Month: October 2024

STOCKHOLM — Meta Platforms said on Friday that it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian speakers in Moldova ahead of the country’s October 20 election, for violation of the company’s policy on fake accounts. Authorities in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state lying between Romania and Ukraine, said they had blocked dozens of Telegram channels …

Read more “Meta removes fake accounts in Moldova ahead of presidential election”

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london — The U.K. government was urged Friday to raise the case of jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai with China, after reports that David Lammy, the foreign minister, is heading to Beijing.  Lai, 76, is the founder of the now-shuttered popular Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily, which supported mass pro-democracy protests in the economic hub.  Detained …

Read more “UK government is urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon’s case with China “

paris — Scientist Jim Wild has traveled to the Arctic Circle numerous times to study the northern lights, but Thursday night he needed only to look out of his bedroom window in Lancaster, England. For at least the second time this year, sky-gazers in many parts of the world were treated to colorful auroras at latitudes …

Read more “Sky-gazers treated to another aurora show “

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iran’s president Friday, at a time when Tehran is supplying weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine and concerns are growing over escalating attacks between Israel and Iran and its militant allies. Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed the situation in the Middle East on the sidelines of …

Read more “Russian, Iranian presidents meet as concerns grow over Middle East attacks”

washington — A media watchdog group’s report is prompting renewed scrutiny of the role Serbia is playing in the dissemination of Russian propaganda in the Balkans, particularly as it concerns Moscow’s war on Ukraine.  “Thanks to the Serbian government’s grip on the media and favorable political environment, RT — formerly Russia Today — uses its Belgrade …

Read more “Report focuses attention on Serbia’s spread of Russian propaganda”

London — The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed an emergency resolution Thursday condemning the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs and urging China to immediately and unconditionally release detainees, including Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas. The resolution is fueled by widespread concern from the international community and highlights its continued concern about the human rights situation …

Read more “EU condemns China for human rights violations against Uyghurs”

zurich — Two months before FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host, the soccer body was urged again Friday to allow independent scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights obligations for the tournament. A group of law and human rights experts plus Saudi activists abroad want FIFA to mandate ongoing reviews …

Read more “FIFA urged to put more human rights scrutiny into 2034 World Cup deal with Saudi Arabia”

kyiv, Ukraine — A Russian missile slammed into a commercial building in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight, killing four people including a 16-year-old girl, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Friday. It was the fourth Russian attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa and the nearby region in the last five days. Kiper said a …

Read more “Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa region kill 4, governor says”

STOCKHOLM — Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are also known as Hibakusha, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.   Below are some facts about the background and efforts of the movement.   Atomic bombing of Japan    In 1945 the United States dropped two atomic bombs on …

Read more “Who are Japan’s Nobel Peace Prize winners Nihon Hidankyo? “

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ROME — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was city-hopping across Europe on Thursday to promote a “victory plan” that he said “aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war” against Russia, detailing the proposals to European allies after a summit with President Joe Biden was derailed by Hurricane Milton. Zelenskyy’s talks in …

Read more “Ukraine’s Zelenskyy city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’”

STOCKHOLM — Swedish police said on Thursday they were investigating a shooting near an Israeli target in the city of Gothenburg, which the national broadcaster said was a unit of Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems.  Police said in a statement it had apprehended a young suspect at the scene and launched a probe into suspected …

Read more “Police investigate shooting near Israeli target in Sweden; no injuries reported”

washington — The article in the Seattle Tribune had everything: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Adolf Hitler and a $15 million classic car. Unsurprisingly, it spread like wildfire across Russia’s state and pro-Kremlin media. But the subject was a strange one for a news site about a U.S. city; such outlets usually cover only local stories. In …

Read more “Russian propagandists push fake story that Zelenskyy bought Hitler’s car”

WASHINGTON — Russian opposition politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza was released from a Russian prison on August 1 as part of a wide-ranging exchange of prisoners between Russia and several Western countries. He had been jailed in April 2022 on charges of treason for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine. He was almost fatally poisoned twice, in …

Read more “Russian opposition politician Kara-Murza: ‘Putin must lose in Ukraine’ “