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Biden Vows To Defend Ukraine, Democracy In Final Months Of Presidency
U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking publicly for the first time about his decision to drop his bid for reelection, vowed to defend democracy at home and in allies such as Ukraine in the final months of his presidency. In an address to the nation on July 24, Biden explained his decision to drop out of the November 5 presidential election, saying it was time to put personal ambition to the side and allow a new generation to take over.
Defamation Case Filed By Tate Brothers Can Proceed, Florida Judge Rules
A judge in the U.S. state of Florida ruled on July 24 that a defamation lawsuit filed by Internet influencer Andrew Tate against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can go to trial. The judge ruled that the former professional kickboxer, 37, and his brother, Tristan, 36, can present their allegations to a jury that the woman in 2022 engaged in a plot to extort money from them.
Former Azerbaijani Diplomat Sent To Pretrial Detention On Stabbing Charge
The Nizami district Court in Baku on July 24 sent former Azerbaijani diplomat Emin Ibrahimov to pretrial detention for at least four months on a stabbing charge, which Ibrahimov rejects as totally fabricated. The 43-year-old government critic was detained two days earlier. Ibrahimov's lawyer, Aqil Layic, said the criminal case was fabricated in retaliation for his criticism of the government. The Interior Ministry has not responded.
Russia Using Disinformation To Undermine Moldova's Upcoming Elections, Officials Tell U.S. Panels
WASHINGTON -- Russian disinformation threatens to interfere with Moldovan elections later this year just as the country begins to make significant progress on reforms under pro-Western President Maia Sandu, U.S. and Moldovan officials said at separate events in Washington on July 23. Moldova is preparing for a vote on October 20 that will include a referendum on membership in the European Union.
Police Summon Women Who Appeared In Video Without Hijabs During Ashura Procession In Iranian City
The chief of police in Iran's Alborz Province said on July 17 that women who took part in an Ashura procession in the city of Karaj without hijabs have been "identified and summoned." A video posted on Instagram shows a number of young women, most wearing dark clothing but no head scarves, walking in the street in observance of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is marked mainly by Shi'ite Muslims.
Belarus Introduces Visa-Free Entry For Citizens Of 35 European Nations
The State Border Committee of Belarus said on July 17 that it has introduced visa-free entry for citizens of 35 European nations. As of July 19, citizens of the European Union's member-states, Britain, Norway, Switzerland, and Balkan countries can stay in Belarus for up to 30 days without visas. The move was approved by authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the State Border Committee said. Russia, which has no permanent land-border checkpoints with Belarus, has yet to comment on the decision.
Ahead Of Elections, U.S. And EU Signal That Patience With Georgia's Ruling Party Has Run Out
TBILISI -- Throughout Georgia's decades-long tight partnership with the United States and Europe, the Caucasus country's Western partners have typically not played favorites in the country's domestic politics. But following the ruling Georgian Dream party's recent turn toward anti-Western rhetoric and authoritarian practices, there are increasingly strong signals from Georgia's Western partners that they would prefer the party gets voted out in the October parliamentary elections.
Interview: The Notion Of A Russia With Limitless Resources 'Is A Propaganda Picture'
Yekaterina Schulmann is an exiled Russian political scientist, professor, and commentator with a long history of outspokenness. She gained influence in the 2010s as a specialist in legislative processes and an increasingly outspoken critic in print, radio, and on social media of persecution and perceived rights abuses in Russia. In 2019, Schulmann was dismissed after a yearlong stint from Russia's Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, a consultative body.
Iran Denies Involvement In Plot To Assassinate U.S. Ex-President Trump
Iran has denied plotting to assassinate Donald Trump after reports emerged that U.S. authorities had obtained intelligence suggesting that Tehran was planning to kill the Republican presidential nominee. News outlets CNN and Politico on July 16, citing unnamed sources, reported that U.S. authorities had been informed of an Iranian plot to kill Trump weeks ahead of a July 13 attempt on the former president's life.
China In Eurasia Briefing: Beijing Casts A Shadow Over NATO
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. Starting next Wednesday, July 24, this newsletter will be going out every week. Be sure to follow along for the latest news, unique analysis, and reporting from the ground that's assembled for you in an easy-to-read format and sent directly to your inbox. I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.
Blackouts Hit 1 Million In Southern Russia, Occupied Crimea
Major power grid failures and sweeping power outages occurred in the south of Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea after an emergency shutdown of a unit of the Rostov nuclear power plant on July 16, Rosenergoatom reported. It added that a "protection mechanism was triggered," without specifying what caused the activation of the protection mechanism.
Russia's Statistics Service Excludes Data From Annual Report To Hide War Deaths
Russia’s State Statistics Service has excluded the total number of deaths from external causes in its annual report, Meduza reported, citing demographic expert Aleksei Rashka. Russia has historically broken down annual deaths caused by illness from those caused by external factors like murder and suicide. Experts would have been able to use that data to extrapolate the number of Russians killed in the invasion of Ukraine, something the Kremlin has refused to disclose.
U.S. Recently Informed About Iranian Plot To Kill Trump: CNN
An informant told U.S. authorities recently that Iran was plotting to assassinate Donald Trump, CNN reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. In response, the U.S. Secret Service boosted security around the former president, the network reported. Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to assassinate Trump on July 13, does not appear to be connected to the Iranian plot, CNN reported.
Russia Sentences Man To 26 Years For Setting Fire To Enlistment Offices
Russian-Ukrainian dual citizen Ivan Nedilsky was sentenced to 26 years in prison for treason, participation in a terrorist organization, and vandalism, Mediazona reported on July 16. The sentence was delivered in April by a Russian military court but had not previously been made public. Nedilsky was detained in October 2022 and accused of setting fire to two military enlistment offices and a cadastral service building.
Serbian Government Restarts Rio Tinto's Contentious Lithium Mine Project
Serbia’s government has reinstated a spatial plan for a multibillion-dollar lithium mine and processing plant, days after the Balkan state’s Constitutional Court said a previous government acted improperly to halt the project amid public protests.
Former NATO Assistant Secretary-General: We Shouldn't Be 'Carving Up Somebody Else's Country'
At a summit in Washington on July 9-11, NATO announced a major aid package to support Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion and said that Kyiv was on an "irreversible path" to membership. That membership, however, is still likely a long way off. While the alliance has bolstered Ukraine's defenses, the United States, Germany, and other member states have indicated that Ukraine will not be offered membership as long as the country is at war.
'Overwhelming Sorrow': Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Laureate Marks 9 Years Since Seeing Her Children
Kiana and Ali Rahmani were only 8 years old when they left Iran to reunite with their father, Taqi Rahmani, who had fled the country as the Iranian authorities sought to arrest him. Their mother, activist Narges Mohammadi, could only imagine the scene from her jail cell as her children would be taken from her for an "unknown" period of time and endure a "separation that would make me a stranger to my children and them unfamiliar to me." “I haven’t seen my mom in nine years.
A Decade After MH17, Persistent Pain And 'A Warning More Relevant Than Ever'
For Piet Ploeg, it has been a decade of mourning and efforts to punish the perpetrators, but the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is “something one can never get over.” Ploeg’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were among the 298 people aboard MH17 when a Russian missile hit the airliner and brought it down on July 17, 2014, drawing global attention to what was then a three-month-old war in the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, between Russia-backed fighters and Kyiv’s forces.
Health Fears Over Leprosy Fuel Anti-Afghan Sentiment In Iran
An unsubstantiated claim on social media linking an alleged rise in leprosy cases in Iran to the country’s Afghan community has resulted in renewed calls for the expulsion of Afghan migrants. Iranian media have cited the Health Ministry as reporting nine new cases of leprosy over the past year. The reports said three of those afflicted were Afghans.
Wider Europe Briefing: How Brussels Is Responding To Orban Going Rogue Original
Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe's Eastern neighborhoods. I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I'm drilling down on two issues: How Viktor Orban's trips have riled Brussels, and what Ukraine took away from the NATO summit.
Trump Chooses Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, Opponent Of Ukraine Aid, To Be His Running Mate
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has chosen Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate in the November 5 U.S. election. Trump made the announcement on July 15 on his social media platform Truth Social as the Republican National Convention kicked off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He had previously mentioned Vance, who has opposed aid to Ukraine, as a possible running mate.
China Denies Building Military Base In Tajikistan
The Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe on July 15 denied media reports that Beijing is building a military base in Tajikistan, calling the reports “groundless.” The embassy responded to a story in The Daily Telegraph showing satellite photos of buildings and what the report claimed is a shelter for helicopters in the Shaymak region of Tajikistan, near the Afghan border.
'She Was An Inconvenience': Remembering Rights Activist Natalya Estemirova 15 Years After Her Death
On the morning of July 15, 2009, the prominent activist and investigator for the Memorial human rights group Natalya Estemirova was abducted from her home in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Chechnya. Later the same day, her body was found in a forest in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia, bullet wounds in her head and chest. She was 51 years old. Fifteen years later, the case remains unsolved.
Estonian PM Kallas Steps Down To Prepare For EU Diplomatic Role
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas officially stepped down on July 15 to step aside and set up her expected move later this year to replace Spaniard Josep Borrell as the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. Kallas, a staunch supporter of support for Ukraine in its ongoing war against a Russian invasion, still faces hearings before her likely appointment in the fall.
Rights Watchdog Calls On Incoming Iranian President, Other Officials To Curb 'Excessive' Force At Border
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged President-elect Masud Pezeshkian and other Iranian authorities to end their use of "excessive and lethal force" against mostly Kurdish border couriers at the frontier with Iraq, saying such low-level smugglers frequently "come from marginalized communities." In a July 15 statement, the rights organization quoted Pezeshkian saying before his July 5 election that it was "shameful" that young people are forced into such roles "for a piece of bread." HRW has...
Biden, Trump Appeal For National Unity After Assassination Attempt
U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican challenger ex-President Donald Trump each appealed to the country for unity late on July 14 following the shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally that injured Trump and killed a supporter, while Biden ordered an independent investigation into a security lapse that was likely to reshape the campaign ahead of the elections in November.
Will Assassination Attempt Give Trump A Bump In Polls Or Push Gun Control To Forefront?
WASHINGTON -- The assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the first of its kind in more than four decades, has stunned the nation. The horrific attack, allegedly carried out by a 20-year-old man using a semiautomatic rifle, could potentially alter the course of what had been up until now an uninspiring race between the same two old men who duked it out four years ago.
China, Russia Start Naval Drills, Days After NATO Says Beijing Enables Ukraine War
Chinese and Russian naval forces on July 14 kicked off a joint exercise at a military port in southern China, the official news agency Xinhua reported, days after NATO allies called Beijing a "decisive enabler" of the war in Ukraine. China's Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that forces from both sides recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn't target any third party.
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