Month: July 2023

With the trial of 17 Kurdish journalists due to start in Turkey on Tuesday, lawyers and media analysts say prolonged judicial processes are being used as a punishment and deterrent. The journalists were detained on June 8, 2022, but prosecutors did not release an indictment in their case until March of this year. Of the 17 facing charges, 14 have been kept in pretrial detention. The group worked for pro-Kurdish media outlets including the Mesopotamia News Agency, a production company called Pel and the Dicle Firat Journalists Association.  Authorities accuse them of belonging to a terrorist organization — a reference …

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Latest developments: Ukrainian officials say the country’s forces have recaptured 193 square kilometers of territory since launching a counteroffensive last month. Poland, which serves as a hub for military aid to Ukraine, says it detained a 15th member of a Russian spy network. Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said the person “kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports.”   The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and several Wagner commanders days after Prigozhin led a brief mutiny. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three-hour meeting included Putin giving his assessment “of the …

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Australia has confirmed one of the largest defense export deals in its history selling armored combat vehicles to Germany. The $661million announcement was made by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he arrived in Berlin ahead of talks at a NATO summit in Lithuania. Australia will supply Germany with 100 Brisbane-made Boxer armored combat vehicles from 2025. The deal is worth $661 million and is expected to be formally signed on Tuesday. Analysts have said the Boxer heavy assault vehicle, which is armed with a cannon, has a reputation for mobility, firepower and protection from explosives with a reinforced hull …

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The war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda Monday as U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet in London as allies prepare for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.  It will be the leaders’ sixth meeting in six months. In June, Biden hosted Sunak at the White House, committing to the Atlantic Declaration to cooperate on advanced technologies, clean energy, and critical minerals to counter China’s clout around the world.    Biden is also due to meet Monday with Britain’s King Charles before traveling to Vilnius, where it remains unlikely NATO will welcome Sweden as its …

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U.S. President Joe Biden is in London for an overnight stop Sunday enroute to Lithuania for the NATO summit in Vilnius, where it remains unlikely that the alliance will welcome Sweden as its 32nd member due to persistent objections from Turkey. During the flight to Britain, Biden spoke on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a last-minute push to pave the way toward Ankara agreeing to Sweden’s accession — a process that must be unanimous among all current members. “I can’t characterize how close, how far, all I can say is that we believe that Sweden should …

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At least 300 people who were traveling on three migrant boats from Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands have disappeared, migrant aid group Walking Borders said Sunday.  Two boats, one carrying about 65 people and the other with between 50 and 60 on board, have been missing for 15 days since they left Senegal to try to reach Spain, Helena Maleno of Walking Borders told Reuters.  A third boat left Senegal on June 27 with about 200 people aboard.  The families of those on board have not heard from them since they left, Maleno said.  All three boats left Kafountine in …

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U.S. President Joe Biden expressed a desire to see Sweden join NATO “as soon as possible” in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in which they discussed Sweden’s bid to become a member of the Western alliance, the White House said Sunday. Turkey, along with Hungary, has been a stumbling block to Sweden’s bid, which requires unanimous approval by all NATO members. Erdogan told Biden that Stockholm has taken steps in the right direction for Ankara to ratify its bid, referring to an anti-terrorism law, but said these steps were not useful as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters …

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A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who died in police custody seven years ago, was released from hospital Sunday, amid calls for more protests. The appeals for action came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teenager near Paris sparked the worst rioting in the country since 2005. Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore, a black 24-year-old, in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings. According to a police source, …

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