News
- By RFE/RL
Hollande Calls For Joint U.S.-Russian Fight Against Islamic State After Deadly Paris Attacks
WATCH: People across Europe observed a minute of silence on November 16 in honor of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris three days earlier. In the French capital, President Francois Hollande led the observance at the Sorbonne, while mourners gathered at the sites of attacks. Moments of silence were also held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where flags flew at half-mast, and in Berlin, Germany. (AP)
French President Francois Hollande says the United States and Russia should set aside their differences and join forces to fight Islamic State (IS) militants following the November 13 attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris.
Hollande told a rare joint sitting of parliament on November 16 that he would meet in the coming days with U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge their cooperation.
"We must combine our forces to achieve a result that is already too late in coming," he said.
Hollande’s speech came after French police carried out more than 150 raids on suspected Islamists nationwide, while Belgian commandos besieged a home in Brussels but failed to find a key suspect in the deadliest terror attack in Europe since 2004.
As air strikes targeted IS militants in Syria, French officials identified a Belgian man they said may have masterminded the coordinated Friday-night gun and bomb assaults at a sports stadium, a concert hall, and central Parisian bars and restaurants.
Hollande told lawmakers that France would escalate its battle against the extremist group.
"France is at war. But we're not engaged in a war of civilizations, because these assassins do not represent any,” he said. “We are in a war against jihadist terrorism which is threatening the whole world."
Meanwhile, world leaders at a two-day G20 summit in Turkey focused on the threat from IS and other extremist groups, vowing steps to cut off terrorist financing and share intelligence but departing with few signs of a major change of strategy against IS, which has claimed responsibility for the Paris killings.
With the Paris attacks igniting calls for a crackdown on migrants streaming into Europe from Syria and other war-torn states, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the migration crisis must not be conflated with the terrorist threat.
Emboldened IS militants threatened more attacks against the West. A video released by the radical Islamist group said no country that is battling IS would be spared, and specifically warned it would attack the United States and "conquer" Rome.
The French assaults appeared to show the militant group has broadened its range and ambitions since seizing broad swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq last year.
Putin, who in late September launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria that Western nations charge is mainly aimed at shoring up President Bashar al-Assad's government, said that after the Paris attacks it is clear that only joint actions can be effective against terrorism.
WATCH: Migrants and refugees arriving at the Macedonian-Serbian border crossing of Tabanovce were horrified to learn of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. As they travel through Europe, they now fear becoming targets of a backlash.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on November 16 that police had raided homes of suspected Islamists overnight across France, where President Francois Hollande imposed a state of emergency after what he called an "act of war" and promised a "ruthless" response.
"We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement...and all those who advocate hate of the republic," Valls said.
"We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France, but against other European countries," the prime minister added.
French police conducted 168 raids overnight, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on November 16. He said there have been 23 arrests in the wake of the attacks, and that 104 people are under house arrest. Police said an arsenal of weapons had been seized.
Belgium Raids
In neighboring Belgium, federal prosecutors said on November 16 that two people detained two days earlier were being held on terrorism charges related to their possible role in the Paris attacks, though no details about the suspects was given.
The two individuals face charges of leading a terrorist attack and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, Reuters reported.
Heavily armed Belgian police also carried out an operation in Molenbeek, an impoverished Brussels neighborhood that has been a hotbed of Islamist militancy. Prosecutors said the search did not result in evidence and that no one was arrested.
Police said the operation was related to the Paris attacks and to the search for Saleh Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who is wanted under an international arrest warrant.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF said one person was detained but it was not Abdeslam
Western news agencies reported that French officials identified the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks as Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian who the official said is believed to have also been linked to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train in August and a Paris area church in April.
Abaaoud "appears to be the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe," Reuters quoted a source close to the investigation as saying on condition of anonymity.
The child of Moroccan immigrants, Abaaoud grew up in Molenbeek and was once a student at a prestigious Brussels high school. But he became a zealous Islamist militant and once recruited his 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria, AP reported. He is in his 20s.
French prosecutors said they have identified five of the seven suspected suicide attackers who died on November 13. Four were French, they said, and the fifth was stopped and fingerprinted in Greece in October and may have been Syrian.
France remained on edge on November 16, the final day of a three-day mourning period. Hollande stood in a crowd of Sorbonne university students during a moment of silence, which was also observed at schools and businesses across the country.
Crowds gathered at a makeshift monument at Republique Plaza, in a neighborhood targeted by the attacks, where a banner reads "Can't Scare Us." But fireworks set off panic in a crowd gathered to mourn and show solidarity with the victims on November 15, underscoring concerns of fresh violence.
"We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries," French Prime Minister Valls told RTL radio. "We are going to live with this terrorist threat for a long time."
The attackers wreaked havoc in a city that is one of the chief centers and symbols of Western civilization, detonating suicide bombs outside the Stade de France during an international match, gunning down cafe patrons in a trendy neighborhood, and methodically firing into the crowd at a concert.
Planned From Syria
The death toll stood at 129 on November 16, the deadliest terror attack in Europe since train bombings in Madrid killed 191 people and injured 350 more in 2004. Seven attackers also died, most of them after detonating suicide belts.
Hollande told lawmakers that the victims were of 19 different nationalities. The attackers targeted “the "youth in all its diversity" and "the France that likes life, culture, sports, parties," he said.
He said the assault was planned in Syria, the site of a four-year civil war pitting Assad's government -- which has support from Russia and Iran -- against IS and militants and other opponents, some of whom are also fighting against IS.
The attacks "were decided and planned in Syria, prepared and organized in Belgium and perpetrated on our soil with French complicity," Hollande said.
He called on lawmakers to prolong the state of emergency he imposed after the attacks and pass constitutional amendments allowing dual nationals to be stripped of their French citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism and bar them from entering France if they are deemed a "terrorism risk."
French jets targeted the city of Raqqa, the stronghold in Syria of IS, hitting weapons depots and a training camp. France is a founding member of the U.S.-led coalition combatting IS militants, but until recently its jets had been bombing IS targets only in Iraq, not Syria.
The Paris attacks and their potential consequences dominated the annual summit of the G20 in Belek, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, where leaders called for unity against terrorism and IS militants.
The attacks have prompted speculation that differences between the United States, Europe, and Gulf Arab states on the one hand and Russia and Iran on the other -- largely over the future of Assad -- could be narrowed.
Hollande called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss greater cooperation to combat IS forces.
Hollande said he would meet in the coming days with Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama, and called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss greater cooperation to combat IS forces.
Putin said the Paris attacks -- which came after Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that killed 43 people in Beirut, Lebanon, a day earlier and for the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt on October 31, in which all 224 aboard died -- showed that Russia's previous calls for closer unity against terrorism were justified.
"I spoke of this at a UN session" in late September, Putin said at the G20 summit. "This is what I spoke of, and the tragic events which have followed this have only confirmed our rightness."
Putin and Obama huddled on the sidelines of the summit on November 15, six weeks after a very chilly meeting at the United Nations in which tension over Syria was palpable. Russia launched a campaign of air strikes shortly afterward, and Western governments say Moscow has mainly targeted Assad opponents other than IS.
A senior Putin adviser said differences over the "tactics" in the fight against Islamic State persisted after the meeting in Turkey.
On November 16, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the "enormous" gap between "those of us who believe Assad should go immediately and those, like President Putin, who have been supporting and continue to support him" has been reduced. He added: "I hope we can close the gap still further but it will need compromise on both sides."
Intelligence Sharing
French police issued a photo of Abdeslam on November 15, after police in Belgium issued the arrest warrant.
"The abject attacks that hit us on Friday were prepared abroad and mobilized a team in Belgium that benefited ... from help in France," Cazeneuve told reporters after meeting his Belgian counterpart in Paris.
Belgian officials said they had arrested seven people in Brussels after two Belgian-registered cars were discovered in Paris, both suspected of being used by the attackers.
"I do not want any preachers of hatred on Belgian soil! There is no place for them in Belgium," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter on November 15.
A judicial source said Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national, had rented one of the two cars, a Volkswagen Polo, that was found not far from the Bataclan concert hall, the site of the bloodiest attack.
One of the attackers named by French police was Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old from Chartres, southwest of Paris, who was identified by the print from one of his fingers that was severed when his suicide vest exploded.
A senior Turkish government official said on November 16 that Turkey notified France about Mostefai twice -- in December 2014 and June 2015 -- but only received an information request from France about him after the November 13 attacks.
Turkey received an information request from France on October 10, 2014, regarding four terror suspects but during its investigation identified a fifth individual, Mostefai, the official said. According to the official, Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there was no record of him leaving again.
French authorities said that one of the attacks at the Bataclan concert hall was Samy Amimour, a 28-year-old from the Paris suburb of Drancy, and that a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Stade de France held a passport in the name of Ahmad Al Mohammad, a Syrian from Idlib.
They said another suicide bomber was Bilial Hadfi, 20, a Frenchman who had lived in Belgium, and that an attacker who blew himself up at a restaurant was Ibrahim (or Brahim) Abdeslam, a brother of Salah Abdelslam and reportedly a friend of suspected mastermind Abaaoud.
German officials said a man arrested in the southern state of Bavaria earlier this month after guns and explosives were found in his car may also be linked to the attacks.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and dpa
More News
- By Reuters
Iran Backs Lebanon In Cease-Fire Talks, Seeks End To 'Problems'
Iran backs any decision taken by Lebanon in talks to secure a cease-fire with Israel, a senior Iranian official said on November 15, signaling Tehran wants to see an end to a conflict that has dealt heavy blows to its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and whose military wing is blacklisted by the European Union. Israel launched air strikes in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, flattening buildings for a fourth consecutive day. Israel has stepped up its bombardment of the area this week, an escalation that has coincided with signs of movement in U.S.-led diplomacy toward a cease-fire. Senior Iranian official Ali Larijani, asked whether he had come to Beirut to undermine the U.S. truce plan, said: "We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems."
- By Reuters
Russia Restricts Enriched Uranium Exports To The U.S.
Russia, the world's largest supplier of enriched uranium, said on November 15 that it had imposed temporary restrictions on the export of enriched uranium to the United States, a symbolic tit-for-tat move after the United States banned Russian uranium imports. Russia holds about 44 percent of the world's uranium-enrichment capacity and about 35 percent of U.S. nuclear fuel imports used to come from Russia, according to the U.S. Office of Nuclear Energy. But in May, President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on Russian enriched uranium, though the United States also has the ability to issue waivers if there are supply concerns.
- By RFE/RL
Scholz Speaks To Putin About Ukraine War, Drawing Concern From Kyiv
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone on November 15, urging the Kremlin leader to end the war against Ukraine and negotiate with Kyiv for a "just and lasting peace," the chancellor's office said.
But the first direct conversation in nearly two years between the German and Russian leaders elicited a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Scholz's call was a "Pandora's box" that could help Putin "ease his isolation, Russia's isolation, and engage in conventional negotiations that won't end in anything."
Zelenskiy said such empty exchanges are "exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time" as the 2 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion grinds on.
Scholz expressed "unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary," Berlin said.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
"The chancellor condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops," Scholz's office said.
It also said Scholz spoke with Zelenskiy before the Putin call and would speak again afterward.
The Kremlin said the conversation came at Germany's request and was "a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine."
It repeated Moscow talking points on the origins of the conflict in "NATO's long-term aggressive policy" and said Russia had "never refused and remains open to resuming negotiations." It cited a speech by Putin in June and said any possible deal should take Russian security interests into account along with "new territorial realities and, most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict."
Putin, the Kremlin said, described Russian-German relations as having suffered "unprecedented degradation in all areas" and said Russia was prepared for "mutually beneficial cooperation" in the energy sector.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Scholz talked to him afterward and that Warsaw was satisfied he "reiterated the Polish position: 'Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.'"
Reuters quoted a source as saying Scholz told Putin that the deployment of North Korean troops for combat missions is a significant escalation and expansion of the war.
- By RFE/RL
Apple Removes Another RFE/RL App At Request Of Russian Regulator
U.S. technology giant Apple has notified RFE/RL that it has removed another of its apps following a request from Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor.
The newly removed RFE/RL app is that of the Russian Service, which in turn hosts the websites of its regional projects Siberia.Realities and North.Realities.
Apple had previously removed the apps for RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service and Current Time, the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.
Roskomnadzor notified Apple that the Russian Service app contains materials from an organization whose activities in Russia have been declared "undesirable."
The app is still available in Apple's App Store in other countries.
RFE/RL was placed on Russia's list of "undesirable organizations" in February. RFE/RL President Stephen Capus called the decision "yet another example of how the Russian government sees truthful reporting as an existential threat."
Besides RFE/RL's apps, Apple also removed or hid several Russian-language podcasts produced by independent journalists.
The news outlet Mediazona reported on November 14 that new episodes from the online radio station Ekho Moskvy and investigative outlet The Insider were no longer accessible inside Russia. A BBC Russian Service podcast also appeared to be affected.
Older episodes dating back more than a week were available, Mediazona reported, and users outside of Russia could still access all episodes.
In recent years, Russian authorities have accelerated efforts to more strictly regulate and control content on the Russian-language Internet, known informally as the RuNet. Sites like X or Facebook have been throttled or slowed down in the past in what experts say appears to be tests by regulators to filter content or redirect Russian users.
The Google-owned video streaming platform YouTube, which has been largely untouched by regulators, saw a major slowdown beginning in the summer.
Some officials blamed outdated equipment inside Russia, equipment Google has been unable to maintain due to Western sanctions. But others said the "degradation" was intentional, aimed at slowing the platform down and frustrating viewers in a bid to nudge them toward homegrown Russian alternatives that are more tightly controlled.
On November 14, Internet monitors reported that YouTube inside Russia appeared to have returned to normal speeds and was fully accessible throughout the country.
On November 15, the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin "is looking into" slow speeds and disruptions on YouTube after a top cinema official raised the matter.
Karen Shakhnazarov, a prominent filmmaker who heads Russia's most famous film studio, told a talk show on state-run TV on November 14 that he had raised the issue of YouTube speeds with Putin during a meeting a day earlier.
Other efforts by regulators to control the RuNet include installing sophisticated monitoring hardware, squeezing major Internet companies until they're sold to pliant owners, and ordering global tech giants to ensure their servers are accessible to regulators.
- By RFE/RL
Russian-American Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Massive Bitcoin Theft
A Russian-American man whose theft of thousands of bitcoins was one of the largest in history has been sentenced to five years in a U.S. prison. U.S. prosecutors charged Ilya Lichtenstein with conspiracy and money laundering for his theft of around 120,000 bitcoins from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016. Worth around $71 million at the time, the bitcoins are now worth 1,000 times that amount. Officials said Lichtenstein, who was born in Russia and raised in the United States, pleaded guilty last year, as did his wife, Heather Morgan, who helped him launder the funds, buying gold coins and shopping gift cards.
- By RFE/RL
IAEA Chief Visits Iran's Underground Nuclear Enrichment Sites
Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has visited Iran’s key underground uranium enrichment sites at Fordow and Natanz, Iranian state media reported on November 15, without offering details. Iran has restricted inspection of its nuclear sites and barred several IAEA inspectors from visiting its enrichment facilities. Grossi is in Iran to push for diplomacy, warning that the “space for negotiation…is getting smaller” over Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Tehran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. The visit comes ahead of an upcoming meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors, where some nations are pushing for action against the Islamic republic.
Abkhaz Opposition Says Talks Under Way After Storming Of Parliament Over Russia Deal
Opposition leaders in Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway region of Abkhazia claimed late on November 15 that lawmakers were mediating as a dispute continued with the region's leadership after opposition supporters stormed the local parliament over a controversial proposed deal with Moscow.
Local media said lawmakers had earlier failed to ratify the agreement, which reportedly would give preferential treatment to Russian property developers in the breakaway region, whose independence Moscow recognized 16 years ago but which Tbilisi and most of the international community still regard as Georgian territory.
Opposition leader Temur Gulia said that "negotiations are under way between the Coordination Council and members of parliament, who are communicating with the incumbent president [Aslan Bzhania] and conveying our proposals to him."
Hours earlier, the crowd outside forced its way into the grounds of the parliament building in Sukhumi, the regional capital, and was said to be pushing the legislature to vote on dropping the deal completely.
"The confrontation is growing, and there is a risk of it turning into bloodshed," Nuzhnaya Gazeta wrote on its Telegram channel.
Local media said police and hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces, who allegedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Local agency Apsnypress cited Abkhaz breakaway authorities as saying that seven people had been treated briefly for injuries and another remained under medical supervision. RFE/RL could not confirm that report.
Bzhania's press service subsequently said his administration is preparing a document on the withdrawal from parliament of the draft law. But protesters said they do not intend to withdraw before Bzhania resigns.
Appearing alongside Gulia, fellow oppositionist Kan Kvarchia said they had proposed two options, both of which included the resignations of Bzhania, his vice president, and the breakaway leadership's prime minister. The first option would leave parliamentary speaker Lasha Ashuba in charge until new elections are held, he said, while the second would allow the departing president to appoint a different individual "who satisfies all parties" as acting president until new voting.
Tensions have been running high in the region in recent weeks, with opposition activists demanding an end to Russia's dominance over the region and its economy, though opposition parties on November 15 said their protest is not against Russia.
"The actions of the protesters are not directed against relations between Russia and Abkhazia," they said in a joint statement. "In fact, we, the opposition, have always emphasized the importance of fraternal and strategic ties between our countries."
They said their anger was directed at Bzhania, whom they accused of using relations with Moscow "for his own selfish gain during his entire rule."
Russia's Foreign Ministry posted a statement in which spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Abkhaz opposition of exceeding legal means and "provoking an escalation."
She said Russia was not interfering and expected the situation "will be resolved exclusively by peaceful political means."
Zakharova recommended that any Russian citizens in Abkhazia leave "if possible" and that others refrain from traveling there.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in the summer of 2008, which ended with Georgia's defeat.
Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia, but its economy is almost entirely dependent on Moscow, which pays the salaries of public administrators as well as social payments to residents.
Russian Forces Reportedly Start All-Out Assault On Key Ukrainian City Of Kupyansk
Russian forces have reportedly opened an all-out assault on Kupyansk in northeastern Ukraine, days after partially breaching Ukrainian defenses to the north of the city.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Ukrainian forces have struggled for weeks to hold back Russian troops who have slowly advanced on the railway and transport hub from the north, east, and south.
The city has been under Ukrainian control since the fall of 2022, when commanders retook it amid a surprise offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Earlier this week, small units of Russian troops managed to enter Kupyansk's northern outskirts, Ukrainian and Russian officials reported. But Ukrainian commanders claimed they had repelled the effort.
On Telegram, Russian war bloggers reported infantry units had entered an industrial zone on the northern side of the city, and fierce fighting was under way.
Ukraine's General Staff said that Russian units were attacking outlying districts, but made no mention of fighting inside the city itself.
For months now, Ukrainian troops have struggled to hold back Russian advances across the nearly 1,100-kilometer front line.
Oleksandr Musiyenko, a military expert with the Military-Legal Investigations Center in Kyiv, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on November 15 that "in fact, Russian troops have been intensively storming the Kupyansk direction for a year and a half. And in a year and a half of attacks, of course, they could have had some tactical success."
He called the situation "tense" but suggested that Ukrainian forces were "succeeding in weakening" the Russian encirclement effort.
In addition to Kupyansk, Russian units are closing in on the Donbas city of Pokrovsk, and partially control Toretsk and Chasiv Yar. If those cities fall to Russia, Ukrainian supply and logistics lines across the Donbas will be severely threatened.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has stepped up its use of drones to target military bases and industrial sites such as fuel depots inside Russia itself.
On November 15, Ukraine launched dozens of drones, some targeting the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported, saying two districts -- Krymsk and Krasnoarmeisk -- suffered damage but no casualties.
The Telegram channel Astra reported that the attack targeted the Krymsk air base, which is used by Russian forces to launch attacks.
Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment on the attack.
Ukrainian forces have claimed to control more than 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory since a surprise cross-border incursion in the Kursk region that was launched in early August.
Musiyenko speculated that Russian forces are attacking with added intensity elsewhere in order to draw some of the Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk to other fronts.
He said Russia's "strategic goal" is currently to fully capture the Donetsk region.
Russia's Defense Ministry also reported more than 80 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory as well as the occupied Crimean Peninsula. The ministry claimed dozens were downed by air defense systems.
A day earlier, Russia launched its own drone and missile strike against the Black Sea port city of Odesa, an important hub for Ukrainian grain and agricultural exports. Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov called it "a massive combined strike."
WATCH: A Russian air attack struck a residential building and energy installations in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa on November 14, killing one person, injuring 10, and leaving 40,000 people without heating.
Officials said one person died and at least 10 other people, including a 9-year-old boy, were wounded.
One apartment building was completely destroyed, several others damaged, and a main pipeline supplying heating to some 40,000 people, was struck, forcing its shutdown, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported nearly 30 Russian drones and a cruise missile were fired at three regions overnight. It claimed 25 had been downed.
Seoul Detains Man Over 'Attempted Murder' Of Politician Close To Uzbek President's Daughter
South Korean authorities have detained Uzbek citizen Javlon Yunusov on suspicion of involvement in the attempted murder of Komil Allamjonov, a close associate of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev's daughter, independent sources in South Korea and Uzbekistan told RFE/RL on November 14.
A source in Uzbekistan's law enforcement called Yunusov's detention "a turning point" in an ongoing investigation. A representative of the Uzbek Embassy in Seoul confirmed Yunusov's detention but did not elaborate.
Interpol had issued a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest Yunusov, 36, on behalf of Uzbekistan on a charge of attempted murder.
The Red Notice issued by Interpol is not an arrest warrant but allows a third country to detain a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, according to Interpol.
The alleged crime took place on October 26 in the Tashkent region, according to the Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office. Authorities said that unknown individuals opened fire on a Range Rover. There were no injuries, the Prosecutor-General's Office said.
Sources close to the investigation told RFE/RL at the time that the alleged attackers targeted Allamjonov, a prominent political figure in Uzbekistan with close ties to the presidential family.
Uzbek authorities have said little publicly about their investigation into what they have called an attempted assassination, and local media have been gagged from reporting any information not released through official channels.
The reports on the attack, initially thought to be a botched hit, have now spiraled into a tangled web of intrigue implicating powerful figures within Mirziyoev's inner circle.
Uzbek authorities arrested two suspects in Uzbekistan following the attack.
Allamjonov, once a key adviser to Mirziyoev and mentor to his daughter, Saida Mirziyoeva, recently resigned from his post in the presidential administration. His departure, though publicly framed as a move to the private sector, was widely seen as a prelude to a growing rift within the ruling family.
Mirziyoeva, 40, is regularly mentioned in conversations about her father's long-term succession planning.
Authorities have remained tight-lipped, with no official explanation or details about the investigation released to the public.
Many in Uzbekistan suggest that the silence points to a deeper power struggle within Uzbekistan’s elite, one that may ultimately involve the highest levels of government.
- By Current Time
Wounded Russian Soldiers Flee Unit To Escape Return To Combat
More than a dozen wounded Russian contract soldiers who had fought in Ukraine fled a military unit near the city of Novosibirsk in southern Siberia when they were told they were being sent back to the battlefield despite their injuries, the Telegram channel Baza reported. The channel has ties to Russia's security services. The soldiers had signed contracts to fight in Ukraine in exchange for the termination of criminal prosecution for various offenses. Police managed to detain seven of those who fled, but the rest are still on the run. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
Russian Theater Director Gets 8 Years Over Anti-Putin Posts
Theater director Anastasia Berezhinskaya has been sentenced to 8 years in prison by a court in Moscow over her posts and comments on the VKontakte social network in 2022, condemning Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and making calls to "kill" and "eliminate" President Vladimir Putin.
Judge Andrei Pluzhnikov from the Second Western District Military Court in Moscow on November 14 found Berezhinskaya guilty of "justifying terrorism," "distributing false information about the Russian military," and "discrediting Russia's armed forces."
Prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison sentence for Berezhinskaya.
The 43-year-old Berezhinskaya, who refused to testify during the trial, pleaded partially guilty.
When giving a final statement to the court, Berezhinskaya told the judge: "Your Honor, I do not have anything to say, anything to add. I will accept any decision of yours."
After the judge handed down his ruling, Berezhinskaya was immediately arrested. Before and during the trial, she was under orders not to leave Moscow.
Berezhinskaya, who is the mother of children aged 8 and 10 years, has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, but the court ruled that she does not need hospitalization.
Russian officials have increasingly used charges such as discrediting the country's armed forces or distributing false information about the military to stifle any dissent voiced regarding Moscow's aggression against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion was launched in February 2022.
With reporting by Mediazona
8 Tajik Politicians, Public Figures Go On Trial For 'Plotting To Seize Power'
DUSHANBE -- Eight former top officials, politicians, and public figures in Tajikistan have gone on trial behind closed doors on charges of plotting to forcibly seize power, calling for mass disorder, and inciting hatred.
The trial, which began on November 14 in a pretrial detention center in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, includes former Foreign Minister Hamrohkhon Zarifi, former Foreign Ministry spokesman Abulfaiz Atoi, and former parliament speaker Akbarshoh Iskandarov.
The Supreme Court officials who are hearing the case have refused to comment to RFE/RL, while the classification of the materials by the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office means the exact details of the charges brought against the eight defendants are not known.
The Tajik government has brutally cracked down on dissent in recent years, jailing opposition politicians or forcing them into self-exile. Dozens of independent journalists, activists, and government critics have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Senior politicians on trial in the case also include the ex-leader of the Democratic Party, Saidjafar Usmonzoda, Democratic Party of Tajikistan Deputy Chairman Ahmadshoh Komilzoda, and Social Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Shokirjon Hakimov.
Two former top officers of the State Committee for National Security, Nuramin Ghanizoda and Jamshed Boev, are also being tried in the case.
All of the defendants were arrested over the past year. It is unknown how seven of them pleaded. Associates of Hakimov, who is a lawyer, have said he has rejected the charges.
Relatives of the defendants were not allowed to attend the trial, while lawyers who arrived at the detention center refused to talk to journalists.
In 2015, Tajik authorities banned the main political opposition, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, as well as Group 24 -- an organization that had been gaining popularity among younger Tajiks.
Both parties were branded as “terrorist” and the government of autocratic President Emomali Rahmon continues to target their members and supporters both at home and outside the country.
The founder of the Group 24, businessman Umarali Quvatov was assassinated in Turkey in 2015.
The Social Democratic Party has been officially registered in Tajikistan, but it has been under constant political and financial pressure. Controlled elections have made it impossible for the party to ever win a seat in parliament.
Rahmon, who has run Tajikistan for almost three decades, has been criticized by international human rights groups over his regime's stifling of political pluralism, independent media, religious freedoms, and civil society.
UN Nuclear Chief Warns Iran That Window On Talks May Be Closing
Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has urged Iran and its global partners to achieve "concrete, tangible, and visible results" in talks over Tehran's nuclear program as the return of Donald Trump to the White House may mean the window for diplomacy is closing.
Speaking to journalists in the Iranian capital on November 14 after a meeting with Iran's nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, Grossi said pressure was building for movement toward a solution with Iran-backed proxies at war with Israel and Trump, known for his hard-line stance against Tehran, taking over the U.S. presidency in January.
"We know that it is indispensable to get, at this point of time, to get some concrete, tangible, and visible results that will indicate that this joint work is improving (the) situation, is bringing clarification to things, and in a general sense it is moving us away from conflict and ultimately war," Grossi said.
“The fact that international tensions and regional tensions do exist...shows that the space for negotiation and diplomacy is not getting bigger, it is getting smaller," he added.
Grossi's visit takes place about two months ahead of the inauguration of Trump, who during his first term in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a landmark 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers and reimposed biting sanctions on the Islamic republic.
The 2015 deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had given Iran some limited relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program designed to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Grossi also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran on November 14.
Araqchi, Iran's chief negotiator during the negotiations to reach the JCPOA deal, which barred Tehran from enriching uranium above the level of 3.65 percent, said on X that the talks with Grossi were "important and straightforward."
He vowed to continue Iran's cooperation with the IAEA on nuclear nonproliferation "with courage and good will" and reiterated Tehran's longstanding assertion that its nuclear program was "peaceful."
Araqchi added, however, that Iran would not negotiate "under pressure."
After Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran expanded its nuclear program and restricted IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites.
The IAEA and the international community have voiced alarm at reports that Tehran has substantially increased its stocks of uranium enriched to 60 percent -- considerably closer to the 90 percent level needed for a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear expert Eric Brewer told RFE/RL that the IAEA's lack of access to Iran's nuclear sites heightens the risk of it producing more enriched uranium.
"I suspect that to get Iran to provide some information on that front is at the top of Director-General Grossi's list," Brewer said.
He added that while the trip had been scheduled since before the U.S. election, Trump's re-election "will hang over the conversations."
The IAEA chief is expected to hold talks with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian later in the day.
Ukraine Repels Russian Assault On Kupyansk As Shelling Kills Civilians
Ukraine's military says it has repelled a Russian assault on the town of Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region, rejecting claims by Moscow that it had gained a foothold in the strategically important transport hub, as Russian attacks continued to claim civilian victims.
The General Staff of Ukraine's military said in a statement on November 14 that its forces pushed the attacking force back, causing considerable losses in material and manpower.
Vitaly Ganchev, a Moscow-installed regional official, had previously claimed that Russian forces had occupied positions on the outskirts of Kupyansk and were pressing ahead to the northeast and southeast of the town.
"The information about the occupation of the settlement of Illinka and about the supposed foothold of Russian troops in the town of Kupyansk is not true," the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Center said on social media on November 14.
"The General Staff informs that yesterday Ukrainian soldiers stopped the enemy's advancement in Kupyansk, destroyed all its armor equipment and eliminated a large part of its manpower," it said.
Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian claims could be independently verified.
Russian forces captured Kupyansk, a strategically important railway junction, soon after the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but it was liberated by Ukrainian troops in a lightning counteroffensive in the fall of the same year.
In recent months, Russia has pressed ahead with an offensive in the Kharkiv region while regularly pounding Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with missile strikes and artillery fire, causing numerous casualties among civilians and damaging civilian and energy infrastructure.
Russian forces have been pressing a slow but grinding offensive along the whole eastern front, making incremental advances as Ukraine's outgunned and outmanned troops struggled to hold their ground.
Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa was also targeted on November 14. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said a Russian attack struck a residential building, killing one person and injuring two.
"Houses, a church and cars have been damaged," Kiper said on Telegram. "In some locations, fires broke out."
He added that emergency crews were tackling the aftermath of what he described as a "mass attack."
Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said earlier that the strike knocked out a main pipeline for the supply of heat and forced the shutdown of one of the city's boiler plants.
On November 14, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said the Kremlin was open to peace talks if the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump initiates them, as long as they take into consideration the "realities on the ground."
In recent days, Russians reportedly made territorial gains near the heavily damaged town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region and are threatening to encircle it.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Early on November 14, air defenses shot down 21 out of the 59 drones launched by Russia at targets in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
The other 38 drones were lost on location after their navigation systems were jammed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, the air force said.
Russian shelling killed two people and wounded eight over the past 24 hours in the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
Damaged caused by Russian attacks and a spell of bad weather that saw early snowfalls cut the electricity supply to 43 settlements in the Poltava region, Ukraine's electricity grid operator Ukrenerho said in a statement on November 14.
Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defenses shot down two Ukrainian drones early on November 14, one over the Kursk region and one over the Belgorod region.
Anti-War Russian Chef Found Dead In Belgrade
BELGRADE -- Russian celebrity chef and restaurateur Aleksei Zimin, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine who ran a restaurant in central London, has been found dead in Belgrade.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade told RFE/RL that it was informed by the police about 53-year-old Zimin's death.
"An autopsy has been ordered and a toxicology report to determine the cause of death," the Prosecutor's office said.
RFE/RL learned from sources that the body of a foreign citizen born in 1971 was found on the evening of November 12 without any visible suspicious signs in an apartment in the central Belgrade municipality of Vracar.
In his last Instagram post on November 4, Zimin announced that on November 7 he would prepare a special dinner in a club in Belgrade and present his recently published book, Anglomania, a personal look at the cultural history of Great Britain.
Zimin hosted a cooking show on Russian television channel NTV that was discontinued after he posted anti-war messages on social media following Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"There will be no new episodes due to the anti-war position of the host. Do I regret it? No, I regret that we ended up going to war. I don't take part in the war, the war takes part in me," he said on Instagram at the time.
In London, Zimin ran the Russian restaurant Zima and published a magazine with the same name.
The restaurant confirmed Zimin's death on Instagram.
"For us, Aleksei was not only a colleague, he was our friend, a close person with whom we were lucky to go through a lot -- both good, kind and sad," the restaurant said.
He had started several restaurants in Moscow and was deputy editor in chief of the gastronomic magazine Afisha and editor in chief of Afisha Food.
He also wrote for the Russian publications Komersant and Vedomosti.
Journalist Commits Suicide In Protest Over Arrests In Iran
Kianoosh Sanjari, a journalist and political activist, has committed suicide to protest numerous arrests and interrogations of himself and other political activists. A relative of Sanjari confirmed the news in an interview with RFE/RL on November 13. Friends of Sanjari also confirmed his death in posts on X. Since returning to Tehran in 2015 to care for his elderly mother, Sanjari was repeatedly summoned and arrested by the security and intelligence agencies of the Islamic republic. Hours before committing suicide, Sanjari announced his decision to end his life on X. After an ultimatum demanding the Iranian government release four activists and journalists by a specified time was not met, Sanjari tweeted again: "My life will end after this tweet but let's not forget that we die for the love of life, not death. I wish that one day Iranians will wake up and overcome slavery." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
European Court Registers Complaint Against Georgian 'Foreign Agent' Law
The European Court of Human Rights has registered a complaint against Georgia's "foreign agent" law. According to the Young Lawyers' Association of Georgia, 16 media organizations, 120 civil society organizations, and four individuals made an appeal to the court regarding the law, which the Georgian parliament passed earlier this year. The legislation was vetoed by President Salome Zurabishvili, but parliament overrode the veto despite mass protests and calls from partners to stop the implementation of the law. After the law was adopted, the EU's ambassador announced that Georgian integration into the EU was suspended, as was some aid to the Georgian government. The law, which is similar to Russia's "foreign agent" law, applies to NGOs and media organizations that receive a significant amount of their funding from sources outside Georgia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
FBI Arrests Alleged Leaker Of U.S. Intelligence Related To Israel's Attack Plans Against Iran
The U.S. Justice Department has charged a man for allegedly leaking highly classified U.S. intelligence about Israel's plans for retaliation against Iran, according to U.S. media reports on November 13. The reports said that Asif W. Rahman was indicted earlier this month for willfully transmitting national defense information. He was arrested on November 12 in Cambodia by the FBI and was to appear in court in Guam. Court documents indicate that he was employed by the U.S. government. According to a person familiar with his employment, he was employed by the CIA. This employment gave him a top-secret security clearance and allowed him to access sensitive information. The New York Times, which first reported the story, said that Rahman was indicted on a charge related to the posting of the intelligence on Telegram in mid-October. The documents posted included Israeli plans for moving munitions and Israeli Air Force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles.
Former Kyrgyz Customs Official Matraimov Released To House Arrest
Raimbek Matraimov, the former deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan's Customs Service who was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, has been transferred from pretrial detention to house arrest. The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on November 13 that the move was made two days earlier. Matraimov and three of his brothers -- Tilek, Ruslan, and Islambek -- were extradited to Kyrgyzstan in March from Azerbaijan, where they were in hiding. Raimbek, the most notorious of the brothers, was charged with money laundering and the abduction and illegal incarceration of unnamed individuals as part of the 2020-21 corruption scandal. In 2019, an investigation by RFE/RL, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and Kloop implicated Matraimov in a corruption scheme involving the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Blinken Says U.S. To 'Shore Up' Ukraine Support As Russia Pounds Kyiv
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured Ukraine that U.S. support will be beefed up ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration early next year, as Russia launched its first missile and drone attack on Kyiv since August, forcing residents into bomb shelters.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Blinken, who met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on November 13, said the administration of President Joe Biden, who leaves office on January 20, would "continue to shore up everything we're doing for Ukraine" and "use every day" to support Ukraine and strengthen NATO.
“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20,” Blinken said, adding that NATO countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions, and mobilized forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength.”
Trump has repeatedly questioned Washington's military backing for Kyiv and vowed to rapidly end the war started by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But he has not said how he will put an end to the conflict, raising concern that he would try to force Ukraine to accept Moscow's terms for peace.
Blinken also said the deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war "demands and will get a firm response." More than 10,000 North Korean troops are engaged in combat in Russia's Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon.
Asked by RFE/RL if Washington intends to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range modern weapons to strike deeper inside Russia, as requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his recently presented "victory plan," Blinken did not offer a direct answer, saying the United States will continue to "adapt and adjust" to Ukraine's needs.
"We're addressing many of the needs that are laid out in the victory plan. That's something that we discussed with allies and partners today," Blinken said.
"I am convinced that we will continue to adapt and adjust if necessary," he added.
Blinken also met in Brussels with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, who said Kyiv had maintained contact with both U.S. political parties and had worked with both Trump's team and Biden's.
Sybiha said he would discuss protection of critical infrastructure with Blinken, according to a State Department statement.
"Ukraine's defense cannot be put on hold and wait. Every day Russia is bombing our critical infrastructure -- energy, ports, hospitals, and schools," Sybiha said. "We need better protection for our people already now, not later."
He added that he was "confident that we can count on continued U.S. support and further decisive steps."
Ukraine's whole territory was under an air-raid alert early on November 13 as Moscow launched a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones on Kyiv for the first time in 73 days.
"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, wrote on Telegram.
Explosions shook Kyiv for hours as Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged the Ukrainian capital's residents to take cover.
"More drones are entering the capital. The danger of missiles also persists. Don't leave the shelters!" Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that its air defenses downed two cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones over Kyiv and seven other Ukrainian regions -- Poltava, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhya, Chernihiv, and Kirovohrad. It said that 47 more drones lost their way as Ukrainian electronic defenses jammed their navigation systems.
Russia has stepped up its daily attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, causing further destruction to the country's already battered civilian and energy infrastructure as the cold season settles in.
Taliban Carries Out Sixth Public Execution Since Returning To Power
The Taliban on November 13 executed a man convicted of murder in a sports stadium -- the sixth public execution since the radical Islamist group returned to power in 2022.
The execution was carried with a gun fired by a member of the victim's family in the city of Gardez, the capital of the eastern Paktia Province.
The practice of "qisas," or retributive Islamic punishments, which can include public killings at the hands of victims' families, were a trademark of the Taliban's first stint in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
The Taliban's Supreme Court said in a statement on X that a "murderer was sentenced to retaliation punishment," naming the condemned as Muhammad Ayaz Asad.
Media reports said Ayaz Asad was executed with three bullets to his chest.
The statement said Asad, a native of Paktia's Mirzak district, had killed a man named Saif-ul-Qatal using a Kalashnikov rifle. It was not clear whether Ayaz Asad had pleaded guilty or innocent to the charges.
The death sentence was approved by the Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada following "careful consideration" by three Taliban military courts, it said.
Senior members of the Taliban government, including acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, attended the execution.
Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist group considered one of Afghanistan's most violent factions.
The Taliban has revived the practice of "qisas" since the extremist group's return to power in August 2022 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the war-wracked country after more than two decades.
In February, three men were executed publicly.
Two, Syed Jamaluddin and Gul Khan, were shot dead inside a soccer stadium in the southeastern province of Ghazni.
At a separate execution, an unidentified man shot Nazar Mohammad inside a sports stadium in the northern province of Jawzjan. The shooter was said to be avenging the death of his brother, Khal Mohammad, two years earlier.
Such practices have been condemned by Afghans and the international community, while experts have questioned their validity under Islamic law, saying they are mainly meant to instill fear.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the executions "are contrary to Afghanistan's international human rights obligations, and must cease."
"UNAMA urges Afghanistan's de facto authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolition of the death penalty. We also call for respect for due process and fair trial rights, in particular access to legal representation," the agency said in a post on X.
- By RFE/RL
Iran Says It's Confident Oil Exports Will Continue Despite Trump Election
Iran says it has measures in place to ensure it will continue producing and exporting oil even if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Tehran once he takes office in January.
During his first term in office in 2017-21, Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed sanctions as part of his administration’s “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.
As a result, Iran’s oil production dropped from 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to 2.1 million bpd, while its exports plummeted to between 200,000 and 500,000 bpd from 2.5 million bpd.
But both production and exports have picked up in recent years despite U.S. sanctions, with Iran’s oil output reaching around 3.2m bpd. Exports, meanwhile, have hit a multiyear high of 1.7 million bpd.
Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told reporters on November 13 that Iran has mechanisms in place “to continue selling our oil” regardless of who is in power in the United States.
“We have tried-and-tested methods and don’t have serious concerns about [selling oil],” he said, according to Iranian state-aligned media.
Without offering details, the oil minister said, “necessary measures have been taken by our colleagues in the oil sector in preparation for what is to come and there is no reason to worry.”
Trump is expected to launch a new-look "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic republic once he takes office on January 20, 2025.
Iran boosted its oil sales by circumventing sanctions through a variety of means, exporting mostly to China, which does not recognize U.S. measures against Iran.
The tactic involves the ship-to-ship transfer of oil, middlemen, clandestine money transfers, and the rebranding of the oil to mask its Iranian origin.
Iranian crude makes up about 13 percent of oil imports by China, the world's biggest purchaser of the commodity. Beijing says the purchases conform to international law.
Kyiv Claims Deadly Attack In Crimea That Targeted Russian Navy Officer
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine has told RFE/RL that Kyiv orchestrated an attack that killed a Russian Navy officer in Crimea. Captain Valery Trankovsky died in a car bombing incident in the city of Sevastopol on Ukraine's Russia-annexed peninsula. The city's Moscow-installed mayor described the incident as a possible sabotage action. Trankovsky commanded the headquarters of the 41st brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's missile boats, a unit actively involved in major deadly missile strikes in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The incident is part of a larger pattern where Russian military personnel, security officials, and Ukrainian collaborators in Russian-occupied territories are targeted in assassination attempts. Ukraine’s Security Service and military intelligence are often implicated by media in such operations, but the agencies rarely officially confirm their involvement. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.
Netanyahu Tells Iranians Another Attack On Israel Will 'Cripple' Their Economy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says another attack on Israel would paralyze the Islamic republic's economy and cost billions of dollars that could be spent to the benefit of ordinary Iranians. In his second video addressed directly to Iranians in the last two months, which was released in English with Farsi subtitles on November 12, Netanyahu said that Iran's October 1 missile attack cost it $2.3 billion dollars, "valuable money that the Islamic republic wasted" as the "damage of that attack on Israel was insignificant." He added that the Iranian government is "obsessed" with the destruction of Israel but its theocracy fears its own people more than Israel. Neither the people of Israel nor ordinary Iranians want war, he said. Some analysts said the video could be a warning that if Iran were to attack again, Israel would hit back hard in an attempt to cause major damage to Iran's economy. There was no immediate reaction to the video from Iran. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Georgian Opposition Moves To Leave Parliament In Protest At Alleged Election Fraud
Georgia's pro-European opposition has withdrawn from the new parliament, officially renouncing its mandates obtained during the disputed October 26 elections that it refused to recognize amid accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference.
Representatives of the two main opposition blocs -- the United National Movement (ENM) and the Coalition for Change -- filed an appeal on November 12 with the Central Election Commission (CEC) demanding the cancellation of their party lists -- a technical move that will make it impossible for the CEC to register the opposition candidates who won seats as lawmakers.
"On behalf of the United National Movement, we declare that we do not recognize the legitimacy of these elections and refuse our parliamentary mandates. Today, each of us who was on the parliamentary list officially sent a letter to the Central Election Commission so that none of the candidates would be registered," ENM head Tina Bokuchava told a joint news conference.
Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the Coalition for Change, said that all members of his bloc's list will officially sign off on their refusal for as many times as necessary if the CEC, under pressure from the authorities, tries to register them in parliament through bureaucratic procedures.
"This parliament is illegitimate, and our participation in its activities is excluded. We will not aid the authorities in legitimizing it with our presence," Gvaramia said.
In response, Georgian Dream said it would file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court to outlaw some opposition parties, directly accusing ENM of treason.
"We do not rule out that we will take care first and foremost of the ENM, which has committed treasonous acts against the country," Georgian Dream Secretary-General Kakha Kaladze said, adding that the authorities had "plenty of evidence" to outlaw the bloc, without elaborating.
The moves come after Georgia's pro-European president, Salome Zurabishvili, refused to recognize the validity of the results and called for fresh elections.
The opposition has been holding large daily protests in Tbilisi since the Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party, which has been in power for the past 12 years, claimed victory with 54 percent of the vote.
A group of women held the latest rally on November 13, appealing to the CEC to cancel the election results. Initially, only some of the women were able to enter the courtyard of the CEC building before police closed the iron doors of the entrance. Several journalists covering the rally were not allowed in.
"All criminals are afraid of witnesses, we are witnesses of their crimes and that's why they fight us like that. They won't succeed," Ana Natsvlishvili, one of the leaders of the Strong Georgia party, told RFE/RL.
Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but moves by Georgian Dream to adopt legislation to curb foreign funding of NGOs mirroring Moscow's "foreign agent" law and anti-LGBT measures have sparked criticism from Brussels and Washington that the Caucasus country was backsliding on democracy.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
Belarusian Prankster Dupes Russian Teachers Into Wearing Tinfoil Hats To Ward Off 'Foreign Enemies'
2How Does Marco Rubio, Trump's Pick For Secretary Of State, See The World?
3Ukraine Live Briefing: Scholz Talks To Putin
4A 'Turn To The Right': Donald Trump And The Rise Of Populist Leaders
5How The Caspian Sea Became A Battlefield
6With U.S. Ties In The Balance, Kallas Seeks Bold EU Stance On Russia And China
7Journalist Commits Suicide In Protest Over Arrests In Iran
8Peace Talks Brewing, Russia And Ukraine Jockey For Advantage -- On And Off The Battlefield
9Anti-War Russian Chef Found Dead In Belgrade
10Russian Forces Reportedly Start All-Out Assault On Key Ukrainian City Of Kupyansk
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
