Month: December 2023

Denmark Passes Bill to Stop Quran Burnings

Denmark’s parliament passed a bill on Thursday that makes it illegal to burn copies of the Quran in public places, after protests in Muslim nations over the desecration of Islam’s holy book raised Danish security concerns. Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Quran, sparking tensions with Muslims and triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice. Denmark sought to strike a balance between constitutionally protected freedom of speech, including the right to criticize religion, and national security amid fears that Quran burnings would trigger …

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 Ukraine Says Russian Drone Attack Hits Odesa Port

A Russian drone attack killed one person and damaged port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, the regional governor said Thursday. Oleh Kiper said Odesa was under attack for two hours, and that while air defenses shot down most of the Russian drones involved, some of them made it through. He identified the victim as a truck driver, and said the drone attack damaged a warehouse, elevator and trucks near the Danube River. Ukraine’s military said Russia’s aerial attack involved a total of 18 drones targeting Odesa in southern Ukraine and the Khmelnytskyi region in the western part of the country. …

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Azerbaijan Leader Calls Snap Presidential Vote For Feb. 7

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday called snap presidential elections in February, in a move expected to extend the decades-long authoritarian rule of his family. Aliyev’s popularity is soaring after his military recaptured the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenian separatists in a lightning offensive in September. A decree published by the presidency ordered officials to hold a “snap election” on Feb. 7 next year. Elections had previously been scheduled for 2025. A state-run pollster recently said 75% of the population approve of Aliyev’s handling of the Karabakh conflict, which saw the mass exodus of ethnic Armenians living in the long-disputed …

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   EU, Chinese Leaders Meet in Beijing

European Union leaders are in Beijing Thursday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. Ahead of the meetings, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the two sides would discuss “how to rebalance our economic relationship,” highlighting China’s position as the EU’s “most important trading partner,” and stressing the need to address the trade imbalance between them. Von der Leyen said the meetings would also include discussion of cooperation on climate change and on rules for artificial intelligence. She also highlighted a need for the EU and China to use their roles as major …

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Meets Virtually With G7 Leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday met virtually with leaders from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, telling them that Moscow is counting on Western unity to “collapse” next year. Attendees, including Kyiv’s key allies such as U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. leader Rishi Sunak, said they remained committed to supporting Ukraine. Their comments came amid fears that Western support for Ukraine could wane as Kyiv makes limited progress on the battlefield. “We are determined to support an independent, democratic Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” leaders of the G7 said in a statement after the meeting. The …

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Війська РФ запустили БПЛА з Чорного моря – Повітряні сили

Повітряні сили ЗСУ повідомили у четвер вночі, що російські війська запустили з Чорного моря ударні безпілотники. Попередження надійшло на тлі повітряної тривоги в Одеській області. «Ворожі ударні БПЛА з Чорного моря атакують південь Одещини», – зазначили військові. Крім того, наразі повітряна тривога діє на Вінничині та Нікопольщині Дніпропетровської області. У ніч на 6 грудня російські військові також атакували Україну безпілотниками типу Shahed. Повітряні сили повідомили про збиття 41 з 48 БПЛА. Російські військові регулярно обстрілюють українські міста і села, розташовані в межах досяжності їхньої артилерії, ракетних систем залпового вогню, ракет і дронів. Попри докази і свідчення, Москва від початку повномасштабного вторгнення заперечує цілеспрямовану атаку на …

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Zelenskyy Aide Wants Hungarian, Ukrainian Leaders to Discuss EU Bid 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff on Wednesday said he wanted to arrange a meeting between the Ukrainian and Hungarian leaders amid Budapest’s opposition to a proposal to start talks on European Union membership for Kyiv.  Andriy Yermak said he had spoken to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto about a possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – after Orban and his party publicly opposed starting membership talks.  Yermak, writing on Telegram, said the two had agreed “to work on setting a suitable date for such a meeting.”  Unanimous approval at an EU summit next week …

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US Charges Russian-Affiliated Soldiers With War Crimes

The United States is charging four Russian-affiliated soldiers with war crimes for what American prosecutors describe as the heinous abuse of a U.S. citizen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year.  The charges – the first ever filed by the U.S. under its nearly 30-year-old war crimes statute – include conspiracy to commit war crimes, unlawful confinement, torture, and inhumane treatment, following the takeover of the village of Mylove, in the Kherson oblast of southern Ukraine in April 2022.  “As the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, so has the United States …

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