving like a war criminal and trying to eradicate Palestinians.

His remarks prompted Israel to announce the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff for a re-evaluation of relations.

Turbulent spell

The emerging diplomatic crisis further pulled attention away from Turkey’s birthday party and onto Erdogan’s handling of global affairs.

Turkey has suffered a turbulent spell of relations with Western allies since Erdogan survived a failed coup attempt in 2016 that he blamed on a U.S.-based Muslim preacher.

Some analysts saw Saturday’s pro-Palestinian rally as part of Erdogan’s tacit effort to undermine Ataturk’s secular vision.

But one survey suggested that Erdogan’s comments play to his Islamic conservative core of supporters and not the public at large.

The Metropoll survey showed 11.3% of the respondents saying they “back Hamas” while more than half preferring to see Turkey either stay neutral or mediate.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Sunday as part of a West Africa tour as the European country looks to diversify its trade partners and expand economic partnerships in the energy-rich region.

In his third trip to Africa since he took office in 2021, and his second this year, Scholz pushed for further development of Nigeria’s capacity to meet local needs even as Germany seeks improved trade relations with its second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. Germany-Nigeria trade volume is estimated to be about 3 billion euros annually.

Major aspects of the two countries’ cooperation include working with Nigeria to help tackle regional and global issues such as migration, security and rampant coups in West and Central Africa, Scholz told Tinubu during their meeting in the capital of Abuja.

“There are a lot of chances not just from gas and oil … but for better using the capacities of your country, but also for going into investments for the future, which is about hydrogen,” said Scholz. Observers have described Africa as a potential exporter of hydrogen energy amid calls for energy transition.

As the German leader comes under enormous domestic pressure to address issues around migration to Germany, he spoke of how best to handle migration by “having a co-management which is benefiting the two countries the best.”

Before his meeting with Tinubu, Scholz told Lagos-based Punch newspaper that Germany has a “considerable demand for natural gas” and “concrete amounts” of supplies should be agreed on in negotiations between Nigerian gas producers and German gas traders.

Nigeria has Africa’s largest proven gas reserves — estimated to be 202 trillion cubic feet — and has been keen on working toward helping meet Europe’s needs after Russia sharply reduced natural gas flows following its war with Ukraine. Germany, though, has diversified its gas supplies from Russia since the war.

The Nigerian leader sought Germany’s support in helping to address the country’s security and economic challenges.

“Nigeria is still crawling, but we are determined to change the narrative and bring about a transformative government in the country,” Tinubu said. “We still need very much support in that area. And for us to be able to sustain democracy, rule of law and freedom for our people, we need to fight for democracy.

Scholz will also meet with West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS Commission president, Omar Alieu Touray, and open a German-Nigerian business forum in the economic hub of Lagos. He then heads to Ghana where he will end his trip on Tuesday.
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