Month: January 2023

Sweden’s foreign ministry Saturday warned Swedes in Turkey to avoid crowds and demonstrations following protests there over the burning of the Quran by a far-right politician in Stockholm last week. Turkey has suspended talks with Sweden and Finland on their applications to join NATO after the protest at which Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Paludan’s actions have led to demonstrations in several Muslim countries as well as in Turkey. “Swedes in Turkey are asked to stay updated on the development of events …

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ormer army chief Petr Pavel won the Czech Republic’s presidential election on Saturday after a campaign featuring strong backing for NATO and the European Union and support for aid to Ukraine. Pavel, a 61-year-old retired general running for office for the first time, was set to win more than 58% of the vote with nearly all voting districts having reported, defeating billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis, a dominant but polarizing force in Czech politics for a decade. Pavel, who had campaigned as an independent and gained the backing of the center-right government, conveyed a message of unity and calm in society …

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The British Defense Ministry said Saturday that Russia “highly likely” suffered more than 300 casualties in a New Year’s Day strike on its troops in Ukraine at Makiivka near Donetsk City. The ministry said it believes that “the majority were likely killed or missing, rather than wounded.” The ministry noted that while its Russian counterpart “took the rare step of publicly acknowledging” that it had suffered casualties, Russia claimed only 89 had been killed. The British ministry said the Russian ministry “likely assessed” it could not avoid commenting on the strike because Russian commanders had come under widespread criticism following …

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Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this week, as seen from the United Nations’ perch. UN deputy chief says Taliban’s desire for recognition is bargaining chip on rights U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said Wednesday that the international community’s best leverage to persuade the Taliban to reverse restrictions on Afghan women’s rights is the group’s desire for international recognition. She told reporters that the U.N. and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are discussing holding a conference in March in the region on women in the Muslim world. Mohammed led a …

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As the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to secure NATO enlargement with the accession of Sweden and Finland, it is dealing with requests by Turkey and Greece to purchase fighter jets, the latter being less controversial and more likely to be approved. Analysts speaking to VOA said the outcome of the proposed sale of F-16s to Ankara and F-35s to Athens would impact the air defense capabilities of the two neighbors and the power balance in the region. Turkey requested to buy 40 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, the most advanced of their kind, and nearly 80 modernization …

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Ukraine said Russian missile strikes killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians Friday as fierce fighting continued in the east of the country. Twenty others were wounded. Ukrainian officials say most of the casualties from the missile strikes occurred in towns in the country’s east and south that are near Russian artillery units. They follow Russian missile attacks that went farther into Ukrainian territory Thursday, killing 11 people. Kyiv said its troops were involved in fierce fighting Friday with Russian troops in the eastern town of Vuhledar, part of the Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address …

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The United Nations held a solemn ceremony Friday to mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, plus the Roma, disabled people and countless others who died at the hands of Nazi Germany. It began with a lullaby composed by Gideon Klein, who perished in a Nazi concentration camp. Klein’s music was followed by a solemn ceremony in which six candles were lit in memory of the 6 million victims of the Holocaust. The event also paid tribute to those who liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland 78 years ago …

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Turkey summoned the Danish ambassador and accused Denmark of endorsing a “hate crime” after an anti-Islam activist on Friday burned two copies of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in a solitary protest in Copenhagen.  Rasmus Paludan, a far-right activist who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, had already infuriated Turkey by staging a Quran-burning protest in Sweden on January 21. On Friday, he replicated the stunt in front of a mosque, as well as the Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen, and vowed to continue every Friday until Sweden is admitted into NATO.  Sweden and neighboring Finland are seeking to join the …

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