Russia rejects possibility of Turkey escorting Ukrainian grain ships through Black Sea

From CNN’s Katharina Krebs in London

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said the option of having Turkey escort grain ships through the Black Sea is not a viable alternative to the collapse of the grain deal, after Russia suspended its participation in the pact earlier this week.

“I think that this option is dangerous and impossible,” Vershinin said during a press briefing on Friday.

He said that his country’s return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative was in the hands of Moscow’s “foreign partners” and that currently there are no negotiations on another deal.

Vershinin said Russia was working on alternative export routes for its agricultural exports, holding “serious contacts with African countries on the delivery of Russian cargo, including grain,” as well as with Turkey.

Igor Girkin: Russian officials detain nationalist critic

Girkin made a name for himself as a separatist commander during the Russian annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. However, he has since become a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian authorities detained the ultra-nationalist Kremlin critic Igor Girkin on Friday on charges of inciting extremist activity.

Girkin, 52, made a name for himself as a separatist commander in eastern Ukraine during Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.

However, he has expressed sharp criticism of the Kremlin following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

His wife wrote on his Telegram channel that Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee (FSB) had come to their house and that “they took my husband out by his arms and in an unknown direction.”

Investigation: Africa under Russian influence

In France, pan-African influencers are gaining more and more followers on social media. Advocating a radical anti-Western ideology, some of them claim responsibility for the recent coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. Their narrative is similar to that of the Kremlin, which is trying to place its pawns on the African continent. FRANCE 24 profiles two French influencers who seem to have taken sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Japan’s seafood exports hit as China ramps up radiation checks

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Japanese fish and shellfish exporters are facing a collapse of their largest export market after Chinese authorities tightened radiation testing on shipments.

The measure, imposed in some ports on fresh fish, comes as Japan’s government prepares to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. The water is currently held in storage tanks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

“Fresh fish used for sashimi and other dishes cannot be sold because it does not stay fresh,” said a person involved in Japan-China trade.

Around two weeks ago, customs authorities began detaining all Japanese marine products at some import sites, several sources said. China’s government said the scrutiny will expand to other locations, too.

Nebraska teen sent to 90 days in jail over abortion

Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over planned Quran burning

Iraq expressed its dismay over a planned Quran desecretion in Stockholm. Earlier, Iraqis stormed Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad.

Iraq on Thursday ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from its territory amid anger over a planned Quran burning in Stockholm.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani “directed the Foreign Ministry to request the Swedish ambassador to Baghdad to leave the Iraqi territory in response to the Swedish government’s repeated permission of burning the Holy Quran,” according to a tweet from his media office.

Iraq also suspended the operating license of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson, according to the country’s state news agency INA.

Soviet spies in Africa: How the KGB expanded Russian influence during the Cold War

Russian influence in Africa has deep historical roots, from supporting an attempted coup in Ghana to spreading fake political news in Algeria and training African fighters in Crimea. FRANCE 24 looks back on four little-known Soviet operations aimed at furthering Russian interests in Africa during the Cold War

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 reignited an old battle for global influence between Russia and the West that has also put Africa in the spotlight.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has sought influence on the continent through “irregular (and frequently extralegal)” means, according to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, including the use of mercenaries, supporting coups, running disinformation campaigns and interfering in elections or trading arms for resources. But such tactics are far from new.

Russian influence in Africa dates back to the Cold War when the Soviet regime aimed to forge ties with African countries based on shared economic ambitions and mutual distrust of the West. Moscow used the Soviet-era KGB to destabilise governments and spread disinformation in its bid for influence on the continent. Many of these incidents are still not widely known, but they illustrate that Cold War-era Russian spies were already weaponising “fake news”.

Tunnels under Jenin camp: How Palestinian fighters fooled Israel

The tunnels were claimed to have been the first to ever be discovered under the Jenin refugee camp.

During the final hours of Israel’s two-day aerial and ground assault on the Jenin refugee camp earlier this month, the Israeli army said it had besieged a number of Palestinian resistance fighters in a mosque.

After destroying the lower part of the al-Ansar mosque – where members of the Jenin Brigades would operate – with explosive drones and targeted missiles, the army announced that it had found tunnels and that it destroyed them.

It claimed that its forces had “neutralised an underground terrorist route” and that the tunnel “was rendered inoperable”.

World will miss 1.5C warming limit – top UK expert

Japan seeks experts’ dialogue with China on Fukushima water release

Japan has proposed to China setting up a dialogue involving nuclear experts from both countries to discuss Tokyo’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex into the sea, government sources said.

China, which remains opposed to the plan, has yet to respond to the call for a working-level consultation, the sources said. Japan, which had received reassurance from the International Atomic Energy Agency over the plan’s safety, aims to start the water release around this summer.

Tokyo and Beijing have been at odds over the planned discharge of water, which has gone through a process to remove most of the radionuclides, except tritium, into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima plant, wrecked by a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in March 2011.

US soldier intentionally crossed North Korean border 

Afghanistan: Women protest Taliban ban on beauty salons

Gun shots were fired in the air during a rare public demonstration in Kabul against an order to ban beauty parlors. Protesters said the Taliban guards also sprayed water on them to break up the demonstrations.

Dozens of Afghan women took to the streets in downtown Kabul on Wednesday to protest the Taliban’s ban on beauty salons. Security forces used fire hoses, tasers and shot guns into the air to break up the protest, according to reports.

At least 60 women took part in the demonstrations, which grabbed the attention of security personnel as public protests are a rare event in Afghanistan.

In late June, Taliban authorities ordered thousands of beauty parlors nationwide run by women to be closed within one month’s time, claiming the services offered are forbidden by Islam.

‘The Taliban took a few women away’

Videos and photos shared by the protesters showed many women carrying placards reading “food,” “justice,” and “work”.

Moroccan court keeps two journalists behind bars

Morocco’s top court has rejected the final appeals of two journalists, Omar Radi and Soulaimane Raissouni, imprisoned on sexual assault charges they deny, their lawyer said Wednesday.

The court of cassation in Rabat on Tuesday “rejected our appeal and confirmed the prison sentences” of the two men who have been behind bars since 2021, lawyer Miloud Kandil told AFP.

Radi, 37, was handed a six-year prison term and Raissouni, 51, a five-year sentence in trials that defence lawyers labelled “flawed”.

Human Rights Watch has accused Morocco of using criminal trials, especially for alleged sexual offences, as “techniques of repression” to silence journalists and government critics.

Authorities in the north African kingdom say the journalists were tried for common law crimes which “have nothing to do” with their profession or free speech.

Millions face extreme heat across the globe

By Adrienne Vogt and Mike Hayes, CNN

Russia-Ukraine war: Prigozhin says Wagner won’t fight in Ukraine

• Yevgeny Prigozhin tells his Wagner mercenaries in Belarus that they will not fight in Ukraine and asks them to prepare for a “new journey to Africa”, a video appears to show.
• South Africa, host of this year’s BRICS summit, says Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend. A member of the International Criminal Court, the African nation would have been obligated to arrest the Russian leader for war crimes in Ukraine if he showed up.
• Ukraine accuses Russia of damaging grain export infrastructure in “hellish” overnight strikes focused on two of its Black Sea ports.
• The United Kingdom’s MI6 chief says Putin is “clearly under pressure” after last month’s Wagner Group mutiny and calls on Russians to spy for the UK.

EU to send planes to Greece to battle wildfires; Phoenix braced for record 19th day of punishing temperatures

EU has announced to help combat wildfires in Greece; Arizona’s state capital expecting 19th day of highs of at least 110F

• Extreme temperatures recorded across northern hemisphere

The EU has announced it will weigh in with help to combat wildfires in Greece after Athens requested support from fellow member states, reports Helena Smith, the Guardian’s correspondent in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

European Commission spokesperson Janez Lenarcic said four Canadair firefighting planes would be dispatched to the country from Italy and France after activation of the bloc’s civil protection mechanism.

The current high in Phoenix is 97F, as forecasters predict that Arizona’s capital city could experience the most consecutive number of days above 110F.

The city will likely get its 19th consecutive day of high temperatures exceeding 110F, breaking a previous record set in 1974, the National Weather Service of Phoenix reports.

Phoenix’s high temperature is predicted to reach 117F, as much of the US south-west area deals with extreme heat. Phoenix residents experience little relief at night, as temperatures remain above 90F.

Israel: Thousands rally in ‘day of disruption’

Thousands of Israelis packed the streets of Tel Aviv blocking roads and gathering near the stock exchange and military headquarters on the “day of disruption” to protest against the government’s judicial reform plan.

Thousands of people in Israel took to the streets on Tuesday as legislators prepare to pass one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform bills.

The proposals have divided the nation and triggered a massive protest movement since being unveiled in January by Netanyahu’s right-wing government. Weekly rallies have drawn tens of thousands of protesters aiming to prevent what they believe could open the way to a more authoritarian government.

According to the AFP news agency, dozens of demonstrators entered the stock exchange building in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, tossing fake banknotes as a symbol of corruption. Protesters also ignited smoke bombs outside the building, where they chanted and held up signs reading “dictatorship will kill the economy.”

Tunisia anti-fake news law criminalises free speech: Legal group

The International Commission of Jurists says that President Saied is shutting down space for free speech online.

 A leading human rights group has slammed the use of a Tunisian law criminalising the spreading of “fake news” to stifle free speech in the country.

The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has criticised the implementation of the legislation, issued directly by President Kais Saied following his 2021 suspension of parliament, which they claim allows him to criminalise any type of electronic communication that he objects to.

Decree 54, issued by President Kais Saied in September 2022, criminalises using electronic equipment to share false information, part of what his supporters have viewed as an important push against attempts to deceive the public.

Kyoto Animation memorial marks 4 years since attack as trial looms

A memorial for the 36 people killed in the 2019 arson attack on anime studio Kyoto Animation Co was held on Tuesday, ahead of the start of the suspected culprit’s trial in September.

Bereaved family members and the company’s President Hideaki Hatta were among the roughly 150 people who attended the event, held at the site where the studio once stood in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward. Fans were asked to refrain from coming to the location to keep the solemn event private.

“No matter how many years pass, my feelings have not changed a bit. The sadness does not ease,” Hatta told reporters after the ceremony, adding, “It was of great sorrow that we lost such talented peers. As a company, the damage has been enormous.”

US soldier believed to be detained by North Korea after crossing border

An American believed to have been detained in North Korea after crossing the inter-Korean border during a tour is a US Army soldier, a US official told CNN on Tuesday.

He was detained during a Joint Security Area tour after crossing the demarcation line separating North and South Korea, according to the United Nations Command, which oversees the border area.

A US defense official said the service member is a junior enlisted soldier assigned to US Forces Korea and was not in uniform when he crossed into North Korea. The official also added that he was on a tour as a civilian.

Another US official said there was no indication the soldier was trying to defect.

Commonwealth Games: 2026 event in doubt after Victoria cancels

Europe to get even hotter as 50C recorded in US and China

Stifling heat in Siciliy city under red alert

Sofia Bettiza

reporting from Palermo

I’ve arrived today in Palermo on the island of Sicily.

This region is where, two years ago, the highest temperature in Europe was recorded – this could be exceeded in the coming days.

Today it is scorching hot and the air feels stifling and oppressive.

Palermo has been placed under a red alert warning, which means the heat poses a threat to everybody – not just to more vulnerable groups such as young children and the elderly.

Getting here was a struggle, as a fire broke out last night and led to one of the island’s major airports, Catania, being shut down. It is still unclear whether the fire is linked to the heatwave.

Summary

1. Southern and eastern Europe is expected to get even hotter this week, with 46C (115F) forecast in Sardinia
2. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe is believed to be 48.8C (120F) in Sicily in August 2021
3. Italian authorities have issued red alerts for 16 cities, while a wildfire has broken out in Greece
4. China provisionally recorded its highest temperature ever on Sunday – 52.2C in Xinjiang, the UK Met Office says
5. In the US, a heat dome over the south-west has left tens of millions of people under extreme heat warnings
6. Death Valley in California hit 53.9C (128F ) on Sunday – the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth is 56.7C (134F)

Almost 10 months after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, triggering weeks of protest across Iran, police vans are again patrolling the country’s streets looking for women failing to wear the hijab “correctly”. Now, however, the vans and officers will not bear the name “morality police”, and patrolmen will be wearing body cameras.

The announcement on Sunday followed widespread reports that unmarked vans had been spotted on the streets of cities such as Tehran and Shiraz, stopping people not wearing the hijab. The move has already prompted demonstrations: on Sunday, protesters took to the streets in Rasht after three women were reportedly arrested.

Greece: Wildfires near Athens prompt evacuations

Authorities have issued precautionary evacuations as temperatures rise and winds pick up speed. Hundreds of firefighters are responding. A persistent heatwave has contributed to the blazes.

A wildfire raging near Athens, Greece, has prompted authorities to evacuate a nearby residential community with thousands of seaside homes.

The fire broke out in Kouvaras, roughly 27 kilometers (17 miles) southeast of the capital, damaging several homes.

A spokesman for the regional fire department said, “It’s a difficult fire, the winds are really strong.”

High winds with gusts of up to 70 kph (45 mph) have fanned the flames as it devours vegetation and threatens nearby buildings.

Greek authorities say as many as 150 firefighters are on the scene, using 40 fire engines and 11 extinguishing aircraft to get the blaze under control. Greece’s Hellenic Fire Service also reported that a second blaze had broken out in woods near the resort town of Loutraki, about 90 kilometers west of Athens.

Turkish, Russian foreign ministers to discuss grain deal, Erdogan says

The Turkish and Russian foreign ministers will discuss the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, President Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that he hoped for progress on the issue after Moscow said it was suspending its participation. “I hope that with this discussion, we can make some progress and continue on our way without a pause,” Erdogan said, speaking to reporters shortly after Moscow said it was halted its participation in the deal.

 

Israel recognises Western Sahara as part of Morocco

Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara, but other countries back separatist movement.

Israel has recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, the Moroccan government has said.

Morocco has had control of the territory, but little international recognition, since 1975, after Spanish colonial rule ended.

But a separatist movement, backed by Algeria, has long pushed for an independent state.

More to follow. 

Xi Jinping’s foreign minister has vanished from public view. His prolonged absence is driving intense speculation

By Nectar Gan, CNN

Updated 6:39 AM EDT, Mon July 17, 2023

 

China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen in public for three weeks, an unusually long absence during a busy period of diplomatic activity in Beijing, sparking intense speculation in a country known for its political opaqueness.

Qin, 57, a career diplomat and trusted aide of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was promoted to foreign minister in December, after a brief stint as ambassador to the United States.

As foreign minister, Qin has delivered searing rebukes of Washington after relations plunged to a new low in the aftermath of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the US.

He has also played a key role in subsequent efforts by both sides to stabilize rocky ties and restore communication, including meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Beijing in mid-June.

But the high-profile diplomat has not been seen in public since June 25, after he met with officials from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Russia in Beijing.