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A years-old piece of draft legislation that seeks to criminalize the spread of disinformation is moving toward a vote in the Turkish parliament. The bill is being met with deep concern by media rights groups across the country.

If passed, the so-called “disinformation” law put forward by ruling majority parliamentarians would carry a sentence of up to three years in prison for the spread of fake new or disinformation as defined by government officials.

Newly drafted proposals are laid out across 40 articles, including some that would target social media users and regulate digital media. If passed, the bill would consider digital media outlets as conventional media and subject them to the same rights and regulations as print and broadcast outlets, including the eligibility to apply for press cards and provisions around access to state advertising revenue.

Skeptics of the proposed law say the bill could be used to pressure digital media before the upcoming elections in Turkey. The next presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 2023, but the opposition parties are calling for snap elections, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected.

“We are concerned that if this bill becomes law before the elections, it will be used as a tool of silencing,” Faruk Eren, head of the press union of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, told VOA. “There are vague terms such as ‘fake news and false news’ in the bill. The government already calls every news that disturbs it [a] ‘lie’ or ‘unfounded.’ Now they will try to silence the digital media by using this law.”

The proposal’s signatories, however, say that the bill is needed to protect people from “slander, insults, smears, defamation, hatred and discrimination.” They also argue that such regulations on disinformation are enforced by Western countries, including the United States and European countries.

“Similar regulations are being implemented in Europe,” Mahir Unal, parliamentary group deputy chairman for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said in a nationally televised interview.

Turkey already has a poor record for media rights, ranking 149 out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders’s (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, where No. 1 is freest. In the report, Paris-based RSF describes Turkey as a country in which “all possible means are used to undermine critics.”

More press cards, more potential violations

Some observers call parts of the bill a step in the right direction for press freedoms in Turkey, such as granting digital reporters eligibility to apply for press cards, which have been a controversial issue in Turkey.

RSF and the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists say the Turkish government has politicized the press card issuance process — which has been run by the presidential communications directorate since 2018 — and discriminated against independent journalists.

“One of the most important regulations in this proposal is considering digital media as conventional media and enabling them to apply for press cards,” Mustafa Gokhan Teksen, an Ankara-based lawyer, told VOA. “This would provide the opportunity of job security for journalists in digital media.”

On the other hand, Teksen said other articles in the bill propose new offenses in the Turkish penal code.

Yaman Akdeniz, a cyberlaw professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, thinks that subjecting digital and conventional media to the same guidelines looks good on paper but, in reality, it comes with specific punitive regulations.

“Not only will decisions to block access and remove content be sent to news websites, but also there will be applications like rebuttal in the press law,” Akdeniz told VOA.

Another section seen as troubling by media rights analysts is Article 29, which allows for jail sentences of up to three years for those who “disseminate misleading information to the public” that disturbs public order and “creates fear and panic.”

The proposed article includes language referring to Turkey’s foreign and domestic security, along with issues of public order and health.

Akdeniz is concerned that Article 29 defines the violations too broadly, such that the language could be exploited against dissidents, media outlets and journalists if the bill becomes the law.

“We are entering a period where we will see more self-censorship due to the expansion of a pre-existing environment of fear with vague definitions,” Akdeniz said. “We will see that investigation of crime will be opened against media outlets because of their coverage, and journalists will be prosecuted for disinformation crimes.”

Social media

The bill also recommends restrictions and penalties for social media companies and individual users deemed to have spread disinformation, with expanded sentences for those who do so anonymously.

Under Article 34, social media companies will be required to appoint representatives holding Turkish citizenship and residing in the country. The representatives will be required to follow legally binding content removal requests and hand over personal data about users. Failure to do could result in “bans, fines and even prison sentences for international companies.”

Akdeniz says that a separate social media law passed in 2020 paved the way for Article 34.

“Back then, [critics of the law warned] social media platforms, ‘Don’t open offices in Turkey; if you give [the Turkish government] an inch, it will take a yard.’ Now, this looks like it is happening,” Akdeniz said.

If the bill becomes the law, Akdeniz said, “social media platforms that do not comply with these regulations would be punished” and possibly face state-backed bandwidth restrictions.

Article 22 covers access to state advertising revenue, including the Press Advertising Agency’s powers to issue penalties and control the appeals process.

Critics say a proposal in Article 22 that allows advertising penalties to be issued without trial, regardless of the appeals process, is particularly threatening for opposition newspapers.

The proposed bill, which passed parliament’s digital media commission with minor changes on June 2, is currently being examined by the justice commission.

The bill is expected to go up for a vote later this month.

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.
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Russia and China on Friday unveiled the first road bridge between the two countries as Moscow pivots to Asia amid its confrontation with the West over Ukraine.

The kilometer-long bridge over the Amur River links the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with Heihe in northern China.

The construction of the bridge was completed two years ago but its inauguration was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

During a ceremony in Blagoveshchensk on Friday, the bridge opened to freight traffic, with the passage of the first trucks greeted by fireworks.

Consisting of two traffic lanes, the bridge cost around 19 billion rubles ($328 million), according to official figures. 

Once bitter foes during the Cold War, Moscow and Beijing have over the past years ramped up political and economic cooperation as both are driven by a desire to counterbalance what they see as US global dominance.

Trade between Russia and China, which share a 4,250-kilometre border, has flourished since the normalization of relations between the two giants in the late 1980s, but has always come up against the region’s lack of transport infrastructure. 
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The European Central Bank will raise interest rates next month for the first time in 11 years and add another hike in September, catching up with other central banks worldwide as they pivot from supporting the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic to squelching soaring inflation. 

The surprise move Thursday marks a turning point after years of extremely low interest rates but faces risks from weakening prospects for economic growth. Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent shock waves through the global economy, particularly as energy prices have soared and clobbered Europe, which relies on Russian oil and natural gas. 

“Russia’s unjustified aggression towards Ukraine continues to weigh on the economy in Europe and beyond,” bank President Christine Lagarde told reporters. The war is “disrupting trade, is leading to shortages of materials and is contributing to high energy and commodity prices.” 

The bank’s 25-member monetary policy council, which met in Amsterdam, said inflation had become a “major challenge” and that those forces had “broadened and intensified” in the 19 countries that use the euro currency. Consumer prices rose by a record 8.1% in May. The bank’s target is 2%. 

The ECB will first end its bond purchases that buoy the economy and then raise rates by a quarter-point in July. It left open the possibility that it would make a more drastic, half-percentage-point increase in September, saying that if the inflation outlook persists or deteriorates, “a larger increment will be appropriate.” 

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a half-point May 4 and has held out the prospect of more of those larger increases. The Bank of England has approved rate hikes four times since December. 

The bar to a half-point hike in September “has been set very low,” said Marc Ostwald, chief economist and global strategist at ADM Investor Services International. 

How far the bank will go after that is harder to tell, said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING bank. 

“Simply put, the ECB just announced the end of a long era,” Brzeski said. “Whether this will also be the start of a new era of continuously rising interest rates, however, is still far from certain.” 

The prospect of rapid increases has sent shudders through stock markets, as higher rates would raise the returns on less risky alternatives to stocks and can make credit more expensive for businesses. Lagarde said, however, that the path of increases would be “gradual but sustained” after September. 

“High inflation is a major challenge for all of us,” the bank said in a policy statement. “The governing council will make sure that inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term.” 

By raising its benchmarks, the bank can influence what financial institutions, companies, consumers and governments have to pay to borrow the money they need. So higher rates can help cool off an overheating economy. 

But higher rates can also weigh on economic growth, making the ECB’s job a delicate balance between snuffing out high inflation and not blunting economic activity. 

The ECB slashed its growth projection for this year to 2.8% from 3.7%. It raised its outlook for inflation, saying price increases would average 6.8% this year, up from 5.1% in its March forecast. 

The bank also increased its crucial inflation forecast for 2024 — to 2.1% from 1.9%. That is significant because it indicates the bank sees inflation as above target for several years, a strong argument for more rate increases. 

The euro’s exchange rate to the dollar jumped by almost a half-cent, to $1.076, after the decision. Higher rates can increase demand for investments denominated in a currency, boosting its exchange rate. The sudden jump indicates the bank had gone further than expected in announcing rate rises. 

An ECB’s move to attack inflation has raised concerns about the impact of higher interest rates on heavily indebted governments, most notably Italy. The bank announced no new support measures that could help such countries, saying only that it would respond with flexibility if some parts of the eurozone were facing excessive borrowing costs. 

The rate hikes end an era of persistently low rates that started during the global financial crisis, which broke out in 2008. The increases will start from record lows of zero for the ECB’s lending rate to banks and minus 0.5% on overnight deposits from banks. 
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Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO remains in question ahead of the alliance’s summit this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hardening his opposition on their joining, accusing the two countries of supporting terrorists. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Three foreign men have been sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine who say the men fought for Ukrainian forces.

The two British citizens and a Moroccan were found guilty by a court that is not internationally recognized in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic of fighting for Ukraine and of being mercenaries and therefore not covered by traditional prisoner of war protections.

Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti, identified the three as Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim.

Pinner and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port of Mariupol in mid-April, while Brahim did so in mid-March in the eastern city of Volnovakha.

The three have a month to appeal the verdict or face a firing squad.

Two of the three are claiming to have lived in Ukraine since 2018 and should be considered “long-serving” members of the Ukrainian military.

Pro-Russian forces also hold Andrew Hill, a British fighter accused of helping Ukrainian forces, who is awaiting trial.

The UK Foreign Office condemned the sentences.

“We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war for political purposes,” a spokesperson said. “They are entitled to combatant immunity and should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.”

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the battle for the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk is “one of the most difficult” of the war, while highlighting its importance in the key Donbas region.

“In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there,” Zelenskyy said in a video address late Wednesday.

Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat to the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday in the face of a fierce Russian attack.

Days ago, Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive that gave them control of about half the city, but Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Haidai told the RBC-Ukraine media outlet that when Russia started flattening the city with shelling and air strikes, it made no sense to stay.

“Our [forces] now again control only the outskirts of the city,” Haidai said. “But the fighting is still going on, our [forces] are defending Sievierodonetsk, it is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city.”

He acknowledged the difficulties for Kyiv’s forces, telling The Associated Press, “Everything the Russian army has — artillery, mortars, tanks, aviation — all of that, they’re using in Sievierodonetsk in order to wipe the city off the face of the Earth and capture it completely.”

Haidai indicated that Ukrainian forces could pull back to more defensible positions, such as Lysychansk, a city across the Siverskyi Donets River, which sits on higher ground. He has previously suggested that Kyiv’s forces would have to pull back to avoid being surrounded.

After weeks of focusing its attacks on eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday Russian forces now control 97% of Luhansk province.

Sievierodonetsk is the last major city in the region yet to be captured during Moscow’s 3½-month offensive.

Shoigu said Russian troops were also advancing toward the town of Popasna, and he said they have taken control of Lyman and Sviatohirsk and 15 other towns in the region.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic nations is real, the WHO warned Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed in such countries. 

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was not recommending mass vaccination against the virus and added that no deaths had been reported from the outbreaks. 

“The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic countries is real,” Tedros told a press conference. 

The zoonotic disease is endemic in humans in nine African countries, but outbreaks have been reported in the past month in several other states — mostly in Europe, and notably in Britain, Spain and Portugal. 

“More than 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have now been reported to WHO from 29 countries that are not endemic for the disease,” Tedros said. 

“So far, no deaths have been reported in these countries. Cases have been reported mainly, but not only, among men who have sex with men. 

“Some countries are now beginning to report cases of apparent community transmission, including some cases in women.” 

Greece on Wednesday became the latest country to confirm its first case of the disease, with health authorities there saying it involved a man who had recently traveled to Portugal and who was hospitalized in stable condition. 

The initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery chickenpox-like rash. 

Tedros said he was particularly concerned about the risk the virus poses to vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children. 

He said the sudden and unexpected appearance of monkeypox outside endemic countries suggested that there might have been undetected transmission for some time, but it was not known for how long. 

One case of monkeypox in a nonendemic country is considered an outbreak. 

Tedros said that while this was “clearly concerning,” the virus has been circulating and killing in Africa for decades, with more than 1,400 suspected cases and 66 deaths so far this year. 

“The communities that live with the threat of this virus every day deserve the same concern, the same care and the same access to tools to protect themselves,” he said. 

Vaccines

In the few places where vaccines are available, they are being used to protect those who may be exposed, such as health care workers.

Tedros said that post-exposure vaccination, ideally within four days, could be considered for higher-risk close contacts, such as sexual partners or household members.  

He added that the WHO would issue guidance in the coming days on clinical care, infection prevention and control, vaccination and community protection.  

He said people with symptoms should isolate at home and consult a health worker, while people in the same household should avoid close contact.  

Few hospitalizations have been reported, apart from patients being isolated, the WHO said last weekend. 

Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, said the smallpox vaccine could be used against monkeypox, a fellow orthopoxvirus, with a high degree of efficacy. 

The WHO is trying to determine how many doses are currently available and to find out from manufacturers what their production and distribution capacities are.
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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.

1:30 a..m.: The body of French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was killed in Ukraine, is repatriated, reports Agence France-Presse.

12:30 a.m.: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian retailers have lost almost $1.7 billion, according to a tweet by The Kyiv Independent.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Increasingly isolated from their home country, residents fear being annexed by or even forced to fight for the Russians
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King Philippe of Belgium, in a historic visit to Congo, said on Wednesday that his country’s rule over the vast central African country had inflicted pain and humiliation through a mixture of “paternalism, discrimination and racism.” 

In a speech outside Congo’s parliament, Philippe amplified remorse he first voiced two years ago over Belgium’s brutal colonial rule — an era during which historians say millions died. 

“This regime was one of an unequal relationship, in itself unjustifiable, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism,” Philippe said, speaking in French.  

“It led to abuse and humiliation,” he said. 

The king noted that many Belgians had been sincerely committed to Congo and its people, however. 

Philippe landed in Kinshasa on Tuesday afternoon for a six-day visit, billed as a chance for reconciliation between Congo and its former colonial master. 

Belgium’s colonization of Congo was one of the harshest imposed by the European powers that ruled most of Africa from the late 19th into the mid-20th centuries. 

King Leopold II governed

King Leopold II, the brother of Philippe’s great-great-grandfather, governed what is now Congo as his personal property between 1885 and 1908, before it became a Belgian colony.  

Historians say that millions of people were killed, mutilated or died of disease as they were forced to collect rubber under his rule. The land was also pillaged for its mineral wealth, timber and ivory.  

As Congo headed to its 60th anniversary of independence, Philippe wrote a letter to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in 2020 to express his “deepest regrets” for the “wounds of the past.” 

The king’s speech Wednesday went further in expressing regret, but it fell short of an apology for colonial-era crimes.  

Looted art 

Earlier Wednesday, Philippe visited Congo’s national museum in Kinshasa, where he handed over a mask the ethnic Suku group use in initiation rites.  

The ceremonial mask is on “unlimited” loan from Belgium’s Royal Museum for Central Africa, he announced.  

The Belgian government last year set out a plan for returning artworks looted during the colonial era, a sensitive topic in Congo.   

“The colonizer hauled away our artworks. It’s right that they should be returned to us,” said Louis Karhebwa, 63, a businessman. 

Prince Pungi, a young civil servant, agreed. “Congo is changing, moving forward,” he said. “It’s time to take back what belongs to us.”  

Philippe is due to address university students in the southern city of Lubumbashi on Friday.  

On Sunday, he will also visit the clinic of gynecologist Denis Mukwege, co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against sexual violence, in the eastern city of Bukavu. 

His trip comes as Belgium is preparing to return to Kinshasa a tooth — the last remains of Patrice Lumumba, a hero of the anti-colonial struggle and short-lived first prime minister of the independent Congo.  

Lumumba was murdered by Congolese separatists and Belgian mercenaries in 1961 and his body dissolved in acid, but the tooth was kept as a trophy by one of his killers, a Belgian police officer. 

Eastern violence  

The Belgian sovereign’s trip also comes at a time of heightened tension between Kinshasa and neighboring Rwanda over rebel activity in the conflict-torn eastern Congo.  

The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of backing the resurgent M23 militia, an accusation that Rwanda has denied. 

At a news conference Wednesday in Kinshasa, Tshisekedi told reporters that he saw security support as a priority in Congo’s relationship with Belgium.  

“There is no development without security,” the president said.  

Congo, a nation of about 90 million people, is one of the poorest countries in the world. 

Over 120 groups roam the country’s volatile east, many of which are a consequence of regional wars more than two decades ago, and civilian massacres remain common. 

Philippe, in his speech Wednesday, also said the situation in eastern Congo “cannot continue.”  

“It is the responsibility of all of us to do something about it,” he added.
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The family of RFE/RL freelance correspondent Andrey Kuznechyk say the journalist has been sentenced to six years in prison in Belarus on a charge of creating an extremist group. 

According to the relatives, the Mahilyou regional court in the country’s east took only a few hours to hear the case and hand down its verdict and punishment on June 8 in a closed-door trial.

The 43-year-old father of an 8-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son was initially sentenced to 10 days in jail on November 26 on hooliganism charges that he rejected.

On December 6, when his sentence ended, he was kept in detention and handed another 10-day jail term, also on a hooliganism charge.

After serving that jail term, Kuznechyk remained in jail and subsequently was charged with creating an extremist group, a charge that officials withheld from Kuznechyk’s relatives and colleagues for months.

Kuznechyk’s relatives told RFE/RL at the time that the journalist continues to maintain his innocence.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has said Kuznechyk’s previous sentence was based on “absurdly fabricated charges” and should be considered a crime in itself.

Fly has also condemned the Belarusian government’s actions against independent media in the country, saying Kuznechyk is among the “hostages taken by this lawless regime, not criminals. Factual reporting is not an ‘extremist’ activity, and journalism is not a crime.”

Since a disputed August 2020 presidential election sparked mass protests over authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko’s victory, tens of thousands of Belarusians have been arrested for voicing any dissent against the regime.

The crackdown has pushed most opposition politicians, who say the vote was rigged, to leave the country fearing for their safety.

Many Western governments have refused to recognize the results of the election and do not consider Lukashenko to be the country’s legitimate leader. Many countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against his regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country.
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Millions of tons of grain remain trapped in Ukraine as Russia continues its aggression against the country and world wheat prices soar.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Ankara Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks focused on creating shipping corridors to allow Ukrainian grain exports to access world markets. But both sides failed to reach any agreements to avert a looming world food crisis.

At a joint news conference with Lavrov, Cavusoglu said Turkey was ready to work with the United Nations to create a secure shipping corridor to allow Ukrainian ships to transport wheat to world markets.

Cavusoglu said Turkey sees it as a reasonable and implementable plan. But, he said, both Russia and Ukraine must accept the request from the U.N. Cavusoglu said Turkey offered to host a meeting in Istanbul to discuss the details.

Turkish and Russian officials have been talking about a plan for both navies to provide passage for Ukrainian cargo ships. But a key issue remains the removal of mines protecting the Ukrainian port of Odesa. Lavrov laid the responsibility on Kyiv.

Lavrov said that to solve this problem, the only thing needed, in Russia’s view, is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by de-mining them or by marking out safe corridors. Nothing more, the Russian top diplomat said, is required.

But before removing the mines, Kyiv is looking for guarantees that Russian forces will not launch an amphibious attack on Odesa.

Lavrov pledged Russia would not attack, but Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, dismissed the offer as “empty words.”

Russian officials say soaring food prices have little to do with the Ukraine conflict.

On Wednesday, Cavusoglu backed Moscow’s call to lift international sanctions on Russia if a deal was struck to allow Ukrainian grain to reach world markets.  

But Aaron Stein of the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute said Washington is unlikely to agree.

“One of the main hindrances of this (grain corridor deal), is that the Russians are demanding an easing of sanctions,” he said. It has been their position since this first came up a month or two ago. But the U.S. has no intention of easing sanctions.”

Despite a lack of progress in Wednesday’s talks, Turkish officials say a deal can still be achieved, although they say the current mistrust between Kyiv and Moscow remains a big obstacle.
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A high-profile fraud trial of soccer’s once most powerful men was delayed Wednesday in Switzerland after one of the accused, Sepp Blatter, said he was too ill to testify.

“The pain will come back, and I am having difficulty breathing,” said the 86-year-old in a whisper.

Blatter, the former head of soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, along with Michel Platini, former star player and former head of UEFA, are charged with fraud over an alleged 2011 payment of $2 million from Blatter to Platini. UEFA is soccer’s governing body in Europe.

Blatter’s 17 years as FIFA president came to an end in June 2015, when he resigned amid the scandal.

Both men deny wrongdoing and say the payment was for advisory work Platini did for FIFA from 1998 to 2002.

The two men were banned from soccer several years ago.

“I know I have not done anything against the law. My life was football, for 45 years with FIFA. My life is football,” Blatter reportedly told reporters.

The trial was set to end on June 22 with a verdict on July 8. Both could face prison time or fines.

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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British prosecutors said on Wednesday they had authorized charges to be brought against former Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein on two counts of indecent assault against a woman 26 years ago.

“Charges have been authorized against Harvey Weinstein, 70, following a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Special Crime Division.

The CPS said the alleged assault took place in August 1996 in London. London’s Metropolitan Police said the accusation involved a woman, now aged in her 50s.

Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in the United States after being convicted in 2020 of assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actor Jessica Mann.

That conviction was upheld by a New York appeals court last week.

The verdict was considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement where women came forward to accuse dozens of powerful men of sexual misconduct. Many view the accusations against Weinstein, which surfaced in 2017, as the key spark for that movement.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial,” Ainslie said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the work of his troops in the eastern Donbas region and said Russia had not expected to meet much resistance, while Russia claimed to have assumed control of almost all of one of the provinces that makes up the Donbas.

After weeks of focusing its attacks on eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday Russian forces now control 97% of Luhansk province.

Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Tuesday that “the absolutely heroic defense of the Donbas continues.” He added that Russia had made no significant advances in the region during the past day.

Britain’s defense ministry gave a similar assessment Wednesday morning, saying neither side had achieved significant gains over the course of 24 hours with Russia attacking from multiple sides but Ukraine’s defenses holding. 

The Donbas region also includes Donetsk province and has been the key objective for Russia since it turned away from efforts to advance on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, two months ago.

Fighting has been particularly intense in the key Luhansk city of Sievierodonetsk, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been engaging in street-to-street battles.

Shoigu said Tuesday that Russian forces seized the residential areas of the city, while Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russia controlled the industrial outskirts.

The battle for Sievierodonetsk is crucial to Moscow’s attempt to assume full domination over Luhansk province. A week ago, Russian forces had captured 70% of the city, but a Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed back Moscow’s troops before Russia mounted another advance.

Both Russia and Ukraine claim to have inflicted huge casualties on each other.

Shoigu said Russian troops were also advancing toward the town of Popasna, and he said they have taken control of Lyman and Sviatohirsk and 15 other towns in the region.

He said 6,489 Ukrainian troops have been taken prisoner since the start of the military action in Ukraine on February 24, including 126 over the past five days.

A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday the United States had started training Ukrainian soldiers on the use of advanced rocket systems being sent to Ukraine as part of a $700 million aid package approved last week.

Marine Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth said the training was taking place in Germany and elsewhere in Europe for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. The truck-mounted system can carry six rockets with a range of about 70 kilometers.

Norway said it trained Ukrainian soldiers in Germany on the use of M109 self-propelled howitzers as part of its shipment of 22 of the weapons to Ukraine. 

Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said the donation, which includes spare parts and ammunition, is a substantial contribution very much in demand by Ukraine. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT.

1:30 a.m.: Britain’s defense ministry said Wednesday morning the previous 24 hours had brought little significant gains for either Russia or Ukraine in the fight for the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, with Russia attacking from multiple sides but Ukraine’s defenses holding.

12:01 a.m.: The Associated Press is reporting that Angela Merkel defended her approach to Ukraine and Russia during her 16 years as Germany’s leader, saying that a much-criticized 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine bought Kyiv precious time. She won’t apologize for her diplomatic efforts, AP reported.

In her first substantial comments since leaving office six months ago, Merkel said there was no excuse for Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine and it was “a big mistake on Russia’s part.”

Merkel, who dealt with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout her chancellorship, rejected a suggestion that she and others engaged in appeasement that ultimately enabled the invasion.

“It is a matter of great sorrow that it didn’t succeed, but I don’t blame myself now for trying,” Merkel said.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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The European Union’s chief executive vowed Tuesday that Poland would get no money from the bloc’s vast pandemic relief fund until the right-wing government rolls back measures deemed to limit the independence of the country’s judiciary.

Poland is line to receive nearly 36 billion euros ($38.5 billion) to help its economy recover from the impact of measures introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus. But the EU has frozen Poland’s access to the funds amid concern about political interference with the judiciary.

The European Commission, which proposes EU laws and supervises the way they are enacted, insists that a disciplinary chamber for Polish judges be abolished, that its rulebook be rewritten and that judges sanctioned by the chamber have their cases reviewed.

“Let me be very clear. These three commitments, translated into milestones, must be fulfilled before any payment can be made,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.

The European Parliament has also launched action against Poland over democratic backsliding. The lawmakers have criticized von der Leyen and her commission for being too slow to act. Some are calling for a no-confidence vote on her should the commission release any funds too early.

“I know that some of you are skeptical but let me assure that no money will be disbursed until these reforms are undertaken,” von der Leyen said. “A first payment will only be possible when a new law is in force that ticks all the boxes under this contract,” she said of a plan for Poland to access the funds.

Von der Leyen added that “Poland must demonstrate by the end of 2023 that all unlawfully dismissed judges have been reinstated. If this is not the case there cannot be any further disbursement.”

Poland’s lawmakers are still working on changing Supreme Court regulations to abolish the disciplinary chamber. Only one of the dozens of suspended judges has been reinstated, but to a different section in his court, and has been ordered to go on leave.

Many EU lawmakers argued that Poland should have met the conditions before its action plan for access to the recovery fund was submitted. Even some senior members of von der Leyen’s own commission had reservations about the Polish plan.

Dutch liberal parliamentarian, Sophia In’t Veld, said the commission’s conditions are merely “a smokescreen.” Facing von der Leyen, she said: “If you make any payment to Poland without all the criteria having been fully met, you lose my confidence. It’s democracy.”

Poland’s pandemic recovery plan must still be endorsed by the other 26 EU member states before the end of the month. It would pave the way for government to eventually gain access to 23.9 billion euros ($25.4 billion) in grants and 11.5 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in loans.

EU officials have said that Poland is unlikely to win access to any of the money for several months.
…

 It was a moment Pablo González’s family had been longing for: a letter from the Spanish journalist imprisoned in Poland for 100 days on accusations of spying for Russia.

“It was a thrill and a present for me and our three children,” González’s wife, Oihana Goiriena, told VOA.

The four-page letter, which arrived last week, was the first contact the family has had with González since his arrest in February.

Poland’s secret service alleges he used his role as a journalist as a cover for espionage, but officials have not publicly disclosed any supporting evidence. González denies the accusation.

The journalist’s family has links to Russia because his father moved there as a child after the Spanish Civil War. But González is not part of Russia’s secret intelligence service, his Spanish lawyer Gonzalo Boye said.

A court in Poland last month ordered González to remain in custody for a second three-month period. Under Polish law, he can be held for up to a year. If convicted, he could be jailed for 10 years.

Bartosz Rogala, a Polish lawyer appointed to González at the request of the Spanish government, said that under Polish law, he is not permitted to reveal the reasons that González is being held longer.

“The arrest hearing was part of the preparatory proceedings (for trial) and therefore remains classified,” Rogala told El Español, a Spanish online news site.

The lawyer said González will appeal the detention.

Rogala can communicate with González, but Polish authorities have denied the journalist telephone calls or visits from his Spanish lawyer. He is in a jail located about 400 km from the capital, Warsaw.

“Pablo has not been allowed any (physical) contact with his family nor his lawyer. The Spanish consul has seen him three times,” Boye told VOA. “He is being held with one other man in a cell. He is no longer in solitary confinement. He is OK, but he is missing his family.”

González was arrested on February 28 when crossing from Poland into Ukraine, where he had been reporting the start of the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian secret service officials had earlier detained González and accused him of spying for Russia, which he denied. He returned to Spain for a few days before leaving for Poland.

International rights organizations and commentators have criticized how Poland, a European Union nation, handled the case, and demanded that González be afforded due process and rights. 

In an opinion piece, Enric González, a columnist for the center-left Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, likened the treatment to that of inmates in Guantanamo Bay, where the U.S. government kept terror suspects without charges for lengthy periods. The lawyer is not related to Pablo.

In Spain, a campaign led by friends, journalists and television presenters called #FreePabloGonzález marked the 100th day of his detention on Tuesday.

More than 40,600 people signed a petition calling for the release of the experienced war reporter. 

González, 40, has covered conflicts in Ukraine and Syria for various outlets including the left-wing Spanish paper Publico and Gara, a Basque nationalist newspaper. He also provided some camera work for VOA in 2020 and 2021.

The news that he would be held for another three months was a blow to his family, who live in the Basque Country in northern Spain. But the family’s first letter from González, which arrived May 31, lifted spirits, his wife said. 

“The letter was dated April 9, so he congratulated our youngest, who is 7, for his birthday. Said he missed us all very much, and thanked his family and friends and supporters for all the help they have given him,” Goiriena said.

“Pablo said he was OK but has lost a lot of weight. He wrote a few anecdotes about his childhood and told us what he was doing. He is reading a lot, doing exercise, and things are a bit better. He says (the spying allegations) is something that will pass,” Goiriena said.

Goiriena sent a package to her husband in prison containing books on the Basque language and a National Geographic magazine but said she first must have the list of contents translated into Polish.

González has received one letter from his wife, which she sent in March. It was written in Spanish and must be translated and examined by the Polish prosecutor.

Letters from Boye must also be translated and seen by the prosecutor.

 “This is in case they have secret messages to (Russian President) Putin,” jokes Goiriena. “This is not a laughing matter, but you have to laugh or you would cry.”

 Osoigo, a Spanish campaign group, has called on lawmakers to campaign for González.

“Pablo is a Spanish journalist who has been detained and held incommunicado (while accused of spying) and cannot speak with his lawyer or his family. That is why we are campaigning,” Yolanda Llamas of Osoigo told VOA.

For those campaigning for González’s release, his treatment in Poland has been shocking.

In May, Enric González wrote in El Pais, “I ignore whether he has spied or not, (he would not be the first journalist to do so, the frontier between both jobs is clouded), or if he is innocent. But it seems to me that in the European Union, there should not be situations similar to Guantanamo (Bay).”

Amnesty International supported the campaign to free González, tweeting: “We demand that his right to a fair process and due guarantees be respected, allowing him access to a lawyer of his free choice and to communicate with his family.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament last month that the foreign minister had been in contact with his Polish counterpart over the case.

A spokesperson for Spain’s Foreign Ministry told VOA, “Our consul has visited him three times. We made sure that he had a local lawyer, and our ambassador in Poland is following the case carefully.”

The Spanish Defense Ministry, which has responsibility for the intelligence services, declined to comment on the matter.

VOA asked the Polish embassy in Madrid for comment but received no response.

Following González’s arrest, VOA issued a statement saying it was aware of his arrest and has removed some of the content filed by him “out of an abundance of caution.”
…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a major military operation against U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria whom Ankara considers terrorists. Analysts say Turkey believes it’s in a strong position given that Washington needs Ankara to lift its threats to veto Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday his Conservative Party should “draw a line under our issues” after he survived a no-confidence vote by his own Members of Parliament Monday evening, following months of speculation over the future of his leadership. 

The prime minister held a meeting of his Cabinet Tuesday, where ministers expressed their support and claimed he had a “fresh mandate” to govern.

In Monday night’s ballot, 211 MPs voted in favor of Johnson, with some 148 voting against him – meaning over 40% of his own MPs wanted to oust him as party leader and prime minister.

As the result was announced by Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Boris Johnson’s supporters erupted in cheers. 

‘Move on’

The prime minister put a positive spin on the outcome. “I think it’s an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result, which enables us to move on, to unite and to focus on delivery,” he told reporters.

Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi, a long-time supporter of Johnson, agreed it was time to move on – and praised the prime minister for the military support he had given to Ukraine.

“We’ve got to deal with the backlog of the NHS (National Health Service), safer streets and of course war in Europe. What do you think (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy will be thinking tonight? He’ll be punching the air because he knows his great ally, Boris Johnson, will be prime minister tomorrow morning. That’s what we’ve got to focus on,” Zahawi told Sky News Monday evening.

Politically wounded

However, the prime minister has been politically wounded by the vote, according to Anand Menon, a professor of European politics at Kings College London.

“This really is a pretty bad result for the prime minister and what it means going forward I think is that prime ministerial survival will be the foundation stone of this government,” Menon told VOA.

Boris Johnson delivered the Conservative Party a thumping 80-seat majority at the December 2019 election by promising to “get Brexit done.” His predecessor, Theresa May, was forced to resign after repeatedly failing to get a Brexit agreement through parliament.

Britain finally left the European Union weeks later, just as the coronavirus pandemic was hitting the continent. Johnson’s popularity peaked around May 2020, after he survived several days in intensive care having contracted the virus.  

Plummeting popularity

So what went wrong? 

The latest polls show his popularity has plummeted, with some 68% of voters saying he is doing a bad job, versus 26% who approve. He and his wife, Carrie, were booed Friday by sections of the crowd at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee service at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

“Boris Johnson being booed at St. Paul’s was quite a moment, actually,” says Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “One would expect most of the people who attend events like that as members of the public to be pretty traditional conservatives and for them actually to make their displeasure so obvious in public, I think is quite significant moment,” Bale told the Associated Press.

Party-gate

Johnson is the first British prime minister to be convicted of breaking the law while in office, after police investigations into parties held at his Downing Street residence during COVID-19 lockdowns – so-called party-gate. A parliamentary investigation into the parties is still ongoing. Johnson had previously told MPs that no such events were held.

“A number of his own MPs cited the fact that he had clearly lied to parliament as a reason for voting against him,” said analyst Anand Menon. “And secondly, those same MPs have seen the prime minister’s popularity ratings with the British public tank.”

Divisions

The prime minister denies that he lied to parliament. But his problems run deeper, according to Menon.

“Whether it be party-gate, whether it be a sense amongst his own backbenchers that there is no coherent plan for government, or whether it be the fact that actually the Conservative Party is divided.” 

Historically, British prime ministers who suffered significant rebellions haven’t survived long in the job – including Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Theresa May. “Boris Johnson is slightly strengthened by the fact that there is no obvious successor,” Menon said.

Johnson’s supporters say he got the big calls right: giving military support to Ukraine; delivering on the Brexit referendum; a fast COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

But his critics say he is now a political liability and their calls for him to resign are unlikely to die down.
…

Ukrainian and Russian forces engaged in intense street-to-street fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Monday, as Ukraine’s president said Russian troops were also intending to capture the key southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.  

The situation in Sievierodonetsk was “changing from hour to hour,” according to the head of the city’s administration, Oleksandr Stryuk, who spoke on television.  

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had “every chance” to gain control in the city.  

His assessment came after Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Haidai suggested Ukraine had lost ground.       

Haidai said, “Our defenders managed to undertake a counterattack for a certain time. They liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again.”        

Both Russia and Ukraine claim to have inflicted huge casualties on each other.   

Zelenskyy told a news conference Monday that Russian troops also intended to capture Zaporizhzhia, in the southeast, to allow them to advance closer to the center of the country.  

“The enemy wants to … occupy the city of Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said. The city is an industrial hub with a prewar population of more than 700,000 people.     

The Ukrainian leader said Monday he received confirmation from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “of a new enhanced defense support package,” and that the two discussed ways to unblock Ukrainian ports and avoid a food crisis.      

Britain announced Monday it is sending M270 multiple-launch rocket systems that can hit targets up to 80 kilometers away.    

“We cannot stand by while Russian long-range artillery flattens cities and kills innocent civilians,” Johnson said.     

Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Monday, “I am grateful to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the complete understanding of our demands and preparedness to provide Ukraine with exactly the weapons that it so needs to protect the lives of our people.”    

Ben Wallace, Britain’s defense secretary, said support for Ukraine must change as Russia’s tactics change, and that the new rocket systems “will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities.” Wallace was referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.         

Putin has warned that Moscow would hit targets “we haven’t yet struck” if the West went ahead with plans to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine.           

U.S. President Joe Biden said last week that the United States plans to send the Kyiv government $700 million in new weaponry that includes four precision-guided, medium-range rocket systems, helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more.    

Russia’s foreign ministry announced Monday new sanctions against 61 U.S. nationals in response to what it called “constantly expanding U.S. sanctions.” 

Those listed include Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.     

Some material in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press. 
…

A Fiji court has ruled a Russian-owned superyacht be removed from the Pacific island nation by the United States because it was a waste of money for Fiji to maintain the vessel amid legal wrangling over its seizure.

The U.S. Justice Department’s Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets of Russian oligarchs in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

The 106-meter(350-foot) Amadea arrived in Fiji on April 13 after an 18-day voyage from Mexico. It was seized by Fiji authorities after the country’s High Court granted a U.S. warrant last month that linked the yacht to sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.

The FBI has said the $300 million luxury vessel had running costs of $25 million to $30 million per year, and the United States would pay to maintain the vessel after it was seized.

However, the Fiji government has been footing the bill while an appeal by the vessel’s registered owner, Millemarin Investments, worked its way through Fiji’s courts.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that public interest demands the yacht “sail out of Fiji waters,” because having it berthed in Fiji was “costing the Fijian Government dearly,” according to the judgment.

The vessel “sailed into Fiji waters without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the United States,” it added.

The United States alleges Kerimov beneficially owns the Amadea, although lawyers for the vessel have denied this and told the court it was owned by another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian energy giant Rosneft, who has not been sanctioned.

Last month, another luxury yacht reportedly owned by Khudainatov worth some $700 million was impounded by police in Italy.

The FBI said in the seizure warrant the Amadea had tried to avoid being seized “almost immediately” after Russian troops entered Ukraine, turning off its automated tracking system on February 24.

The vessel’s lawyer, Feizal Haniff, declined to comment on the judgment.

“The decision acknowledges Fiji’s commitment to respecting international mutual assistance requests and Fiji’s international obligations,” said Fiji’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde in a statement.

He said the court agreed “issues concerning money laundering and ownership” need to be decided in the originating U.S. court.

“The Amadea has been handed over to U.S. authorities and will now leave Fiji,” he added.

The U.S. embassy in Suva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday of creating a “pregnancy register” as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients. 

Women’s rights advocates and opposition politicians fear women face unprecedented surveillance given the conservative views of a ruling party that has already tightened what was one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. 

They fear the new data could be used by police and prosecutors against women whose pregnancies end, even in cases of miscarriage, or that women could be tracked by the state if they order abortion pills or travel abroad for an abortion. 

“A pregnancy registry in a country with an almost complete ban on abortion is terrifying,” said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a left-wing lawmaker. 

The matter gained attention Monday after Health Minister Adam Niedzielski signed an ordinance Friday expanding the amount of information to be saved in a central database on patients, including information on allergies, blood type and pregnancies. 

The health ministry spokesman, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, sought to allay concerns, saying only medical professionals will have access to the data, and that the changes are being made at the recommendation of the European Union. 

The effort, he said, is meant to improve the medical treatment of patients, including if they seek treatment elsewhere in the 27-member EU. In the case of pregnant women, he said this will help doctors immediately know which women should not get X-rays or certain medicines. 

“Nobody is creating a pregnancy register in Poland,” he told the TVN24 all-news station. 

But Marta Lempart, the leader of a women’s rights group, Women’s Strike, said she does not trust the government to keep information on women’s pregnancies from the police and prosecutors. She told The Associated Press that police in Poland are already questioning women on how their pregnancies end, tipped off by disgruntled partners. 

“Being pregnant means that police can come to you any time and prosecutors can come to you to ask you questions about your pregnancy,” Lempart said. 

The new system means many Polish women will now avoid the state medical system during their pregnancies, with wealthier women seeking private treatment or traveling abroad, even for prenatal care. 

Meanwhile, poorer women in Poland will face an increased risk of medical problems or even death by avoiding prenatal care, Lempart fears. 

Lempart also worries that information gained by police could be shared with state media to harm people’s reputations. 

She already knows how that can happen. In 2020, Lempart tested positive for COVID-19, and the information was reported by state television even before she got her results. 

Poland — a predominantly Catholic country — bans abortion in almost all cases, with exceptions only when a woman’s life or health is endangered or if the pregnancy results from rape or incest. 

For years, abortion was allowed in the case of fetuses with congenital defects. That exception was struck down by the constitutional court in 2020. 

In practice, Polish women seeking to terminate their pregnancies order abortions pills or travel to Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries where the procedure is allowed. While self-administering abortion pills is legal, helping someone else is not. 

Activist Justyna Wydrzyńska is facing up to three years in prison for helping a victim of domestic violence access abortion pills. Amnesty International says it is the first such case in Europe. 
…

Six opposition leaders arrested after violent anti-French protests in N’Djamena were on Monday handed one-year suspended sentences for disturbing public order, Chad’s public prosecutor told AFP. 

They were also fined 10 million CFA francs, or about 15,000 euros, said prosecutor Moussa Wade Djibrine, who had sought two-year prison terms. 

The swift trial opened Monday morning at a court at Moussoro, around 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the capital, with defense lawyers boycotting the hearing amid a heavy police presence. 

The case comes against a backdrop of political tension with a military junta in power following the death of the country’s veteran leader more than a year ago.   

An authorized march in the capital on May 14 against France’s military presence in Chad turned violent. 

Seven petrol stations belonging to the French oil major Total were attacked and 12 police officers injured, according to a police toll. 

In the aftermath, the authorities carried out a string of arrests among the march organizers, who denied any responsibility for the violence. 

Those charged included Max Loalngar, coordinator for Wakit Tamma, Chad’s main opposition coalition, and Gounoung Vaima Gan-Fare, secretary of the Chadian trade union federation. 

The six were charged with disturbing public order and destruction of property. They had begun a hunger protest on May 23. 

Trade unions, opposition political parties, armed groups and international NGOs had called for the six to be released immediately and unconditionally. 

“We will appeal, a suspended sentence is still a sentence,” said Wakit Tamma’s lawyer Laguerre Ndjarandi. 

  “The court has been kind, it’s not a bad thing to calm things down,” communication minister Abderaman Koulamallah told AFP. 

Moussoro court’s public prosecutor Abdoulaye Bono Kono later announced: “The leaders of Wakit Tamma were released after sentencing.” 

Chad has been under military rule since President Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled with an iron fist for three decades, was killed in April 2021 during operations to crush rebels in the north of the country. 

He was succeeded by his son Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a four-star general, now the transitional president. 

His junta vowed to hold “free and democratic elections” within 18 months after staging a proposed nationwide “dialogue.” 

A reconciliation forum should have started last month but has run into problems. 

Armed groups have warned that Monday’s trial further compromises the national dialogue. The political opposition has already withdrawn from the organizing process. 

France has thousands of troops in the Sahel, including in Chad, under its Barkhane mission.    

But in February, Paris announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali and deploy them elsewhere after falling out with the junta in Bamako. 

On May 16, Deby, reacting to the violence that had unfolded two days earlier, attacked what he called “false and unfounded allegations” that French troops would redeploy to Chad. 
…