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Author Salman Rushdie called Sunday for the unconditional defense of freedom of expression as he received a prestigious German prize that recognizes his literary work and his resolve in the face of constant danger.

The British-American author decried the current age as a time when freedom of expression is under attack by all sides, including from authoritarian and populist voices, according to the German news agency dpa.

He made his remarks during a ceremony in St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt, where he was honored with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for continuing to write despite enduring decades of threats and violence.

In August 2022, Rushdie was stabbed repeatedly while on stage at a literary festival in New York state.

Rushdie has a memoir coming out about the attack that left him blind in his right eye and with a damaged left hand. “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder” will be released on April 16. He called it a way “to answer violence with art.”

The German prize, which is endowed with 25,000 euros ($26,500), has been awarded since 1950. The German jury said earlier this year that it would honor Rushdie “for his resolve, his positive attitude to life and for the fact that he enriches the world with his pleasure in narrating.”

Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had condemned passages referring to the Prophet Muhammad in Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” as blasphemous. Khomeini issued a decree the following year calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing the author into hiding, although he had been traveling freely for years before last summer’s stabbing.
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Thousands of people were rallying in Berlin and London on Sunday to oppose antisemitism and support Israel, while demonstrations in support of Palestinians in besieged Gaza continued around the world.

Some of those who gathered in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the more than 200 people seized by Hamas as hostages during the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 incursion into Israel.

“It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today — in our country of all places,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the crowd. “Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. Every single attack fills me with shame and anger.”

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inaugurated a new synagogue in the eastern city of Dessau and said he was “outraged” by the upsurge in antisemitism since the conflict began.

Several buildings in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, and assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin last week.

“Here in Germany, of all places,” Scholz said, vowing that “our ‘never again’ must be unbreakable.”

In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews called for people to rally in Trafalgar Square on Sunday afternoon to press for the return of more than 200 people taken hostage by Hamas.

The war has raised tensions worldwide, leaving Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. London’s Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled.

Sunday’s rallies came a day after tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators — 100,000 by police estimates — marched through the British capital to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Stop bombing Gaza,” participants called for an end to Israel’s blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of Hamas’ brutal incursion.

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,600 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, majority of them civilians slain in the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. Egyptian media said 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed into the besieged strip on Sunday, after 20 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Saturday across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

On Sunday hundreds of people gathered in Sarajevo — bombed and besieged during the Bosnian war in the 1990s — to show solidarity with the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

“What is happening in Gaza is simply human disaster. Collective punishment. War crimes. These things have to be named by their rightful name,” said Nabil Naser, a Palestinian doctor who worked in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.

More than 3,000 people attended a “Freedom for Palestine” rally on Sunday at a square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Waving Palestinian flags and to the beat of drums, protesters including women and children chanted “Palestine will never die” and “From the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic ties with Israel. Muslims in the country have staged weekly rallies after Friday prayers outside the American Embassy, slamming the U.S. for its support of Israel.

Retiree Munir Izwan urged neighbors of the Palestinians to step up efforts to help.

“Even in Islamic teachings, the closest neighbors should help the most in making peace between the two parties. But from what I see, the neighboring countries of Palestine, they are only talking but no actions,” Munir said.

Demonstrations of support of the Palestinians were held Saturday across Europe — in Rome, Barcelona, several French cities, Düsseldorf, Germany and the Kosovo capital, Pristina — as well as in Sydney and in U.S. cities including Los Angeles and Houston.

In Istanbul, protesters outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday evening held children’s stuffed toys to draw attention to the large number of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. Protesters affiliated with Islamic groups held signs reading “I have a right to play” and held up toys with signs on them that called on Israel to “stop murdering innocent children.”
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Weak economic growth and high interest on the country’s huge debt are the main problems facing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after her first year in power, an anniversary marked by an abrupt announcement she was leaving her long-time partner.

Meloni’s coalition, the first led by a woman in Italy’s history, was sworn in a year ago after a sweeping election victory and will soon cruise past the 14-month average postwar term life for Italian governments.

It was seen on taking power as the country’s most right-wing since wartime dictator Benito Mussolini, as Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party traces its roots to the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). 

Yet Meloni, 46, set about quelling foreign concerns of possible extremism, forging good ties with allies by adopting a strongly pro-Western, EU-friendly stance and pledging staunch support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

At home she pleased her rightist grassroots through measures to defend the traditional family, protect Italy’s cultural heritage and try to stem migrant arrivals.

“We have worked tirelessly to repay the trust and to demonstrate with facts that it was possible to build a different Italy,” she said in a video message this week.

However, an economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic has ground to a halt, with gross domestic product contracting by 0.4% in the second quarter, and analysts forecast Italian growth will be among the lowest in the euro zone next year.

That makes it harder for Meloni to keep her tax-cutting promises and makes Italy’s debt, equal to 140% of national output, vulnerable to market sell-offs.

“The economy is probably the toughest subject. The government has low margins in which to operate,” said Valentina Meliciani, an economics professor at LUISS university in Rome.

Last week Meloni weathered the first of several reviews on Italy’s debt when S&P Global Ratings confirmed the country’s BBB rating with a stable outlook.

However, the prevailing view among analysts is that the rating agencies will worsen Rome’s outlook while avoiding outright downgrades.

Meloni also has personal problems to deal with. She announced on Friday she was separating from her long-time partner, TV presenter Andrea Giambruno, after he repeatedly sparked outrage for sexist comments made on and off-air.

Tax cuts

This month the government approved a 2024 budget with around 24 billion euros ($25.3 billion) of tax cuts and increased spending, despite a public debt that is proportionally the second highest in the euro zone after Greece’s.

The budget has not impressed investors, and exacerbated a long-running rise in Italian bond spreads.

The gap between yields on Italian 10-year bonds and the German equivalent is hovering around 2 percentage points (200 basis points), far higher than for any other euro zone country.

Meliciani said Italy’s hopes of reviving its economy and cutting debt were strongly dependent on effective implementation of investment plans financed through EU post-COVID funds.

So far Rome has struggled to meet Brussels’ policy conditions and to spend the money it has received.

On the international front, as well as her backing for Ukraine Meloni has largely avoided confrontation with Brussels despite her eurosceptic past.

She has also dropped the calls she used to make in opposition for a naval blockade to prevent boats leaving north Africa, despite her inability to halt the influx of migrants.

Arrivals on Italy’s coasts have surged to more than 140,000 so far in 2023, nearly double the same period last year.

“We expected Italy to be very tough (on immigration) at the EU level but we have seen a conciliatory attitude overall, they are working to find a common line,” said Enzo Moavero Milanesi, a former foreign affairs minister.

Commanding position

At home Meloni has so far avoided the domestic political chaos that dogged so many of her predecessors.

A divided opposition has helped her tighten her grip on power and keep her party at the top of the polls, with nearly 30% of voter support, against around 18.5% for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and 17% for the maverick 5-Star Movement.

Her party dominates its coalition allies, the League and Forza Italia, whose combined score remains below 20%.

Analysts believe a slice of center-right voters switched to Meloni from the other two parties and are unlikely to shake the balance of power within the coalition by changing back again.

“Meloni came after a decade of political instability and voters floating across the party spectrum. The country looks now tired of this,” said historian and politics expert Giovanni Orsina.

($1 = 0.9476 euros) 
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“Ordain women priests!” Not far from the Vatican, where hundreds of Catholics have gathered to debate the future of the Church, purple-clad activists make their voices heard against the “patriarchy”.

The place of women in the Catholic Church — led for 2,000 years by a man, which outlaws abortion and female priests and does not recognize divorce — is one of the hot topics at the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops taking place over four weeks.

Women campaigning for change have come to Rome to make their case, from Europe and the United States but also South Africa, Australia, Colombia and India.

They have different backgrounds and diverse goals — not all want female priests, with some aiming first for women to become deacons, who can celebrate baptisms, marriages and funerals, although not masses.

But they are united in their frustration at seeing women excluded from key roles in what many view as a “patriarchal and macho” Church.

“The majority of people who support parish life and transmit the faith in families are women, mothers,” said Carmen Chaumet from French campaign group “Comite de la Jupe”, or the Committee of the Skirt.

“It is paradoxical and unfair not to give them their legitimate place.”

“If you go to the Vatican, to a mass, you see hundreds of men priests dressed the same way, and no women,” added Teresa Casillas, a member of Spanish association “Revuelta de Mujeres en la Iglesia”, “The Women’s Revolt in the Church”.

“I feel that men are the owners of God.”

‘Voting rights’

The Synod assembly, which runs until October 29, nevertheless marks a historic turning point in the Church, with nuns and laywomen allowed to take part for the first time.

Some 54 women — around 15 percent of the total of 365 assembly members — will be able to vote on proposals that will be sent to Pope Francis.

Vatican observers have called it a revolution. “A first step,” say campaigners.

Adeline Fermanian, co-president of the Committee of Skirt, said the pope had given “openings” on the question of ordaining women.

“He recognized that the questions has not been examined sufficiently on a theological level,” she said.

Since his election in 2013, Francis has sought to forge a more open Church, more welcoming to LGBTQ faithful and divorcees, and encouraging inter-faith dialogue.

He has increased the number of women appointed to the Curia, the central government of the Holy See, with some in senior positions.

But some campaigners see the changes as “cosmetic” reforms which hide a biased perception of women.

Cathy Corbitt, an Australian member of the executive board of umbrella group Catholic Women’s Council (CWC), said the inclusion of female voting members in the Synod was a sign of progress.

But she said the wider view of women in the Church was “very frustrating”, much of it taking inspiration from the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“The pope still seems to have this blind spot towards women… He seems to regard women in terms of a role, and it’s usually in terms of a mother,” she said.

Resistance

The Synod process is slow — the current meeting in Rome followed a two-year global consultation, and a second general assembly is planned for next year.

Regina Franken-Wendelsorf, a German member of CWC executive board, said women were hoping for concrete action.

“All arguments and requests are on the table. It’s now the Vatican and the Church who have to act!” she said.

While the Church debates, “there are collateral victims, frustration, Catholics who leave because they no longer feel welcomed”, added French campaigner Chaumet.

But just as Pope Francis faces resistance in his reform agenda, there is significant resistance to the women’s push for change.

“Some American bishops are afraid to follow the path of the Anglican Church,” which authorized the ordination of women in 1992, notes one Synod participant, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another senior Church member, who also asked not to be named, noted that pressure for reform was not equal from all regions of the Church.

“We must not forget that the Church is global,” he recalled. “There are expectations (among women) in Europe, but in Asia and Africa, much less.”
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Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched Saturday through a rainy London to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, and similar calls were heard in cities around the world as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third week. 

On the day a trickle of aid entered Gaza, where more than 1 million people have left their homes because of the conflict, protesters gathered in at Marble Arch near London’s Hyde Park before marching to the government district, Whitehall. 

Police estimated the crowd that wound its way through the city for three hours at “up to 100,000.” 

Waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Stop bombing Gaza,” participants called for an end to Israel’s blockade and airstrikes launched in the wake of a brutal incursion into southern Israel by the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza. 

Authorities in Gaza say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the territory since the latest war began. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ attack on October 7. 

Israel continued to bombard targets Saturday in Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. A small measure of relief came when 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter Gaza across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt. 

The war has raised tensions around the world, with both Jewish and Muslim communities feeling under threat. The British Transport Police force said it was investigating after footage was posted online that appears to show a London Underground driver leading passengers in a chant of “Free, free Palestine” over the subway intercom. 

British authorities urged demonstrators to be mindful of the pain and anxiety felt by the Jewish community. London’s Metropolitan Police force says it has seen a 13-fold upsurge in reports of antisemitic offenses in October compared to last year. Reports of anti-Muslim crimes have more than doubled. 

Police said there had been “pockets of disorder and some instances of hate speech” during protests over the war, but “the majority of the protest activity has been lawful and has taken place without incident.” 

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered in Belfast and in Northern Ireland’s second city, Londonderry, where speakers included lawmaker Colum Eastwood of the Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party. 

“The murder of children is wrong,” he told the crowd, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict. “I don’t know how that is so difficult for some of our world leaders to actually utter. It doesn’t matter whether they are Israeli children or Palestinian children.” 

Across the border in the Republic of Ireland, thousands marched through the capital, Dublin, calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment. 

In France, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in several cities including Rennes, Montpellier, Dijon and Lyon, where thousands of people could be seen chanting “we all are Palestinians” in the central square. 

In Marseille, the country’s second-largest city, some people took to the streets, waving Palestinians flags and shouting “Free Gaza,” despite the protest being banned by local police. 

A pro-Palestinian gathering scheduled for Sunday in Paris has been allowed by police. 

German police said almost 7,000 people took part in a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration Saturday in Dusseldorf. The demonstrators carried Palestinian flags or banners calling for an end to “violence and aggression in Gaza.” 

Police in Berlin banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration that was scheduled for Sunday in the center of the city, German news agency dpa reported. Police in the German capital have stopped several similar events in recent weeks, citing the potential of violence and antisemitic hate speech. Some pro-Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets anyway, resulting in clashes with police. 

Authorities allowed a pro-Israel demonstration scheduled for Sunday that was expected to draw together thousands of people in central Berlin. 

Elsewhere, several hundred people marched Saturday through Rome, some holding signs saying “Palestine, Rome is with you,” and “No peace until we get freedom.” 

“Israel carries out war crimes there, crimes against humanity there, and the international community has never acted,” said Maya Issa, president of the Movement of Palestinian Students in Italy, which organized the demonstration. 

In Muslim-majority Kosovo, several hundred people walked from mosques to Pristina’s Zahir Pajaziti square after lunchtime prayers to express support for Palestinians. 

In Australia, thousands marched Saturday through central Sydney, shouting “Shame, shame Israel” and “Palestine will never die.” 

The war sparked protests across the Arab world and beyond Friday, including in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at Israeli military checkpoints. Israeli security forces responded firing tear gas and live rounds. 

Crowds gathered in Israel’s northern neighbor Lebanon; in Iraq at the country’s border crossing with Jordan; in Jordan itself; in cities and towns across Egypt; in Turkey’s capital Ankara and its most populous city of Istanbul; and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Venezuela, and South Africa. 

In New York, hundreds of protesters from Muslim, Jewish and other groups marched to U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand’s Manhattan office, many shouting “cease fire now.” Police later arrested dozens of protesters who blocked Third Avenue outside Gillibrand’s office by sitting in the road. 

Pro-Israel demonstrations and vigils have also been held around the world, many focused on securing the return of hostages captured by Hamas. 

Rome’s Jewish community Friday remembered the more than 200 people believed held by Hamas by setting a long Shabbat table for them outside the capital’s main synagogue and empty chairs for each of the hostages. 

On the back of each chair was a flyer featuring the name, age and photo of each missing person. On the table were candles, wine and loaves of challah, the braided bread typically eaten during the Friday night meal. 
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Bobby Charlton, an English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated his Manchester United team and became the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died. He was 86. 

A statement from Charlton’s family, released by United, said he died Saturday surrounded by his family. 

An extravagantly gifted midfielder with a ferocious shot, Charlton was the leading scorer for both United (249 goals) and England (49 goals) for more than 40 years until being overtaken by Wayne Rooney. 

“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world,” United said. 

“He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game.” 

Alex Ferguson, who managed United from 1986-2013, said before Charlton’s death that he “is the greatest Manchester United player of all time — and that’s saying something.” 

“Bobby Charlton is absolutely without peer in the history of the English game,” Ferguson said. 

A humble man

Charlton was also renowned for his humility, discipline and sportsmanship. He never received a red card in 758 appearances for United from 1956-73 or 106 internationals for England from 1958-70. 

Charlton played with George Best and Denis Law in the so-called Trinity that led United to the 1968 European Cup after surviving the 1958 Munich crash that wiped out the celebrated “Busby Babes” team. He won three English league titles at United, and one FA Cup. 

“For a footballer, he offered an unparalleled combination of grace, power and precision,” said former United defender Bill Foulkes, another survivor of the Munich crash. 

“It added up to a greatness and something more — something I can only call beauty.” 

Charlton’s England scoring record stood for 45 years until Rooney scored his 50th goal for the national team in September 2015. Three of his England goals came in the World Cup in 1966, during which Charlton played every minute for the team and stood out especially in the semifinals when he scored twice against Portugal to lead England to a first major final. 

England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the final. 

Although Ryan Giggs beat Charlton’s appearance record for United in 2008, his scoring record for the club lasted another nine years. It was only in 2017 — 44 years after Charlton last wore the famous red jersey of England’s most successful club — that Rooney scored his 250th goal for United. 

Player became coach

After retiring in 1973, Charlton went into coaching and founded a youth scheme that included United great David Beckham among its participants. 

Charlton returned to United in 1984 as a director and persuaded the board in 1986 to appoint Ferguson, who delivered 38 trophies during nearly 27 years in charge. 

Knighted in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II, Charlton remains a mainstay at Old Trafford, featuring alongside Best and Law in a statue outside United’s stadium. 

In November 2020, it was announced that Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia, the same disease that afflicted his brother Jack — who died in 2020 at age 85 — and another World Cup winner, Nobby Stiles. 

Charlton’s death left Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat trick in the 1966 final, as the only surviving member of that England team. 

“We will never forget him and nor will all of football,” Hurst said of Charlton on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A great colleague and friend, he will be sorely missed by all of the country beyond sport alone.” 

Tragedy strikes

Robert Charlton was born Oct. 11, 1937, in the coal-mining town of Ashington, northeast England, and his talent was obvious from a young age. 

Charlton’s playing career began far from home in Manchester after leaving school at 15, making his United debut three years later in 1956. 

Within two years, tragedy struck the tight-knit group of United players. The team was celebrating winning at Red Star Belgrade to secure a place in the European Cup semifinals when their plane caught fire on its third attempt to take off in heavy snow after a refueling stop in Germany. 

Charlton miraculously emerged from the smoldering wreckage with only light head injuries and picked his way through the wreckage to help survivors. Spotting manager Matt Busby groaning on the smoke-shrouded runway, Charlton rushed to help the father-figure who had promoted him to the first team. 

But eight members of the “Busby Babes” team packed with bright prospects were among the 21 fatalities. They included Duncan Edwards, considered one of England’s most talented players at 21. 

“Sometimes it engulfs me with terrible anger and regret and sadness — and guilt that I walked away and found so much,” Charlton wrote in 2007. 

Charlton became driven by a lingering obligation to preserve the memories of the Munich dead, returning to action less than four weeks later and helping a hurriedly assembled team of survivors and stand-ins reach that season’s FA Cup final. 

Busby rebuilt his team around Charlton, adding the 1965 and 1967 English league titles to the championship they won in 1957. 

The biggest prize of his club career arrived in 1968 as United became the first English club to become champion of Europe. Charlton scored twice in a 4-1 extra-time win over a Benfica team containing Portugal great Eusebio. 

But Charlton is perhaps best known for being part of the England team that won the World Cup. It remains England’s only major title in men’s soccer. 

He is survived by his wife, Norma, whom he married in 1961, and his two daughters.
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In his daily address Friday, the president of Ukraine thanked military personnel in southern Ukraine “who are holding their ground and destroying the occupier day after day.”

“These days,” Volodomyr Zelenskyy said, “Russian losses are really impressive, and it is exactly the kind of losses of the occupier that Ukraine needs.”

Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent announcement that Russia will begin conducting fighter patrols in the eastern Black Sea with interceptor aircraft armed with Kinzhal air-launched missiles is in reaction to an increased presence of the U.S. in the eastern Mediterranean.

“Putin’s announcement,” the report said, “is in line with typical Russian rhetoric aimed at its domestic audience,” which calls the West aggressors, while framing Russian activity as “necessary for protection of the state.”

The Kinzhal missile, the ministry said, is “highly capable on paper,” but its performance in Ukraine thus far has been “poor.”

The British ministry said that “on paper” the Kinzhal is “able to fly at hypersonic speeds and evade modern air defense systems, although there almost certainly needs to be significant improvement in how Russia uses it to achieve this potential.”
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Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

Venezuela Receives First Group of Deported Migrants From US

The U.S. has not carried out regular deportations to Venezuela since 2019, but at an airport in Harlingen, Texas, Venezuelan men and women arrived on buses in shackles, underwent pat-downs and were escorted onto a charter plane. The 135 Venezuelan migrants were deported from the United States on Wednesday to Caracas, Venezuela. Immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story.

Pilot Program Could Allow Some Work Visa Holders to Renew Them in US

The U.S. State Department is working on a pilot program that would allow some work visa holders currently in the United States to renew their visas here, rather than traveling to their home country. Immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story.

US Advocates for Afghan Refugees Amid Pakistan’s Threatened Expulsion

The United States has engaged in high-level diplomatic discussions in Pakistan to address concerns related to Afghan refugees on the brink of mass deportation. The Pakistani government has pledged to deport hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals who do not possess recognized refugee status. This includes Afghans who collaborated with the United States and its allies prior to 2021. Story by Akmal Dawi.

Settlement Over Trump Family Separations at the Border Seeks to Limit Future Separations for 8 Years

A settlement filed Monday in a long-running lawsuit over the Trump administration’s separation of parents and their children at the border bars the government from similar separations for eight years while also providing benefits like the ability for their parents to come to America and work, according to the Biden administration. Story by The Associated Press.

California to Give Some Mexican Residents Near Border In-State Community College Tuition

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law Friday to make low-income Mexican residents living near the border eligible for in-state tuition rates at certain community colleges. The legislation applies to low-income Mexicans who live within 72 kilometers (45 miles) of the California-Mexico border and want to attend a participating community college in Southern California. It is a pilot program that will launch next year and run until 2029. Story by The Associated Press.

Ukrainian Family Returns Home After Long Rehabilitation in US

As the war drags on, some severely injured Ukrainians who received medical help abroad are returning home. Yana Stepanenko and her mother have resettled in Lviv after a year of treatment and rehabilitation in the U.S. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Camera: Yuriy Dankevychs.

Immigration around the world

Six Months Into War, Sudanese Seek Refuge Outside Chaotic Capital

Six months after tensions between rival Sudanese generals ignited a devastating war, thousands lie dead, millions are displaced and the once-thriving capital, Khartoum, is a shadow of its past glory. When the first bombs fell on April 15, the capital’s residents looked on in terror as entire neighborhoods were razed and essential services were paralyzed, exacerbating their misery. Story by Agence France-Presse.

Egypt Expresses Opposition to Allowing Palestinians From Gaza Into Sinai

As Egypt faces the possibility of receiving an influx of Palestinian refugees from its northern border with Gaza, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has repeated his country’s long-standing opposition to permitting Palestinians from Gaza to be resettled in the Sinai. Egypt and Israel reportedly agreed Saturday to open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egyptian territory to allow U.S. citizens stranded in the Hamas-controlled territory to leave. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo, Egypt.

Water Runs Out at UN Shelters in Gaza

Water has run out at U.N. shelters across Gaza as thousands packed into the courtyard of the besieged territory’s largest hospital as a refuge of last resort from a looming Israeli ground offensive and overwhelmed doctors struggled to care for patients they fear will die once generators run out of fuel. The Associated Press reports.

Italy to Charge Foreigners Over $2,100 a Year for Health Service

Foreigners who live in Italy will be able to use the national health service after paying a $2,109 annual fee, the government said Monday. The charge, part of the 2024 budget adopted by the Cabinet, will apply only to citizens from outside the European Union, the economy ministry said in a statement. The ministry said there would be an unspecified discount for those with legal residency papers, as well as for foreign students and au pairs. Story by Reuters.

Community Hostility in Chad Rising as Refugee and Displacement Crisis Grows

U.N. officials warned Monday that community hostility in Chad is rising as thousands of refugees from conflict-ridden Sudan continue to arrive, putting pressure on limited resources Chadians depend on for their livelihoods and survival. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Why Egypt, Other Arab Countries Are Unwilling to Accept Refugees From Gaza

As desperate Palestinians in sealed-off Gaza try to find refuge, some ask why neighboring Egypt and Jordan don’t take them in. The two countries, which flank Israel on opposite sides and share borders with Gaza and the occupied West Bank, respectively, have replied with a staunch refusal. Story by The Associated Press.

Fearing Rise of Radical Islamists, Greece Boosts Migrant Camp Security, Surveillance

Greek intelligence has increased surveillance of refugee camps in the country amid radical Islamist calls for jihad in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Like many other countries, Greece has boosted security since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, elevating its level of national alert to Code 4, just shy of the highest level possible. Report by Anthee Carassava.

News briefs

— The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced the start of visa-free travel for short-term visits to the United States for eligible Israeli citizens and nationals following Israel’s admission into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

— DHS also announced a new family-reunification parole process for certain nationals of Ecuador, whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States. Specifically, Ecuadorian nationals and their immediate family members can be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they wait to apply to become a lawful permanent resident.
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The Israel-Hamas war and efforts to ensure continued support for Ukraine dominated a Friday summit between U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Charles Michel. The conflicts overshadowed efforts to resolve long-running disputes between the United States and the European Union over Trump-era tariffs on European steel and aluminum and U.S. green subsidies. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.
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Three people died in Scotland and England and families were trapped in flooded homes Friday as Storm Babet moved east after pounding Ireland and headed for Scandinavia.

The U.K.’s Met Office issued a rare red severe weather warning for parts of eastern Scotland with “exceptional rainfall” of up to 22 centimeters (8.6 inches) forecast for Friday and Saturday.

Police said the body of a 57-year-old woman had been recovered after she was swept into a river in the county of Angus on Thursday afternoon.

A second person also died in Angus on Thursday evening after a falling tree hit the van the 56-year-old was driving.

A man in his 60s was dead Friday, washed away by waters that had flooded a road in Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire in central England, police said.

Officials in the southern Irish county of Cork, where hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded earlier in the week, described the deluge there as the worst in at least 30 years.

A community hospital for the elderly had to be evacuated in the town of Midleton, Cork, where the main street was up to four feet under water.

As the storm hit Scotland, Scottish leader Humza Yousaf warned Friday that he could not “stress how dangerous” conditions were, in the northeastern town of Brechin.

Emergency services were battling to reach trapped residents but being hampered by strong currents and flooding of up to 6 feet (nearly 2 meters).

“Around half the average monthly rainfall for October is expected to fall through tonight and tomorrow in areas that have already been severely affected by exceptional levels of rainfall,” Yousaf said late Friday.

“It’s just absolutely horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said local councilor Jill Scott, adding that hundreds of homes had been flooded.

Like a river

“People are trapped. … Some have been stuck there for hours. The boats are trying to get to them [but] they can’t get to them because the current is too strong. It’s all white water running round there. It’s like a river,” she added.

Fire crews and the coast guard began evacuating residents Thursday in Angus, knocking on doors and urging people to leave.

“Over 350 homes across Angus were contacted yesterday [Thursday] and advised to evacuate,” a spokesperson for Angus council said.

“Brechin, and increasingly other parts of Angus, are now only accessible via boat,” he added.

Train services meanwhile were severely disrupted as far south as central England due to heavy rainfall and high winds.

Some routes in northwest England and north Wales were completely closed due to flooding, rail officials said.

The Energy Networks Association said around 10,000 houses were without power in England while 45,000 others had been reconnected.

The Met Office has issued a string of less severe yellow and amber warnings indicating adverse weather conditions including flooding, heavy rain and high winds for other parts of central and northern England.
…

Russia’s efforts to discredit and undermine democratic elections appears to be expanding rapidly, according to newly declassified intelligence, spurred on by what the Kremlin sees as its success in disrupting the past two U.S. presidential elections.

The U.S. intelligence findings, shared in a diplomatic cable sent to more than 100 countries and obtained by VOA, are based on a review of Russian information operations between January 2020 and December 2022 that found Moscow “engaged in a concerted effort … to undermine public confidence in at least 11 elections across nine democracies.”

The review also found what the cable describes as “a less pronounced level of Russian messaging and social media activity” that targeted another 17 democracies.

“These figures represent a snapshot of Russian activities,” the cable warned. “Russia likely has sought to undermine confidence in democratic elections in additional cases that have gone undetected.

“Our information indicates that senior Russian government officials, including in the Kremlin, see value in this type of influence operation and perceive it to be effective,” the cable added.

VOA reached out to the Russian Embassy for comment on the cable warnings but so far has not received a response.

Russia has routinely denied allegations it interferes in foreign elections. However, last November, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to admit culpability for interfering in U.S. elections in a social media post.

“Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere and we will interfere,” Prigozhin said.

U.S. officials assess that, in addition to Russia’s efforts to sow doubt surrounding the 2016 and 2020 elections in the United States, Russian campaigns have targeted countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.

The goal, they say, is specifically to erode public confidence in election results and to paint the newly elected governments as illegitimate — using internet trolls, social media influencers, proxy websites linked to Russian intelligence and even Russian state-run media channels like RT and Sputnik.

And even though Russia’s resources have been strained due to its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow election interference efforts do not seem to be slowing down.

It is “a fairly low cost, low barrier to entry operation,” said a senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the intelligence assessment.

“In many cases they’re amplifying existing domestic narratives that kind of question the integrity of elections,” the official said. “This is a very efficient use of resources. All they’re doing is magnifying claims that it’s unfair or it didn’t work or it’s chaotic.”

U.S. officials said they have started giving more detailed, confidential briefings to select countries that are being targeted by Russia. Some of the countries, they said, have likewise promised to share intelligence gathered from their own investigations.

Additionally, the cable makes a series of recommendations to counter the threat from the Russian disinformation campaigns, including for countries to expose, sanction and even expel any Russian officials involved in spreading misinformation or disinformation.

The cable also encourages democratic countries to engage in information campaigns to share factual information about their elections and to turn to independent election observers to assess and affirm the integrity of any elections.
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London’s Metropolitan Police are reporting a significant surge in antisemitic and anti-Islamic hate crimes in the city since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

In a statement Friday, they said that from October 1 to 18 the department saw 218 antisemitic offenses compared to 15 in the same period last year, while Islamophobic offenses jumped from 42 to 101, representing increases of 1,353 percent and 140 percent respectively. 

The department said the crimes include abuse directed at individuals or groups in person or online, racially or religiously motivated criminal damage and other offenses.  

They said the sharp rise has come despite an increased police presence near parochial schools, places of worship and communities where the “levels of concern” are known to be the highest. Police said officers have visited 445 schools and 1,930 places of worship, and plan to make more such visits. 

The department reported 21 arrests for hate crimes during the period and encouraged people to report the offenses to the police. 

Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan discussed the statistics with reporters Friday ahead of a pro-Palestinian march planned for Saturday in London.  

He confirmed the hate crime arrests included a man arrested on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis and another taken in for more than 10 incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops. 

Regarding the march, Adelekan said the department will deploy more than 1,000 officers, including public order officers, road policing teams, mounted units, dog units and police staff. 

Adelekan said the march will not be allowed to deviate from a planned route, in an effort to keep protesters from the Israeli Embassy.  

Police also will be listening to what protesters are chanting. Adelekan said, “It is important to remember that while supporting the Palestinian cause or criticizing Israel is not, in itself, unlawful, any support for a proscribed organization such as Hamas or Hezbollah is unlawful.” 

Police said anyone wearing, carrying or otherwise displaying symbols that are supportive of a proscribed organization can be arrested. 

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters. 
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Ukrainian forces “likely” scored hits on Russian air defense equipment and helicopters earlier this week at the Berdyansk and Luhansk airfields, the British Defense Ministry said Friday in its daily intelligence update on Ukraine.

The ministry’s report said nine helicopters at Berdyansk and five at Luhansk were “likely” destroyed.

Ukraine says it used U.S.-provided long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in the attacks.

If the report about the helicopters is confirmed, the British Defense Ministry said, “it is highly likely these losses will have an impact on Russia’s ability to defend and conduct further offensive activity” in the affected areas. It said Russia would also have difficulty replacing the helicopters.

The loss of the equipment is “likely” placing more pressure on the Russian pilots who are “almost certainly suffering combat exhaustion and maintenance issues due to the unanticipated protracted campaign,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address that he had talked with U.S. President Joe Biden Thursday about how the missiles could help “speed up” Ukraine’s liberation from Russia.

The two leaders also talked about the situation in the Middle East.

“No matter what happens, all parties must ensure that ordinary civilians receive the necessary assistance and are able to flee hostilities,” Zelenskyy said about the conflict in Israel.  “Any form of terror and warmongering is unacceptable.”
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The sumptuous Palace of Versailles was forced to evacuate visitors for the fourth time in less than a week for a security check after a bomb alert. Airports and schools around France also fell victim to bomb alerts and forced evacuations after similar warnings a day earlier. Even a nuclear research institute received a threat Thursday.

Pranksters or plotters?

No bombs have been found, but authorities can’t take risks with the lives of travelers, students or workers. Still, the government is growing impatient, threatening prison terms and heavy fines for those making fake bomb threats. A rash of false alarms forced the evacuation of 15 airports and cancellation of 130 flights, as well as shutting the doors to the Palace of Versailles repeatedly since last Saturday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Thursday evening that 18 people had been detained in the last 48 hours — mostly, but not only, minors.

The barrage of alerts “disorganizes our security services and obviously stops society from functioning,” Darmanin said in an interview with BFM-TV. False alerts also “pose an enormous risk in case of a (real) problem.”

The minister said that “enormous means” are being used to identify pranksters with their phone numbers and addresses.

“We tell those listening: We will find everyone,” he said.

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti blamed the alerts on “little jokers, little clowns” and warned of the consequences.

Under French law, prank calls can be punished with up to three years’ imprisonment and fines of 45,000 euros ($47,000), the minister said. The justice minister said minors’ parents could be made to pay for damages, while the interior minister said that student pranksters won’t get off the hook: their names and phone numbers will be transmitted to the National Education system.

“We don’t need this. We don’t need troublemakers, psychosis, at this moment,” the justice minister said Wednesday.

Police said that at least seven airports received threats Thursday, mainly by email. Among those targeted were airports at Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Toulouse.

France has been on heightened alert since the fatal stabbing of a schoolteacher last week that was blamed on a suspected Islamic extremist who allegedly declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.

A funeral service for Dominique Bernard, the French-language teacher killed by a knife wound to the neck, was held Thursday in Arras, the northern town where he taught at the Gambetta-Carnot school. President Emmanuel Macron was in attendance — his plane on the tarmac of nearby Lille airport, among those evacuated during the morning service, according to the local Voix du Nord newspaper.

Among threats received Thursday was one at a nuclear research facility in Grenoble, in the southeast. Two delivery men, aged 23 and 26, were arrested after leaving a package at the Laue Langevin Institute and telling guards as they left, “We did it. We delivered a bomb,” the local Le Dauphine Libere reported. 

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said false threats were made against 17 airports Wednesday, causing widespread disruption, the evacuation of 15 airports, cancellation of 130 flights and many flight delays.

It is the regional prefects who decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether threats necessitate an evacuation.

“For the moment, we have no miracle solution,” said Nicolas Paulissen, general delegate for the Union of French Airports which is present at all 150 airports around the country. The bomb risk cannot be ignored, but “we can’t stop airports from functioning.”

He noted, however, that airports are capable of adapting to threats and crises.

“Adaptation is in our DNA,” Paulissen said.

Beaune, the transport minister, underscored the government’s firm message about the barrage of bomb alerts.

“These false alerts are not bad jokes. They are crimes,” Beaune posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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A court in Amsterdam sentenced a Polish-Canadian national to two months in prison on Thursday for projecting a message alluding to an antisemitic conspiracy theory onto the Anne Frank House museum.

Robert Wilson was charged with insulting a group and inciting discrimination for using a laser projector in February to display the words “Ann (sic) Frank invented the ballpoint pen” on the side of the canal house where the Jewish teenager hid with her family during the Holocaust.

The text refers to a debunked claim that Frank’s famed diary is a forgery.

“Given the great symbolic significance of Anne Frank’s diary for the commemoration of the persecution of the Jews, this statement can be regarded as a form of Holocaust denial,” the court wrote in its decision.

Having already spent more than two months in pre-trial detention, Wilson has already served his sentence. He was not in the courtroom for the verdict.

The judges ruled that Wilson had projected the scrolling text from a van parked across the canal from the building in Amsterdam, which now houses the Anne Frank Museum. A recording of the stunt was posted on an antisemitic Telegram channel, but the court found there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him of distributing the images.

Wilson denied the charges, claiming he was in Amsterdam for a weekend getaway with his girlfriend and daughter. He told judges during a hearing two weeks ago that he wasn’t even aware of where the Anne Frank House was.

Prosecutors said Wilson was a prominent member of the neo-Nazi Goyim Defense League. He is facing charges of assault and shouting homophobic slurs at a neighbor while he was living in the United States. Poland is also investigating Wilson over an incident in which he allegedly stood in front of the Auschwitz concentration camp holding a sign with antisemitic slogans.

Frank kept a diary of life under German occupation in World War II, when, as a Jew, she was in constant danger. She was arrested with her family in 1944 and sent to a Nazi concentration camp, where she died. Her diary became one of the world’s most famous books.

Several pages written with a ballpoint pen were found among Frank’s papers in the 1980s. That type of pen was not introduced in the Netherlands until after World War II, and Holocaust deniers have claimed this proves the diary, published by her father after the war, is fake. However, researchers have concluded that the pages were accidentally left in the diary in the 1960s.
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President Joe Biden returned to the United States from Israel without meeting Palestinian or Arab leaders. With the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifying, Washington’s ability to prevent a wider war is becoming more complicated. Cindy Saine reports. Contributor: Calla Yu. Camera: Yiyi Yang.
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Broadcast journalist Nika Gvaramia spent more than 400 days in prison in Georgia. Now free, he plans to pursue politics. VOA’s Kartlosi Sharashenidze has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. 

 
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The World Health Organization said Thursday that five trucks full of medical supplies are ready at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, with hopes that the aid could be delivered to Palestinian hospitals as early as Friday.

“Our trucks are loaded and ready to go,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. The delivery of aid would be the first since Israel imposed a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, following the October 7 attack by Hamas militants that killed over 1,400 Israelis. 

Health authorities in the Gaza Strip said Thursday that at least 3,785 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli bombardment since the latest conflict erupted.

Border closed

While aid continues to build up on the Egyptian side of the crossing, Egypt is not allowing Palestinians to cross from Gaza into the Egyptian Sinai peninsula. 

Following a meeting on Wednesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said such an exodus of people from Gaza would jeopardize Palestinian aspirations of statehood.

“The idea of displacement of Palestinians from the [Gaza] strip to Egypt simply means that something similar will also happen with the displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan. And thus the idea of the Palestinian state that we are talking about — and the international community is talking about — remains unimplementable, because the land exists, but the people do not exist, and therefore I warn of the danger of this matter,” el-Sissi told reporters in Cairo.

“The idea [of] transferring Palestinian citizens from the [Gaza] strip to Sinai very simply means that we are transferring the idea of resistance, the idea of fighting from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, and thus Sinai becomes a base for launching operations against Israel. In this case, Israel will have the right to defend itself and its national security, and as part of the response, it deals with Egypt and launches strikes on Egyptian lands,” the president added.

Palestinian refugees

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced from their land in past conflicts with Israel, with many settling in Egypt and other neighboring states. Many refugees have never been allowed to return — and the regions fear the wider implications of Palestinians being forced to flee Gaza, said analyst Chris Doyle, director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding.

“[Egypt] does not want to land up hosting hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the Sinai, in a tented city — with really quite a clear agenda, certainly on the Israeli right, that that becomes the permanent solution,” Doyle told VOA. “Palestinians and Egyptians are aware of this, are fearful that what happened to them in 1948 and 1967, when they fled in fear or were kicked out, will happen to them again. They’re talking about a second Nakba, a catastrophe.”

Cairo protests

In Cairo, as in many cities across the Arab world and beyond, thousands of people have taken to the streets to denounce Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Mahmoud Kamel, of the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate, helped to organize a demonstration in the Egyptian capital Wednesday.

“[We] condemn the massacre, the war crime and the genocide carried out by the Zionist forces and the IDF against the civilian, unarmed people of Gaza, occupied West Bank and Jerusalem,” Kamel told Reuters.

The protests pose a risk for President el-Sissi, said analyst Doyle. “We’re seeing a lot of anger right now in Egypt about what’s going on. So, [Egypt] will be wary of being seen to be somehow supporting Israeli actions at this moment, even though in private they are very critical of Hamas as well,” he said.

Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s president seized power in a 2013 military coup, ousting the democratically-elected Muslim Brotherhood government.

“Let’s not forget that that Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Professor Yossi Mekelberg of London’s Chatham House. “The more we see death among civilians, Palestinian civilians, the more people will go probably to the street. And it can really inflame the political situation in Egypt. And that’s why it’s actually in the Egyptian interest to mediate a cease-fire and mediate quickly.”

Dialogue

While Egypt has dialogue with Hamas, Mekelberg said it is also able to talk to Israel.

“Strategically, there is great understanding between Israel and Egypt over the last 10 to 11 years. And the other side — for Israel — he is a convenient neighbor. Because what is the alternative? The Muslim Brotherhood? This is definitely not something that Israel would like. It’s hard to see many other candidates to negotiate, to lead mediation between Hamas and Israel,” Mekelberg told VOA.

For now, analysts say Israel does not appear ready for mediation from any regional power, as it seeks retribution and the eradication of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 
…

Greek intelligence has increased surveillance of refugee camps in the country amid radical Islamist calls for jihad in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Cheers of celebration minutes after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel. … Chants of praise not from pockets of the Middle East … but Greece.

Like many other countries, Greece has boosted security since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, elevating its level of national alert to Code 4, just shy of the highest level possible.

With tens of thousands of mainly Arab migrants residing in camps here, intelligence officials are keeping close watch fearing what they tell VOA is “a radicalization of Islamist elements” that could trigger terror attacks like the shooting deaths of two Swedish nationals in Brussels Monday and the stabbing death of a teacher Friday in the French town of Arras.

In both instances, the alleged killers said they were acting for the Islamic State militant group.  

Politicians in Greece such as Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Keridis say the situation here is under control.

He says the celebration videos posted by migrants at a camp on the island of Samos were one-off, and not worrying.

But, intelligence officials say they are not taking any chances.

The say they have increased surveillance of camps here, hoping to pick up chatter on any nefarious plans.

Social media platforms that attempt to incite violence are being monitored and suspects are being watched, out of concern that dormant cells of radical Islamists could be mobilized.

The biggest concern though, according to Keridis, is that a wave of migrants caused by the Gaza crisis that could destabilize the region.

It’s not just Palestinians from Gaza who could come in, he says, but also potential migrants from Egypt and Lebanon. He says both countries are already hubs for millions of people fleeing persecution in the Middle East and sub-Saharan African states such as Sudan who are seeking passage to the West.

Greece has sided with Israel in its bid to uproot Hamas, but it has also cautioned Israel to prevent a humanitarian crisis from spilling over into neighboring states and Europe – a conduit previously exploited by Islamist extremists.

Soon after a massive refugee crisis hit Greece and Europe in 2015, radical Islamists entered Europe posing as migrants.

Two were implicated in deadly attacks in France that same year. Both used forged Syrian passports to enter the country illegally and seek temporary shelter in a refugee camp.

Intelligence experts tell VOA large-scale coordinated terrorist attacks in Europe are not likely — but instances of individuals responding to the call of violence are entirely possible.  
…

European Union interior ministers on Thursday debated how to manage the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas on the bloc, amid heightened security tensions after a firebomb assault on a Berlin synagogue and killings in Belgium and France by suspected Islamist extremists.

Officials from across the 27-nation EU have expressed concerns about a rise in antisemitic attacks, the radicalization of young people online, the use of encrypted messaging services by criminals or extremists, and the need to speed up the deportation of people who might pose a public danger.

But calls for an increase in security across the board are also creating deep unease as the solutions being discussed could undermine free movement and the right to assemble in Europe.

Italy is introducing border checks to counter a possible rise in tensions over the Israel-Hamas war. Denmark and Sweden are too, due to what they say is an “Islamist terrorist threat.” France intends to keep checks in place until at least May 2024, citing “new terrorist threats and external borders situation.”

More police have been deployed in Belgium, France and Germany.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell believes that part of the solution to Europe’s security woes must involve the bloc helping diplomatically and financially to bring an end to years of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“We have learned from history that the most difficult decisions are always taken when we are on the edge of the abyss. I believe that is where we are now: on the edge of the abyss,” Borrell told EU lawmakers on Wednesday.

“When I hear Muslim religious authorities speaking the language of inter-religious conflict and explicitly stating that Europe is a party to this conflict, I feel that the storm clouds are looming,” he said.

Still, not all of Europe’s challenges are directly linked to the war.

Earlier on Thursday, Sweden hosted a meeting of ministers from eight countries, among them Germany, Belgium and France, focused on how to handle incidents where people burn the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

Prosecutors are trying to establish whether that was a key motive for a Tunisian man who shot three Swedes in Brussels on Monday, killing two of them, ahead of a Belgium-Sweden soccer match in the capital.

While the Quran burnings are not directly linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, they are a sign of rising tensions between religious and other communities in Europe.

The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in the past 11 days.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

“We have to address multiple impacts from the continuing crisis in the Middle East” in the EU, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said.

“This entails the protection of our Jewish communities, but also the protection against a generalized climate of Islamophobia that has no place in our society,” he told reporters in Luxembourg, where the meetings were held.

Pro-Palestinian rallies have been held in several European cities since the war. France has banned them. Germany has also promised to take tougher action against Hamas, which is already on the EU’s list of terrorist organizations.

After assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at the Berlin synagogue on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “we will never accept when attacks are carried out against Jewish institutions.”

In France, the Palace of Versailles — a major tourist attraction — and three airports were evacuated for security reasons and temporarily closed Wednesday. The incidents were the latest in a spate of evacuations in the past five days, and the French government is threatening to fine or jail prank callers.

They followed the killing of a teacher in northern France on Friday by a suspected Islamist extremist.

French Interior Minister Gerland Darmanin noted that two foreigners were behind the recent attacks in Belgium and France, and he insisted that long-delayed reforms of EU asylum rules must be put in place.

Europe must “manage our borders, register people and conduct the security interviews that are necessary before every asylum request,” he told reporters.

Belgium’s top migration official, Nicole de Moor, said that “we are facing terror in the streets of our cities, in France, in Belgium, and we cannot tolerate this. Innocent people are dying, and this is unacceptable.”

She said tougher deportation laws are needed and countries that refuse to take back their nationals must be made to cooperate. The EU has agreements with Turkey and Tunisia to get them to prevent migrants reaching Europe but they are not working. Other deals, with Egypt notably, are planned.
…

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the International Olympic Committee of “ethnic discrimination” ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, from which Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from competing under their national flags.

The IOC still has to make a final ruling on whether athletes from Russia and Belarus, a key ally for Moscow in its war with Ukraine, will be permitted to compete next summer.

“Thanks to some heads of the modern International Olympic Committee we found out that an invitation to the Games is not an unconditional right for the best athletes, but some kind of privilege and you can get it not on sports results but by some political gestures,” Putin said at a sports forum in the Urals city of Perm.

“The Games themselves could be used as an instrument of political pressure towards those people who have nothing to do with politics, and as a gross — in reality — racist, ethnic discrimination.”

He added that: “Some sports officials have simply given themselves the right to determine who is covered by the Olympic Charter and who is not.”

The IOC last week suspended Russia’s national Olympic body for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s membership by recognizing regional organizations in occupied Ukraine. 

Russia launched a full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, with its neighbor Belarus allowing Moscow’s troops to use its territory as a launchpad.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the two countries forge closer ties in the face of what they see as a hostile and aggressive U.S.-led Western camp.

Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported that Lavrov’s meeting with Kim had lasted over an hour but the ministry did not provide further details.

Lavrov, who arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, earlier thanked North Korea for backing Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and pledged Moscow’s “complete support and solidarity” for Kim, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

Lavrov’s visit is seen as setting the stage for a visit by President Vladimir Putin, who has stepped up cooperation with politically isolated North Korea.

Speaking at a reception hosted by the North on Wednesday, Lavrov said Moscow strongly valued Pyongyang’s “unwavering and principled support” for Russia in the Ukraine war, which it calls a “special military operation.”

“Likewise, the Russian Federation extends its complete support and solidarity with the aspirations of the DPRK,” Lavrov said, according to the transcript of the speech released on his ministry’s website. DPRK are the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

After talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, Lavrov later told reporters that increased military activities by the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea were a cause for concern, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported.

The U.S. and South Korean navies on Thursday joined those of four other countries – Canada, Belgium, New Zealand and the Philippines – for an anti-naval mine exercise off South Korea’s south coast, the South Korean defence ministry said.

A U.S. B-52 bomber made a rare landing in South Korea Thursday to underline the two countries’ alliance against North Korea’s rising nuclear threats, South Korea’s military said.

In his comments, Lavrov said North Korea, China and Russia were pursuing a policy of seeking to ease regional tensions.

North Korean state media said Lavrov’s visit would mark a “significant occasion” in further consolidating relations between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Photos released by the Russian foreign ministry showed Lavrov being greeted by people holding flowers and flags of the two countries upon arrival.

Increased contacts

Lavrov’s two-day visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim made a rare trip to Russia, during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation.

Russia’s TASS news agency said Lavrov might also brief North Korean leaders on the results of Putin’s visit this week to China.

A U.S. think-tank said on Tuesday that satellite images showed continued activity around a North Korean port near Russia, indicating at least six trips by sea between the two countries since late August.

The shipments between the port of Rajin and Russia’s Dunai re possibly related to the transfer of North Korean munitions to Russia, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

Separately, a North Korean cargo-passenger ferry that had carried foreign tourists from Japan or South Korea was seen at a drydock at the same port this month, most likely for maintenance, CSIS said.

It was not clear whether the vessel would be used to supplement trade activity between Russia and North Korea, it said.

The White House said last week that North Korea had recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons in what it called a troubling development. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Western allegations were not based on evidence.

South Korea and the United States have expressed concern about increased exchanges between Russia and the North, and the allies have stepped up military drills together with Japan in response to the threat from North Korea.

 South Korea has urged Russia to comply with United Nations resolutions in its exchanges with North Korea, a South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson told a briefing on Thursday.

 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to address the nation Thursday night and discuss the U.S. response to the recent Hamas attack on Israel as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Biden visited Israel Wednesday, bringing a message of support to Israelis while also working to secure humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. announced $100 million in aid for Gaza and the West Bank, and the Biden administration is expected to propose $100 billion in supplemental assistance for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“My administration was in close touch with the leadership from the first moments of this attack,” Biden said Wednesday in Tel Aviv.  “We’re going to make sure we have what you have, what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation. For decades, we’ve ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge. And later this week, I’m going to ask the United States Congress for an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Officials in southern Ukraine said a Russian missile hit a residential area late Wednesday, killing at least two people.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said the missile hit a food shop in the Mykolaiv region.

Vitaliy Kim, the regional governor, said the attack happened in the village of Stepove and damaged both residential buildings and an agricultural business.

Another Russian missile strike earlier Wednesday hit a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Wednesday that attack killed five people and injured five others.

Another Russian strike killed a woman and injured four other people in Dnipropetrovsk, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. 

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