This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to three recipients: Ales Bialiatski, one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s; and two human rights groups – Memorial, a Russian organization, and the Center for Civil Liberties, a Ukrainian group.

Last year’s Peace Prize was awarded to Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov, a Russian. The Nobel Committee said the two received the award “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

The award is accompanied by a nearly $1 million prize and an 18-karat gold medal.

Muratov sold his Noble medal to benefit Ukrainian children displaced by the war. An anonymous philanthropist bought the gold disc for $103.5 million.

Other winners of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize have included: Martin Luther King Jr., The Red Cross, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Dag Hammarskjold, and Barack Obama.

No prize was awarded during World War II, from 1940-45.
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In recent days, Ukraine has seized control of large areas in the east and south of the country from invading Russian forces. With the Kremlin troops’ retreat, the war could be entering a critical new phase, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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The risk of Armageddon is the highest it has been since the early 1960s, President Joe Biden said Thursday night as Russian losses in Ukraine prompt Russian officials to discuss the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons.

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden said at a fundraiser in New York for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In October 1962 the U.S. and the Soviet Union were seemingly on the verge of a nuclear conflict after the U.S. deployment of ballistic missiles in Turkey and Italy were countered by the Soviet deployment of similar missiles in Cuba.

The president said the Russia President Vladimir Putin, “a guy I know fairly well,” is not joking when he talks of using “nuclear or biological or chemical weapons.”

“I don’t there is any such a thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon,” Biden said.

Speaking to Democratic donors, Biden said he and U.S. officials were still “trying to figure out Putin’s off-ramp” in Ukraine.

“Where does he find a way out?” Biden asked. “Where does he find himself in a position he does not not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?”

The president reiterated that the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine.

In Ukraine on Thursday, a Ukrainian official said Russian shelling struck residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, killing at least two people.

Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, posted on Telegram that five other people were trapped in rubble following the attack.

Ukraine controls the city, but the Zaporizhzhia region is mostly occupied by Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday declaring Russia was annexing Zaporizhzhia and three other regions, a move denounced by Ukraine and its Western partners, as well as the United Nations, as a violation of international law.

Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and shelling in the area in recent months has raised international fears of a nuclear disaster.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N.’s atomic energy agency, is due to visit Kyiv and Moscow this week for what he said would be important meetings. He said Wednesday that the need for a protective zone around the power plant is “now more urgent than ever.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Wednesday that his forces had recaptured Novovoskrysenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka, three villages in the Kherson region that was also a part of Russia’s annexation claims.

The gains add to Ukraine’s recent successes in reclaiming territory from Russia in the northeastern and southern parts of the country.

Zelenskyy said in his address that Putin has “already lost,” calling the war the Russian leader launched in late February “self-destruction of your nation’s every prospect.”

“Ukrainians know what they fight for,” Zelenskyy said. “And more and more Russian citizens realize that they must die simply because one single man does not want to stop the war.”

The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for what the agency said was a visit to meet with government officials, farmers, journalists, entrepreneurs and energy workers to discuss how to more effectively assist the Ukrainian people.

“It is a critical moment for the Ukrainian people as they defend their freedom from brutal attack, liberate occupied land, prepare for winter, and strengthen democratic institutions & the rule of law,” Power tweeted.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Leaders from 44 European countries met Thursday in Prague in the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community, a new regional group seeking to find strategies to address shared concerns such as energy, the economy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The group was the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and includes all 27 members of the European Union, plus 17 other nations, some of which are seeking EU membership.

The only two European nations not invited were Russia and its neighboring ally Belarus.

In remarks to open the meeting, Macron said the group’s existence is aimed at sending a message of unity to all European nations by building “a strategic closeness” and finding common strategies. He indicated the group was not seeking to compete with the EU but to find complementary projects.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who closely supported Macron in creating the summit, said the meeting sends a strong signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is very visible that all of us who are meeting here know that the Russian attack on Ukraine is a brutal violation of the security and peace that we have had in Europe over the last decades. And therefore, it is important that we reject this attack,” said Scholz.

Thursday’s summit featured an opening ceremony, followed by a series of meetings where leaders discussed the key challenges Europe faces: security, energy, climate, the economy and migration.

No formal policy statements, resolutions or declarations were expected from the summit.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Turkey’s disinformation bill is one step closer to being signed into law, despite protests by the country’s media.

Parliamentary debate on the “proposal on the amendment of the press law and other laws” started Tuesday.

The Turkish government says the bill, suggested in May by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its alliance partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is needed to tackle the “serious threat” from disinformation.

The draft of 40 articles includes punishments for “spreading misleading information” on national security, public order and health in an attempt to spread panic or fear; requirements for social media companies to appoint Turkish representatives to handle requests related to content removal; a new committee to handle press accreditation; and a provision making digital media eligible to receive state advertising revenue.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan first suggested legislation on disinformation after his government was criticized on social media over its handling of wildfires in Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coastal cities last year.

“Personally, I do not have a positive view of social media, and I believe that with the opening of the parliament, it is necessary to work on new legislation on social media,” Erdogan said in a TV interview in August 2021.

But journalists warn the provisions are vaguely worded and that the proposed bill could be used to repress critics.

“The public will be silenced, and the journalists will censor themselves. Self-censorship, which already exists, will become more widespread, and freedom of expression will be completely stifled by this law,” Pinar Turenc, president of Turkey’s Press Council, told VOA.

Editorial independence

Critics warn that provisions in Article 29, which focuses on “misleading information,” could be used to further restrict independent news and social media as Turkey draws near to presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023.

“We are faced with a blanket bill that aims to silence not only the digital media and the press but also the dissidents before the 2023 elections by intimidating them,” Yaman Akdeniz, a cyberlaw professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, told VOA.

“Because of their news articles, media outlets will face investigations for the crime of disinformation, and the journalists will be prosecuted,” Akdeniz said.

Kemal Aktas, head of the Parliamentary Correspondents Association, raised concerns that the bill could make political reporting and access to sources difficult.

“The bill mentions the terms of ‘public order, national security and public health,’ but it is unclear where these terms begin and end,” Aktas told VOA.  “Because it is unknown how a prosecutor or a judge will evaluate these terms, we think there will be great difficulties in covering political news.”

The founder of Yeniden TV, Aysegul Dogan, said the bill risked eroding journalists’ editorial independence.

“Are we going to cover news and ask questions by thinking, ‘If I write like this or ask this, will I create anxiety, panic, or fear?’ We are talking about a legal regulation that should worry everyone who uses social media as much as journalists,” Dogan told VOA, adding that it could also affect citizen journalists.

Ahmet Ozdemir, the ruling AKP’s deputy for Kahramanmaras city, dismissed the criticism, saying that provisions in Article 29 have “nothing to do” with journalists.

“Why would a press member knowingly and willingly spread false news among the public? Why would his reputation be damaged? It is not technically possible for a press member to be the subject of this crime,” Ozdemir said during the parliamentary debate.

In a separate event, Fahrettin Altun, communications director of the Turkish presidency, spoke more widely at a symposium Tuesday on the need to protect against digital threats.

“It is not up for debate to exclude any area from the reach of the law,” Altun said. “We prioritize and address security issues in the cyber world in the same ways that we prioritize and address security issues in the real world.”

Digital media

Turkish media have also objected to parts of the bill that would allow news websites to receive public advertising revenue and would establish a new committee to issue press cards.

Some journalist associations said that allowing websites to receive revenue from the state-run Press Advertising Agency (BIK) could adversely affect local newspapers. With no additional budget, the revenue will have to stretch further, which could force some papers to downsize, the groups said in a statement Tuesday.

Advocacy groups including Reporters Without Borders have previously criticized BIK’s criteria for allocating official revenue, saying it is “liable to give rise to arbitrary practices that deprive outspoken media outlets of advertising revenue.”

A spokesperson for BIK told VOA in September that the agency works within the regulations that govern it, and its decisions “are completely objective.”

Similarly, journalism unions objected to provisions concerning media accreditation.

The proposed legislation says press cards will be granted by a nine-member committee, five of whose members are appointed by the directorate of communications. The other four will come from journalism organizations.

Gokhan Durmus, chair of the Journalists Union of Turkey, objected that the committee will be controlled by bureaucrats instead of journalism organizations. “The unions should issue the press card, as in the rest of Europe,” he said.

As long as a government is hostile to the independent media, press cards do not provide security for journalists, Durmus added.

“The authorities do not look at the card in the journalist’s pocket. They look at what news the journalist came to cover. And if the news is not wanted to be made public, the journalist is beaten, detained, tried at the court or arrested,” Durmus told VOA.

With AKP and MHP holding a majority in parliament, the bill is expected to pass. The main opposition Republican People’s Party has voiced its opposition and has said it will appeal to the Constitutional Court if the law is enacted.

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service. 
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EU lawmakers on Thursday condemned the crackdown on media freedom in military-ruled Myanmar and called for the release of “every unfairly detained journalist.”

Since the military seized power in February last year, it has forced at least 12 media outlets to shut down and arrested about 142 journalists, 57 of whom remain detained. 

Most of those still detained are being held under an incitement charge for allegedly causing fear, spreading false news or agitating against a government employee.

In its resolution adopted by show of hands, the EU Parliament cited the cases of BBC freelance producer Htet Htet Khine; Sithu Aung Myint, a Frontier Myanmar columnist and contributor to Voice of America; and freelancer Nyein Nyein Aye.

“Strongly condemning the military junta’s violent and illegitimate rule in Myanmar, MEPs urge it to drop all politically motivated charges against the members of the press and media workers, and unconditionally release every unfairly detained journalist,” the EU Parliament said.

“They also call on the junta to immediately end its abuses, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence and other ill-treatment, as well as unfair trials against people working in the media.”

According to Reporters Without Borders, Nyein Nyein Aye was sentenced in July to three years in prison with hard labor on charges of “causing fear, spreading false news and agitating crimes against a government employee.”

Htet Htet Khine was sentenced on Sept. 15 to three years’ hard labor. On Sept. 27, a court sentenced her to a further three years, with a reduction for time served. She has been in detention since August 2021.

“We remain concerned for her safety and wellbeing in detention, and call for the release of Htet Htet Khine and other media workers who have been unjustly detained in Myanmar,” said BBC Media Action Chief Executive Officer Caroline Nursey.

Sithu Aung Myint was arrested in August 2021 along with Htet Htet Khine.

Some of the closed media outlets have continued operating without a license, publishing online as their staff members dodge arrest. Others operate from exile.

The army’s takeover led to mass public protests that the military and police responded to with lethal force, triggering armed resistance and escalating violence that have led to what some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

According to detailed lists by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group based in Thailand, 2,336 civilians have died in the military government’s crackdown on opponents and at least 15,757 people have been arrested.

EU lawmakers also called for restoration of the civilian government and the “unconditional release” of Myanmar’s former president, Win Myint, and former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Sweden’s domestic security agency said Thursday that its initial investigation into explosions last week along two Russian natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “has strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause.

Separately, a Swedish prosecutor said that “seizures have been made at the crime scene and these will now be investigated,” although he did not identify the seized evidence.

Neither of the underwater Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines had been in use at the time of the blasts but for days sent methane from the pipes bubbling to the surface off the coasts of Sweden and Denmark.

Some Scandinavian officials have speculated that Russia detonated the pipeline explosions as a way to punish Western allies for their support of Ukrainian forces in fighting Moscow’s seven-month invasion and to cut the possible flow of fuel for the coming winter months.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of attacking the pipelines, which the United States and its allies have vehemently denied. They have said that Russia had the most to gain by disrupting Europe’s energy supplies.

The Swedish Security Service said its investigation confirmed that “detonations” caused extensive damage to the pipelines. The security agency said what happened in the Baltic Sea was “very serious,” but did not release further details of its investigation.

Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said he had given “directives to temporarily block [the area around the damaged pipelines to] carry out a crime scene investigation.”

But he said that now that the initial probe is completed, the blockade around the pipelines off Sweden will be lifted.

The Danish and Swedish governments had previously said they suspected that several hundred pounds of explosives were used to damage the pipelines.

Some of the material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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WNBA star Brittney Griner is at her “absolute weakest moment in life right now” as she faces a hearing in Russia later this month for her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, Griner’s wife said in an interview aired Thursday.

Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” that her wife, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was playing in Russia during the WNBA offseason, is afraid of being forgotten by the United States.

“She’s very afraid about being left and forgotten in Russia, or just completely used to the point of her detriment,” Cherelle Griner said.

She said Brittney Griner told her in a phone call that she felt “like my life just doesn’t matter.”

“Like, y’all don’t see the need to get me back home? Am I just nothing?” Cherelle Griner quoted her wife as saying. It wasn’t clear when the call took place.

Brittney Griner was convicted Aug. 4 after Russian police said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Her defense lawyers said she had been prescribed cannabis for pain. The WNBA star said she had inadvertently packed them and had no criminal intent.

She is appealing her prison sentence; the hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25. But Cherelle Griner said after that hearing, her wife could potentially be moved to a labor camp elsewhere in Russia.

“My brain can’t even fathom it,” she said in the CBS interview.

President Joe Biden met with Cherelle Griner at the White House last month. He also sat down with Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan, another American currently imprisoned in Russia. The Biden administration said in July that it had made a “substantial proposal” to get them home. The administration has not provided specifics about its proposal, but a person familiar with the matter previously confirmed it had offered to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the U.S.

Cherelle Griner said the president is “doing what he can, but there’s another party in this situation.” She said it’s going to take Russian President Vladimir Putin changing his mindset.

Though Brittney Griner was arrested in February — amid escalated tensions because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine —- the couple did not speak on the phone until August. Cherelle Griner said the first conversation was “just so delightful” and felt optimistic that her wife would survive the ordeal. But the second conversation, she said, “was the most disturbing phone call I’ve ever experienced.”

“You could hear that she was not OK,” Cherelle Griner said.
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The Ukrainian city of Bucha was the scene of one of the worst massacres in Russia’s war against its neighbor, with hundreds of bodies discovered in mass graves back in April. Now, against many expectations, a robust reconstruction effort is making it possible for children to return to school. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Bucha. Camera – Serhii Smychok.
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Greece’s coast guard said Thursday at least 16 people were dead after two boats carrying migrants sank in separate incidents.

Authorities said one boat carrying about 40 people went down near the eastern island of Lesbos, near Turkey.

Fifteen bodies were recovered and five people were rescued, with a search ongoing for the rest of the migrants.

A second boat went down off the island of Kythira after hit rocks.

Authorities said they rescued 30 people from the second boat.

Both vessels were operating amid winds as high as 100 kilometers per hour.

Migrants typically reach Greece form neighboring Turkey, but smugglers have been utilizing longer and more dangerous routes to avoid patrols in the Aegean Sea.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Amid unconfirmed reports that a train operated by Russia’s nuclear division was spotted heading toward Ukraine, the White House says that it has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons experts tell VOA if Russia is moving nuclear weapons toward the Ukrainian border, the United States will know. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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For the first time in 20 years, a Russian cosmonaut rocketed from the U.S. on Wednesday, launching to the International Space Station alongside NASA and Japanese astronauts despite tensions over the war in Ukraine. 

Their SpaceX flight was delayed by Hurricane Ian, which ripped across the state last week. 

“I hope with this launch we will brighten up the skies over Florida a little bit for everyone,” said the Japan Space Agency’s Koichi Wakata, who is making his fifth spaceflight. 

Joining him on a five-month mission are three new to space: Marine Col. Nicole Mann, the first Native American woman to orbit Earth; Navy Capt. Josh Cassada; and Russia’s lone female cosmonaut, Anna Kikina. 

“Awesome!” said Mann as they reached orbit. “That was a smooth ride uphill. You’ve got three rookies who are pretty happy to be floating in space right now.” 

They’re due to arrive at the space station Thursday, 29 hours after a noon departure from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and won’t be back on Earth until March. They’re replacing a U.S.-Italian crew that arrived in April. 

Kikina is the Russian Space Agency’s exchange for NASA’s Frank Rubio, who launched to the space station two weeks ago from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket. He flew up with two cosmonauts. 

The space agencies agreed over the summer to swap seats on their flights in order to ensure a continuous U.S. and Russian presence aboard the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) outpost. The barter was authorized even as global hostilities mounted over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. The next crew exchange is in the spring. 

Shortly before liftoff, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the key reason for the seat exchange is safety — in case an emergency forces one capsule’s crew home, there would still be an American and Russian on board. 

In the meantime, Russia remains committed to the space station through at least 2024, Russia space official Sergei Krikalev assured reporters this week. Russia wants to build its own station in orbit later this decade, “but we know that it’s not going to happen very quick and so probably we will keep flying” with NASA until then, he said. 

Beginning with Krikalev in 1994, NASA started flying cosmonauts on its space shuttles, first to Russia’s Mir space station and then to the fledgling space station. The 2003 Columbia reentry disaster put an end to it. But U.S. astronauts continued to hitch rides on Russian rockets for tens of millions of dollars per seat. 

Kakina is only the fifth Russian woman to rocket off the planet. She said she was surprised to be selected for the seat swap after encountering “many tests and obstacles” during her decade of training. “But I did it. I’m lucky maybe. I’m strong,” she said. 

Mann is a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, and taking up her mother’s dream catcher, a small traditional webbed hoop believed to offer protection. Retired NASA astronaut John Herrington of the Chickasaw Nation became the first Native American in space in 2002. 

“I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage,” Mann said before the flight, adding that everyone on her crew has a unique background. “It’s important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have.” 

As for the war in Ukraine, Mann said all four have put politics and personal beliefs aside, “and it’s really cool how the common mission of the space station just instantly unites us.” 

Added Cassada: “We have an opportunity to be an example for society on how to work together and live together and explore together.” 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has now launched eight crews since 2020: six for NASA and two private groups. Boeing, NASA’s other contracted taxi service, plans to make its first astronaut flight early next yea r, after delays to fix software and other issues that cropped up on test flights. 

 
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Greece is warning it is ready to use all its diplomatic and military might to defend its sovereignty against what it calls hostile plans by its historic foe Turkey. The direct warning follows a controversial energy deal Turkey recently signed with an element of Libya’s divided government. But the tensions that have been building up recently between the two NATO allies is sparking fears of a crisis that could spill out of control and destabilize the military alliance.

Speaking to Greece’s parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advised Turkey to return, in his words, to a realm of logic. Otherwise, he warned Ankara’s growing aggression and plans to claim control of areas Greece considers its territory will be stopped.

The Greek leader said geography does not change at the behest of one’s decision to change or distort it. He said Greece’s borders are its own and, Mitsotakis said, they are ready to be defended by its armed forces as well as by what he said are its powerful diplomatic allies.

Lawmakers answered with a roaring applause and standing ovation before Mitsotakis quickly moved to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Greece and a visiting U.S. congressional delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Greece and Turkey are longtime foes but also NATO allies. Relations have cooled and warmed over the decades, often over air and sea rights.

Greece’s threat comes after Turkey recently signed an agreement with one of Libya’s two rival administrations, granting rights to an already controversial energy collaboration in waters that Greece and other countries, including Egypt and Cyprus, also claim.

The deal also comes as Greece boosts deployment of troops and U.S. military hardware on two islands closest to Turkey’s borders in the Aegean Sea — actions that recently prompted a complaint from Ankara to Washington. Turkish officials called the deployment a hostile move by a NATO member and warned that Turkey would also mobilize its military in response.

Ankara sees the military buildup on the islands of Lesbos and Samos as a violation of a decades-old agreement marking the borders of the two countries.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gone further in the last few days, denouncing Greek ownership of several islands in the Aegean — remarks that have prompted Athens to escalate talk of its willingness to defend itself in the face of what it calls Turkish aggression.

The European Union has chided Turkey for its stance and Washington is already at odds with Turkey for purchasing a missile defense system from Russia, a move NATO countries say puts the alliance at risk.

Analyst George Tzogopoulos explains the broader repercussions that this growing crisis could bring to the NATO alliance and how Russia, its greatest opponent, may exploit it.

“It’s crystal clear in Washington that Turkey is not considered a reliable partner and within that context, Greece is. So, this situation is creating a new dynamic within the Eastern Mediterranean and NATO itself but most importantly, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US is working closer with reliable partners, and this is fueling the aggressive rhetoric from the other side [Turkey],” he said.

There are hopes within Europe, he says, that the situation may be contained. But Tzogopoulos warns the alternative could prove dangerous.

“If Turkey continues, the cohesion of NATO’s southeast flank will be jeopardized, news that will be welcomed in Moscow,” he said.

Diplomatic sources in Athens tell VOA that senior Greek officials will visit the Middle East in the coming days to try and overturn Turkey’s latest energy pact before Ankara sends out drilling vessels to contested waters, as part of a bid to avert a larger conflict.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday to formalize Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, a move widely condemned as illegal and one that comes as Ukrainian forces advance in a counteroffensive to take back areas under Russian control.

The Russian measure, approved earlier this week by the country’s parliament, claims Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as Russian territory.

Russia-installed officials carried out what they called referendums in those areas. Ukraine and its western partners, along with the United Nations, rejected those votes and the overall annexation effort, saying the votes were held under coercive conditions and did not represent the will of the people.

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote next week on a draft resolution condemning Russia’s annexation claim. Russia used its veto power to stop a similar measure at the U.N. Security Council last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared photos Wednesday from Lyman, a key city in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, recaptured by Ukrainian forces in the days after the Russian referendums.

“All basics of life have been destroyed here,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “They are doing so everywhere in the territories they seize. This can be stopped in 1 way only: liberate Ukraine, life, humanity, law and truth as soon as possible.”

Hours earlier, Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to U.S. President Joe Biden following the announcement of $625 million in new U.S. military aid.

Zelenskyy said his military’s ability to reclaim territory from Russian forces is a joint success of Ukraine, the United States “and the entire free world.”

The new round of U.S. aid includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 200 mine resistant vehicles, hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery and mortar ammunition.

Laura Cooper, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told reporters Tuesday the package is “tailored to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs” and to “maintain momentum in the east and in the south.”

Russia criticized the U.S. move, with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov calling it “an immediate threat to the strategic interests of our country.”

“The supply of military products by the U.S. and its allies not only entails protracted bloodshed and new casualties, but also increases the danger of a direct military clash between Russia and Western countries,” Antonov posted on Telegram.

Britain’s defense ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine is continuing to make progress along both the northeastern and southern battle fronts, including moving close enough to put a key supply road for Russian forces near the town of Svatove in Luhansk in range of Ukrainian artillery.

“Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast,” the British defense ministry said in its daily assessment.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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OPEC+ looks set for deep oil output cuts when it meets on Wednesday, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the United States and other consuming countries to pump more. 

The potential OPEC+ cut could spur a recovery in oil prices that have dropped to about $90 from $120 three months ago due to fears of a global economic recession, rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar. 

OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, is working on cuts in excess of 1 million barrels per day, sources told Reuters this week. One OPEC source said on Tuesday the cuts could amount to up to 2 million barrels per day.  

Sources said it remained unclear if reductions could include additional voluntary cuts by members such as Saudi Arabia or if cuts could include existing under-production by the group.  

OPEC has been under-producing over 3 million bpd and the inclusion of those barrels would dilute the impact of new cuts. 

“Higher oil prices, if driven by sizable production cuts, would likely irritate the Biden Administration ahead of U.S. midterm elections,” Citi analysts said in a note. 

“There could be further political reactions from the U.S., including additional releases of strategic stocks along with some wildcards including further fostering of a NOPEC bill,” Citi said, referring to a U.S. anti-trust bill against OPEC. 

Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) have said they seek to prevent volatility rather than to target a particular oil price.  

On Tuesday, international benchmark Brent crude rose 3% above $91 per barrel [O/R]. 

The West has accused Russia of weaponizing energy as Europe suffers from a severe energy crisis and may face gas and power rationing this winter in a blow to its industry.  

Moscow accuses the West of weaponizing the dollar and financial systems such as SWIFT in retaliation for Russia sending troops into Ukraine in February. The West accuses Moscow of invading Ukraine while Russia calls it a special military operation. 

Russia has formed part of the OPEC+ club since 2016. The group has cut and raised output to manage the oil market but has rarely made cuts when the market is tight. 

A significant cut is likely to anger the United States, which has pressured Saudi Arabia to pump more to pressure oil prices and reduce revenue for Russia. 

Saudi Arabia has not condemned Moscow’s actions and relations are strained between the kingdom and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who traveled to Riyadh this year but failed to secure any firm cooperation commitments on energy. 
…

Enzymes found in the saliva of wax worms can degrade one of the most common forms of plastic waste, according to research published Tuesday that could open up new ways of dealing with plastic pollution.

Humans produce some 400 million metric tons of plastic waste each year despite international drives to reduce single-use plastics and to increase recycling.

Around a third is polyethylene, a tough plastic thanks to its structure, which traditionally requires heating or radiation before it starts to break down.

There have been several studies showing that microorganisms can release enzymes that start the degradation process on polyethylene, but the process has until now taken months each time.

But the enzymes contained in the saliva of the wax worm moth (Galleria mellonella) can act in only a few hours, Tuesday’s research showed.

Researcher Federica Bertocchini, an avid beekeeper, said she originally stumbled on the idea that this small caterpillar had unusual powers when storing honeycombs a few years ago.

“At the end of the season, usually beekeepers put some empty beehives in a storage room, to put them back in the field in the spring,” she told AFP.

“One year I did that, and I found my stored honeycombs plagued with wax worms. In fact, that is their habitat.”

Bertocchini cleaned the honeycombs and put the worms in a plastic bag.

When she returned a short time later, she found the bag “riddled with holes.”

“That raised the question: Is it the result of munching, or is there a chemical modification? We checked that, doing proper lab experiments, and we found that the polyethylene had been oxidized,” she said.

In her latest research, Bertocchini, from Madrid’s Margarita Salas Centre for Biological Studies (CIB) and her colleagues analyzed proteins in the wax worm saliva and identified two enzymes that could break polyethylene down into small polymers in only a few hours at room temperature.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications they explained how they used another worm’s saliva as a control experiment, which produced no degradation compared with the wax worm.

Bertocchini said her team is still trying to figure out precisely how the worms degraded the plastic.

While the study authors stressed that much more research was needed before Tuesday’s findings could be implemented at any meaningful scale, there were a number of possible applications.

“We can imagine a scenario where these enzymes are used in an aqueous solution, and liters of this solution is poured over piles of collected plastic in a waste management facility,” Bertocchini said.

“We can also imagine small amounts that can reach more remote locations, like villages or small islands, where waste facilities are not available.”

She said that further down the line the solution could be used in individual houses, where each family could degrade their own plastic waste.
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The impending November midterm elections, in which control of both houses of the United States Congress is being closely contested, could have significant consequences for the largest foreign policy challenge currently facing the Biden administration: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in February, the U.S. and its allies, including most NATO countries, have been funneling aid and weapons into the country to help prop up the government and repel the invaders.

While the U.S. public still maintains broad support for Ukraine, and bills providing for aid have been passing with large bipartisan majorities, a vocal minority of Republican lawmakers, echoed by a number of influential voices in the broader conservative movement, have criticized the federal government, saying it is spending too much and potentially prolonging the conflict.

Pressure on US policy

Now, some experts are questioning the degree to which that minority might be able to sway U.S. policy if the party successfully seizes the House, the Senate, or both, in November.

“I think it’s top of mind for a lot of people in Washington who are supportive of what we’ve been doing in Ukraine,” Conor Savoy, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA.

Savoy said a significant number of the Republican lawmakers who have voted against Ukraine aid so far, including many of the 57 who voted against a $40 billion aid package in May, have done so because of concern about a lack of oversight over the spending. But others include many self-styled populists in the mode of former President Donald Trump, who are instinctively suspicious of foreign aid spending, even when it is supported by the party’s leadership.

“They don’t like this,” Savoy said. “They think it’s money down a foreign rat hole.”

While there has also been some Democratic opposition to Ukraine spending, the resistance in that party has been far smaller. Combined with broad Republican support, Democratic majorities have been able to push aid packages through.

Determined resistance

It’s far from certain that things would change if the GOP takes power in Congress, given that a majority of Republicans still supports aiding Ukraine. However, it is important to remember that in Congress, a determined minority is often able to thwart the will of the majority.

A decade ago, while the Republican Party ran the House of Representatives, a core group of conservatives — the Freedom Caucus — consistently stymied their leadership’s efforts to make budget deals with then-president Barack Obama, leading to government shutdowns and fears of a default by the Treasury Department.

Some observers have noted a growing rift between the Republican Party’s leadership and its populist wing.

“The schism between the party’s establishment Republicans and Trump-style populists raises questions about whether President Joe Biden can rely on lawmakers to continue funding the influx of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine if Democrats lose control of Congress,” the website Defense News noted last month.

On the campaign trail, Democrats have used the threat of a Republican takeover scuttling Ukraine aid as a talking point.

In Ohio, Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan has repeatedly gone after his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance, for the latter’s admission, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”

Conservative groups dubious

Over the weekend, the influential Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) posted a tweet that immediately gained broad attention because it seemed to validate Putin’s claim to have “annexed” four regions of Ukraine.

“Vladimir Putin announces the annexation of 4 Ukrainian-occupied territories,” the tweet read. “Biden and the Dems continue to send Ukraine billions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, we are under attack at our southern border. When will Democrats put #AmericaFirst and end the gift-giving to Ukraine?”

The organization later deleted the tweet, claiming that it had not been approved by its leadership. It was replaced with one that called Putin a “madman” and his invasion of Ukraine illegal.

However, the same reluctance to continue funding Ukraine at current levels remained.

“We must oppose Putin, but American taxpayers should not be shouldering the vast majority of the cost,” CPAC said.

Other conservative organizations have also expressed concerns.

“The American people are tired of the neoconservative policy consensus that demands billions of their tax dollars be spent to defend the integrity of Ukraine’s border when resources and stewardship cannot be found to address our own,” Russ Vought, president of the Center for Renewing America, told the website Defense One last month. “This new package will prolong a fight that lacks an American dog [pressing U.S. interest], allowing regional allies to shirk their security responsibilities yet again.”

Diverting resources

On Sunday, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, whose home state of Florida had just been ravaged by a hurricane, used Twitter to suggest that aid to Ukraine was diverting assistance from his constituents.

“Dear Congress: On behalf of my fellow Florida Man in grave need of assistance … Just send us like half of what you sent Ukraine. Signed, Your Fellow Americans,” he wrote.

Last week, announcing her vote against a spending resolution that included more funding for Ukraine, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted, “Today, I’m voting NO on the continuing resolution to fund America’s 50 states, plus America’s 51st state: Ukraine. Also in the news, Vladimir Putin has just annexed a large portion of Ukraine. Are we funding Russia, too?”

Republican leaders in the House have indicated that if they take over, the general view of their caucus — including any newly elected members — will factor into their decision-making.

In remarks to reporters last month, Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said, “We want to make sure they get all the briefings. I know there’s concern, rightfully so, about having oversight over those dollars. I’m not going to get ahead of our members before the election, our newly elected members. It’s going to be a conference decision of those new members.”
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Millions of Ukrainian schoolchildren are returning to the classroom despite air sirens that are still interrupting lessons. With more than 2,000 school buildings around the country destroyed, educators are working hard to rebuild and bring normality to children’s lives. VOA Eastern Europe Chief Myroslava Gongadze visited the village of Bohdanivka near Kyiv where Russian occupiers destroyed the local school and kindergarten. Camera: Eugene Shynkar
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Plans are finally in motion for a railway that runs from China to Europe through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, after being on the table for two decades. Some Central Asian residents remain skeptical of the project, while others anticipate it will be an economic boon for the region.

The deal, reached in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit last month, cements a feasibility study that requires the transportation authorities of all countries involved to complete an assessment of the project by the middle of next year, then begin construction.

The new route, costing roughly $4.5 billion, would be an alternative to China’s current dependence on a route through Russia and Kazakhstan for overland transit to Europe. That route has become politically problematic because of Western sanctions on Russia prompted by President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Central Asian skeptics

Some Central Asian residents say their country has been included as a means to an end for other countries and are doubtful the latest rail project will benefit them.

“Central Asians have always waved at containers carrying someone else’s freight elsewhere,” said a young attendant on Uzbekistan’s Afrosiyob domestic express train who calls himself Aziz and does not want to use his real name.

“Another document taking us nowhere,” said Hikmat, a 33-year-old trader in the Southern Uzbek city of Samarkand, who prefers not to use his last name, fearing his criticism could hurt his partnerships in Kyrgyzstan and China. “What are we getting from this? Weren’t the governments already studying feasibility?”

VOA heard similar cynicism from residents in Kyrgyzstan. Analyst Sovetbek Zikirov pointed out that many in Central Asia believe China is more interested in shipping its products through the region than in investing locally or creating jobs.

“It’s not seeking more presence in our market,” Zikirov told VOA.

Hopeful rail supporters

The adoption of a memorandum on September 14, however, has renewed hope among some officials in Central Asia that a new railway will connect their goods to faraway markets, and some urge Bishkek to move faster.

Kyrgyz observer Bektemir Ziyadinov wrote via Facebook that infrastructure projects would elevate the country’s image and credibility.

“This railway is not just a great opportunity for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan but will create an awesome alternative for China, which currently transits goods mainly via Kazakhstan,” said Zilola Yunusova, head of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry’s research unit. “This new route is 900 kilometers shorter. Such new corridors are especially relevant now when big economies face global supply chains and pandemic bottlenecks.”

Yunusova, whose center tackles regional projects, told VOA the deal “demonstrates strong political resolve. Now, the governments will consider each other’s proposals and come to agreement on the route and investments.”

She admitted that the document lacks details but said it commits to steps for the next year so that construction can begin in 2023.

Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Chinese officials stress that their governments are eager to collaborate on mapping and funding of the railway project.

“We all know China is very interested to realize this project as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” Yunusova said.

Kyrgyz Transportation and Communications Minister Erkinbek Osoyev, who signed the deal, said Kyrgyz specialists are already working with Chinese counterparts.

“The deadline for the technical and economic assessment is no later than June 1, 2023,” a September 14 Kyrgyz statement noted. “The sides are to equally share the expenses for the technical and economic justification of the project.”

China’s Foreign Ministry calls the agreement “important progress in the construction of a major transport route in the Eurasian continent.”

For Bishkek and Tashkent, this “faster and shorter” railway should emerge as a southern branch of the Eurasian continental link, opening access to Southeast Asia, Western Asian and Middle Eastern markets while delivering Chinese goods to Kyrgyzstan and other parts of Central Asia en route to Europe.

Tashkent and Bishkek put high hopes on the railway’s social-economic impact, such as expanding domestic transportation services and infrastructure.

The idea for this railway has been under discussion for 20 years, but never took concrete shape until about 2018 when the leaderships in Tashkent and Bishkek started pushing for it together.

China-Central Asia relations

China’s state media Global Times quoted Zhao Huirong at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who said the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project could be “one of the most important multilateral economic cooperation projects yielded by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” although the deal only includes three of its eight members.

“More trade and logistic collaboration will develop in Xinjiang after the railway is put into operation. … The rail line is conducive to expanding the exports of the two countries’ agricultural and mineral products,” Zhao told the Global Times.

US concerns

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu said Washington is closely watching Chinese engagement with Central Asia.

“When I served as ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, I witnessed local resentment of the Chinese presence, which was often seen as exploitative, corrupt, and non-transparent,” Lu told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 14. “There exists a genuine fear that Belt and Road Initiative loans are creating unsustainable debt. There is fear that Chinese workers are displacing jobs for Central Asian workers.”

Lu saw significant concern in Central Asia that Beijing’s ambitions are not purely commercial.

“Fighting corrupt PRC business deals is sensitive and dangerous work. Our embassy in Kyrgyzstan has spent years working to shine a light on PRC organized crime activity, in league with former Kyrgyz corrupt officials, that robs the people of Central Asia of billions in customs revenue each year.”

The Chinese embassy has not responded to VOA’s request for comment, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said, “The so-called ‘Chinese debt trap’ is a lie made up by the U.S. and some other Western countries to deflect responsibility and blame.”

In June, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted the agreements made in the regional foreign ministers’ meeting in Kazakhstan for “win-win results.” Wang said important points at the meeting included “connectivity,” “the safe and stable operation of the China-Europe freight train,” improved customs and ensuring a “continuous supply chain.”

Hopeful skeptics

Many Uzbeks, while skeptical about the construction of a railway that has been in discussion for so many years, do hope to benefit if the cargo route becomes reality.

As Aziz, the young train attendant, remarked on the way to Samarkand, “East or West, we want the best, because we deserve the best. We want businesses transiting their goods to stop and shop here. These freight trains should finally start carrying our goods as well.”
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Turkish journalists groups on Tuesday protested a draft law the government says is aimed at combating fake news and disinformation but which critics denounce as yet another attempt to stifle freedom of expression.

Parliament was set to debate a 40-article piece of legislation that amends multiple laws governing press, advertising and social media. The most controversial change is an amendment to the press law that would criminalize the spreading of “fake news” with a sentence of up to three years in prison.

Critics, including opposition lawmakers and nongovernmental organizations, say the law is too vague and could potentially be abused by the government to further crack down on independent journalism, especially media that has developed on the internet.

The government already controls most major news outlets and has been named among the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.

Representatives of various Turkish journalist associations wearing black face masks gathered outside parliament in Ankara, urging legislators not to pass the law, which was submitted to parliament in May.

“As journalists, in line with our responsibility to society, we once again warn both legislators and the public: If this law is implemented in this form, there will be no freedom of press, expression and communication in our country,” said Kemal Aktas, head of the Parliamentary Correspondents Association.

Meanwhile, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu claimed in a speech on Tuesday that Erdogan’s government, which faces elections in June, introduced the changes to prevent the dissemination of allegations of corruption against the government.

International media freedom organizations have also called for the dismissal of the bill, saying it puts millions of internet users at risk of criminal action for online posts the government disagrees with, could become a tool “for harassing journalists and activists” and could lead to self-censorship.

Disinformation is an important issue and needs to be combated but not at the price of restricting journalists’ rights and the public’s rights of freedom of expression,” the groups, including PEN and the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in June.

Article 29 of the bill is an amendment to the Turkish penal code mandating one to three years in prison for spreading information that is “contrary to the truth” about Turkey’s domestic and international security, public order and health for the alleged purpose of causing “public worry, fear and panic.” The sentence can be increased by a half if that crime is committed by an anonymous user or as part of an organization.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued for a law to combat disinformation, saying fake news and rising “digital fascism” is a national and global security issue.

The proposal, put forth by his ruling Justice and Development Party and its nationalist ally, says fake news and its dissemination or disinformation pose a “serious threat” by preventing people to access the truth, while also undermining freedom of expression and information by “abusing certain freedoms.”

The proposal also says the internet allows ill-intentioned users to hide their identities for illegal acts and posts like attacks, slander, hate speech and discrimination, therefore requiring regulation. It says the state has the obligation to protect rights and freedoms, especially for people whose rights were violated online.
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Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has won the prestigious Nansen Award from the U.N. refugee agency, for providing a haven for more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution in Syria.

Angela Merkel welcomed the desperate people at the height of the Syrian conflict in 2015 and 2016, when other countries were turning their backs on them.

In announcing the award, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Merkel displayed great moral and political courage by helping more than a million refugees survive and rebuild their lives.

UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh says Merkel has helped to highlight the plight of refugees globally. He says she has shown what can be achieved when politicians work to find solutions to challenging situations rather than shifting responsibility to others.

“As well as protecting people forced to flee war, persecution and human rights abuses, the former chancellor was the driving force behind Germany’s collective efforts to receive them and to help them integrate into their new homes through education and training programs, employment schemes, and labor market integration,” said Saltmarsh.

The award is named after Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen. It is given to an individual, group or organization that has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees.

The award selection committee also has honored four regional winners. They are an all-volunteer refugee firefighting group in Mauritania in West Africa; a refugee support cacao cooperative in Costa Rica in the Americas; humanitarian organization Meikse Myanmar that assists internally displaced people among others in Asia and the Pacific; and an Iraqi gynecologist who provides medical and psychological care to Yazidi girls and women in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Nansen award will be presented to Merkel and the four regional winners at a ceremony in Geneva October 10. For Merkel, the award carries a cash prize of $150,000. Each of the regional laureates will receive $50,000.
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Afghanistan’s National Institute of Music has performed its first concert in its new home of Lisbon, Portugal. Members of the exiled school are determined to keep Afghan music alive even though they can’t play in their homeland. VOA’s Farkhunda Paimani and Munaza Shaheed attended the concert in Lisbon and filed this report narrated by Amy Katz. Camera: Nawid Orokzai
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