Day: May 3, 2023

Ukraine launched two drone attacks overnight intended to strike the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his office has reported. The aircraft were downed using electronic warfare measures and caused no casualties or damage, according to a presidential administration statement. Moscow considers the incident an act of terrorism.

The attack occurred late on Tuesday night, and both unmanned aircraft fell on the grounds of the Kremlin in Moscow, according to the president’s office, who also confirmed that the Russian leader's schedule was not affected.

“We consider this a preplanned terrorist action and an attempt against the Russian president,” it added. The incident happened “ahead of Victory Day and the parade on May 9, when foreign guests plan to be present.”

Russia reserves the right to retaliate in a manner, place and time of its choosing, the statement noted.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the president was absent from the Kremlin when the drones were downed. He is currently at the presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo in Moscow Region, to the west of the capital.

There is footage circulating on social media, which purports to show the aftermath, with a plume of smoke juxtaposed against the night cityscape above the territory of the historic seat of Russian power.

Another short clip appears to show the moment one of the drones exploded over the Kremlin Senate, which hosts the presidential administration and also serves as a working residence of the Russian head of state. It was not clear what caused the blast, though two people can be seen in the video on the dome of the building.

Source: Russia Today

The former editor of Belarusion opposition Telegram channel NEXTA, Roman Protasevich, was given an eight-year prison term by a court in Minsk on Wednesday, state-run news agency BelTa has reported.

Protasevich was in the courtroom for the verdict, with two of his associates – Stepan Putilo and Yan Rudik, who remain at large – sentenced in absentia to 20 and 19 years, respectively.

The trio behind the NEXTA channel, which gained prominence amid a wave of violent anti-government protests in Belarus in 2020 and 2021, were found guilty of organizing mass riots and making public calls to seize power, commit acts of terrorism, and other actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus, and also of slandering President Alexander Lukashenko, among other things.

The judge said Protasevich has been cooperating with the investigation, a fact that was reflected in his sentence. The time the 27-year-old spent in pre-trial detention and under house arrest will be factored into his term, he added.

The unrest began in Belarus after the presidential vote in August 2020 that the opposition claimed was rigged by Lukashenko. The US and the EU slapped sanctions on Minsk over claimed election fraud and a crackdown on demonstrators.

The protests eventually died down after failing to achieve any of their goals, with many activists fleeing abroad. Lukashenko insisted that the uprising was funded by the West, in an attempt to remove him from power.

The arrest of Protasevich, who operated from Poland, made international headlines in May 2021. A Ryanair flight carrying the activist was grounded in Minsk due to an alleged bomb threat. No explosive device was discovered on board, and the Irish carrier called the incident “state-sponsored piracy.”

Protasevich and Putilo have been on the Belarusian list of persons involved in terrorist activities since 2020. The following year, NEXTA was designated an extremist organization in Belarus.

Protasevich’s girlfriend, Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, who was on the flight with him, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2022 for running a Telegram channel that disclosed the personal data of Belarusian law enforcement officers during the protests. Later this month, a Moscow court will rule on whether Sapega can be extradited to Russia to serve the rest of the term in her home country.

Source: Russia Today

Serbia and Kosovo adopted a declaration on missing persons Tuesday at a meeting in Brussels. The move came as Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met in Belgium's capital for the next round of dialogue for the normalization of relations between their countries. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's office said the two sides reaffirmed the importance of resolving the fate of the remaining missing persons from the 1998-99 war in Kosovo, bringing closure to their loved ones and fostering lasting reconciliation and peace. The statement said that all categories of missing persons will be treated with equal priority and that missing persons are a humanitarian issue. ''Of the 6,065 cases of persons who have gone missing in the period January 1998 to December 2000, 1,621 remain unresolved. More than 20 years after, their families continue to live in grief, unaware of the whereabouts of their loved ones. Families have the right to know the fate of their relatives, as does society at large,'' said the statement. Borrell said that resolving the issue of missing persons is not only a humanitarian obligation but also a crucial enabler for reconciliation and trust between people. ''This is why the EU welcomes the parties' endorsement of the declaration and expects that the parties make tangible progress on bringing to a closure the outstanding cases of missing persons and on fulfilling their respective obligations towards the families,'' said the statement. The operational details will be agreed upon in the EU-facilitated dialogue's next meeting on the normalization of relations. The meeting was hosted by Borrell and Miroslav Lajcak, the EU's special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement on Feb. 27 to sign a proposal to normalize ties after a meeting in Brussels. The agreement came after 12 hours of talks between Vucic, Kurti and EU officials. The parties agreed on how to implement the deal in the last round of talks on March 18 in North Macedonia. The 11-point agreement demands that the sides maintain good neighborly relations and recognize each other's documents such as passports and license plates. Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to find a mutually agreeable solution for disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement. The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to progress in their integration into the bloc. Most UN member states including the US, the UK, France, Germany and Trkiye recognized Kosovo as a separate country after it declared independence from Serbia 15 years ago. Serbia, however, continues to regard it as its territory.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Over 12,000 people took part this week in a first-of-its-kind digital political rally organized by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) on the occasion of Labor Day. Members of the party erected a monument to its founder, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who passed away last year, on a server of the popular Minecraft game and called on their supporters to virtually gather near it on Monday. "The virtual rally announced earlier by the LDPR in the Minecraft game at the monument to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, which was built for the politician's birthday on April 25, took place. Moreover, the organizers themselves obviously did not expect such interest from gamers," the LDPR's press service said, adding that after the number of requests to join exceeded 12,000, the threshold of the server's capability was reached and the rally was cut short due to a server crash. A member of the Russian parliament from the LDPR, Andrey Svintsov, said it was just the first event of this kind, and the party plans to use Minecraft and other game platforms for communications with voters and attracting new supporters. He said the LDPR is becoming "the first digital party of Russia."

Source: Anadolu Agency

The European Union urged Israel on Tuesday to halt unilateral measures that could further increase tensions and endanger the possibility of a just and sustainable peace based on a two-state solution following renewed violence in Palestinian territories. In a statement issued by the EU after the first face-to-face meeting between EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Brussels, the commitment to a two-state solution was reaffirmed and the importance of respecting the status quo of the Holy sites was repeated. The statement noted that the two discussed regional issues as well as EU-Israel relations and that Borrell emphasized the strength of cooperation between the EU and Israel. It said the EU "condemned recent terrorist and rocket attacks against Israelis and underlined the EU's commitment to Israel's right to defend itself." Borrell recalled that "any response must be proportionate and in line with international law. At the same time, he expressed concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." "The EU and its Member States remain firmly committed to the two-state solution and the HR/VP recalled the European readiness to contribute to a peace process," it said, referring to Borrell, who is the EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission. Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes Tuesday targeting sites of Palestinian factions in the besieged Gaza Strip. The fighter jets struck sites of armed factions in Gaza City and central areas of the strip with several missiles, according to eyewitnesses and an Anadolu correspondent. The bombing caused violent explosions in large areas of the strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry has not provided any information on whether there are any casualties. Palestinian groups in Gaza and Israel exchanged fire Tuesday shortly after the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan in an Israeli prison after 86 days of a hunger strike.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Kenya has evacuated 409 of its citizens and more than 500 foreign nationals from Sudan amid the North African country's ongoing conflict, Kenya's Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said Tuesday. The evacuations come after three weeks of fighting in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Addressing a press conference, Mutua said the government has pledged to evacuate all Kenyans who wish to leave the war-torn country. 'We have evacuated 409 Kenyans from Khartoum. There are Kenyans who are outside Khartoum who have decided they want to stay, so we are evacuating anybody who wants to leave Sudan,' he said. 'We have also helped evacuate over 500 people from other nationalities and offered them safe passage. The evacuation is ongoing,' he added. Mutua said the Kenyan government is closely monitoring the situation in Sudan and will take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of its citizens. He said Kenya has also availed its airspace, including its airports, for humanitarian support as well technical support for special operations in Sudan. The Kenyan government's decision to evacuate its citizens and foreign nationals from Sudan comes amid growing concerns over the safety of those still in the conflict zone. The government has urged all Kenyans in Sudan to register with the Kenyan embassy in Khartoum and to take all necessary precautions to ensure their safety. Canada and Kenya on Tuesday also agreed to support peace and humanitarian efforts in Sudan. This was announced after a meeting between Kenyan President William Ruto and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly in the capital Nairobi. The recent fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF has left hundreds dead, thousands injured and displaced thousands of people.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ethiopian authorities have arrested at least 47 people alleged to have attempted to topple Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government, according to local media reports. The 47 individuals are suspected 'terrorists' who have allegedly been working with external forces, the Addis Standard reported Tuesday, citing a statement by the Joint Security and Intelligence Task Force. 'The suspects worked together locally and in foreign countries with the aim of taking control of the regional government in order to overthrow the federal government by assassinating senior Amhara officials,' the report said. The mass arrests came weeks after the assassination of the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) leader in the Amhara region, Girma Yeshitila. Yeshitila was killed along with four others in an attack last week. His murder was carried out by these 'extremist forces,' the report said. The suspects were allegedly found in possession of weapons, bombs and satellite communications equipment. According to the joint task force, the activities of the extremist forces targeted senior government officials. Yeshitila was a member of the executive committee of the PP. He had recently been a target on social media by Amhara nationalists who labeled him a 'traitor' over his closeness to Prime Minister Ahmed. The Amhara regional government has said that 'irregular forces' attacked the vehicles carrying Yeshitila, his bodyguards and others on April 27 on their way to Debre Birhan city. Prime Minister Ahmed in a Facebook post blamed the 'shameful and horrible' killing of the official on 'violent extremists.' The joint task force said the extremist forces wanted to topple the state and federal government by instigating violence and chaos across the country. It also accused the group of propagating falsehoods and spreading terrorist propaganda aimed at sowing ethnic and religious conflict in the country. Meanwhile, more than 6,000 people have entered Ethiopia fleeing fighting in neighboring Sudan, according to the West Gondar zone communication office in the Amhara region. The refugees are from 42 countries including 941 Ethiopian nationals who were living in Sudan, it said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Brazil's Justice Minister Flavio Dino accused Google on Tuesday of conducting a propaganda campaign against a bill to tackle online disinformation and warned that the government would fine the tech giant around $198,000 per hour if it does not start promoting the legal initiative. According to Brazilian authorities, Google on its search engine platform promoted a link to an article criticizing Bill 2630 and claiming that "the fake news bill' as it is commonly known as may increase confusion about what is true or false in Brazil while inciting Brazilians to call on their representatives to vote against the law. The link was shortly removed by Google after authorities expressed their discontent. 'Google has removed encrypted and illegal advertising from its homepage. We hope that platforms deactivate mechanisms of censorship or violation of freedom of expression with isonomy. And we remain open to dialogue. The LAW must prevail," Dino wrote on his Twitter account. In addition, the Federal Public Ministry in Sao Paulo said that a study conducted by NetLab, the Laboratory for Internet and Social Media Studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), found that Google's search engine is manipulating search results to promote entries against the bill. According to authorities, since Google had fostered the spread of disinformation against the bill for too long, it must comply with a series of preventive measures to counteract the smear campaign against the bill, including promoting positions in favor of social media reform, warning they would fine the tech giant $198,000 per hour it they fail to abide by this. Bill 2630 will be voted on in Brazil's parliament this week. The legal initiative, which enjoys broad support from the federal government and Supreme Court judges, seeks to curb the reach of accounts and publications accused of disseminating content related to hate speech, terrorism, violence against women and children, the encouraging of coups and discrimination.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US appreciates Trkiye's fight against Daesh/ISIS, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said Tuesday when asked about a recent operation in Syria by Trkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in which the terrorist group's leader, Abu Hussein Al Huseyni Al Qurayshi, was 'neutralized.' "At this time, we can't corroborate those reports. Certainly, that would be welcome news if true. You know, broadly speaking, we do appreciate what Turkey has done to counter ISIS, but that's about as much as I have," said Ryder. Turkish authorities use the term 'neutralized' to imply the terrorist or terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. Turkish forces have engaged with Daesh/ISIS in the past in northern Syria, and "anything that the international community can do to help with the enduring defeat of ISIS is very helpful," he added. Asked whether there is any communication between the armed forces of the two countries on this issue, Ryder avoided answering the question. On April 30, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Al-Qurayshi was 'neutralized.' Al-Qurayshi detonated his suicide vest when he realized that he was about to be captured by Turkish intelligence forces He joined the Daesh/ISIS terror group in 2013 and rose to senior positions within the organization in a short time. Al-Qurayshi was declared the new 'caliph' on Nov. 30, 2022 following the killing of the previous Daesh/ISIS leader, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.

Source: Anadolu Agency