Month: April 2023

Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in which some 30 other people were wounded. Here’s what we know so far.    Who was Tatarsky?  Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin – was among the best-known members of an influential group of military bloggers who have provided a running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Although frequently scathing about the defense establishment, they have been enthusiastic cheerleaders for the war and avoided direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Tatarsky, 40, was among those who publicly demanded that Russia pursue the war …

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French authorities see the police as protectors who are ensuring that citizens can peacefully protest President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious retirement age increase. But to human rights advocates and demonstrators who were clubbed or tear-gassed, officers have overstepped their mission. In the months since mass protests of the proposed pension changes began roiling France, some law enforcement officers have been accused of resorting to gratuitous violence. A man in Paris lost a testicle to an officer’s club, and a police grenade took the thumb of a woman in Rouen. A railroad worker hit by grenade fragments lost an eye. “Where is …

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Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci goes on trial at a Hague war crimes tribunal Monday, accused of a bloody campaign of murder and torture in the 1998-1999 independence war with Serbia.     The one-time guerrilla hero, who has pled not guilty and denies the charges, allegedly targeted perceived enemies of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including Serbs and Roma, as the rebels sought to seize power.    Prosecutors say Thaci, who went by the nickname “Snake” during the war, is jointly responsible for more than 100 murders by the KLA ranging from executions to deaths of mistreated detainees.    The trial …

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Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St. Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. Russia’s state Investigative Committee said 19 other people were wounded in the blast, and it had opened a murder investigation. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have championed Russia’s war effort in Ukraine while often criticizing the failures of …

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New developments: In Kostiantynivka, eastern Ukraine, six civilians were killed and eight wounded from Russian shelling Sunday morning, a senior Ukraine official said, according to Reuters. A top Ukrainian official outlined the plan Kyiv would take after the country reclaims control of Crimea, including dismantling the bridge that links the peninsula to Russia, The Associated Press reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia assuming leadership of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday an absurd and destructive move, Reuters reported. An explosion at a cafe in Russia’s second-largest city killed a military blogger who had supported the fighting in Ukraine, …

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Finns cast ballots on Sunday in a closely contested parliamentary election that could cost left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin power amid voter concern over the future of generous public services at a time of economic downturn. No party is seen as holding a decisive lead and the election is likely to be followed by lengthy coalition talks, although whichever party wins on Sunday will have the first attempt at forming a government. Voting began at 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) and closes at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT). Partial results from early voting will be published shortly afterwards. Marin, 37, is seen …

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Bulgarians vote in their fifth parliamentary election in two years on Sunday amid rising resentment towards political elites who many see as unwilling to tackle graft and economic reforms. Opinion polls show the ballot will likely leave Bulgaria short of a functioning parliamentary majority again, putting in question its ambitions to join the euro zone in the near term and effectively use European Union COVID recovery aid. In the running is a coalition of the center-right GERB party of former long-serving premier Boyko Borissov, 63, and its small Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) partner, as well as the newly established …

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