RIYADMEDIA

It has been almost three months since Victoria Roshchyna’s family and colleagues received any word from the award-winning Ukrainian journalist.

Roshchyna, who is known for her courageous reporting on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, disappeared shortly after passing a checkpoint. Friends and colleagues believe Russian forces detained her.

The reporter had quickly pivoted from covering court cases to reporting from the front lines when Russian forces invaded her home country.

As a freelance journalist, she has written for publications that include the Ukrainian news websites Hromadske and Ukrainska Pravda, as well as the broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Roshchyna told the stories of children killed in Dnipro and Berdyansk. She spoke to survivors of a missile strike in Uman and reported from Mariupol, where Russian occupiers staged a celebration in front of ruined houses. She interviewed soldiers and civilians, putting a human face to the brutality of war.

But covering these stories came with great personal risk.

On March 5, 2022, the car that Roshchyna was traveling in was shot at by Russian forces. She and the driver managed to escape and seek shelter in a nearby house. Roshchyna’s camera and laptop were stolen from the car, according to reports from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based nonprofit.

Less than a week later, Russian security agents detained Roshchyna. She was held for 10 days, hit and threatened.

She detailed the experience for Hromadske, writing, “I didn’t feel fear … there was only despair over the unknown and wasted time, the inability to do my job.”

“The fact that she was detained by Russian soldiers and lived through that experience and went back and kept reporting as if that never happened certainly shows an incredible amount of courage and tenacity and a journalist who’s willing to risk everything to report the news,” said Elisa Lees Munoz, executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, or IWMF.

The IWMF in 2022 awarded Roshchyna its Courage Award for her coverage of the war.

One year on from presenting that award, Munoz and others are advocating for Roshchyna’s release.

“To disappear somebody is one of the worst things that one can do,” Munoz said. “It’s certainly intended to send a message to others — we can do that to anybody.”

Last call

Roshchyna left Ukraine in late July to travel through Poland and Russia to try to reach Russian-occupied territories of southeastern Ukraine.

On August 3, she called a relative to say she’d passed through several checkpoints, although she didn’t specify where, Anna Nemtsova told VOA. Nemtsova is a correspondent for the Daily Beast who has spoken directly to Roshchyna’s family.

The Ukrainian security service informed Roshchyna’s father that she was captured by Russians, Nemtsova said. Friends have searched for her in and around jails in occupied regions but have found no trace.

VOA emailed the Russian Embassy in Washington for comment but did not receive a reply.

The Ukrainian National Information Bureau told VOA that it keeps records of prisoners of war and civilian hostages but added, “By law we cannot share the data from our records or provide any media comments thereof.”

“Her parents are heartbroken,” Nemtsova told VOA. “Her father, her mother, her sister, they’re all very, very worried about her. And they regret that she wouldn’t stop covering the most dangerous regions. But nobody could stop Victoria.”

Nemtsova, who covers stories on Russia and Eastern Europe, became familiar with Roshchyna by reading her articles.

Later, the two spoke multiple times over the phone. It was Nemtsova, a past IWMF courage honoree, who nominated her colleague for the award.

“She was treating this story, this tragedy, the invasion of Ukraine as the main thing, the why, the most important thing,” Nemtsova told VOA. She heard from mutual friends that, during the winter months of the war, Roshchyna “looked like a shadow, she was so tired.” But she kept reporting.

Maria Romanenko, a Ukrainian journalist and activist, worked alongside Roshchyna for several years while she was then editor-in-chief at Hromadske, an independent Ukrainian media outlet.

Romanenko described Roshchyna as a quiet, hardworking woman with fierce courage and a tireless commitment to journalism.

She had this “very, very impressive braveness in her,” Romanenko told VOA. She was “always going for those stories that nobody else, I think, really wanted to, and she did it willingly.”

Romanenko left Ukraine after the Russian invasion and now lives in the U.K. She said that in the early days of the war, journalists were afraid of what would happen to press freedom if Russians fully occupied the country.

In Russia, it’s not uncommon for journalists to go missing, be detained or even killed, Romanenko said. Russia “is not a safe environment for journalists,” she told VOA. “And when they invade other countries and attack other countries, they try to reproduce the same scenarios in the areas that they manage to occupy.”

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based nonprofit, ranks Russia 164 out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom, with 180 being least free.

Around the same time Roshchyna was first detained, Romanenko’s colleague Maks Levin went missing. Levin’s body was later found near Kyiv. An investigation later concluded Russian troops killed him.

Romanenko says she keeps checking social media apps, hoping for news. “It’s a strange reality that we find ourselves in — just going on those chats and checking when she was last online, just hoping that it will suddenly change to ‘online now,’ ” Romanenko said.

Although Munoz, Nemtsova and Romanenko all hope for Roshchyna’s safe return, they also fear the worst.

“We don’t know in what basement she’s in. What kind of pressure she’s suffering from,” Nemtsova told VOA. “The most important thing for her friends, for supporters, for her family is that she’s alive. … We don’t know that yet.”
…

Russian authorities on Thursday formally charged Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva with violating the country’s “foreign agent” law.

Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that Kurmasheva has been charged under a section of the Criminal Code that refers to the registration of foreign agents who engage in “purposeful collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of Russia,” VOA’s sister outlet RFE/RL reported. 

The Investigative Committee said she did not provide documents to be included on the registry. 

Kurmasheva denies the charge, according to RFE/RL. 

Based in Prague, Kurmasheva is an editor for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service. A dual U.S.-Russian national, she traveled to Russia in May for a family emergency. She was briefly detained in June while waiting for her return flight, and her passports were confiscated. 

She was waiting for her passports to be returned when she was detained on October 18. A Russian court on October 23 ordered her held in pretrial detention until December 5. Kurmasheva faces up to five years in prison.

Press freedom groups, the United Nations Human Rights Office and the U.S. government have condemned Kurmasheva’s detention and called for her immediate release. 

“It is highly disturbing that the authorities took advantage of an urgent trip home for family reasons to detain a journalist who is normally based outside the country precisely to avoid arbitrary arrest,” Scott Griffen, deputy director of the International Press Institute, said in a statement Thursday.

“We demand Kurmasheva’s immediate release, as well as that of all other Russian journalists held behind bars,” Griffen added. 

Russia’s Washington Embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. 

Russia has a long history of jailing critical journalists and activists. The country held at least 19 journalists in prison as of late 2022, when the Committee to Protect Journalists conducted its most recent annual prison census.

Kurmasheva is one of two American journalists currently jailed in Russia. 

Russian authorities arrested American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny. 

Thursday marks Gershkovich’s 32nd birthday, which he spent behind bars in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison. 

“Every single day he’s detained is a day too long,” his sister, Danielle Gershkovich, told VOA earlier this week.

Most recently, Gershkovich’s pretrial detention was extended until at least November 30. It was originally set to expire in May. 

Meanwhile, also on Thursday, Marina Ovsyannikova, a former Russian state TV journalist who famously interrupted a live broadcast to protest the war in Ukraine and now lives in exile in France, lost custody of her children in a court battle with her ex-husband, who leads the Spanish bureau of the Russian state news outlet RT. 

“I hope my children will be proud of me someday,” she wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday, condemning the court’s ruling. 

Earlier this month, a Russian court sentenced Ovsyannikova in absentia to eight-and-a-half years in prison for staging a separate protest outside the Kremlin in July 2022.

Ovsyannikova fled Russia last year with her 11-year-old daughter, but her 14-year-old son remains with his father, Igor Ovsyannikov. 

Earlier this week, the Moldovan government blocked access to over 20 Russian news outlets, saying they were used as part of an information war against the former Soviet state. 

Russia condemned the move as a “hostile step.”

Moldova previously restricted TV broadcasts of Russia-produced news in June 2022 after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year, instead only permitting entertainment shows and movies. 

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has accused the Kremlin of plotting a coup and trying to destabilize the government. 
…

Ahead of a scheduled visit to Kenya by Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Talai clan of the Kipsigis community is petitioning the king to help it receive compensation for land lost during the colonial period. Francis Ontomwa reports.
…

Sporadic intense fighting continues in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka and surrounding areas of the Donetsk region as Kyiv watches a European Union summit in Brussels where the 27-nation bloc is expected to reiterate its condemnation of Russia’s war and support for Ukraine amid fears of donor fatigue among some members.

Kyiv’s troops have repelled as many as 15 attacks by Russian forces in and around Avdiivka, a town that has largely been turned to rubble due to Russian bombing, over the past 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Avdiivka has been the site of Moscow’s largest offensive in the war in months, and some analysts say Ukraine’s supply lines have been whittled down to a narrow corridor.

With the the war now in its 21st month, European Union leaders are expected to reaffirm their support for “Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “its inherent right of self-defense,” according to the draft conclusions of the summit, seen by RFE/RL.

The document, which is not final and must still be approved by EU leaders, will also reaffirm the bloc’s intention to continue to provide “strong financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.”

The draft conclusions will also call for “further strengthening sanctions” against Russia over its aggression and will call on the European Commission to “accelerate work” on propositions on how revenues stemming directly from Russia’s immobilized assets could be directed to support Ukraine and its recovery and reconstruction.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is reported to have temporarily closed its new Black Sea grain export corridor due to a possible threat from Russian warplanes and sea mines.

Barva Invest, a Ukrainian agricultural brokerage and analytics company, said that with defense officials citing increased Russian aircraft activities in the Black Sea area, inbound and outbound vessel traffic has been temporarily suspended.

In August, Ukraine announced a so-called “humanitarian corridor” to release ships bound for African and Asian markets, and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal this summer that had guaranteed its exports during the war. The route runs along Ukraine’s southwest Black Sea coast, into Romanian territorial waters and onwards to Turkey.

Some information for his report came from Reuters. 
…

In a city where damaged buildings are everywhere, a destroyed pizzeria stands out as a painful reminder of lives and livelihoods dashed in an instant.

A Russian ballistic missile struck the popular eatery in eastern Ukraine in June, killing 13 people including an award-winning Ukrainian writer and several teenagers. Seven of the victims were staff.

Today, fresh flowers and notes have been placed where the entrance once was. A T-shirt, part of the waitstaff’s uniform, hangs near the makeshift memorial with the inscription “We will never forget.”

“As an entrepreneur, of course, I regret the loss of property, but there’s something that cannot be returned: human lives,” said Dmytro Ihnatenko, the owner of RIA Pizza.

The bombed-out building in Kramatorsk underscores the massive risks for businesses in this front-line city in the Donetsk region. But that has not deterred many other business owners who have reopened their doors to customers in the past year.

The city council estimates there are 50 restaurants and 228 shops now open in Kramatorsk, three times the number open at the same period last year. Most are believed to be existing business that closed in the early days of the war and have reopened.

“We understand that this is a risk, and we are taking it because this is our life,” said Olena Ziabina, chief administrator of the White Burger restaurant in Kramatorsk. “Wherever we are, we need to work. We work here. This is our conscious choice.”

The White Burger chain operated mainly in Donetsk and Luhansk regions before the war. But after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it could reopen only in Kramatorsk. It launched two new restaurants in the capital, Kyiv, and Dnipro to keep the chain alive.

Kramatorsk’s restaurant is the chain’s top performer in profitability, even though prices are 20% lower than in the capital’s restaurant.

After the attack on Ria Pizza, White Burger’s operators didn’t consider closing the Kramatorsk restaurant, Ziabina said. “I cried a lot,” she said, recalling the day she heard about the attack.

Kramatorsk’s economy has adapted to war. The city houses the Ukrainian army’s regional headquarters, and many cafes and restaurants are frequented mainly by soldiers as well as journalists and aid workers.

Ukrainian women often travel there to reunite for a few days with husbands and boyfriends.

Soldiers joke that Kramatorsk is their Las Vegas, providing all the “luxuries” they need like good food or coffee. But restaurants offer only non-alcoholic beer due to the city’s proximity to the battlefield.

The city streets are mostly empty except for military cars. The residents who stayed avoid big gatherings and crowded places.

Still, it is a far cry from the war’s early days, when Kramatorsk’s shops, restaurants and cafes were shuttered. Tens of thousands of people were left without jobs, and factories were closed.

“Probably, thanks to the military, we can still come back to this city,” said Oleksandr, who asked to be identified only by his first name because of security concerns.

He is a co-founder of one of the numerous military shops in Kramatorsk serving soldiers. Oleksandr said he marks up prices by only 1 hryvnia (2 cents) above the manufacturer’s price. He said the aim isn’t to earn money but to provide the military with the necessary equipment.

Many residents cherish new work opportunities brought by the reopening of shops and restaurants.

But there are fewer options for older people, said Tetiana Podosionova, 54. She worked at the Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant for 32 years, but the plant closed due to security risks when the war started.

“I had hoped to work at the factory until retirement,” Podosionova said. Most jobs are now in restaurants and shops, where she had no experience.

Finally, she found a job at Amazing Fish Aquarium, which resumed operations months after the war began. The aquarium has hundreds of exotic fish and dozens of parrots and remains open to entertain residents, who are often stressed from missile strikes.

But every reopened business carries risk. Ihnatenko, the pizzeria owner, still comes to his destroyed restaurant every day when he’s in Kramatorsk. He doesn’t know why. He looks tired. His voice is hardly above a whisper.

He, like many business owners, saw Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in the neighboring Kharkiv region last year as a sign that life could return to Kramatorsk.

“It seemed safer here,” he explained, standing in the rubble of his restaurant.

He has no plans to rebuild and reopen yet again.

His tragic experience shows the challenges that business owners face while keeping their doors open.

“A missile can come at any moment,” he said.
…

Despite bleak outlooks on their emotional and financial well-being, Ukrainians still remain optimistic about their future, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

The pressures of war have been weighing heavily on Ukrainian citizens since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Many say they have been unable to afford necessities such as food and shelter, and many others report experiencing negative feelings, worry chief among them.

Living conditions in Ukraine have been challenging, with only about 38% of Ukrainians surveyed saying they are satisfied with their standard of living, and around 63% saying that living standards are getting worse.

Nearly 53% of the population surveyed said there were times in the last 12 months when they were unable to afford food for themselves or their families. About 48% of those polled said they were unable to afford shelter.

The hardships were felt most by Ukrainians who have not had more than a secondary education. This group had 20% more respondents who were unable to afford food, and 12% more who were unable to afford housing, compared to those with a higher education.

Emotional issues also remain at high levels, despite having stabilized since the end of last year.

The most frequently experienced negative emotion was worry, which was felt by more than half (53%) of respondents. Other common negative emotions were sadness (39%), stress (32%), and anger (22%).

Some of those surveyed did report positive emotions, with nearly half (48%) saying they either smiled or laughed the previous day, and 54% saying they felt enjoyment.

When asked how they would rate their lives on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being the best possible life, the average response was 4.7.

Despite this, most Ukrainians look forward to a better future. When asked to rate their expectations for their lives five years from now, the response increased to 7.7.

That optimism underscores the results of a previous Gallup poll, which found that most residents are committed to continuing the war effort until Russia is driven from Ukrainian territory.

 
…

After a career spanning three decades and just as many continents, the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Beckett has a new assignment that he hopes will be his shortest yet: freeing his colleague Evan Gershkovich.  

Since Gershkovich was detained in Russia in March, Beckett has been working on his case in an informal capacity in addition to his duties as Washington bureau chief. But in his new role as assistant editor, Gershkovich will be Beckett’s sole priority.

“The longer this goes on, the harder we need to work,” Beckett told VOA recently over coffee. “I couldn’t think of a greater cause to pile in on.” 

 Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich while he was on a reporting trip. Moscow accused the reporter of spying, which he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The U.S. has also declared Gershkovich wrongfully detained.  

The Journal’s response to the arrest has been lauded by media advocates for its relentless coverage and social media blitzes, high-profile events and full-page newspaper ads. News about Gershkovich’s case remains at the top of the outlet’s homepage. 

“If you were ever in Evan’s situation, what would you like to see your employer doing on your behalf?” Beckett said. That’s his guiding principle. 

Four main constituencies are involved in working to free Gershkovich, according to Beckett: the reporter’s family, his newspaper, the U.S. government and the public. 

Gershkovich’s older sister Danielle is part of that first group. Her brother’s plight, she says, has clarified the important role that reporters play.  

“It makes me just believe stronger that journalism must be protected, and journalists must be protected and be able to do their jobs,” she told VOA.  

Beckett is quick to add that he is part of a larger “Team Evan” composed of the Journal’s lawyers and top editors. But in his role, he plans to start by working closely with those key groups, adding, “This is all learning on the job.”

And while discussions for Gershkovich’s release will be government-to-government, Beckett said, part of the strategy is to keep the public’s attention on the reporter. 

People should care about Gershkovich’s case, Beckett said, because it underscores broader threats against journalists and press freedom around the world. 

“The countries that matter the most to the United States, at the moment, are also the same countries that are doing the most against press freedom,” Beckett said. “And if those countries are attacking press freedom, how do you know what is happening in the world? And, therefore, how do you know what’s happening to America’s place in the world?”  

Prolonged detention

Authorities have repeatedly extended Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention, most recently in early October when a court ordered the reporter to remain in custody until at least November 30.

Under Russian law, he can be detained for up to one year before a trial has to begin.  

That reality hits hard for Gershkovich’s family.

“Every single day he’s detained is a day too long,” said his sister, Danielle Gershkovich.  

Media watchdogs rank Russia among the world’s worst press freedom environments, noting it is one of the countries with the most journalists in prison. 

Gershkovich is one of two American journalists imprisoned there.

Authorities in mid-October detained Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor at VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Russia said Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian national, was arrested for failing to register as a foreign agent.  

Russia’s Washington embassy did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. 

Over the course of his career Beckett — who originally hails from Scotland — has worked in several places that now have repressive media environments, including Mexico, India and Hong Kong.

Since working on securing Gershkovich’s release, Beckett has found himself reflecting on another Journal colleague — Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in Pakistan and killed in 2002. 

At the time, Beckett was covering terrorist financing and had met Pearl just a few months before Islamist militants captured him. 

“It was a huge shock to the Wall Street Journal,” Beckett said. Pearl and Gershkovich’s cases are very different, but Beckett admits the case has him thinking more about Pearl. 

Beckett didn’t know Pearl well, but he has never even met Gershkovich in person. Besides some emails here and there, they’ve never really interacted, Beckett said.  

He acknowledges the ironic one-sidedness of their relationship. The Scotsman spends most of his days thinking about Gershkovich. After many months of conversations with Gershkovich’s family, friends and close colleagues, Beckett knows more about the reporter than most people.  

“I have never met him, but I feel like I know him very well,” Beckett said. In turn, Beckett recognizes that Gershkovich barely knows who he is at all.  

None of that really matters, though, Beckett added.

“I think he would rather have me doing this than not.”  

Thinking about the moment when Gershkovich will be released is sensitive for Beckett. When asked about their eventual meeting, he averted his eyes.  

“I get pretty emotional,” he said after a long pause, still concentrating on the coffee shop door. “That would be an extraordinary time.” 
…

Brinc Drones is one of the U.S. companies shipping hundreds of drones to Ukraine. These drones are designed to help first responders survey the impacted areas of Russian shelling and find survivors. Adriy Borys visited the Brink manufacturing facility. Anna Rice narrates his story. Camera — Dmitriy Savchuk.
…

The United States is providing up to $150 million in additional military aid for Ukraine in a package expected as soon as Wednesday, three U.S. military officials tell VOA, a week after Ukraine used its newest weapon from the United States to pummel Russian military targets deep into Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine.

The package includes more GMLRS rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), TOW anti-tank missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and 155 mm rounds, according to two of the officials who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity to discuss the package prior to its announcement.

The availability of 155 mm rounds has raised concerns in recent days as U.S. partners Ukraine and Israel both need them to fight their wars, one against Russia’s invasion, the other against Palestinian militant group Hamas, who killed hundreds of Israelis and kidnapped dozens more in a brazen terrorist attack on October 7.

Washington has said it is able to support Tel Aviv’s and Kyiv’s military needs.

The U.S. withdrew some 155 mm rounds from its war reserves stockpile in Israel to replenish U.S. stockpiles in Europe earlier this year, but after October 7, much of those rounds were redirected back to Israel to provide to the Israel Defense Forces, according to a senior defense official.

“Yes, 155 [mm rounds] is an area that both have in common. But broadly speaking, that’s just one small area, and we don’t assess right now that we’re going to have any problems providing them with both,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Monday.

Ukraine launched ATACMS at Russian forces last week after the United States secretly provided a small number of the long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine in recent days. The ATACMS provided to Ukraine have a maximum range of about 170 kilometers (106 miles), nearly twice as far as the other HIMARS artillery rockets in Ukraine’s arsenal and have allowed Ukraine to reach deeper into Russian-controlled territory.

Ukraine said last week that it destroyed at least nine Russian helicopters, an anti-aircraft launcher and an ammunitions depot in Berdiansk and Luhansk during attacks in which ATACMS are thought to have been used against Russian positions.

“Our agreements with President [Joe] Biden are being implemented, and they are being implemented very accurately. ATACMS have proven themselves,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the attacks.

The package expected Wednesday marks the 49th time that the U.S. has used the presidential drawdown authority to provide Ukraine’s miliary with equipment from U.S. stockpiles.

The U.S. has provided about $44 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022.

The Pentagon still has about $5 billion of congressionally approved funding for Ukrainian military aid, after the Pentagon discovered in June that it had overestimated the value of weapons shipped to Ukraine by about $6 billion.

When calculating its aid package estimates, the Defense Department was counting the cost incurred to replace the weapons given to Ukraine, while it should have been totaling the cost of the systems actually sent, officials told VOA at the time the error was found.

The Pentagon continues to dip into its aid arsenal despite Congress excluding new aid for Ukraine in a stopgap spending bill passed last month to prevent a government shutdown.

Soon after the stopgap spending bill passed, the House ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position as speaker.

The House has yet to vote in a new speaker, and new aid for Ukraine could hinge on who is selected.
…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged Tuesday to reclaim areas of Ukraine currently occupied by Russian forces.

“Ukraine will reclaim its territory and its people,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.  “We will not leave anyone to the occupiers. We are using every means to ensure that this war ends with the defeat of the occupiers.”

He also said that despite doubts from many in the world, “Ukraine has shown that it can prevail, despite all the challenges, especially in the Black Sea region.”

Early Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry said it destroyed three Ukrainian boats in the northern part of the Black Sea.

Russia also said it conducted an “anti-sabotage” operation near the Sevastopol port, which is home to its Black Sea fleet.

Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian attacks in two parts of the country wounded at least eight people.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Russian airstrikes and artillery fire wounded four people and damaged several houses, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on social media.

Klymenko also said a Russian attack in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine injured four people.

Ukraine’s air force said its defenses downed six drones that Russian launched from Crimea.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters

 
…

Fears of a new conflict are growing as Turkey and Azerbaijan demand a corridor through Armenian territory after last month’s forced exodus of ethnic Armenians from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the demands come as Iran hosts peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
…

Violence among the Eritrean diaspora has broken out in Europe, the Middle East and North America in recent weeks. Hundreds have been arrested in clashes between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government. In this report from Stuttgart, Germany, Henry Wilkins speaks with members of the Eritrean diaspora about what has triggered these new clashes.
…

Icelandic women went on a 24-hour strike on Tuesday over gender inequality, including the prime minister, who said the fight for equal treatment was moving far too slowly at home and abroad.

Across the small island nation, schools and libraries were either closed or operated on limited hours as female staff stayed home, while hospitals said they would only handle emergency cases.

Joining the protest, Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said she would not come to work on Tuesday.

“Looking at the whole world, it could take 300 years to achieve gender equality,” Jakobsdottir told the Ras 1 public radio station.

The strike was called to protest against gaps in pay when compared to men and against gender-based violence, and to highlight the unpaid work such as such as child care that most often falls on women, organizers said.

Iceland is regarded as one of the world’s most progressive countries in terms of gender equality and has topped the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index 14 years in a row.

But in some industries and professions, women earn at least 20% less than Icelandic men, according to Statistics Iceland.

Forty percent of Icelandic women experience gender-based and sexual violence in their lifetime, a University of Iceland study found.

“We’re seeking to bring attention to the fact that we’re called an equality paradise, but there are still gender disparities and urgent need for action,” said Freyja Steingrimsdottir, a strike organizer and the communications director for the Icelandic Federation for Public Workers.

Tuesday’s strike, under the slogan “Do you call this equality?”, comprising Icelandic women and non-binary individuals, was the first full-day strike since an inaugural women’s protest in 1975.

“Female-led professions such as healthcare services and childcare are still undervalued and much lower paid,” Steingrimsdottir told Reuters on Monday. 
…

Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian attacks in two parts of the country wounded at least eight people.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Russian airstrikes and artillery fire wounded four people and damaged a number of houses, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on social media.

Klymenko also said a Russian attack in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine injured four people.

Ukraine and Russia each said Tuesday their militaries also thwarted attacks by enemy uncrewed vehicles.

Russia’s defense ministry said it destroyed three Ukrainian boats in the northern part of the Black Sea.

Russia also said it conducted an “anti-sabotage” operation near the Sevastopol port, which is home to its Black Sea fleet.

Ukraine’s air force said its defenses downed six drones that Russian launched from Crimea.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

Poland’s mainstream opposition parties said on Tuesday they are ready to take power, as they seek to increase pressure on the president to make a quick decision on appointing their candidate Donald Tusk as prime minister.

The pro-European Union (EU) opposition parties won a majority in elections earlier this month, a huge shift for Poland after eight years of feuding with Brussels over issues ranging from judicial independence to LGBT rights.

President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, has previously said that he would give the first shot at forming a government to the largest single party in the lower house of parliament.

PiS came first in the general election but lost its majority. It is unlikely to be able to form a government for want of a coalition partner.

“Today, together with the leaders of the democratic parties, we confirmed our readiness to cooperate fully and create a majority in the next parliament,” Tusk, the leader of Poland’s largest liberal opposition grouping Civic Coalition, told a news conference. He added that he would be the opposition’s candidate for prime minister.

Duda is set to meet the leaders of all the parties that won seats in parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The leaders of the three groupings intent on forming the next government – Tusk’s liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the centre-right Third Way and the New Left – have urged Duda not to delay making a decision on appointing a new prime minister.

However, the president’s aides have said that he will not rush into making a choice.

 
…

Malawi has made its first successful large-scale harvest of wheat after years of attempts to find a variety of grain suitable for its soil. Wheat farming is seen as a solution to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on grain imports to the African continent.

Ronald Ngwira, chief executive officer of Malawi-registered U.S. company Pyxus Agriculture Limited, which operates a farm in central Malawi for the diversification of wheat seeds, said about four varieties of wheat have been found suitable for Malawian soil out of about 80 varieties which had been tried since 2019.

Speaking during the start of the first large-scale harvest over the weekend, Ngwira said the wheat farming will help Malawi save millions of dollars spent on wheat imports.

“Malawi imports 200,000 tons of wheat at $48 million. To get there, it could take us four years to produce enough wheat in Malawi to satisfy ourselves,” Ngwira said. “Four years might be seen as a long time, but we are already there and will have the seed available.”

Agriculture experts in Malawi say wheat farming is expected to produce about 90 metric tons, which is 50 percent of the country’s wheat consumption.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera witnessed the harvest Friday at Mpale farm in Dowa district.

“Wheat farming can enable Malawi to be self-sustaining. But this will require each one of us to work hard to achieve the desired results. Let us all make a move toward that goal by even using modern technology,” Chakwera said.

Malawi has long been heavily dependent on imported wheat, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has disrupted food supply chains. According to the United Nations, Africa takes up 12.26% of grain imported from Ukraine.

A U.N. report notes that the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a shortage of about 30 million tons of grain on the continent, along with a sharp increase in cost.

“If we can find markets, it can be another source of forex in the country,” said Wisdom Mgomezulu, an agricultural economist and lecturer at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. “Because, as you know, wheat is among those high-value cash crops that are highly demanded in the world.”

Mgomezulu said to achieve this, Malawi needs to find more sustainable production technologies that can give a comparative advantage, considering that there are already big players in the market.

“We need more investment in research. Let’s look for more funds and donor partners to finance agronomists and researchers who are trying their best to breed varieties that can be grown here in Malawi. But for that to be done, we need to research more investment and maybe get a share of the export market,” Mgomezulu said.

In the meantime, Ngwira of Pyxus said they are planning to plant 15,000 hectares of seed in December to prepare farmers for mass wheat production next year. 
…

Sweden moved one step closer to entering NATO Monday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted a bill to parliament seeking approval for the Nordic nation’s bid to join the military alliance.

Thirty-one other NATO member nations have already ratified Sweden’s membership bid, leaving Turkey and Hungary as the final nations that have not yet done so.

Erdogan had promised his NATO allies he would introduce a bill to ratify Sweden’s membership when parliament reopened on October 1 and the bill was finally submitted on Monday.

Previously, Turkey had cited accusations of Sweden harboring terrorists as a reason for the delay. Ankara had said Stockholm needed to take more aggressive measures to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers Party, or the PKK militia, before Sweden’s membership bid could be ratified. 

The PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

Turkey’s decision was welcomed by NATO as well as Sweden, who both released statements praising Erdogan.

“I look forward to a speedy vote to ratify, and to welcoming Sweden as a full NATO ally very soon,” NATO Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg said in a statement. “This will make the whole Alliance stronger and more secure.”

“Glad to hear that Turkish President Erdogan has now handed over the ratification documents to the Turkish Parliament,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Now it remains for Parliament to deal with the issue. We look forward to becoming a member of NATO.”

Turkey’s reversal on the decision to admit Sweden came as deals were made with both the U.S., who agreed to let Turkey buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits, as well as Sweden, who signaled it would help Turkey get admitted into the EU.

Sweden is attempting to follow its neighbor Finland in becoming a NATO member, after both nations spent decades outside the military alignment. Finland joined the alliance in April with Turkey stating it had addressed its security concerns.

The Nordic countries’ decisions to seek military protection under NATO came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine last year.

Some information in this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
…

A new report by an EU-based think tank is proposing a new source of revenue for countries by imposing a tax on the super-rich.

Governments around the world should engage in a coordinated effort to prevent tax evasion and create a global minimum tax on billionaires that could raise $250 billion annually, according to the EU Tax Observatory.

The new tax would amount to 2% of the nearly $13 trillion controlled by about 2,700 global billionaires but would bring in more tax revenue than is currently generated from the world’s wealthiest, the group said Monday in its 2024 Global Tax Evasion Report.

Taxes on billionaires are often lower than those of general taxpayers, due to billionaires having access to resources that allow them to place their money in shell companies that shield them from income tax, the research group said.

The EU Tax Observatory, which is hosted at the Paris School of Economics, said that personal taxes on billionaires are estimated to be close to 0.5% in the United States and as low as 0% in France.

Efforts to increase taxes on billionaires have been growing, with U.S. President Joe Biden including a minimum 25% tax on the wealthiest 0.01% in his 2024 budget proposal. However, the plan is not expected to pass Congress.

While difficult, coordinated strategies toward greater taxation have happened. A 2021 agreement between 140 countries set a global 15% floor on corporate taxation, aiming to limit the ability of multinational companies to reduce their taxes by diverting profits to low-tax countries.

“Something that many people thought would be impossible, now we know can actually be done,” EU Tax Observatory Director Gabriel Zucman told journalists. “The logical next step is to apply that logic to billionaires, and not only to multinational companies.”

According to the report, instituting a minimum corporate tax effectively ended countries’ competition for lower tax rates, but it said loopholes still remain for companies to reduce their tax bills. 

Some information in this report came from Reuters. 
…

Countries are deadlocked over how to design a fund to help countries recover and rebuild from climate change-driven damage, with just over 30 days left before crucial United Nations climate negotiations kick off in Dubai.  

Two dozen countries involved in a committee tasked with designing a “loss and damage” fund wrapped up the last meeting in the early hours of Saturday in Aswan, Egypt, with developing and developed countries at odds over central questions: which entity should oversee the fund, who should pay and which countries would be eligible to receive funding.  

The committee was expected to draft a list of recommendations for implementing the fund, which was agreed in a breakthrough last year at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and would be the first U.N. fund dedicated to addressing irreparable climate-driven damage from drought, floods and rising sea levels.  

Instead, the group agreed to meet one more time in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 3 before the COP28 U.N. summit begins in Dubai on Nov. 30 to try to bridge divisions, which could set the tone for the two-week climate negotiations.  

“The entire COP28 negotiations could get derailed if developing countries’ priorities on funding for loss and damage are not adequately addressed,” said Preety Bhandari, a senior adviser on finance at the World Resources Institute.  

Among the most contentious issues last week was whether the World Bank should host the fund – a position pushed by the U.S. and developed countries – or whether the U.N. create a new body to run the fund, as developing countries have urged.  

Housing a fund at the World Bank, whose presidents are appointed by the United States, would give donor countries outsized influence over the fund and result in high fees for recipient countries, developing countries argue.  

“Its operational culture, the way in which the World Bank has been assisting countries in their development policies, I think it’s not fit for purpose in relation to what we’re looking for from this new climate facility,” said Cuba’s U.N. Ambassador Pedro Pedroso Cuesta, chair of the G77 (developing countries) and China.  

He said the creation of a “new independent entity” to run the fund is the core of its position.  

In response to these criticisms, a spokesperson for the World Bank told Reuters: “We are supporting the process and are committed to working with countries once they agree on how to structure the loss and damage fund.”  

The United States, the European Union and others want a more targeted fund. The EU wants a fund dedicated to the most “vulnerable” while the U.S. has said the fund should focus on areas like slow-onset climate impacts such as sea-level rise.  

Countries are also split over who should pay.  

Brandon Wu, director of policy & campaigns for NGO ActionAid USA called on the United States to back off its insistence that the World Bank house the fund.  

U.S. negotiator Christina Chan, a senior adviser to Special Envoy on Climate John Kerry, pushed back on criticism that the U.S. is obstructing progress on loss and damage.  

“We have been working diligently at every turn to address concerns, problem-solve, and find landing zones,” she said.
…

Bobi, the world’s oldest dog, has died aged 31 in Portugal, Guinness World Records said on Monday.

A purebred Rafeiro Alentejano who spent his entire life in a village in central Portugal, Bobi lived for 31 years and 165 days, breaking a record held since 1939 by an Australian cattle-dog that died at 29 years and five months.

“Despite outliving every dog in history, his 11,478 days on earth would never be enough for those who loved him,” said Karen Becker, a veterinarian who met Bobi several times and who was the first to announce his death on social media. “Godspeed, Bobi.”

He was declared the world’s oldest dog in February this year.

Bobi’s breed, which traditionally has been used as sheepdogs, usually has a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years.

His owner Leonel Costa attributed his longevity to a number of factors, including living in peace in the countryside, never having been chained up or kept on a leash, and always eating “human food.”

At the time Bobi was born, Costa’s family had many animals and little money so his father, a hunter, generally buried newborn puppies rather than keep them.  

But Bobi hid among a pile of firewood. Costa and his siblings found him a few days later and kept him a secret until the puppy opened his eyes.

“We knew that when he opened his eyes, my parents wouldn’t be able to bury him,” Costa told Reuters earlier this year.

Prior to his death, Bobi still loved walks but had become less adventurous. His fur was thinning, his eyesight had worsened and he needed to rest more than he used to.

Guinness World Records previously described Bobi’s story as “miraculous” and said on Monday that “he will be sorely missed.” More than 100 people showed up at his 31st birthday party in May, it added.
…

Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russian forces attacked overnight with drones and a cruise missile that targeted different parts of the country.

Ukraine’s air force said it downed 14 attack drones, including 13 Iranian-made Shahed drones, as well as the cruise missile.

Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of Odesa, said debris from one of the destroyed drones fell on the southern region, damaging a port warehouse.

Kiper said there were no casualties reported.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Odesa with aerial attacks, including ports along the Black Sea and the Danube River.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Telegram that the latest Russian attacks targeted the southern, eastern and central parts of the country.

Some information for this story came from Reuters

 
…

Authorities say more than 1,300 sub-Saharan African migrants reached Spain’s Canary Islands, a seven-island Atlantic archipelago, this weekend.

One vessel carried a record 321 people.

Another record was set earlier this month when 8,561 migrants arrived on the islands in the first two weeks of October. 

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has attributed the record number of arrivals to the political destabilization of the Sahel region where there have been several coups.

The migrants generally do not want to settle on the islands but are instead looking to create better lives for themselves and their families elsewhere in Europe or other places around the world.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

In the humble backyard of a destroyed house, a 13-year-old chops firewood to get ready for winter. His mother, Tetiana Yarema, has been preparing for months as she remembers last winter’s Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure that plunged Ukraine into darkness.

“Those were dark days. I didn’t want anything. I just wanted to pack my things and go abroad,” said Yarema, 48, who says she ended up staying because of her son’s insistence.

For the Yarema family, like millions of other Ukrainians touched by Russia’s war on Ukraine, winter is an especially challenging time.

The mother and son live in trailers that were set up in their backyard after fighting in the early days of the war destroyed their house in Moshchun, a village about 25 kilometers northwest of Kyiv.

“I have a feeling that when the cold sets in, they’ll start bombing again,” the woman said, echoing the sentiments of many Ukrainians.

This time, however, they say they are better prepared.

Sales of generators exploded toward the end of summer. Some, who can afford it, have invested in solar panels. Others, like Yarema, have been purchasing candles, batteries, flashlights, and portable lanterns and stocking up on compact gas canisters, making the most of discounted prices.

“It’s a bit challenging … but I already know what to do,” she said.

Last winter was declared the most challenging in the history of Ukraine’s energy system, with more than 1,200 missiles and drones fired by Russians at power plants, according to Ukrainian state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo.

The strikes impacted almost a half of Ukraine’s energy capacity. People were forced to endure hours without electricity and water during the coldest months in what Ukrainian officials described as “energy terror.”

Millions of people across Ukraine had to learn to work, live, and cover their basic needs without relying on electricity.

After a lull of six months, Ukraine’s energy system sustained its first attack of the season on Sept. 21, resulting in damage to facilities in the central and western regions, Ukrenergo said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has committed to substantially enhancing air defense systems, which already have demonstrated greater effectiveness than the previous year.

“Everyone must play their part in defensive efforts to ensure that Russian aggression does not halt Ukraine this winter. Just as on the battlefield, in all areas, we must be resilient and strong,” Zelenskyy said in a recent address to the nation.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal recently announced that the United States has allocated $522 million for energy equipment and the protection of Ukraine’s infrastructure.

“We stand on the threshold of a difficult winter. Thanks to the assistance of our allies, we successfully weathered the last, which was the most challenging winter season in our history,” Shmyhal said.

Major retailer Epicenter said sales of generators increased 80% in August compared to the same time last year, and sales of portable charging stations increased by 25 times.

Yurii Musienko, 45, another resident of Moshchun, also plans to rely heavily on firewood, and has a wood-burning stove in his compact wooden trailer that has been provided to him for two years, and which sits next to his ruined home.

“I’ve already adapted,” he said with a smile. The gates of his home still bear the holes from exploded ammunition that serve as a reminder of when Russian forces tried to seize the Ukrainian capital.

“May no one ever have to endure such conditions,” said his mother, Valentyna Kiriian, who lives in a separate plastic trailer installed in the same courtyard.

She’s dressed in a hat and a coat, with multiple layers of clothing to stay warm. She notes that the cold has already set in, forcing her to sleep fully clothed, much like the previous winter.

During the power outages last winter, the mother and son relied on canned food. Occasionally, Valentyna would visit her neighbor, whose house remained intact and had a gas stove for boiling water.

“It’s difficult for me to talk about. It pains my soul, and my heart weeps,” she said.

Private Ukrainian energy producer DTEK has spent the last seven months restoring its damaged infrastructure and fortifying the protection of its equipment for the approaching winter.

The company invested about 20 billion Ukrainian hryvnias ($550 million) to prepare for the coming season, and it lost billions of hryvnias because of last year’s disruptions caused by Russian attacks, according to CEO Maxim Timchenko.

“We learned our lessons,” Timchenko said.

Andrii Horchynskyi, 49. who lives in the village of Maliutianka about 25 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, has invested more than $30,000 in recent years to ensure his house is self-sufficient, and ramped up those efforts since Russia’s invasion.

Last year, he spent $12,000 to install solar panels to help power his spacious house, where other members of his extended family came to stay for the winter — eight of them surviving comfortably.

“We had a whole ant heap here,” Horchynskyi recalled.

He is convinced the Russians will try to damage Ukraine’s infrastructure for gas, which he thinks will become expensive or even unavailable. So, he has installed a boiler that burns pine pellets. He also stores one-and-a-half cubic meters of water in his backyard.

“They will bombard even more this winter than the last,” Horchynskyi said.
…

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the United Nations on Sunday demanding the release of hostages seized by Hamas during the Islamist group’s bloody attack on Israel.

The protest on the square outside the U.N.’s Palais des Nations headquarters in Geneva was organized by the Voice for Freedom coalition, bringing together several Christian Zionist organizing committees.  

The gathering therefore had a religious tone, with chants and slogans intermingled with prayers and psalms.   

The demonstration was the culmination of a visit to Geneva by the families of several of those missing since the Hamas attack. They met with Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk.   

Many demonstrators waved Israeli flags or wore them around their shoulders, or held posters featuring pictures of missing Israelis, including children.   

Some wore T-shirts that said, “Set them free,” and held placards reading: “Never again is NOW,” “Innocent life is non-negotiable” and “Children aren’t bargaining chips.”   

Leon Meijer, president of Christians for Israel International, urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to “work for the release of the hostages,” saying, “Save the lives of those who can still be saved.”  

Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.  

It was the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s history. Israel says more than 200 hostages were abducted by the militants.   

More than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist militant group, according to the latest toll from the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.   

Several demonstrations have been held in Switzerland, some pro-Palestinian and others in solidarity with Israel.  

Three days after the Hamas attack, Zurich’s Jewish community organized a demonstration in support of Israel, bringing together several hundred people.   

A demonstration in Lausanne brought together 4,500 to 5,000 people to demand an immediate end to Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, while around 6,000 pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Geneva last Saturday.  

Zurich has since decided to ban any gatherings relating to the Middle East, while Basel decided to ban all gatherings this weekend.   

The U.N. human rights office said Friday that blanket bans on peaceful assemblies were disproportionate.  

States “must not unduly restrict participation and debate, or critical commentary about the conflict, of expressions of solidarity with Israelis or Palestinians,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.   

“Any restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly must be based on law, and necessary for and proportionate to the risks, such as national security, public safety or public order,” she said.
…