Month: August 2023

Ukraine attempted to launch a drone attack on Moscow early Friday, but Russian forces downed the unmanned aerial vehicle. After Russia shot down the drone, debris from the attack fell on Moscow’s Expo Center, a massive exhibitions space, located less than 7 kilometers from the Kremlin. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that the wreckage from the drone fell near the Expo Center but “did not cause significant damage.” Ukraine claimed Thursday that its counteroffensive had retaken parts of Russian-controlled land in the southeastern part of the country in a push beyond the newly liberated village of Urozhaine. The …

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Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Thursday visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Russia’s neighbor and ally, where Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons. Shangfu met with strongman President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and said “the purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation.” Neither side gave details of what the cooperation will entail, but the two countries have agreed to hold joint military exercises next year. Li visited Russia just before going to Belarus. …

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A total of 62 humanitarian aid workers have died this year around the world, the United Nations said Thursday as it prepared to mark 20 years since a devastating attack on the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The U.N. observes World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19 each year as it remembers the suicide bombing, which claimed 22 lives, including that of Sergio Vieira de Mello, then the U.N. high commissioner for human rights and the head of the U.N. mission in Iraq. Besides the 62 deaths this year in the world’s conflict zones, another 84 aid workers were wounded and 34 …

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An Iranian journalist said Thursday she had no regrets over posting on social media a picture of herself without a headscarf in defiance of Iran’s dress laws, sharing a similar image following her latest release from jail.  Nazila Maroufian last year interviewed the father of the young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody sparked months of protests.  She walked out of Tehran’s Evin prison on Sunday after more than a month behind bars, posting on social media a picture of herself without a headscarf and the slogan “Don’t accept slavery, you deserve the best!”  She was promptly …

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A civilian cargo ship sailing from Ukraine reached Istanbul on Thursday in defiance of a Moscow blockade that sent tensions soaring after Russia open fired on a Turkish-owned ship.  The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte left the port of Odesa on Wednesday — the first vessel to directly challenge Russia’s new bid to seal Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.  Marine traffic sites showed it approaching its final destination in Istanbul after moving along a western route that avoided international waters in favor of those controlled by NATO members Romania and Bulgaria.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ship was using …

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The United States on Thursday imposed new sanctions on four Russian security agents it accused of being involved in the 2020 poisoning of imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The Treasury Department said the four Russians are linked to Moscow’s Federal Security Service. Treasury officials blocked any U.S. assets they may hold and prohibited them from conducting U.S. financial transactions, while the State Department ended the possibility of visa rights to enter the U.S. In a statement, Treasury anti-terrorism official Brian Nelson said, “Today we remind Vladimir Putin and his regime that there are consequences not only for waging a brutal …

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Sweden raised its terrorism alert level on Thursday one notch to the second highest, following a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran in the Scandinavian country by a handful of anti-Islam activists, sparking angry demonstrations across Muslim countries. Sweden has in recent weeks asked citizens abroad and businesses linked to the country to “be attentive and aware of the information the authorities communicate,” following a string of public burnings of copies of the Quran by an Iraqi asylum-seeker. The Scandinavian country’s domestic security service, SAPO, said the overall security situation has deteriorated, and the risk of terrorism in …

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England will play Spain in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Sydney on Sunday. Spain beat Sweden 2-1 in its semifinal while England defeated co-hosts Australia 3-1 to reach the final. Thirty-two teams started the 2023 Women’s soccer World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Two remain. On Tuesday, Spain defeated Sweden by two goals to one at Eden Park in Auckland to reach its first World Cup final. Spain first qualified for the event in 2015 and will face England, the current European champion, in Sunday’s final at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. England defeated co-hosts Australia …

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