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Experts say Ukraine has dealt its opponent a major operational defeat with a surprise counteroffensive in the country’s northeast, sending shockwaves through the invading Russian army. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine looks at the likely impact of the Ukrainian military gains on the war.
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Monday recommended a COVID-19 booster designed to combat the currently circulating Omicron BA.4/5 subvariants, days after endorsing a pair of boosters tailored to target the older BA.1 Omicron variant.

The latest recommendation is for a so-called bivalent vaccine developed by Pfizer PFE.N and BioNTech 22UAy.DE, which targets BA.4/5 as well as the strain of the virus that originally emerged in China in December 2019 targeted by earlier COVID vaccines.

The EMA recommendation is to authorize the retooled booster shots for people aged 12 and above who have received at least primary vaccination against COVID. The final go-ahead will be subject to European Commission approval, which is expected to come shortly.

If authorized, the BA.4/5-tailored booster will be available in days to all 27 EU member states, Pfizer said in a statement on Monday.

While existing coronavirus vaccines provide good protection against hospitalization and death, their effectiveness, particularly against infection, was reduced as the virus evolved.

Earlier this month, the EMA endorsed both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s MRNA.O vaccines updated for BA.1.

EU officials signaled in recent months they were open to initially using boosters targeting the older BA.1 variant, given those specifically targeting the newer, now dominant Omicron BA.4/5 offshoots are further behind in development.

In contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration insisted it was only interested in vaccines targeting BA.4/5. Last week, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna secured U.S. authorization for those despite limited available clinical data.

Given BA.1’s earlier emergence, data from human trials testing those redesigned vaccines has been submitted to EU regulators. For the BA.4/5 adapted vaccines, regulatory submissions are largely based on lab and animal studies.

Using animal and lab data to solicit regulatory approval is done regularly for flu vaccines that are revamped each year to combat the latest circulating strains.

On Monday, the EMA said its backing of the Pfizer-BioNTech updated BA.4/5 shot relied partly on data from human clinical trials available on the companies’ BA.1-tailored vaccine.

A clinical trial testing the Pfizer-BioNTech BA.4/5 vaccine in humans was initiated in early September, and data should be available later this autumn. Meanwhile, human trial data on Moderna’s BA.4/5 shot is expected by later this month or early October.

EU officials have encouraged member states to roll out boosters of the established original vaccines and the bivalent shots — whatever is readily available — for the vulnerable and elderly following a rise in summer infections, as protection waned due to the domination of BA.4 and especially BA.5.

Uptake could be limited, as people have become less worried about the disease, thanks in large part to the success of the first generation of shots. Experts also worry that the public may be suffering from vaccine fatigue and less likely to seek the boosters, which could be a fourth or fifth COVID shot for some.
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Britain’s King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, join his siblings – Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – when the coffin of his mother Queen Elizabeth II is taken in a solemn procession from the royal Palace of Holyroodhouse to St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects.
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Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada al-Nashif highlighted the growing desperation of millions of people trapped in a never-ending cycle of human rights violations, violence, and political instability in dozens of countries around the world.

She addressed the worsening situation in numerous countries in Africa, including Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Mali. She offered a rare glimmer of hope regarding the nearly two-year old conflict in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray province.

“Following the recent resumption of hostilities in northern Ethiopia, I am encouraged by the announcement yesterday by authorities in Tigray of their readiness to abide by an immediate cessation of hostilities and to participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union. I urge the parties to take immediate steps to end the violence once and for all, and to opt for constructive and genuine dialogue,” she said.

She dwelled at length on the unbearable levels of violence and human rights abuses by heavily armed gangs in Haiti. She called on the international community to help contain the scourge of violence in that country.

However, she made only passing reference to China’s incarceration of more than a million Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in so-called vocational centers. This is despite growing demands by human rights activists for a special debate on this issue at the Council.

“On 31 August, my Office published its assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, with recommendations to the Government and other stakeholders,” she said.

Acting High Commissioner, al-Nashif, was more robust in her criticism of Russia’s actions aimed at quelling domestic opposition to its war in Ukraine.

“In the Russian Federation, the intimidation, restrictive measures and sanctions against people voicing opposition to the war in Ukraine undermine the exercise of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms… Pressures against journalists, blocking of internet resources and other forms of censorship are incompatible with media pluralism and violate the right to access of information,” she said.

Al-Nashif said the war in Ukraine continues and the suffering of the civilian population continues. She noted the serious socio-economic consequences of the war also persist. This, she said, has resulted in severe fuel shortages and threats to food security in some of the world’s poorest countries.

She added the devastation caused by the war in Ukraine will be discussed later in the session.
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Xi Jinping will leave China for the first time in more than two years for a trip this week to Central Asia where he will meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin, just a month before he is set to cement his place as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.

The trip, Xi’s first abroad since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows he is confident about both his grip on power as he heads for a third term in office and about his role as a world leader at a time of renewed great power friction.

Against a backdrop of Russia’s confrontation with the West over Ukraine, the crisis over Taiwan and a stuttering global economy, Xi is due on a state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

China’s president will then meet Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Kremlin said. China confirmed the trip on Monday.

Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters last week that the Russian president was expected to meet Xi at the summit. The Kremlin declined to give details on their talks.

The meeting will give Xi an opportunity to underscore his clout while Putin can demonstrate Russia’s tilt towards Asia; both leaders can show their opposition to the United States just as the West seeks to punish Russia for the Ukraine war.

“It is all about Xi in my view: he wants to show just how confident he is domestically and to be seen as the international leader of nations opposed to Western hegemony,” said George Magnus, author of “Red Flags,” a book about Xi’s challenges.

“Privately I imagine Xi will be most anxious about how Putin’s war is going and indeed if Putin or Russia are in play at some point in the near future because China still needs an anti-western leadership in Moscow.”

Russia suffered its worst defeat of the war last week, abandoning its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine.

The deepening “no limits” partnership between the rising superpower of China and the natural resources titan of Russia is a geopolitical development the West is watching with anxiety.

Once the senior partner in the global Communist hierarchy, Russia after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union is now a junior partner to a resurgent Communist China which is forecast to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest economy in the next decade.

Though historical contradictions abound in the partnership, there is no sign that Xi is ready to drop support for Putin in Russia’s most serious confrontation with the West since the height of the Cold War.

Instead, the two 69-year-old leaders are deepening ties. Trade soared by nearly a third between Russia and China in the first 7 months of 2022.

The visit “shows that China is willing to not only continue ‘business as usual’ with Russia but even show explicit support and accelerate the formation of a stronger China-Russia alignment,” said Alexander Korolev, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at UNSW Sydney.

“Beijing is reluctant to distance itself from Moscow even when facing serious reputational costs and the risks of becoming a target of secondary economic sanctions.”

Xi supreme

Xi is widely expected to break with precedent at a Communist Party congress that starts on October 16 and secures his third five-year leadership term.

While Xi has met Putin in person 38 times since becoming China’s president in 2013, he has yet to meet Joe Biden in person since the latter became U.S. President in 2021.

Xi last met Putin in February just weeks before the Russian president ordered the invasion of Ukraine which has left tens of thousands of people dead and sown chaos through the global economy.

At that meeting at the opening of the Winter Olympics, Xi and Putin declared their no limits partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.

China has refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine or calling it an “invasion” in line with the Kremlin which casts the war as “a special military operation.”

“The bigger message really isn’t that Xi is supporting Putin, because it’s been pretty clear that Xi supports Putin,” said Professor Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

“The bigger signal is that he, Xi Jinping, is going out of China for the first time since the pandemic in the run-up to the party congress. If there were going to be plottings against him this is when the plottings would happen. And he’s clearly confident that the plottings are not going to take place because he is out of the country.”

Xi, the son of a communist revolutionary, last left China in January 2020, before the world went into COVID lockdown.

Kremlin chief

After the West imposed on Moscow the most severe sanctions in modern history due to the war in Ukraine, Putin says Russia is turning towards Asia after centuries of looking to the West as the crucible of economic growth, technology and war.

Casting the West as a declining, U.S.-dominated coalition which aims to shackle – or even destroy — Russia, Putin’s worldview chimes with that of Xi, who presents China as an alternative to the U.S.-led, post-World War II order.

Putin aide Ushakov said the Xi-Putin meeting would be “very important.” He did not give further details.

As Europe seeks to turn away from Russian energy imports, Putin will seek to boost energy exports to China and Asia.

Putin said last week that a major gas export route to China via Mongolia had been agreed. Gazprom has for years been studying the possibility for a major new gas pipeline — the Power of Siberia 2 — to travel through Mongolia taking Russian gas to China.

It will carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year, around a third of what Russia usually sells Europe — or equivalent to the Nord Stream 1 annual volumes.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan and four Central Asian states, is due to admit Iran, one of Moscow’s key allies in the Middle East.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that her government will not be pursuing any moves toward changing New Zealand to a republic following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Ardern said she thought New Zealand would eventually become a republic, and it would probably happen within her lifetime, but that there were more pressing issues for her government to pursue.

Her comments represent the first time she has spoken about the New Zealand republic debate since Elizabeth’s death, and reflect previous comments she has made on the issue. Ardern has also previously expressed her support for the country eventually becoming a republic.

Under the current system, the British monarch remains New Zealand’s head of state, represented in New Zealand by a governor-general. The governor-general’s role is these days considered primarily ceremonial.

Still, many people argue New Zealand won’t be able to fully step out from the shadows of its colonialist past and become a truly independent nation until it does become a republic.

“There’s been a debate, probably for a number of years,” Ardern said. “It’s just the pace, and how widely that debate is occurring. I’ve made my view plain many times. I do believe that is where New Zealand will head, in time. I believe it is likely to occur in my lifetime.

“But I don’t see it as a short-term measure or anything that is on the agenda any time soon,” Ardern said.

She said that becoming a republic was not something her government planned to discuss at any point.

“As I say, in large part actually because I’ve never sensed the urgency,” Ardern said. “There are so many challenges we face. This is a large, significant debate. I don’t think it’s one that would or should occur quickly.”

Many people in New Zealand have speculated in the past that the republic debate would gather momentum only after the death of Elizabeth, given how beloved she was by so many.

Ardern said she didn’t link the two events: “I’ve never attached it in that way,” she said.

Ardern also announced Monday that New Zealand would mark the death of Elizabeth with a public holiday on September 26. The nation will also hold a state memorial service on the same day in the capital, Wellington.

Ardern said Elizabeth was an extraordinary person and many New Zealanders would appreciate the opportunity to mark her death and celebrate her life.

“As New Zealand’s queen and much-loved sovereign for over 70 years, it is appropriate that we mark her life of dedicated public service with a state memorial service and a one-off public holiday,” Ardern said.

Ardern said she would be leaving this week for Britain to attend Elizabeth’s funeral.
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People who want to pay final respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state at the Houses of Parliament in London need to be prepared for a long wait. 

The government has published guidelines for people wishing to file past the late queen’s closed coffin as it lies in state at the Palace of Westminster from 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) Wednesday until 6:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Sept. 19. Thousands are expected to want to pay tribute to the only monarch that many in the United Kingdom have ever known. 

The rules were made public a day after thousands of people lined roads and bridges Sunday as a hearse carried the queen’s coffin across the Scottish countryside from her beloved Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh. 

Lines, delays expected

“If you wish to attend the Lying-in-State, please note that there will be a queue, which is expected to be very long. You will need to stand for many hours, possibly overnight, with very little opportunity to sit down as the queue will be continuously moving,” the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in its guidelines. 

The closed coffin of the monarch who died Thursday at 96 will rest on a raised platform called a catafalque in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament. 

“Large crowds are expected, and there are likely to be delays on public transport and road closures around the area,” the ministry warned. 

Visitors will have to pass through airport-style security and can only bring one small bag with one zipper opening. Larger bags can be stowed at a special facility — but only if there is space available. 

Officials say to prepare

The ministry advises people to bring essentials for a potentially long wait exposed to whatever elements an early fall day in London can throw at them — an umbrella or sunscreen, a cell phone power bank and any needed medication. 

No food or liquids will be allowed past security screening at the Houses of Parliament. Nor will flowers or other tributes such as candles, toys or photographs. 

“Please respect the dignity of this event and behave appropriately. You should remain silent while inside the Palace of Westminster,” the advice says, adding that people must dress appropriately and turn off their mobile phones before going through security. 

Included in a list of things not to do: “Film, photograph, use mobile phones or other handheld devices in the security search area or within the Palace of Westminster.”

Mourners also are advised not to “bring or erect gazebos or tents…light barbecues and fires.” 

The long list of prohibited items includes fireworks, smoke canisters, flares, whistles, laser devices and other items that could be used to cause a disturbance as well as any banners, placards, flags, advertising or marketing messages. 
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Britain’s King Charles will fly to Edinburgh to join his siblings Monday when the coffin of his mother Queen Elizabeth is taken in a solemn procession from one of her Scottish palaces to the city’s historic St. Giles cathedral. 

The new monarch will also join senior royals for a vigil at the church where the coffin will lie at rest before being flown to London Tuesday. 

Since Elizabeth’s death at age 96 at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish holiday home, a carefully choreographed series of plans to mourn Britain’s monarch of 70 years has been put into operation. 

On Sunday, her oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath on top, was taken by hearse on a six-hour journey from Balmoral through the picturesque Scottish countryside, villages, small towns and cities to Edinburgh.’ ”

‘I just thought she’d live forever’

Tens of thousands of well-wishers lined the roads to pay their respects, while huge crowds, some in tears, gathered in Edinburgh to greet the cortege. 

“It’s just very sad,” said Rachel Lindsay, 24. “I don’t think we expected it to ever happen. I just thought she’d live forever. I didn’t think it was real until I saw it.” 

Before setting off for Scotland, Charles, 73, who automatically became king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including: Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, will travel to the British parliament for another traditional ceremony. 

At Westminster Hall, lawmakers from both the House of Commons and the upper House of Lords will express their condolences for the death of his mother, and the new king will deliver a response. 

He will then fly to Edinburgh with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, to join his sister Anne, and brothers Andrew and Edward. 

The queen’s children will then walk in a procession behind the hearse as the coffin of their mother is taken to St Giles’ Cathedral, flanked by soldiers.   

Crown of Scotland 

When it arrives at the church, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the premier Scottish peer, will place the Crown of Scotland on the coffin.   

After a service, the coffin will rest at the cathedral for 24 hours to allow people to pay their respects. A continuous vigil will be mounted by soldiers from the Royal Company of Archers – the sovereign’s ‘Bodyguard in Scotland.’ 

Charles, who will also visit the Scottish parliament and meet Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, will later mount a vigil at 7.20 p.m. (1820 GMT) along with other royals. 

On Tuesday, the coffin will be flown to London where on Wednesday it will begin a period of lying in state on a raised platform called a ‘catafalque’ at Westminster Hall. It will remain there until her funeral which is scheduled for Monday, September 19. 

It will be guarded constantly by soldiers or by Yeoman Warders – known as beefeaters – from the Tower of London. 

Members of the public will be allowed to process past the coffin, which will be covered by the Royal Standard with the sovereign’s Orb and Scepter placed on top, for 24 hours a day until 6.30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Sept. 19. 

“Those wishing to attend will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight,” the government said in a statement. “Large crowds are expected and people are encouraged to check ahead, plan accordingly and be prepared for long wait times.” 

Meanwhile thousands of people are continuing to gather at royal palaces across Britain, bringing bouquets of flowers. In Green Park near London’s Buckingham Palace, where some of the tributes are being taken, long lines of bouquets now snake around the park allowing mourners to read the tributes. 

Other well-wishers have attached their messages of condolence to trees. 

Britain last saw such a display of public mourning in 1997 following the death of Charles’s first wife, Princess Diana, after she was killed in a car crash in Paris. 

“It reminds me of Diana 25 years ago,” Helen Soo, 59, said. “I was much younger in those days; I slept overnight in Hyde Park, and this is multiplied by 100 probably.”  
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Scaled-down celebrations took place Sunday in Denmark marking 50 years on the throne by Queen Margrethe, whose reign is now Europe’s longest following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Dampened celebrations were ordered Friday by the 82-year-old Margrethe — now also the only female monarch in the world — in respect for Britain’s late queen, who died Thursday at 96.

Margrethe asked her court to adjust Saturday’s and Sunday’s anniversary program at short notice, canceling — among other things — her appearance on the Amalienborg Palace balcony to greet throngs of well-wishers as well as a ride through the Danish capital of Copenhagen in a horse-drawn carriage.

Sunday’s events included a church service and a lunch hosted by Margrethe on board the Danish royal ship Dannebrog for the royal couples and presidents from the fellow Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

A music and theater gala honoring the Danish monarch took place Saturday evening and a gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace — the seat of the Danish Parliament — was taking place late Sunday.

Margrethe was proclaimed queen Jan. 15, 1972, a day after her father King Frederik IX, died following a short illness.

The 50th anniversary jubilee for the Danish queen was initially scheduled for January but most events were canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The body of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has been taken from Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she died Thursday, to Edinburgh. Over the coming days, members of the public will have the opportunity to visit the coffin and pay their respects to Elizabeth, who held the British throne for seven decades.  

The hearse, accompanied by royal officials and security personnel, left Balmoral Castle shortly before midday Sunday, the beginning of Elizabeth’s long and final journey to lay in peace.   

Balmoral

The convoy tracked slowly through the majestic Scottish hills, a landscape treasured by the late monarch, where she spent her final peaceful weeks of life. In years past, the queen was frequently seen visiting these remote Scottish villages when she resided at Balmoral Castle, an area she loved – and she was well loved in return. 

Residents gathered on the roadside to glimpse her for the last time and to say goodbye. The silence spoke of the shock that is still felt at her passing – and the respect in which the late queen was held in communities across Britain.   

Some onlookers threw flowers as the hearse passed by; many in the crowd shed tears. Gentle ripples of applause followed as the convoy continued southward.  

Emotional farewell

“We’ve known (her) for all our lives. So, it’s been the one constant thing in the whole of our lives – the queen,” said Stephanie Cook, a resident of the village of Ballater, close to Balmoral.  

After a six-hour journey, the hearse crossed the River Forth toward the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Along the Scottish capital’s Royal Mile, thousands waited to see the cortege.   

Fiona Moffat traveled from Glasgow to witness the moment. She fought back tears as she described her emotions.   

“A very historic moment. I am quite speechless actually. She was a lovely lady. Great mother, grandmother. She did well. I am very proud of her,” Moffat told The Associated Press.  

Elaine Robertson, visiting Edinburgh from her home in Ayr on Scotland’s west coast, was also in tears. “I think it is just important to be here. Just important to say goodbye. She has been on the throne for a long time. So, yes, it means a lot,” Robertson said.  

Lie in state

The coffin will lie in Edinburgh’s St. Giles Cathedral, where members of the public will be invited to pay their respects.  

On Tuesday, the queen’s body will be flown to London. It will first be taken to Buckingham Palace, and then transferred in a public procession led by Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III, to the 11th-century Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state for four days. The hall will be open 23 hours a day for visitors. It will be guarded by soldiers from the royal household.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to Westminster to pay their respects.

“She has been an exemplary head of state in terms of her devotion to her people and to her job,” said royal historian and author Robert Lacey. “And then I think the other thing to take away, which is inevitable in all these crowds and expressions of emotion, it’s the enduring command that the British monarchy holds over the emotions of people in Britain,” Lacey told The Associated Press.  

The funeral is scheduled for Monday, September 19 at Westminster Abbey. The coffin will then be taken to Windsor for the committal service, where the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, was laid to rest in April 2021. 
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Chinese state media say the country’s top legislator decried sanctions against Russia during a recent visit to the country, underscoring China’s backing of Moscow in its war on Ukraine despite claims of neutrality.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Li Zhanshu urged greater cooperation on “fighting against external interference, sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, among others,” in a meeting with Russian lawmakers Thursday.

Li also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of an expected meeting this month between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a regional gathering in Uzbekistan. That would mark Xi’s first trip outside China since the pandemic began in early 2020.

Li is a member of the Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee and is considered one of Xi’s closest confidants, the two having worked together for decades. Ranked third in the Communist Party hierarchy, Li is the highest-level official to travel abroad since the start of the pandemic.

The meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — a political, economic and security forum that China and Russia dominate — comes as Putin faces setbacks in his attempt to conquer Ukraine and Xi prepares for a congress of the ruling Communist Party that is expected to grant him a third five-year term as leader.

Xinhua said Russia also backed Beijing’s condemnation of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit last month to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that China threatens to annex by force.

“Li thanked the Russian side for firmly supporting China on the Taiwan question,” Xinhua reported.

Russia has also backed China against international criticism, including at the United Nations, over its mass incarceration of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

The world’s two leading authoritarian states, China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies against the U.S. and other liberal democracies. Weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, Xi hosted Putin in Beijing in early February, during which the sides issued a joint statement declaring, “Friendship between the two States has no limits, there are no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation.”

In that statement, Russia also said it “confirms that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and opposes any forms of independence of Taiwan.”

China has steadfastly refused to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or even to refer to it as such and has accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking the conflict, despite Putin’s statements that he regards Ukraine as a historical part of Russia that must be eliminated as an independent political entity.

Although condemning the punishing economic sanctions against Russia, Beijing has not provided military or financial support to Moscow that could trigger legal action from Washington against its companies.

Russia held sweeping military drills that ended last week in the country’s east, involving forces from China in another show of increasingly close ties between the two.

Xinhua said Li met with Putin in the far-eastern port city of Vladivostok, and with Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and Vyacheslav Volodin, chairperson of the Russian State Duma, in Moscow on a visit that ran from Wednesday to Saturday.
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Pope Francis Sunday asked for prayers to accompany him this week on what he calls his “pilgrimage of peace” in Kazakhstan for a meeting of religious leaders.

In remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square, Francis noted that on Tuesday he begins a three-day visit to that central Asian country to participate in a gathering of heads of world and traditional religions.

“It will be an occasion to meet so many religious representatives and to dialogue as brothers, animated by the common desire for peace, the peace for which our world is thirsting,” Francis said.

“I ask everyone to accompany with prayer this pilgrimage of peace,” the pontiff said.

He had been hoping to meet during his trip with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has sought to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on spiritual and ideological grounds in a “metaphysical” battle with the West.

But earlier this summer, Kirill bowed out of the interfaith gathering.

Francis had the first-ever encounter between a pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch in 2016. Plans for a second encounter earlier this year were postponed over the diplomatic fallout of the war in Ukraine.

After Francis cited his pilgrimage, he urged continued prayers for the Ukrainian people, so that the “Lord gives them comfort and hope.” He said that a Polish cardinal who serves as his official almsgiver is currently in Ukraine, to visit various communities and give concrete testimony of the closeness of the pope and the Catholic church.
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Greek coast guard ships opened fire on a cargo vessel sailing in international waters in the Aegean Sea, the Turkish coast guard said, escalating tensions between the regional rivals that have mounted in recent weeks.

There were no casualties in the shooting 11 nautical miles (13 miles) southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday, the Turkish statement said. It added that after “harassment fire” from two Greek coast guard vessels, two Turkish coast guard ships went to the area and the Greek boats left.

Calls to the Greek Embassy in Ankara went unanswered Sunday, and it wasn’t clear why the gunfire occurred.

The neighboring countries have been embroiled in disputes for decades and frictions have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with both sides alleging airspace violations. Greek officials have raised concerns about another outbreak of conflict in Europe, following Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Turkey says Greece is breaking international agreements by keeping a military presence on islands close to Turkey’s Aegean coastline. It also has accused Greek air defenses of locking on to Turkish fighter jets during NATO exercises over the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece says it needs to defend its eastern islands — including tourist hot spots Rhodes and Kos, which are much closer to Turkey than to the Greek mainland — against its larger and militarily stronger neighbor.

Video footage from Saturday purportedly shows a Greek coast guard ship alongside the Comoros-flagged ship Anatolian as the sound of about a dozen gunshots are heard. A crew member speaks in Turkish, saying they are being attacked by the Greek coast guard.

The video, which was released by the Turkish coast guard and seems to have been filmed on a cellphone, shows what appears to be a bullet hole in a window and in the ceiling of the cargo ship’s bridge.

The Turkish statement said the gunfire was “in disregard of the rules of international law.” The 18 crew of the Anatolian consisted of six Egyptians, four Somalis, five Azerbaijanis and three Turks.

A Turkish prosecutor ordered an investigation. The country also has protested to Greek authorities, with Ankara demanding a swift investigation and explanation.

The Anatolian was anchored Sunday in the Dardanelles off the Turkish coast, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

This week, the Greek government wrote letters to NATO, the European Union and the United Nations, asking them to formally condemn increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials and suggesting that tensions could escalate into open conflict.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the behavior of Turkey — also a NATO member — risked “a situation similar to that currently unfolding in some other part of our continent,” referring to the war in Ukraine.

The Marine Traffic website, which monitors global shipping, says the Anatolian was previously named the Mavi Marmara. Israeli commandos stormed the vessel — then a passenger ship — in 2010 as it attempted to break a blockade on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists, including a dual American citizen.

The Mavi Marmara incident led to a serious diplomatic rift between Israel and Turkey, which withdrew its ambassador to Israel and scaled back military and economic ties. Israel later apologized for the deaths and agreed to compensate the victims’ families.

In its entry for the Anatolian, Marine Traffic carried photographs of the Mavi Marmara with Turkish and Palestinian flags hanging from its sides. The website’s last recorded location for the Anatolian was in the Somali capital Mogadishu in late June.
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Ukraine said Sunday the sixth and final reactor at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in the south of the country was no longer generating electricity.

“Today, September 11, 2022, at night, at 03:41 am (0141 GMT), unit No. 6 of the ZNPP was disconnected from the power grid. Preparations are underway for its cooling and transfer to a cold state,” state nuclear agency Energoatom said in statement.

Ukraine and its allies have been increasingly concerned about the safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia plant — the largest in Europe — and recent fighting there has raised fears of serious incident.

The U.N.’s atomic watchdog warned earlier this week that a blackout in the nearby town of Energodar had “compromised the safe operation” of the nuclear facility.

Energoatom said Sunday that a cold shutdown was the “safest state” for the reactor.

Energoatom said that the sixth reactor had been generating energy for the plant itself for three days and that the decision to halt its operations came when external power had been restored to the facility.

“In case of repeated damage to the transmission lines linking the facility to the power system — the risk of which remains high the [plant’s] in-house needs will be powered by diesel generators,” it cautioned in a statement.

Energoatom in its statement again called for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant, saying it was the only way to sure plant’s safety.
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Britain’s defense ministry says Ukrainian forces have continued to make significant gains in the Kharkiv region.

The agency’s intelligence report, posted Sunday on Twitter, said, “Russia has likely withdrawn units from the area, but fighting continues around the strategically important cities of Kupiansk and Izium.”

Ukrainian forces reported Saturday that they had gained control of Izyum and pushed Russian soldiers across the Oskil River. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed it had pulled its forces out of Izyum, claiming the move was planned.

Western military analysts said if the advances were confirmed, it would put the Ukrainians in control of a main railway that Moscow uses to supply thousands of troops in eastern Ukraine.

In other developments, a pro-Russia separatist leader was quoted as saying there also was fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region.

Denis Pushilin said the situation in the town of Lyman was “very difficult” and there was fighting in “a number of other localities,” particularly in the northern part of the region.

Military analysts say Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the area, where it plans to launch new attacks against Ukrainian-controlled sections of Donetsk.

Meanwhile, Moscow announced it was regrouping its forces in the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine.

“To achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas, a decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izyum regions, to bolster efforts along the Donetsk front,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The regrouping of Russian soldiers comes as residents in parts of the Kharkiv region had been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass. The area’s Russian-installed administrator, Vitaly Ganchev, reportedly said doing so would “save lives.”

The Ukrainian breakthrough near Kharkiv was the fastest advance reported by either side for months, and it is one of the biggest gains in the war since Russian forces abandoned a disastrous assault on the capital, Kyiv, in March.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s armed forces have liberated about 2,000 square kilometers of territory since a counteroffensive against Russia started earlier this month.

On the diplomatic front, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday, pledging Berlin’s unwavering support for Ukraine.

“I have traveled to Kyiv to show that they can continue to rely on us. That we will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary with deliveries of weapons, and with humanitarian and financial support,” Baerbock said in a statement.

Over the last weeks, Germany has sent howitzers, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. Heavier weapons such as anti-aircraft systems, rocket launchers mounted on pickup trucks and anti-drone equipment are also expected in a further military aid package worth more than $500 million.

Meanwhile, Britain’s defense ministry also said in its intelligence report Sunday that “Russia is pursuing a deliberate misinformation strategy as it seeks to deflect blame for food insecurity issues, discredit Ukraine and minimize opposition to its invasion.”

The ministry said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim on Sept. 7 that only 60,000 tons of grain exported from Ukraine since August had been sent to developing countries, with the majority delivered to EU states, was false.

The ministry said, “According to UN figures, around 30% has been supplied to low and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.”

Some information in this report came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press. 
…

Britain’s new King Charles III is a committed environmentalist with a long history of campaigning for better conservation, organic farming and tackling climate change, which is likely to sit well with more eco-conscious younger Britons.

Interspersed between photos of official meetings and other royal duties, his Instagram account as Prince of Wales typically featured pictures showing him furthering environmental causes in Britain and beyond.

They included planting trees, showing off organic fruit and vegetables from his Clarence House residence and colorful flowers growing in the garden at his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, western England.

One photo even captured Charles — who has now passed the prince of Wales title to his son and heir William — on a visit to threatened mangrove swamps in St. Vincent and Grenadines in the Caribbean.

When Britain hosted the COP26 climate summit in Scotland last year, he gave the opening speech, urging world leaders seated in front of him to redouble their efforts to confront global warming and warning: “Time has quite literally run out.”

Since his first big public speech on the subject in 1970, Charles has “been raising awareness about all aspects of the environment for a very long time,” said Bob Ward, of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

“In many ways he has been ahead of the public awareness and political awareness” on the issue, he told AFP.

Sustainability

At Highgrove, Charles has cultivated a garden, which is open to the public, as well as a fully organic farm.

It initially left some neighboring farmers skeptical but has gradually become a successful business and sells its produce under the “Duchy Organic” brand in the high-end supermarket chain Waitrose.

“His Royal Highness has taken many steps personally to live in a more sustainable way,” his official website for his tenure as prince of Wales said.

It noted about 90% of energy for office and domestic use now came from renewable sources, with around half that generated from on-site renewable sources such as solar panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps and the remainder from electricity and gas purchased from renewable sources.

For several years Charles has published his annual carbon footprint — including unofficial travel — which amounted to 490 tons in the year to March 2022.

His car, an Aston Martin owned for more than 50 years, has been modified to run on surplus English white wine and whey from the cheesemaking process.

It runs on a mixture of 8% bioethanol and 15% unleaded petrol.

The monarch has been president of the WWF-UK animal charity since 2011, emulating his late father, Prince Philip, who performed the same role from 1981-96.

He is also the patron of several other associations, such as “Surfers Against Sewage,” and made numerous speeches warning of the disappearance of biodiversity.

More recently, in April, he wrote an article for Newsweek magazine — and also graced its cover — headlined “our children are judging us.”

Sensitive

His vocal stances on issues including the environment have prompted some criticism that he is departing from constitutional norms which see the royal family remain politically neutral at all times.

Charles has repeatedly vowed to remain true to constitutional practices, as recently as this week when he ascended to the throne.

But he may not see environmental and conservation causes as overtly political.

“He would be very sensitive as a head of state,” predicted Ward.

“He must be very careful about being seen to act in a way that might be seen as putting pressure on the government. But I don’t expect him not to speak at all.”

Ruby Wright, a 42-year-old illustrator who came to Buckingham Palace to pay her respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, said on Friday that she hopes “he sticks to his guns.”

“I think he needs to be more modest and really push the environmental agenda and make that his legacy,” she told AFP.

“I know he’s not allowed to be political at all but this isn’t politics. This is the future of humanity.”

Laura Beirne, a 30-year-old fashion designer, agreed. “I think it’s positive he supports the environment. That’s important, I think, for my generation.”

As king, he will have less time for his passions of gardening and farming. He admitted in an interview in 1986 that he talked to plants, attracting some mockery.

But the baton has already been passed to his son William, who shares his commitment to the environment.

Last year William created the Earthshot prize, which rewards projects that propose solutions to the climate crisis.
…

Sweden is holding an election Sunday to elect lawmakers to the 349-seat Riksdag as well as to local offices across the nation of 10 million. Early voting began Aug. 24. Here are some key things to know about the vote.

What is at stake?

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is fighting to keep her center-left Social Democrats at the helm of a left-wing coalition but is facing a strong challenge from the right.

Sweden is known for being a cradle-to-grave welfare society and Andersson would like to preserve the social protections that have long defined Sweden, and reverse some of the market-oriented changes by an earlier government. Her party feels that some of the changes, like state subsidies going to private schools, are creating greater inequalities.

The once-mighty Social Democrats have been in power since 2014. But as the party’s popularity has sunk, it has presided over a weak government that relies more on other parties to pass laws, creating political instability for the past eight years.

Who is likely to win?

There are two major blocs: one with four parties on the left and another with four on the right. The polls leading up to the election say it is impossible to predict.

“It’s basically a coin toss. It’s 50-50 between the two different sides,” Zeth Isaksson, a sociologist in electoral behavior at Stockholm University, said Saturday.

Under Swedish law, the party that wins the most seats forms the next government. Polls show this is likely to be Andersson’s party, which will need to create a coalition with other parties.

But if the left has a poor showing, she might not be able to form a coalition. In that case, the baton would be passed to the second-largest party to try to form a government.

Which party is in the No. 2 spot?

In the last election in 2018, the Moderates led by Ulf Kristersson, a center-right party, won the second-highest number of seats. The conservative party promotes a market economy, lower taxes and a smaller role for government in a country with a generous welfare state supported by high taxes.

But like the Social Democrats and other mainstream parties across Europe, the Moderates have also seen their popularity decline amid a populist challenge coming from further right.

Who are the populists?

The Sweden Democrats, a populist right-wing party that takes a hard line on immigration and crime, first entered parliament in 2010 and has been growing steadily ever since.

The party won 13% of the vote in 2018, becoming the third-largest force in parliament. Polls show it is likely to improve on that showing Sunday.

Some Swedes compare the party to Trump-style populism and note it was founded by far-right extremists decades ago. They do not trust it in its reported transformation to a more traditional conservative party.

The party is led by Jimmie Akesson, a 43-year-old former web designer who has been the driving force in trying to moderate the party’s image.

The party has clearly tapped into the social mood, however, and other parties have been moving closer to its positions, as many Swedes believe that they can no longer bear the costs of the country’s generous refugee policies and are seeking a crackdown on crime.

Once a pariah, other conservative parties have grown increasingly willing to deal with the Sweden Democrats.

Andersson told reporters Saturday that “the rise of the far right” was partly the fault of the right-wing opposition, which she said, “spent so much time and effort to try to convince people that the Sweden Democrats aren’t the party that they actually are.”

How serious is crime in Sweden?

Some immigrants have had difficulties assimilating into Swedish society, leading to segregated neighborhoods with high crime rates.

Gang violence mostly takes place among criminal networks dealing drugs or involved in other illicit activity. But there have been recent cases of innocent bystanders being hurt. So far this year, 48 people have been killed by firearms in Sweden, three more than in all of 2021.

The fears triggered by shootings and explosions in disadvantaged neighborhoods have made crime one of the most pressing issues for Swedish voters.

“Shootings and explosions of bombs have increased in the last few years and (this violence) is now considered a great social problem,” said Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University in southern Sweden.

The gender factor

Andersson became Sweden’s first female prime minister less than a year ago — a milestone late in coming for a country that in many ways is an example of gender equality.

“I was really proud,” said Ulrika Hoonk, a 39-year-old who voted early in Stockholm on Friday, saying it took “far too long” for that to happen.

Polls show that Andersson’s party is especially popular with women, with men tending to vote more conservative.

Even though Andersson is the first prime minister, there are still many women represented in positions of authority. Four party leaders are women, and one party has a woman and a man sharing the leadership. In parliament, the gender balance has long been split roughly 50-50.

Several women voters interviewed this week said that finally having a woman in the top leadership job was very important for them, and one factor they considered when choosing which party to support. 
…

A passenger train and freight train collided Friday night in central Croatia, killing at least three people and injuring another 11 or more, authorities said.

The collision happened around 9:30 p.m. near the town of Novska, which is close to Croatia’s border with Bosnia, police said in a statement.

“The impact was huge,” said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who rushed to the scene with other government officials.

Plenkovic confirmed that so far the bodies of three people were found at the site of the accident, but he said more victims could still be found.

The injured have been hospitalized, some with serious injuries but none in life-threatening condition, he added.

“It’s nighttime, there is no light, we don’t know at the moment if there are more victims,” said Plenkovic.

The cause of the collision was not immediately clear.

The passenger train was a local line carrying 13 people, while only the engine driver was in the freight train, said Plenkovic. He said foreign citizens were among the injured.

Officials said both trains were pushed off the rails after the collision. An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the collision.
…

Ukraine announced major advancements in a strategic military counteroffensive against Russian forces, retaking a vital city and causing thousands of Russian soldiers to retreat from territory in northeastern Ukraine that they had held since the start of the war in late February. 

Ukrainian forces reported Saturday that they had gained control of Izyum and pushed Russian soldiers across the Oskil River. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed it had pulled its forces out of Izyum, claiming the move was planned.   

Reports of the claims could not be independently verified. Western military analysts say if the advances are confirmed, it would put the Ukrainians in control of a main railway that Moscow uses to supply thousands of troops in eastern Ukraine. 

In other developments, a pro-Russia separatist leader was quoted as saying there also was fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region. 

Denis Pushilin said the situation in the town of Lyman was “very difficult” and there was fighting in “a number of other localities,” particularly in the northern part of the region. 

Military analysts say Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the area, where it plans to launch new attacks against Ukrainian controlled sections of Donetsk. 

Moscow regrouping

Meanwhile, Moscow announced it was regrouping its forces in the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine. 

“To achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas, a decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balakliya and Izyum regions, to bolster efforts along the Donetsk front,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement. 

The regrouping of Russian soldiers comes as residents in parts of the Kharkiv region had been advised to evacuate to Russia, according to the state-run news agency Tass. The area’s Russian-installed administrator, Vitaly Ganchev, reportedly said doing so would “save lives.” 

Lightning-fast advances

The Ukrainian breakthrough near Kharkiv was the fastest advance reported by either side for months, and it is one of the biggest gains in the war since Russian forces abandoned a disastrous assault on the capital, Kyiv, in March.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s armed forces have liberated about 2,000 square kilometers of territory since a counter-offensive against Russia started earlier this month. 

On the diplomatic front, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday pledging Berlin’s unwavering support for Ukraine.   

“I have traveled to Kyiv to show that they can continue to rely on us. That we will continue to stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary with deliveries of weapons, and with humanitarian and financial support,” Baerbock said in a statement.  

Over the last weeks, Germany has sent howitzers, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. Heavier weapons like anti-aircraft systems, rocket launchers mounted on pickup trucks and anti-drone equipment are also expected in a further military aid package worth more than $500 million. 

 

Nuclear fears   

Meanwhile, shelling destroyed the power infrastructure at the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar where staff operating the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant live, posing a growing threat to the plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Friday.  

The plant’s off-site power supplies, vital lines of defense against a potential nuclear meltdown, have been cut. And the shelling at Enerhodar has caused a lasting blackout there.  

That has prompted Ukraine to say it may have to shut down the last operating reactor supplying power to Zaporizhzhia, including the cooling systems for the plant’s nuclear fuel.  

Zaporizhzhia’s operator is not confident off-site power can be restored and that is prompting it to consider shutting down the last operating reactor, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement.   

“The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions. And as a consequence, the operator would not be able to restart the reactors unless off-site power was reliably reestablished,” he noted.   

Grossi this week called for the creation of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around Zaporizhzhia, repeating his call Friday.  

Military aid 

The United States said Thursday it plans to send $2.2 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine and 18 other European countries threatened by Russian aggression, and another $675 million directly to the Kyiv government in a new munitions package to fight Moscow’s invasion. 

European Union finance ministers Friday backed a $5 billion loan for Ukraine to help it keep schools, hospitals and other state operations running as it fights against Russia’s invasion, the Czech Finance Ministry said. 

The loan, to be backed by guarantees of EU member states, is part of an overall $9 billion package announced in May. The first $1 billion was sent in early August.   

Some information in this report came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press. 
…

Albania has suffered a renewed cyberattack, the country’s interior ministry said Saturday, blaming Iran which Tirana also accused of an earlier assault on its digital systems.

“The national police’s computer systems were hit Friday by a cyberattack which, according to initial information, was committed by the same actors who in July attacked the country’s public and government service systems,” the ministry said in a statement.

“In order to neutralize the criminal act and secure the systems,” the authorities have shut down computer control systems at seaports, airports and border posts, the statement said.  

In a tweet, Prime Minister Edi Rama denounced “another cyberattack (committed by) the same aggressors already condemned by Albania’s friendly countries and allies.”

Albania blamed Iran for the July attack and Wednesday cut diplomatic ties over the affair.

The two countries have been bitter foes for years, since the Balkan state began hosting members of the opposition People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), on its soil.

Rama on Wednesday accused Iran of directing a cyberattack against Albanian institutions July 15 in a bid to “paralyze public services and hack data and electronic communications from the government systems.”

It was the first time Tirana spoke about the alleged attack.

“The Council of Ministers has decided on the severance of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran with immediate effect,” said Rama.

“The said attack failed its purpose. Damages may be considered minimal compared to the goals of the aggressor. All systems came back fully operational and there was no irreversible wiping of data.”

The prime minister went on to say that Iranian diplomats and embassy staff had 24 hours to leave the country.

Iranian denials

Iran rejected the accusation it was behind the cyberattack as “baseless” and called Albania’s decision to sever diplomatic ties “an ill-considered and shortsighted action.”

“Iran as one of the target countries of cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure rejects and condemns any use of cyberspace as a tool to attack the critical infrastructure of other countries,” its foreign ministry said.

The U.S. announced sanctions Friday on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and its minister Esmail Khatib over Tehran’s alleged involvement.

The Islamic republic has also been targeted by cyberattacks, most notably in 2010 when the Stuxnet virus — believed to have been engineered by Israel and the U.S. — infected its nuclear program.

 
…

Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, have been at loggerheads for decades over territorial and airspace claims in and over the Aegean Sea. As the historic rivals escalate their war of words, analysts warn about the risk of current tension spilling into NATO business at a time when there is a need to focus on unity against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. 

The latest spat began when Turkey accused its neighbor of locking onto Turkish fighter jets with its Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems deployed on the island of Crete. Ankara also said Greek pilots placed Turkish aircraft under a radar lock over the Eastern Mediterranean during a NATO mission last month. 

Athens dismissed Turkish claims and accused the country of violating its airspace.

As both countries lodged complaints with NATO about the incidents, the deletion of a tweet by NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) congratulating Turkey on its Victory Day, following a demarche by Greece, caused fury in Ankara. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled down when he spoke earlier this week at Teknofest, an event dubbed as Turkey’s biggest aviation and aerospace festival. 

“Look at history. If you cross the line any further, there will be a heavy price to pay. Don’t forget Izmir,” he said, alluding to a defeat of occupying Greek forces in the western city in 1922. 

He echoed those words earlier this week, warning “Turkey could come all of a sudden one night.”

His remarks were perceived by Greek officials as threats, suggesting Turkey could take military action against the Aegean Sea islands. Athens says it is ready to defend its sovereignty. 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias asked NATO, European Union partners and the United Nations to formally condemn what he described as “outrageous and increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials” in letters addressed to three international bodies, copies of which were seen by The Associated Press.

In a statement sent to VOA, a State Department representative called on the two allies to resolve their differences diplomatically.

Pointing to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Washington said statements that could raise tensions between NATO allies are “particularly unhelpful,” adding “Greece’s sovereignty over the islands is not in question.” 

The Pentagon did not comment on Turkish claims that Greece locked its S-300 surface-to-air missiles onto Turkey’s jets last week but said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized the need to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue during his previous talks with Turkish and Greek counterparts.

Possibility of war  

 

Deep-rooted friction brought Turkey and Greece almost to the point of war three times in the last 50 years.

Analysts speaking to VOA say they don’t see a resolution any time soon, noting the troubled history of bilateral relations and the “tight politics” in the two nations’ capitals. 

“It will take a mediator who has the skill and some leverage to be able to come up with something that these two nations can agree with. But I don’t see that on the horizon,” said Jim Townsend, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense on European and NATO policy. Townsend is currently an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security Transatlantic Security Program. 

Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general who served as NATO supreme allied commander from 2013 to 2016, said the long-standing problems between Turkey and Greece rise and fall over time. 

“The leadership in Turkey is pushing the country in certain directions that have caused these tensions to rise once again as they have over the years,” the former top NATO commander said in a phone interview with VOA on Wednesday.   

 

Breedlove, who is now a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute, said NATO and the United States have managed similar tensions in the past and the alliance is still up to the task. 

Concerns about disrupting NATO unity 

The recent spat between Turkey and Greece takes place as NATO is focusing on displaying a united front against Russia in the face of its invasion in Ukraine.  

 

Experts are worried that if the tension escalates to the point of hostilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin can take advantage.  

 

“Whatever little cracks can appear in European unity, Putin can make them even larger and in fact split the rock. So, it not only undercuts European unity but also can spill over into NATO councils if one or the other country uses NATO as a weapon to hurt the other,” Townsend said.  

 

He warned that those cracks can be exploited by Moscow as winter approaches; Russia has already cut back on its gas exports to Europe. 

Election dynamics 

Turkey and Greece will both head to the polls for crucial elections next year. 

Turkish President Erdogan is said to be facing a major challenge to his 20-year rule amid the country’s economic woes and immigration problems. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, elected in 2019, reportedly suffered a popularity loss to some degree because of rising energy prices partly driven by the war in Ukraine. 

“Rhetoric on both sides has always been part of the problem and it’s something that doesn’t help things,” said Townsend. 

Breedlove agrees. He believes some of this is “playing to an internal audience.”

Balancing act 

The United States is known to have maintained a balance between regional rivals Turkey and Greece, which it says are both important NATO allies. 

Athens and Washington extended a bilateral military agreement for five years and the deal was ratified by the Greek parliament in the summer, days before the Greek prime minister’s visit to Washington in mid-May. The deal gives the U.S. more military access to bases in Greece.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley met with his Greek counterpart, Konstantinos Floros, at the Pentagon in July. “The military leaders discussed mutual items of interest,” said a statement from his office.

That visit was followed by Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos’ visit to the Pentagon July 18 to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The two discussed the “growing defense partnership between the United States and Greece and the close cooperation on basing, [and] defense modernization,” according to a statement from the Pentagon.

They also discussed “the need to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue.” 

Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, July 25, discussing “the need for continued efforts to reduce tensions in the Aegean through constructive dialogue.”

Turkish and Greek defense requests

Greece is seeking to acquire F-35 fighter jets from the United States. The country formally requested the fighter jets in June.  

Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program because of its purchase of an advanced S-400 missile system from Russia. Ankara wants to buy F-16s and modernization kits from Washington. U.S. weapons sales to foreign countries are subject to congressional approval.

Analysts argue that Turkey’s decision to buy the Russian S-400 system was a huge blow to defense cooperation between Washington and Ankara, which they say has traditionally been very strong. 

Townsend, who spent 30 years at the Pentagon working on Turkey issues, tells VOA that he “mourns the loss of [the] close working relationship with Turkey,” hoping it can be restored again. 

He is hopeful that the United States will be able to provide the F-16s requested by Turkey, saying he thinks the administration — working with Congress — will be able to allow that transfer to happen. 

Retired U.S. Air Force General Breedlove maintains the same hope.

Focusing on ‘common threat’

The former NATO commander argues that Turkey made some security decisions that aligned it more closely with “NATO’s enemy,” in reference to its S-400 purchase from Russia, which was identified as the most significant and direct threat to the allies’ security in NATO’s strategic concept document. 

“The enemy is not Greece versus Turkey and Turkey versus Greece. It is NATO versus Russia. I would want Turkey to have that if they can’t have the F-35. We need to understand who the enemy is,” Breedlove tells VOA. 

He said the United States would want to move forward with Turkey because it is an incredibly important part of the NATO alliance despite recent lows in the relationship, adding he cannot speak to the policy of the current U.S. government. 

But he also acknowledged that “Greece is a little more aligned with where America wants to go in the area,” saying Washington would want to have the same kind of relationship with Turkey.

He calls on the United States and Turkey to focus on how they can bring back the same level of cooperation rather than growing apart.

Erdogan’s criticism of the West’s Russia policy

Meanwhile, Erdogan has recently accused Western nations of provoking Russia, without naming any.

Speaking at a news conference in Serbia, he suggested the “West’s policy on Russia was based on provocations.”

He vowed to continue Turkey’s balancing policy between Russia and Ukraine, adding Russia is not a country that one can underestimate.

“Russia has cut off natural gas now. Prices in Europe have skyrocketed. Everyone now broods on how they will get through this winter,” Erdogan said.

Turkey supplies Ukraine with combat drones, which are used by Kyiv to destroy Russian targets in the conflict.

Ankara also played a role with the United Nations as a mediator to secure the deal that allowed grain exports to resume from the ports in Ukraine. But it has not joined the Western sanctions against Russia.

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service. The service’s Dilge Timocin contributed.
…

A global search for alternative sources to Russian energy in light of the war in Ukraine has refocused attention on smaller, easier-to-build nuclear power stations, which proponents say could provide a cheaper, more efficient alternative to older model mega-plants.

U.K.-based Rolls-Royce SMR says its small modular reactors, or SMRs, are much cheaper and quicker to get running than standard plants, delivering the kind of energy security that many nations are seeking. France already relies on nuclear power for a majority of its electricity, and Germany kept the option of reactivating two nuclear plants it will shut down at the end of the year as Russia cuts natural gas supplies.

While Rolls-Royce SMR and its competitors have signed deals with countries from Britain to Poland to start building the stations, they are many years away from operating and cannot solve the energy crisis now hitting Europe.

 

Nuclear power also poses risks, including disposing of highly radioactive waste and keeping that technology out of the hands of rogue countries or nefarious groups that may pursue a nuclear weapons program.

Those risks have been accentuated following the shelling around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, which has raised fears of potential nuclear disaster.

In the wake of the war, however, “the reliance on gas imports and Russian energy sources has focused people’s minds on energy security,” Rolls-Royce SMR spokesman Dan Gould said.  

An SMR’s components can be built in a factory, moved to a site in tractor trailers and assembled there, making the technology more attractive to frugal buyers, he said.

“It’s like building Lego,” Gould said. “Building on a smaller scale reduces risks and makes it a more investible project.”  

SMRs are essentially pressurized water reactors identical to some 400 reactors worldwide. The key advantages are their size — about one-tenth as big as a standard reactor — the ease of construction and the price tag.

The estimated cost of a Rolls-Royce SMR is $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion, with an estimated construction time of 5 1/2 years. That’s two years faster than it took to build a standard nuclear plant between 2016 and 2021, according to International Atomic Energy Agency statistics. Some estimates put the cost of building a 1,100-megawatt nuclear plant at between $6 billion and $9 billion.  

Rolls-Royce aims to build its first stations in the U.K. within 5 1/2 years, Gould said. Similarly, Oklahoma-based NuScale Power signed agreements last year with two Polish companies — copper and silver producer KGHM and energy producer UNIMOT — to explore the possibility of building SMRs to power heavy industry. Poland wants to switch from polluting, coal-powered electricity generation.  

Rolls-Royce SMR said last month that it signed a deal with Dutch development company ULC-Energy to look into setting up SMRs in the Netherlands.  

Another partner is Turkey, where Russia is building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant on the southern coast. Environmentalists say the region is seismically active and could be a target for terrorists.

The introduction of “unproven” nuclear power technology in the form of SMRs doesn’t sit well with environmentalists, who argue that proliferation of small reactors will exacerbate the problem of how to dispose of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

“Unfortunately, Turkey is governed by an incompetent administration that has turned it into a ‘test bed’ for corporations,” said Koray Dogan Urbarli, a spokesman for Turkey’s Green Party.

“It is giving up the sovereignty of a certain region for at least 100 years for Russia to build a nuclear power plant. This incompetence and lobbying power make Turkey an easy target for SMRs,” said Koray, adding that his party eschews technology with an “uncertain future.”

Gould said one Rolls-Royce SMR would generate nuclear waste the size of a “tennis court piled 1-meter high” throughout the plant’s 60-year lifetime. He said initially, waste would be stored on site at the U.K. plants and would eventually be transferred to a long-term disposal site selected by the British government.

M.V. Ramana, professor of public policy and global affairs at the University of British Columbia, cites research suggesting there’s “no demonstrated way” to ensure nuclear waste stored in what authorities consider to be secure sites won’t escape in the future.

The constant heat generated by the waste could alter rock formations where it’s stored and allow water seepage, while future mining activities could compromise a nuclear waste site’s integrity, said Ramana, who specializes in international security and nuclear energy.

Skeptics also raise the risks of possibly exporting such technology in politically tumultuous regions. Gould said Rolls-Royce is “completely compliant” with U.K. and international requirements in exporting its SMR technology “only in territories that are signatories to the necessary international treaties for the peaceful use of nuclear power for energy generation.”

Ramana said, however, there’s no guarantee nations will follow the rules.  

“Any country acquiring nuclear reactors automatically enhances its capacity to make nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that every SMR could produce “around 10 bombs worth of plutonium each year.”  

Rolls-Royce SMR could opt to stop supplying fuel and other services to anyone flouting the rules, but “should any country choose to do so, it can simply tell the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop inspections, as Iran has done, for example,” Ramana said.

Although spent fuel normally undergoes chemical reprocessing to generate the kind of plutonium used in nuclear weapons, Ramana said such reprocessing technology is widely known and that a very sophisticated reprocessing plant isn’t required to produce the amount of plutonium needed for weapons.
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Britain’s former prince of Wales will be formally proclaimed king Saturday at St. James’s Palace in London.

Charles automatically became Britain’s king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday. He will be known as King Charles III.

Saturday’s procedure at the Accession Council will be the formal proclamation of his sovereignty and it will be the first time the ceremony will be televised.

On Friday, Charles paid tribute to his late mother, calling her “darling Mama” during his first address as head of state.

Charles, who is 73 and the oldest monarch to ascend the throne, said he would serve with “loyalty, respect and love” as his mother had done for more than seven decades until her death Thursday at age 96.

“That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today,” Charles said Friday in his televised address from Buckingham Palace to a nation in mourning.

He said Elizabeth’s death brought a “sense of loss, beyond measure” and paid tribute to his mother.

“To my darling Mama: As you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,’” Charles said.

The new king said he would follow the example of his mother.

“As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” he said.

Charles was greeted by well-wishers as he arrived at the palace Friday alongside Camilla, the queen consort, from Balmoral Castle in Scotland where Elizabeth died.

The king also held his first audience Friday with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace, in only her third day in the job.

Elizabeth appointed Truss to her new position as prime minister Tuesday.

Parliament held a special midday session Friday to pay its respects to the queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

“She was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” Truss told lawmakers.

Around 2,000 people attended a service of remembrance for the queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, including Truss and other government officials.

Elizabeth’s funeral will be held in the coming days at London’s Westminster Abbey, and that day will be designated as a National Day of Mourning, a public holiday.

Growing mountains of flowers and tributes to the queen are gathering not only at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but also at British embassies and cathedrals around the world.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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From the national anthem to banknotes and coins, stamps and passports, many aspects of daily life in the U.K. will change with the accession of Charles III to the throne. 

Currency and stamps 

The face of the new King Charles III will begin to appear on coins and banknotes in the U.K. and other countries around the world, replacing the profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

His effigy will also appear on several other currencies used in the Eastern Caribbean, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Ditto in the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, on the Isle of Man as well as in Gibraltar, Saint Helena and in the Falklands, islands and territories controlled by the British crown.

In 1936, during the reign of King Edward VIII, which lasted 326 days, coins had been minted, but the monarch abdicated before they came into circulation.

The face of Elizabeth II also appears on the stamps, while the letters EIIR, for Elizabeth II Regina, are affixed to the post boxes, so this will need to be changed. The insignia on police helmets will also change.

Anthem and passports 

The British national anthem will become “God Save the King,” with a masculinized version of the lyrics.

A habit that will undoubtedly be difficult for the British, who have been singing “God Save the Queen” since 1952. It is also one of the two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem in Australia and Canada— which have their own national anthems.  

Wording on the inside cover of U.K. passports, issued in the name of the crown, will need to be updated, as will similar text that appears inside Australian, Canadian and New Zealand passports.

When you raise your glass during official meetings, you should no longer say “the queen” but “the king.” In the Channel Islands, the unofficial formula “La reine, notre duc” pronounced in French when toasting will become “Le roi, notre duc.”

Politics and rights 

The names of Her Majesty’s Government (“Her Majesty”), Treasury and Customs will change to “His Majesty.”

It will be the speech of the king (“the king’s speech”) and not that of the queen that will present to the parliament the program of the government, opening the parliamentary session.

The Queen’s Guard, immortalized by tourists in front of Buckingham Palace, will also change its name.

The police will no longer preserve the peace of the queen but that of the king and the experienced lawyers will pass from the status of QC (“queen’s counsel”) to that of KC (“king’s counsel”).

Prisoners will no longer be held at the pleasure of “her majesty,” but will continue their terms of imprisonment at the pleasure of “his majesty,” the king.

In the army, new recruits will no longer take “the queen’s shilling,” when enlisting, as the formula indicates. Nor will they have to submit to the queen’s regulations.

The name of “Her Majesty’s Theatre” in London’s West End theater district, where The Phantom of the Opera has been performed since 1986, will also be masculinized.

And those who aspire to speak “the queen’s English” will now have to strive to speak like Charles III: “the king’s English.”  
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