RIYADMEDIA

Major airlines canceled dozens of flights to and from Tel Aviv this weekend after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack against Israel. 

On the arrivals board at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair and Aegean Airlines were among those companies pulling flights.

Many departing flights were canceled, too.

“Given the current security situation in Tel Aviv, Lufthansa is canceling all flights to and from Tel Aviv up until and including Monday, a spokesperson for the German carrier told AFP. 

The airline was “permanently monitoring the security situation in Israel,” he added.  

Air France said it had halted Tel Aviv flights “until further notice.” 

Air France-KLM group’s low-cost carrier Transavia also canceled a flight from Paris to Tel Aviv Saturday evening. 

In Warsaw, Polish carrier LOT said Saturday it had also canceled a flight to Tel Aviv. 

However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Eilat, Israel’s second international airport and tourist destination on the Red Sea. 
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Migration and interior ministers from five European Union countries most affected by migration across the Mediterranean — Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain — hailed a new EU pact on migration but said more resources were needed. 

The ministers from the Med 5 group, who met in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday and Saturday, took a hard line on returning migrants who have crossed into the bloc illegally to their countries of origin, arguing that if Europe does not tackle the problem decisively, more extreme voices will take over. 

Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairidis, who hosted the sixth meeting of the Med 5, and European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas congratulated the Spanish presidency of the EU for “doing what is humanly possible” to arrive at a compromise agreement. 

In a news conference Saturday, Schinas took issue with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who said Friday Hungary was “legally raped” by its fellow EU members. 

“Before he talks about rape, he should study the European Treaty,” he said, adding that decisions on migration are taken on an enhanced majority basis. Hungary and Poland were the two dissenters at an EU summit in Granada, arguing for a tougher approach. 

“Personally, I would have preferred unanimity,” said Schinas. “But you cannot reach an understanding with someone who doesn’t want to.” 

Kairidis added that Orban is a warning of what could happen if the EU does not come up with viable solutions. 

“We are caught between the hateful shouters on the right and the naive people on the left who believe that any effort to guard borders violates human rights,” he said. 

The Med 5 agreed on taking a hard line on migrant crossings but also emphasized cooperation with the countries of migration origin. 

“It is important to encourage repatriation,” said Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. 

Malta’s Interior minister Byron Camillieri said that it is very important “to send a clear message (illegally entering migrants) have no right to stay and will return promptly to (their countries) countries of origin.” He added that 70% of migrants who landed in Malta had been returned. All the migrants had traveled from Libya but 70% came originally from Asian countries, he said. 

Cyprus’ Konstantinos Ioannou said that, recently, repatriations had exceeded arrivals in his country. 

Schinas emphasized cooperation with the migrants’ countries of origin, including financial incentives. He said the countries should be made to understand that “if you cooperate with Europe, you gain; if you don’t, you lose.” He called this the “more for more and less for less,” approach. 

Agreements are already in progress with Tunisia, Egypt and some western African countries, Schinas said, adding the EU should also revisit its 2016 deal with Turkey. 

Under that agreement, the EU offered Turkey up to 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in aid for the Syrian refugees it hosts, fast-tracked EU membership, and other incentives to stop Europe-bound migrants. 

“We must destroy the traffickers’ business model,” Schinas said. 

The Med 5 ministers called for an additional 2 billion euros to deal with migration. Most of the current EU budget was spent on accommodating Ukrainian refugees and tackling migrant flows through the EU’s external border with Belarus, they said. 

The ministers also expressed concern about the conflict between Israel and Gaza that erupted Saturday and concern that an expanded Middle East conflagration would affect migrant flows. Kairidis said already most of the recent migrants crossing into Greece are from Gaza. 

It was also noted that, besides the more than 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, another 2.5 million are in Lebanon. 
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Ukraine and Russia launched new strikes on each other Saturday.

Ukrainian shelling killed one person in the Russian border region of Belgorod, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Russia, meanwhile, launched a missile strike on Ukraine’s Odesa region overnight. Local officials say four people were wounded in the attack, which was launched from Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russian forces downed a Ukrainian drone near Moscow early Saturday, according to Tass, a Russian state news agency.

North Korean-Russian border activity

Meanwhile, analysts say satellite imagery shows “an unprecedented number of freight railcars” at North Korea’s Tumangang Rail Facility, located at the North Korean-Russian border.

The analysts at Beyond Parallel, a unit of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the rail traffic is larger than any they have seen in the past five years.  They said the traffic “likely indicates North Korea’s supply of arms and munitions to Russia,” following the two countries’ recent summit.

They said tarps covering the containers made it impossible to identify what is in them. But the organization said that it is “probable that these shipments are to support Russia in its war with Ukraine,” in line with the recent U.S. statement that North Korea has begun transferring artillery to Russia.

Nuclear test ban treaty

On Friday, the Russian parliament’s speaker said lawmakers will reevaluate whether to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Volodin’s statement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could consider rescinding its ratification of the international pact since the United States never ratified it.

The 1996 treaty prohibiting “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world has been signed by 187 nations but not ratified by eight of them, including the United States.

The U.S. did not ratify the treaty, but it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions since 1992 that it says it will continue to abide by.

“We are disturbed by the comments of Ambassador Ulyanov in Vienna today,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. “A move like this by any State Party needlessly endangers the global norm against nuclear explosive testing.”

“It would be concerning and deeply unfortunate if any State Signatory were to reconsider its ratification of the CTBT,” Robert Floyd, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization executive secretary, said in a statement.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine.

Asked Friday whether rescinding the ban could greenlight the resumption of tests, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it doesn’t mean a statement about the intention to resume nuclear tests.”

Peskov said a possible move to revoke Russia’s ratification of the ban would “bring the situation to a common denominator” with the U.S.

Speaking Thursday at a forum with foreign affairs experts, Putin said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

Kharkiv and Hroza attacks

The United Nations and partners are mobilizing humanitarian assistance — including medical supplies and health support, shelter maintenance kits, nonfood items, cash and hygiene assistance — as well as mental health and psycho-social support after Russian strikes Thursday and Friday killed at least 54 civilians in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, said Denise Brown, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

“These are barbaric consequences of this war that 20% of the community can be wiped out in seconds,” Brown remarked in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A Russian missile strike killed a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother Friday in the same region where at least 52 people, including a child, were killed Thursday, from another Russian attack, this one in the eastern village of Hroza.

Ukrainian officials bitterly condemned the attack, which blew apart a cafe where a wake was being held for a soldier from Hroza who died last year. He was being reburied in his hometown.

During his nightly video address Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks and stressed the importance of Ukraine bolstering its air defense and strengthening its infrastructure in view of the approaching winter.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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Spanish company PLD Space launched its reusable Miura-1 rocket early on Saturday from a site in southwestern Spain, carrying out Europe’s first fully private rocket launch and offering hope for the continent’s stalled space ambitions.

The startup’s test nighttime launch from Huelva came after two previous attempts were scrubbed. The Miura-1 rocket, named after a breed of fighting bulls, is as tall as a three-story building and has a 100-kilogram cargo capacity. The launch carries a payload for test purposes, but this will not be released, the company said.

Mission control video showed engineers cheering as the rocket gained altitude against the dark nighttime sky, shouting for joy and congratulating one another.

A first attempt to launch the Miura-1 rocket in May was abandoned due to strong high-altitude winds. A second attempt in June failed when umbilical cables in the avionics bay did not all release in time, halting the lift off as smoke and flames spewed out from the rocket.

Airspace, areas of the sea and roads were closed around the high-security launch site ahead of the launch.

Europe’s efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed orbital rocket launch by Virgin Orbit from Britain in January. That system involved releasing the launcher from a converted Boeing 747. Competitors lining up to join the race to launch small payloads include companies in Scotland, Sweden and Germany.

Saturday’s mission on the Miura-1 demonstrator was the first of two scheduled suborbital missions. However, analysts say the most critical test of its ambitions will be the development of orbital services on the larger Miura-5, planned for 2025.

In July, the last launch of Europe’s largest rocket, the premier Ariane 5 space launcher, took place at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Europe has until recently depended on Ariane 5 and its 11-tonne-plus capacity for heavy missions, as well as Russia’s Soyuz launcher for medium payloads and Italy’s Vega, which is also launched from Kourou, for small ones.

The end of Ariane 5 has left Europe with virtually no autonomous access to space until its successor, Ariane 6, is launched. Russia halted access to Soyuz in response to European sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the upgraded Vega-C has been grounded for technical reasons and Ariane 6 is delayed until next year.

The European Space Agency said last week that Vega-C would not return to service until the fourth quarter of 2024, following a failed mission last December.
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Polish voters face a stark choice in parliamentary elections set for October 15, which are likely to have a significant impact not only on a deeply polarized Polish society but also on the future of Europe as a whole. 

According to a recent public opinion poll, the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party and the opposition Civic Coalition bloc are in a close race for seats in the two-house, 460-member Parliament. 

One of these political forces will likely have to form a coalition in order to govern what is the largest post-communist EU and NATO member and a critical supporter of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

The Law and Justice party has held power for eight years. Led from behind the scenes by former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczynski, 74, the party pledges to maintain traditional values and ensure the country’s security, especially in light of Russian aggression in neighboring Ukraine. 

The party leadership also aims to conclude a revamping of the Polish judicial system, a process that started in 2019 and has been criticized by the EU as undermining judicial independence.

In contrast, the Civic Coalition bloc, headed by Donald Tusk, 66, a former president of the European Council and a former Polish prime minister, pledges to reverse the judicial amendments, safeguard media independence and protect civil liberties.

The Tusk coalition asserts that it will work to restore Poland’s international reputation as a democratic nation and rebuild its cooperative relationships within the EU, particularly with Germany, which has faced strong criticism from the current government in recent months.

Political battle ahead 

“It will be a very close run. The election result is extremely difficult to predict,” Jacek Kucharczyk, president of the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw, said in an interview with VOA. 

Tusk’s Civic Coalition trails the Law and Justice party by several percentage points in the polls, but Kucharczyk believes it has a chance to secure enough votes to form a parliamentary majority in partnership with other forces, like Poland’s New Left. 

Alternatively, he foresees “a coalition between the current ruling party, Law and Justice, and the far-right Confederation party” — an outcome that he believes “will likely result in further democratic backsliding in Poland.” 

Campaign strategist Sergiusz Trzeciak says it will be very challenging for either bloc to form a governing coalition “due to their differing platform positions.” 

He anticipates a protracted political struggle after the election, possibly leading to a new election. And bearing in mind that Poland will have local elections early next year and a presidential election later in 2025, “this is going to be a very difficult time for Polish politics.”

Ukraine factor 

A protracted internal political struggle could have adverse implications for Poland’s stance on Ukraine, as demonstrated in recent months with restrictions on agricultural products from Ukraine and rhetoric centered on protecting Polish farmers, an important voting bloc. 

“Initially, due to the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression, there was a rare moment of national unity in Poland, with widespread agreement on supporting Ukraine and against Russian aggression,” said Kucharczyk, the Institute of Public Affairs president.

But that consensus has eroded during this election campaign, and in Kucharczyk’s view, the Law and Justice party is adjusting its rhetoric, particularly on Ukraine, to fend off competition from the far-right Confederates, who are perceived as pro-Russian.

Additionally, there is a crisis in agricultural imports, especially grain deliveries in rural areas, which is influencing the ruling party’s messaging. 

Analysts say the majority of polls still show support for the effort to assist Ukraine, but recent political rhetoric has created a crack in Polish-Ukraine unity. “I am very, very relieved that Poles are fully aware that they still need to provide support to Ukraine,” Trzeciak said. 

Analysts assert that, when considering centuries of Polish suffering at the hands of Russia, it is highly unlikely that Poland would become pro-Russian, regardless of the election outcome.

From Euro enthusiasts to Euro realists 

EU-Polish relations could be the next casualty of political uncertainty, especially with the upcoming 2024 European Parliament elections. 

Poland, under the current ruling party, has had strained relations with the EU. On the one hand, EU funding has ensured a Polish economic revival. At the same time, the current political leadership in Warsaw is offended by criticism from Brussels toward its immigration policies and restrictions on civil liberties.

“Poles used to be Euro enthusiasts. Now they have become Euro realists, or sometimes even more and more people are simply Euroskeptic,” said Trzeciak, the campaign strategist. 

Kucharczyk says he believes the Polish election is of major significance for the entire EU bloc. He says the outcome will affect external EU policies like relations with Russia and Ukraine, as well as its internal cohesion based on values like democracy and the rule of law. 
…

Russian lawmakers will evaluate whether to revoke ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said Friday.

Vyacheslav Volodin’s statement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow could consider rescinding the ratification of the international pact, since the United States never ratified it.

“It conforms with our national interests,” Volodin said. “And it will come as a quid pro quo response to the United States, which has still failed to ratify the treaty.”

The 1996 treaty prohibiting “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world has been signed by 187 nations, but the U.S. and seven others haven’t ratified it.

“It would be concerning and deeply unfortunate if any state signatory were to reconsider its ratification of the CTBT,” Robert Floyd, chairman of the commission that promotes support for the treaty, said in a statement.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine.

Volodin said senior lawmakers would discuss recalling the 2000 ratification of the treaty at the next meeting of the agenda-setting house council. 

“Washington and Brussels have unleashed a war against our country,” Volodin said. “Today’s challenges require new decisions.”

Asked Friday if rescinding the ban could lead to the resumption of tests, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it doesn’t mean a statement about the intention to resume nuclear tests.”

Peskov noted that a possible move to revoke Russia’s ratification of the pact would “bring the situation to a common denominator” with the U.S.

Speaking Thursday at a forum with foreign affairs experts, Putin said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

“I’m not ready to say yet whether it’s necessary for us to conduct tests or not,” he said.

Kharkiv attacks

The U.N. and partners mobilized humanitarian assistance — including medical supplies and health support, shelter maintenance kits, nonfood items, cash and hygiene assistance — as well as mental health and psychosocial support after Russian strikes Thursday and Friday killed at least 54 civilians in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, said Denise Brown, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine.

“These are barbaric consequences of this war, that 20% of the community can be wiped out in seconds,” Brown said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A missile strike killed a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother Friday in the same region where at least 52 people, including a child, were killed Thursday.

Ukrainian officials bitterly condemned Thursday’s attack, which blew apart a cafe where a wake was being held.

The Associated Press reported that after the attack in the eastern village of Hroza, “body parts were strewn across a nearby children’s playground that was severely damaged by the strike.”

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov told the BBC, “One-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack.” 

“Today, Russian terrorists launched an attack that one can’t even call ‘beastly,’” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday night in his daily address, “because it would be an insult to beasts.”

‘Depravity’ of Russian forces

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC that the attack on Hroza “demonstrated the depths of depravity Russian forces are willing to sink to.”

The wake was being held for a soldier from Hroza who died last year. He was being reburied in his hometown.

Officials posted footage on the Telegram messaging app of rescue workers clambering through smoldering rubble. Bodies lay alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal.  

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said Thursday that it had destroyed 24 of 29 drones Russians launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.    

The Hroza attack occurred as Zelenskyy was in Spain lobbying Western allies at a summit of about 50 European leaders for more military assistance to thwart Russian aggression.

Ukraine defense aid 

Zelenskyy said in his daily address that there were now “clear agreements” with his European allies for more air defense systems, which would be “crucial as we approach winter.” He also said there were deals for more artillery and long-range weapons.   

Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last winter, leading to widespread power outages, effectively an attempt to demoralize Ukrainians during the coldest and darkest months of the year. Over time, the infrastructure was restored, but now Ukraine fears more infrastructure attacks are in the offing as winter approaches.

“The main challenge that we have is to save unity in Europe,” Zelenskyy told reporters as he arrived for talks in Granada.

Zelenskyy said it was important for Ukraine to have a “defending shield for the winter,” with Russia expected to carry out many attacks with missiles and Iranian drones.

He also cited what he said was 100% support from U.S. President Joe Biden as well as bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress, days after approval of a short-term funding deal that excluded additional aid for Ukraine.

Biden called key Western allies Tuesday to reassure them of continued American military support for Ukraine after a group of congressional Republicans forced the exclusion of immediate new funding for Kyiv in the spending bill.

The White House said Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Britain, the European Union and NATO, along with the foreign minister of France.

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

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. 

US Government to Resume Deportations to Venezuela

The Biden administration announced Thursday it will resume the deportation of migrants back to Venezuela in hopes of decreasing the numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. On a background call with reporters — a method often used by U.S. authorities to share information with reporters without being identified — Biden officials said Venezuelan nationals who cross into the United States unlawfully will still be processed. But if it is found they do not have a legal basis to remain in the country, they will be “swiftly removed” back to Venezuela. The U.S. has not carried out regular deportations to Venezuela for years. VOA’s Immigration reporter Aline Barros.

Biden Says He Can’t Stop New Border Barrier Plan

President Joe Biden said Thursday he was unable to legally divert money away from a plan to build several miles of new barriers along the southern border — directly contradicting his campaign vow to build “not another foot of wall” and drawing harsh criticism from Mexico’s president. A notice to allow construction in Texas was released Wednesday night in the Federal Register, the official U.S. government gazette. Story by VOA’s White House correspondent Anita Powell and VOA’s Immigration reporter Aline Barros.

UN Agency: US-Mexico Border, World’s Deadliest Land Crossing for Migrants

The U.S.-Mexico border is the world’s deadliest land migration route, according to the United Nations migration agency. The most recent report from the International Organization for Migration shows hundreds of people die each year attempting to get to the United States through the dangerous deserts. VOA’s Immigration reporter Aline Barros.

Chicago Keeps Hundreds of Migrants at Airports While Waiting on Shelters and Tents

Hidden behind a heavy black curtain in one of the nation’s busiest airports is Chicago’s unsettling response to a growing population of asylum-seekers arriving by plane. Hundreds of migrants, from babies to the elderly, live inside a shuttle bus center at O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 1. They sleep on cardboard pads on the floor and share airport bathrooms. A private firm monitors their movements. The Associated Press reports.

Migrants Being Raped at Mexico Border as They Await Entry to US  

When Carolina’s captors arrived at dawn to pull her out of the stash house in the Mexican border city of Reynosa in late May, she thought they were going to force her to call her family in Venezuela again to beg them to pay $2,000 ransom. Instead, one of the men shoved her onto a broken-down bus parked outside and raped her, she told Reuters. “It’s the saddest, most horrible thing that can happen to a person,” Carolina said. Reported by Reuters.

US Officials in Mexico to Discuss Fentanyl, Human Migration

Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were in Mexico for talks Wednesday with Mexican officials on the drug trade and a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border. Blinken will be joined by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. delegation is set to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Rosa Icela Rodriguez, secretary for Security and Citizen Protection. Reported by Rob Garver.

Immigration around the world

Reporter’s Notebook: The End of Artsakh

The dog’s ribs are visible and her owner’s skeletal shoulders poke through a gray sweater. The dog’s name is Chalo, essentially “Spot” in Armenian, and the owner, 69, tells us to call her Tamar. She is a refugee in Armenia and wants her real name withheld for security reasons. We meet her in a park hours after she arrives in Goris, Armenia, where workers staff humanitarian tents in the last days of September for the 100,000-plus people fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. By VOA’s Middle East correspondent Heather Murdock.

Pakistan to Begin Deportation of 1.7 Million Undocumented Afghans

Pakistan has ordered all undocumented immigrants, including 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by November 1, vowing mass deportations for those who stay. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar approved the plan Tuesday at a high-level meeting of his top civilian and military officials in Islamabad. Reported by Ayaz Gul and VOA Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman.

Afghans Seeking Refuge in Pakistan Face New Uncertainties

Pakistan has ordered all undocumented immigrants to leave voluntarily by November 1 or face deportation. The new order primarily affects Afghans, many of whom fled their country after the Taliban took over in August 2021. VOA Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman met with some Afghan women who once again are facing an uncertain future. VOA footage by Wajid Asad, Malik Waqar Ahmad and Wajid Shah.

New IOM Chief Seeks More Regular Pathways for Migration

On assuming her post as the new director general of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope said that one of her main priorities was to build more regular pathways for migration for people who have lost hope for a viable future and cannot stay home. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Ethiopian Entrepreneur Awarded for App That Helps Refugees Find Work

An Ethiopian digital app inventor has been given a prestigious award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for creating an application designed to link refugees with employers. Last week in New York, Eden Tadesse accepted a Goalkeepers Global Goals Award at a ceremony attended by Kenyan President William Ruto, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Bill and Melinda Gates, among others. Maya Misikir reports for VOA from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Pakistan Turns Up Heat Over Cross-Border Attacks

A senior Pakistani diplomat said Thursday that while the Taliban had brought peace and security to Afghanistan, increased terrorist attacks from the neighboring country threatened stability in Pakistan, putting strains on an already difficult bilateral relationship. Ayaz Gul reports for VOA from Islamabad, Pakistan.

VOA60 Africa — Hundreds of Thousands of South Sudanese Refugees Face Hunger

The World Food Program says hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese refugees fleeing Sudan’s five-month-long war are facing hunger, with 90% of families going days without meals. The fighting has forced out nearly 300,000 South Sudanese.

Taliban, Rights Groups Decry Pakistan’s Decision to Evict Afghan Immigrants

Afghanistan’s Taliban Wednesday urged Pakistan to review its plans to expel Afghan immigrants, rejecting charges the displaced community is involved in the security problems facing the neighboring country. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid released the statement a day after the Pakistani government ordered undocumented immigrants, including more than 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by November 1. Ayaz Gul reports for VOA from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Officials Describe ‘Surreal’ Scenes as Nagorno-Karabakh’s Aid, Health Crisis Grows

The unprecedented influx of more than 100,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia in less than a week has triggered a humanitarian and health crisis that will require a large-scale, longtime international effort and support to resolve, aid officials warned Tuesday. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Armenian Refugees Say No Hope of Return to Nagorno-Karabakh

Nearly the entire population of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have fled to Armenia, and the one-time residents of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh are scattered. But as VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Ishkhanasar and Kornidzor near the Armenia border with Azerbaijan, many fear the war that drove them out is not over. Camerman Yan Boechat contributed.

Lebanon Reacts to Surge in Migration from Syria 

Lebanon is pushing back on the European Union’s calls for the country to assist migrants and refugees from Syria. There are growing concerns that Lebanon’s collapsing economy is fueling anti-immigrant sentiment and putting the country on a dangerous course. Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, has accused Syrian refugees and migrants of committing crimes, taking away jobs from Lebanese and potentially creating a demographic imbalance along sectarian lines, saying their numbers must be “limited.” Produced by Dale Gavlak.

News brief

— U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Friday “the extension and redesignation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from December 8, 2023, through June 7, 2025, due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Cameroon that prevent individuals from safely returning.”
…

Ukrainian officials bitterly condemned a Russian attack Thursday that blew apart a café where a wake was being held, killing at least 51 people, including a child.

The Associated Press reported that after the attack in the eastern village of Hroza, “body parts were strewn across a nearby children’s playground that was severely damaged by the strike.”

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov told the BBC, “One-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack.”

“Today, Russian terrorists launched an attack that one can’t even call ‘beastly,’” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday night in his daily address, “because it would be an insult to beasts.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC that the attack on Hroza “demonstrated the depths of depravity Russian forces are willing to sink to.”

The wake was being held for a soldier from Hroza who died last year. He was being reburied in his hometown.

Officials posted footage on the Telegram messaging app of rescue workers clambering through smoldering rubble. Bodies lay alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said Thursday it destroyed 24 of 29 drones launched by Russian forces directed at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirohovrad regions.

The Hroza attack occurred as Zelenskyy was in Spain lobbying Western allies at a summit of about 50 European leaders for more military assistance to thwart Russia’s invasion.

Zelenskyy said in his daily address that there are now “clear agreements” with his European allies for more air defense systems which are “crucial as we approach winter.” He also said there are deals for more artillery and more long-range weapons.

Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure last winter, leading to widespread power outages, effectively an attempt to demoralize Ukrainians during the coldest and darkest months of the year. Over time, the infrastructure was restored, but now Ukraine fears more infrastructure attacks are in the offing as winter approaches.

“The main challenge that we have is to save unity in Europe,” Zelenskyy told reporters as he arrived for talks in Granada.

Zelenskyy said it is important for Ukraine to have a “defending shield for the winter” with Russia expected to carry out many attacks with missiles and Iranian drones.

He also cited what he said was 100% support from U.S. President Joe Biden as well as bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress, days after a short-term funding deal that excluded additional aid for Ukraine.

Biden called key Western allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued American military support for Ukraine after a group of congressional Republicans forced the exclusion of immediate new funding for Kyiv.

The White House said Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Britain, and of the European Union and NATO, along with the foreign minister of France.

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

U.S. future funding for Ukraine was up in the air Thursday, as the Biden administration discussed how best to support Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders without a House speaker to bring Ukraine aid packages to a vote. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports.
…

Almost 50 European leaders used a summit in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Thursday to stress that they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears weakened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that besides maintaining such unity, more military aid to get through the winter was essential. 

Despite the political, economic and military support, the desperate struggle to rid Ukraine territory of invading Russian forces has ground to a stalemate, and Zelenskyy insisted that it was no time for wavering in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin – especially now that questions about continued support are growing in the United States, too. 

“Europe must be strong” despite what happens in other places like the United States, Zelenskyy said, calling on the leaders to provide for more air defense systems, artillery shells, long-range missiles and drones. 

He said that victory or defeat in Ukraine would determine the fate of all of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron seized upon the view and insisted that even if U.S. President Joe Biden had this week reassured everyone that Washington’s commitment remained strong, it was first and foremost for Europe to act. 

“Even if we are lucky to have such a committed American partner, we ourselves have to be totally committed, because this is in our immediate neighborhood,” Macron said. 

Yet, even if the European Union promised Thursday to continue its support for Kyiv, it could never replace Washington’s contribution if funds were to dry up there, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said. “Certainly we can do more. But the U.S. is something irreplaceable for the support of Ukraine.” 

That was a worry lingering over the third meeting of the European Political Community forum, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that drastically reset the continent’s political agenda and fundamentally undermined long-held beliefs on peace and stability on the continent. 

Support from Europe has become all the more important after the U.S. Congress hastily sent Biden legislation over the weekend that kept the federal government funded, but left off billions in funding for Ukraine’s war effort that the White House had vigorously backed. 

Biden called other world powers on Tuesday to coordinate on Ukraine in a deliberate show of U.S. support at a time when the future of its aid is questioned by an important faction of Republicans who want to cut off money to Kyiv. 

“Everybody is looking at the situation with obviously a lot of vigilance,” said Macron. 

Europe, too, has to deal with its doubters. 

Last weekend’s election in Slovakia, where pro-Russia candidate Robert Fico was the big winner, and Hungary’s continued recalcitrance to fully back Ukraine have cast increasing shadows on Europe’s commitment. That counts especially for the European Union, where many decisions on Ukraine need unanimity among the bloc’s 27 members. 

In Slovakia early this week, the president refused a plan by her country’s caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine, saying it doesn’t have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last week’s election. 

“The main challenge that we have,” Zelenskyy said, “is to save unity in Europe.” 

On Thursday, though, the overall mood was supportive. Like most leaders, summit host and Spanish caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stood firmly behind Ukraine and offered Zelenskyy a new package of anti-aircraft and anti-drone systems and training for Ukrainian soldiers to use them. 

And Zelenskyy said after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Berlin “is working on” providing Ukraine with another Patriot air defense system, to be operational within months. 

Zelenskyy insisted that Putin’s attempts to divide the West would not cease. 

“Russia will attack by information, disinformation, by fakes, et cetera,” he said. 

Talks were held just as news came in of a Russian rocket striking a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 51 civilians, in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months. 

The contrast could hardly be greater when the leaders attended a royal dinner hosted by Spain’s King Felipe VI at Granada’s famed Moorish Alhambra Palace, with its refined halls and gardens known for their fountains and decorative pools.
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The first shipment of Russian uranium was officially delivered Thursday to Bangladesh to fuel the nation’s only nuclear power plant, currently under construction.

The uranium has been in Bangladesh since late last month but was officially handed over to Bangladesh authorities in a ceremony attended via video link by Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Construction of the plant, called Rooppur, has been carried out by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, and funded by Moscow. Bangladesh received an $11.38 billion loan from Russia for the project, to be paid back over two decades beginning in 2027. The loan financed 90% of the construction.

Rooppur is the first of two plants set to be constructed in Bangladesh with the help of Rosatom.

Once completed, Bangladesh will become the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear power.

Upon completion, Rooppur is set to produce 2,400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 15 million homes, and according to Putin, it will be responsible for 10% of Bangladesh’s energy consumption.

Russia is currently facing sanctions and other obstacles because of its invasion of Ukraine.

However, Sergey Lavrov, who became the first Russian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh since its 1971 independence, assured the South Asian nation that the project would be completed on time.

The traditionally good relationship between Bangladesh and Russia has not been weakened since the invasion of Ukraine, and the two countries have signed several agreements to work together to establish a nuclear power industry in Bangladesh.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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The Belarus Red Cross says it is examining a call by the international Red Cross to fire its chief, who made headlines earlier this year for bragging that his organization was ferrying children from Russian-occupied Ukraine to Belarus.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva said Wednesday it wants Dzmitry Shautsou ousted for violating its rules on neutrality and integrity. He was seen in occupied cities of the Donbas region in a military uniform with the “Z” insignia of Russian forces and said he favored deployment of nuclear arms in Belarus.

Yulia Sytenkova, a spokeswoman for the Belarus Red Cross, said Shautsou was re-elected as its head September 7 at a special congress where “the majority of members of the Belarusian organization expressed confidence in him.”

Belarusian TV on Thursday aired images of authorities in the Belarusian city of Novopolotsk showing a recently arrived group of Ukrainian children to foreign diplomats. Ukrainian officials and human rights groups have decried the transfers as illegal removals, and it is not clear whether they were carried out with the consent of the children’s parents or legal guardians.

The children arrived in Belarus on September 19, and included 44 from the eastern Ukrainian cities of Lysychansk and Sevierodonetsk. The cities have been occupied since July 2022 and sit near the current front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine over 19 months ago.

The head of the government of Novopolotsk, Dzmitry Dziamidau, said another group of children had previously arrived in the city — and both were brought in “to tear children away from the horrors of war.”

One girl, identified as 11-year-old Polina Snihurska, said she was enrolled at a Belarusian school. Belarusian authorities did not specify whether the children were orphans or had guardians in Ukraine.

The two-day visit by diplomats included envoys from former Soviet republics plus China, India, Syria and Mozambique, Belarusian officials said. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry urged diplomats not to take part in the “propaganda trip.”

Both the Belarus Red Cross and international Red Cross in recent days have said the Belarus chapter wasn’t involved in the transfers of children from Ukraine. The Red Cross and local officials said a charity founded by Belarusian Paralympic athlete Alexei Talai, which has government support, conducted the transfers.

But a report aired in July by state Belarus 1 TV channel showed Shautsou visiting Lysychansk and saying the Belarus Red Cross was taking “an active part” in the transfers, which he said were designed for “health improvement” purposes.

The international Red Cross said Wednesday its board has given the Belarus chapter until November 30 to dismiss Shautsou or else it will suspend the branch and recommend that all affiliates halt new partnerships and funding for it.

Sytenkova, the Belarus Red Cross spokeswoman, said it was studying the decision “and a reaction will soon follow.”

The Belarusian opposition has called for President Alexander Lukashenko and all others involved in the removal of children from Ukraine to be brought to justice over the transfers.

Opposition leader Pavel Latushka, a former government minister, has said he has handed over to the International Criminal Court documents proving that there have been illegal transfers of Ukrainian children to Belarus.

“Alexander Lukashenko, members of his family, as well as people close to him organized a system of removing children — in particular, orphans — from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus,” Latushka told The Associated Press.

“The main purpose of sending these children to Belarus is their ideological indoctrination in accordance with the narratives of the ‘Russian world,'” he said.

Latushka said at least 2,100 Ukrainian children aged 6 to 15 years were transferred from over a dozen Ukrainian cities to Belarus between September 2022 and May of this year.

Belarus has been Moscow’s closest ally since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Lukashenko allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday that the detonation of hand grenades inside the aircraft, not a missile attack, caused the August plane crash that killed Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash,” Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The Russian leader said the head of Russia’s crash investigative committee reported to him a few days ago on its findings.

“There was no external impact on the plane — this is already an established fact,” Putin said, seemingly rejecting assertions by unidentified U.S. officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down.

Some Western officials have suggested that Putin ordered the killing of Prigozhin, whose mercenaries fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine, after the Wagner Group leader led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin in late June.

Thousands of Prigozhin’s troops subsequently settled in Belarus, although more recently several hundred have returned to the front lines in Ukraine to resume fighting for Russia.

Prigozhin traveled freely in Russia before the August 23 crash that killed him, two other top Wagner figures, four bodyguards and a crew of three.

Putin gave no details on how a grenade or grenades could have been detonated on the plane. He faulted investigators for not having carried out alcohol and drug tests on the crash victims given that quantities of cocaine had been found in the past in Wagner’s office in St. Petersburg.

Some material in this report came from Reuters.
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More than 100-thousand Russian citizens – many of them young people – have gone to Armenia to flee President Vladimir Putin’s repression or avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine, an exile that many of them believed was temporary but is starting to look permanent. Ricardo Marquina has this report from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff.
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As is the case in Italy, Greece is facing new wave of illegal immigration, and as it boosts measures to contain the influx, the government is now pressing its European Union partners to join forces in deporting migrants back to their countries. Greece is expected to raise the proposal at a meeting of national leaders in Spain this week but mustering an agreement among the EU’s 27 members may be difficult.

Greek migration minister Dimitris Keridis revealed the proposal as the government in Athens grows “wary and concerned,” as he put it, of a new migration crisis. 

Concerns have mounted as the number of illegal immigrants arriving in Greece has risen to 31,000 this year, up from 18,000 for all of 2022.

This comes nearly a decade after Europe’s poorest state saw more than a million, mainly Syrian, refugees stream through its frontiers and into the heart of Europe, in the biggest migratory push to the West since World War II.

While nearly 680,000 migrants have been legalized since 2021, Keridis said about 60,000 migrants remain in the country illegally. He said their numbers continue to grow because countries such as Pakistan and Iran refuse to accept their nationals back in forced deportations.

He said the EU as a whole has to demand that these countries take back these illegal migrants, or else face sanctions.

Keridis did not say what such punitive measures may include, but he said it was imperative for what he called an EU deportation mechanism to be set up. Failure to do so, he said, would effectively allow human traffickers already pushing countless droves of illegal migrants to the West to take the EU and its migration policies “hostage,” as he put it.

It would also endanger Europe’s bid to help and safeguard refugees in need, Keridis said.

It is imperative, the minister said, for refugees to be distinguished from illegal migrants because if all of them end up staying, it will create such a crisis that it could ultimately lead to Europe’s closure of all its borders, thus failing to protect true refugees escape wars and persecution.

Like Greece, Italy and Spain have been facing rising illegal migration in recent months. And while Europe’s already restrictive approach to immigration has come under human rights groups’ fire, the EU agreed Wednesday to adopt a new list of what it called “crisis regulations measures,” to deal with periods of exceptionally high migrant arrivals.

Immigration, though, has Europe largely divided, and ahead of EU elections next year many right-wing parties in countries such as Italy, Hungary, Poland and Germany have made the issue central to their polices, demanding more restrictions. 

Whether the EU will adopt Greece’s call for sanctions remains unclear.

Until then, Keridis said, the Greek government will not remain idle.

A recent thawing of tense relations between long-time foes Greece and Turkey has both sides now working together on a deal that would revive and revise a landmark agreement hatched at the height of Europe’s 2016 migration crisis. The deal aims to crack down on human smugglers and contain illegal flows of migration from Turkey’s massive pool of 4 million refugees and migrants.

He said, the bigger issue at stake for Greece is not to lose this momentum and drive for concrete results, but also not to allow Italy to monopolize all the focus on illegal migration. A decade after two shipwrecks off Italy’s Lapendusa took the lives of hundreds of migrants, similar tragedies have followed, with the region once again at the center of a new European refugee crisis. If Italy manages to its block paths of migrant entries to Europe, he said, we will see an explosion of entries to Greece.

Greece and Turkey are aiming to have a separate migration deal ready by early December.
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Ukraine’s military said Thursday it destroyed 24 drones launched by Russian forces overnight.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia sent a total of 29 drones in attacks directed at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirohovrad regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend a meeting of European leaders in Spain on Thursday as he seeks more support for his military, including air defense systems.

Zelenskyy said ahead of the meeting that Ukraine is doing its best to boost its air defenses ahead of the coming winter season.

“We are expecting certain decisions from our partners,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

U.S. President Joe Biden called key Western allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued American military support for Ukraine after a group of congressional Republicans forced the exclusion of immediate new funding for Kyiv.

The White House said Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Britain, and of the European Union and NATO, along with the foreign minister of France.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Biden reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United States to supporting Ukraine as it defends itself “for as long as it takes, as did every other leader on the call.”

Kirby said the leaders discussed efforts to continue providing Ukraine with the ammunition and the weapons systems that it needs to defend itself and to continue strengthening Ukrainian air defenses as they prepare for more attacks on critical infrastructure. “Now, certainly, but also certainly in the winter months ahead,” Kirby said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military command said that it has sent about 1.1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine that American naval forces seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last year as Tehran tried to transfer the ammunition to Houthi fighters in Yemen in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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NATO’s most senior military official has warned that European ammunition stocks are running short – as the West continues to send large amounts of military aid to Ukraine to fend off invading Russian forces. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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NATO’s most senior military official has warned that European ammunition stocks are running short as the West continues to send large amounts of military aid to Ukraine to fend off invading Russian forces.  

Admiral Rob Bauer, who chairs the NATO Military Committee, said Europe needed to ramp up production as the war enters its 20th month.   

“We now give away weapons systems to Ukraine, which is great, and ammunition — but not from full warehouses. We started to give away from half full or lower warehouses in Europe. And therefore, the bottom of the barrel is now visible, and we need the industry to ramp up production in a much higher tempo. We need large volumes,” Bauer told delegates Wednesday at the Warsaw Security Forum, adding that political leaders needed to act faster.   

“We need the continued support from the political level because it’s not only the money, it is also the actions in the nations that lead to more readier forces and the capabilities we need,” Bauer said. “And if you actually see that in the seven years before the war, the [defense] budgets went up already, but the industry did not increase the production capacity. And that has led to higher prices already before the war.”

Forces fire thousands daily 

Ukrainian forces are firing several thousand artillery shells every day at invading Russian forces, with much of the ammunition supplied by Kyiv’s Western allies. NATO member states also have given Kyiv tanks, armored vehicles, missile and air defense systems and an array of other military hardware. 

The European Union, Britain and the United States have outlined plans to ramp up weapons production. The EU earlier this year allocated $2.2 billion for the joint procurement and delivery of up to an additional 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine by early 2024, and an additional $550 million to urgently boost EU defense industry capacities in ammunition production. 

Simultaneously replenishing stockpiles — and supplying Ukraine — will require clearer signals from Western political leaders, said analyst Simona Soare of Britain’s Lancaster University, a former EU defense adviser. 

“Efforts from a budgetary point of view, from a procurement point of view, that allies have made individually and jointly, are still not on par with the level of the demand,” Soare told VOA. “It all starts with that absolutely clear demand signal that comes from our political and military leadership towards our industry to engage in this effort jointly. And I believe that there is a lot more that can be done from that level to communicate that this effort is not a temporary surge, but rather it’s a sustained, potentially longer-term effort.”  

Pentagon warns US leaders

In a letter to congressional leaders this week, the Pentagon warned it is running low on money to replace weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine. 

According to The Associated Press, Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told House and Senate leaders there is $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been flowing to Kyiv and urged them to replenish funding. 

The United States has given an estimated $46.6 billion in military aid to Kyiv since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. The U.S. Congress passed a last-minute stopgap funding bill September 30 to avert a government shutdown, but it did not include any new aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden has vowed to continue American support for Kyiv. 

Meanwhile, the EU has given almost $27 billion, and Britain an estimated $7 billion in military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. 

Boosting weapons production takes time, Soare said. 

“It takes on average between two and four years to set up a new production line for high-intensity military equipment that you need in Ukraine,” Soare told VOA. “Same thing goes for munitions. We’re talking about hundreds, potentially thousands of people who need to have very, very niche skill sets to be employed in this undertaking.”

Soare added that Europe must diversify its supply chains for the crucial raw materials needed to produce modern weapons. 

“There are significant and long-standing dependencies on single providers for some of these absolutely critical rare earths, for instance, which now go at astronomical prices,” she said. “And that impacts on the affordability side of the war effort.”
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Pope Francis has opened a synod – or meeting of Roman Catholic bishops from all over the world – that, this time, includes lay people and women. A number of thorny issues are on the agenda over the next few weeks – all behind closed doors.

With a solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday, Pope Francis formally opened a four-week meeting that gathers 365 select members with voting rights, including lay people and not just bishops. It will also see women voting for the first time.

No binding decisions will be made, but controversial topics are up for discussion at the closed-door meeting, held in Vatican City’s Paul the Sixth Hall. They include the role of ordinary Catholics – including women – in decision-making processes; whether priests should be allowed to marry; and the church’s teachings on divorce and LGBTQ issues.

The theme of the meeting is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.”

Commentators say it is likely to expose deep divisions between liberals and conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church.

In his homily at Wednesday’s Mass, Pope Francis said church leaders at the gathering “do not need a purely natural vision, made up of human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles.”

The pope added: “We are not here to carry out a parliamentary meeting or a plan of reformation. The synod, he said, is not a parliament.”

Before the start of discussions, five conservative cardinals called on Pope Francis to reaffirm the church’s doctrine on same-sex couples and the ordination of women. In a letter, they presented five questions and expressed their concern that some in church leadership are no longer proposing sound doctrine but “teachings according to their own likings.”

In a written response, the pontiff steered away from providing the yes-no answers the cardinals requested and observers say he appeared to be open to the possibility of blessing same-sex couples.

The 86-year-old pontiff said that “we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude.” He wrote, “Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage.”

At Wednesday’s Mass, Pope Francis said the synod aims to reaffirm “a church that looks mercifully at humanity,” and is “united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a church that blesses and encourages.”

Ahead of the meeting, Vatican officials said no media would be allowed and attendees were instructed to not speak to reporters about the discussions.
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When members of a tourist group did not like the food in the only restaurant in Turkey’s ancient city of Mardin in 2000, their tour guide, Ebru Baybara Demir, invited them to her home for dinner. That decision created a whole new life and career for Demir. VOA’s Mahmut Bozarslan has this report from Mardin, narrated by Begum Donmez Ersoz.
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A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 15 meters (50 feet) from an elevated road in Venice, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite.

Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least five Ukrainians, one German citizen and the man who was driving the bus, according to the Venice prefecture.

At least two of the dead were children, Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said, adding that many of the people involved in the accident were “young.” Nine people were in critical condition, hospital officials said Wednesday morning, including a 3-year-old girl from Ukraine.

Firefighters worked until dawn Wednesday to clear the wreckage. Later in the morning, traffic was slowly passing the spot where the bus burst through a guardrail and a rusted fence.

The accident scene drew the attention of passersby. A couple of locals said that the overpass was more than 60 years old and that nothing similar had ever happened there, while a man wearing a biker jacket stopped his motorcycle to tie a bouquet of plastic flowers to a post.

The bus was carrying foreign tourists from Venice’s Piazzale Roma to the Hu campground on Tuesday evening when it fell from an elevated street next to railway tracks in the borough of Mestre, catching fire. Tourists frequently stay in boroughs across the lagoon from the canals of Venice’s famous historic center to find cheaper accommodations.

The injured included French, Spanish, Austrian and Croatian nationals, local officials said. The Spanish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that two people from Spain were injured in the accident, and both were hospitalized and in good condition.

The French Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that there was a French national among the injured. Hospital psychologists were working to help the victims deal with the trauma.

The Italian driver, Alberto Rizzotto, was killed in the crash. Venice city councilor Renato Boraso said that Rizzotto was an experienced driver, and that local prosecutors are investigating if he felt ill.

Veneto region’s governor Luca Zaia said on Wednesday that the dynamic of the accident remained hard to decipher. “Everything makes one think of an illness,” Zaia said. “The driver was an expert, a good person, very well referenced.”

Rescuers noted that the fact that the bus was electric contributed to the massive fire and made rescue operations more difficult.

Godstime Erheneden was in his apartment near the site when he heard the crash. He rushed outside and was among the first to enter the bus.

“When we went in, we saw the driver right away. He was dead. I carried a woman out on my shoulders, then a man,” Erheneden told the local newspaper il Gazzettino.

“The woman was screaming, ‘my daughter, my daughter,’ and I went back in. I saw this girl who must have been 2 years old. I have a son who is a year and 10 months old, and they are the same size. I felt like I was holding my son in my arms. It was terrible. I don’t know if she survived. I thought she was alive but when the rescuers arrived, they took her away immediately,” Erheneden said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the scene was “apocalyptic” and declared a state of mourning.

In 2017, 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona. And in 2013, 40 people were killed in one of Italy’s worst vehicle accidents when a bus plunged off a viaduct close to the southern city of Avellino.
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Emergency services on the Spanish Canary Islands said Wednesday that more than 500 migrants have reached there in four large wooden boats this week.

One of the boats was carrying 280 migrants, the islands’ emergency service said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The state news agency EFE says it was the largest number in a single boat since human traffickers began to regularly use the Canary Island route in 1994.

Spanish Red Cross coordinator José Antonio Rodríguez Verona told The Associated Press he had not seen so many people in one boat since 2008, when 234 arrived in a single vessel.

Only five of the migrants needed medical treatment on arrival at the small port of La Restinga on the southern tip of Hierro Island.

Hundreds of other migrants were intercepted trying to reach other islands in the archipelago, located off the northwest coast of Africa, and elsewhere on mainland Spain in recent days.

Spain’s Interior Ministry says nearly 15,000 migrants reached the Canary Islands by boat from Jan 1 to Sept 30, 2023. That’s a 20% increase from the same period last year. Most departed from Senegal.
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This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced Wednesday in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. 

The announcement will be made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the Physics prize Tuesday to three nuclear scientists for their individual experiments in “exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules.”

The academy said Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier “have demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.”

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was shared by Americans Carolyn R. Bertozzi and Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldal of Denmark for their work in advancing the field of so-called click chemistry, described by the academy as a functional and simple form of chemistry “in which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently.”

The Nobel announcements began Monday with the prize in Medicine going to Hungary’s Kataline Kariko and Drew Weissman of the United States for their joint research that led to the rapid development of the mRNA COVID vaccines.

The recipients of the literature and peace prizes will be announced Thursday and Friday, respectively, with the final prize for economic sciences to be announced next Monday.

All the categories except economics were established in the will of 19th century Swedish businessman Alfred Nobel, who made a fortune with his invention of dynamite.

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after his death.

The economics prize was established in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank Sveriges Riksbank in Nobel’s memory, with the first laureates, Norway’s Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen of the Netherlands, announced the next year.
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The White House says a recent high-level call “reaffirmed the strong partnership between South Africa and the United States” — a move that analysts said Tuesday improves what has long been a tense relationship, marred by a public diplomatic spat and Pretoria’s reluctance to disengage from Russia.

In a readout issued late Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he spoke by phone to his South African counterpart, Sydney Mufamadi, and that the two “recommitted to advance shared priorities including trade and investment, infrastructure, health, and climate.”

Sullivan also thanked South Africa for hosting an upcoming high-level meeting on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows duty-free U.S. market access and expires in 2025. South Africa is one of the program’s top beneficiaries, and congressional Democrats and Republicans had suggested that South Africa be excluded from this year’s forum over the diplomatic dust-up.

Four different analysts told VOA that Monday’s call between the two national security advisers makes clear that the diplomatic disagreement has been laid to rest and that the two are redefining their relationship.

“Overall,” said Ebenezer Obadare, a Nigerian American academic who follows the continent at the Council on Foreign Relations, “Pretoria seems to have emerged from this a little bit stronger and Washington with some egg on its face.”

The tale of Lady R

The two nations have been on the outs since May, when the U.S. ambassador publicly accused South Africa of secretly supplying arms and ammunition to Russia, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

That prompted Pretoria to call him in for a dressing-down, and for President Cyril Ramaphosa to launch an investigation into the saga behind the Russian cargo ship Lady R, which docked near Cape Town in late 2022 and was unloaded in the dead of night. The vessel was under U.S. sanctions and had been turned away for that reason when it attempted to dock at another port.

In May, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety described the situation as “fundamentally unacceptable” and said, “We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel, and I would bet my life on the accuracy of that assertion.”

South Africa’s investigation into the matter wrapped up last month. The government’s summary of the classified report said the ship was carrying unspecified equipment meant for South Africa’s military and that “despite some rumors that some equipment or arms were loaded on the ship, the panel found no evidence to substantiate those claims.”

The incident deepened a divide between the two: South Africa was among the 35 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The Moscow-Pretoria friendship traces back decades, because the Soviet Union supported the then-banned African National Congress (ANC), which has led the nation since it abandoned racist minority rule and became a democracy in 1994. The two are among the five BRICS nations — the bloc that also includes Brazil, India and China.

What now?

Obadare said South Africa’s status — the democratic stalwart is also a continental mining, banking and telecoms leader — means Washington feels “it has no choice but to commit to the relationship for the long term. Washington no doubt resents Pretoria’s continued dealings with Russia, but it is significant that it cannot afford to walk away. The South African leadership also knows this.”

Joshua Meservey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said Washington comes out “looking confused and probably timid.”

“South Africa escapes with its AGOA access intact, and the ANC doesn’t now face the prospect of yet another economic blow before elections next year,” he said, adding: “It appears that Washington has meekly accepted the findings of South Africa’s Lady R investigation that exonerated itself.

“That means that either the intelligence that Brigety cited was bad, or that he was freelancing — neither of which is likely, given how publicly and forcefully he made the claims. So, it seems that the U.S. is merely rolling over on an egregious provocation.”

But will any of this make South Africa sway from its nonaligned stance on Ukraine? From Johannesburg, governance and diplomacy researcher Isabel Bosman told VOA that seems unlikely and that Ramaphosa will continue to push for an African-brokered peace plan.

“Nonalignment is a vital component of South Africa’s foreign policy, and its importance in the context of the African Peace Initiative on the Ukraine-Russia war should not be overlooked,” Bosman said.

“The patching up of South Africa’s relationship with the U.S. will not go unnoticed in Moscow. It will be interesting to see if any counterproposals to any U.S. offers on the indicated shared objectives between the U.S. and South Africa come from Russia.”

Meservey predicted that the relationship will remain trade- and investment-focused “because there is little prospect of convergence on foreign policy issues. The ANC’s ideals and values are fundamentally misaligned with the U.S.’s on foreign policy, and until that changes, or until the ANC no longer sets the foreign policy direction for South Africa, the U.S. and South Africa won’t be close diplomatic partners.”

But the diplomatic dust-up, said Michael Walsh, a senior fellow who researches South Africa at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, made an important point: “It did make people in the U.S. realize that South Africa is a country that matters, and we need to pay attention to it.”

VOA also reached out to South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Clayson Monyela seeking comment, but he did not reply. 
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