World News
Refugees fleeing crisis in Haiti and Venezuela face new nightmare as floods ravage southern Brazil
Tens of thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans who fled hunger, violence and natural disasters to seek refuge in southern Brazil are once again struggling to rebuild their lives following severe flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 46,000 refugees currently live in the state, including 29,000 Venezuelans and 12,000 Haitians.
Rio Grande do Sul was the third state to receive the most refugees from a government humanitarian program to resettle an influx of people fleeing Venezuela on Brazil's northern border.
WATER RATIONING ORDERED AS SEVERE FLOODING DEVASTATES SOUTHERN BRAZIL
Most of the refugees live in Sarandi, a neighborhood on the north side of Porto Alegre that has been the most ravaged by flooding after a dike collapsed.
The 26,042 Sarandi residents whose homes were flooded are now in various shelters around the city. Many of them are undocumented, having left everything behind in a hurry as the floodwaters rose, adding to the immigrants' worries.
Venezuelan Carina Gonzalez, 27, had to leave a backpack behind when she fled her home in chest-deep water, containing her documents and those of her 11-year-old daughter.
Carina and her husband Xavier have guaranteed jobs but are worried about how to get to work.
They crossed into Brazil in 2018, fleeing political tensions and economic crisis in neighboring Venezuela. Now they are facing upheaval again.
What to know about South Africa's election that could see ruling party of 30 years deposed
South Africa's election will determine how weary the country has become of the ruling African National Congress party that has been in power since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC are struggling to keep their parliamentary majority and opinion polls predict that the party will likely receive less than 50% of the national vote for the first time in the May 29 election.
That doesn't mean that the beleaguered ANC will be out of power in Africa's most advanced economy.
SOUTH AFRICA ENDS RESCUE EFFORTS AT COLLAPSED BUILDING WITH 33 CONFIRMED DEAD, 19 STILL MISSING
Even as the famous organization once led by Nelson Mandela has seen a decline in its popularity, no one has risen to a position to replace it. Instead, South Africans who have turned away from the ANC have gone looking for answers among an array of opposition parties.
So, the ANC is still expected to gain the largest share of votes. But without an outright majority, it would need to form a coalition to stay in government and keep Ramaphosa for a second and final term as president. For a key country on the African continent, that might bring new complications, given some recent coalitions at local level have been spectacular failures.
While most South Africans appear ready to register their disgruntlement with the ANC in a defining moment, a coalition government may not easily solve the country's big problems, which include the world’s highest levels of unemployment and inequality.
South Africans don't vote directly for their president, but rather decide the makeup of Parliament, which is called the National Assembly. They do that by choosing parties and those parties get seats in Parliament according to their share of the national vote. The 400-member National Assembly then elects the president, meaning whichever party has a majority chooses the head of state.
That has always been the ANC since the first all-race elections in 1994, but this time it may need to strike agreements with other parties to get the required 201 votes from lawmakers to reelect the 71-year-old Ramaphosa and form a government.
The election effectively starts on Friday and Saturday, when South African citizens living overseas vote in embassies and foreign missions. The main election will be held on May 29 across all nine provinces. It will decide the makeup of both the national and provincial legislatures.
Just over 27 million of the population of 62 million are registered to vote in what is only the country's seventh fully democratic national election since apartheid was dismantled.
There are 70 political parties registered for the vote, the most ever, and independent candidates will be allowed to stand for the first time.
The ANC's fate is the headline story: Ramaphosa is the party's leader and the face of its campaign. The main opposition is the centrist Democratic Alliance, or DA. It has entered into an agreement with some smaller parties in the hope that their combined vote might force the ANC out of government completely. Polls indicate they are some way off that mark.
The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, or EFF, is the third-biggest party and led by Julius Malema, a fiery former ANC youth leader.
The DA won around 20% in the last national election and the EFF 10% to the ANC's 57.5%. Neither opposition party appears to have significantly increased in popularity.
That's largely because of the dozens of other parties, many of them new, that have captured small shares. While 80% of South Africa’s population is Black, it is a multi-racial, multicultural society, with five defined racial groups, many ethnicities and 12 official languages. An equally diverse political picture is beginning to appear.
Of the new parties, uMkhonto weSizwe (which means Spear of the Nation) has gained the most attention because it is led by former South African President Jacob Zuma, who has turned his back on the ANC he once led in a bitter battle with Ramaphosa, the man who replaced him.
Unemployment and poverty stand out as the most pressing issues for the majority of people. While South Africa is regarded as Africa's most advanced country, its contradictions are stark. It also has an unemployment rate of 32% — the highest in the world — and more than half of South Africans are living in poverty, according to the World Bank.
That has driven most of the discontent as millions of the poor Black majority feel the ANC has not improved their lives sufficiently three decades after apartheid, which brutally oppressed Black people in favor of the white minority.
Other prominent election issues that are seen as pushing voters away from the ANC are the high rate of violent crime, multiple government corruption scandals over the years, the failure of some basic government services and a crisis within the state-owned electricity supplier that has led to nationwide blackouts at regular intervals to conserve power. The blackouts have eased ahead of the election, but they angered people and further damaged a struggling economy.
Ukraine launches biggest drone attack on Russia as Putin courts support from China
Ukraine launched its largest-ever kamikaze drone attack on Russia while Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China, killing two people and causing an oil refinery fire in the Black Sea, according to officials.
"Fifty-one UAVs were destroyed and intercepted over Crimea, 44 over the Krasnodar region, six over the Belgorod region and one over Kursk region," Russia’s military said in a press release according to Voice of America.
The wave of drones attacked several targets around the Belgorod region and along the coast of the Black Sea. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a mother and child were killed while traveling in a car, and authorities managed to extinguish the fire at the Tuapse refinery.
"The child was in critical condition. Doctors did everything possible to save him," Gladkov said.
PRO-UKRAINE RUSSIAN PARAMILITARIES JOIN FIGHT ON FRONT LINES
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev announced that he "made a decision to cancel classes in all schools, institutions of secondary vocational education and kindergartens" and warned that periodic blackouts would continue as the region struggled with the damage caused by Ukraine’s attack.
The Tuapse refinery had undergone several months of repair after a previous fire in January, which Ukrainian sources claimed at the time had resulted from another drone attack, Reuters reported.
The refinery dumps out around 12 million metric tons of fuel, including fuel oil, vacuum gasoil and high-sulphur diesel, supplying Turkey, China, Malaysia and Singapore.
Ukraine’s attack occurred as Russia ramps up its pressure on Kharkiv with renewed offensives, though, Putin has claimed he does not intend to take the city; instead, the attack was an alleged attempt to stop Ukrainian attacks.
TAIWAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR GLOBAL UNITY AGAINST ‘EXPANSIONISM’ BY CHINA AND RUSSIA
Putin visited China this week to court support and emphasize personal ties between the two countries. He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for "substantive" discussions before taking aim at the U.S. and Ukraine.
Putin told reporters in China on Friday that "what is happening on the Kharkiv front is their own fault," blaming Ukraine for attacks on Russian villages that forced him to retaliate.
"Civilians are dying there," Putin said. "It’s obvious. They are shooting directly at the city center, at residential areas. And I said publicly that if this continues, we will be forced to create a security zone, a buffer zone. That is what we are doing."
Putin insisted that the Moscow-Beijing partnership is a vital part of shaping the "emerging multipolar world" and dismissed concerns that it is a union "directed against anyone."
"It is aimed at one thing: creating better conditions for the development of our countries and improving the well-being of the people of China and the Russian Federation," Putin said.
Last week, Ukraine had reportedly pushed back an attempted Russian incursion into Kharkiv. White House spokesperson John Kirby at the time told reporters that they should expect "Russia will likely increase the intensity of fires" and increase troop deployments into the region in the coming weeks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted that Moscow’s forces this week advanced six miles into the Kharkiv region, forcing Kyiv to expand its operations to prevent further penetration towards the country’s second-biggest city, The Telegraph reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Water parasite in England sickens more than 45 people, residents told to boil tap water before drinking
A scenic fishing village in southwest England was under instructions to boil its tap water for a third day on Friday after a parasite sickened more than 45 people in the latest example of Britain's troubled water system.
Around 16,000 homes and businesses in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil water after cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that causes diarrhea, was found in the water. At least 46 cases of cryptosporidiosis have been confirmed and more than 100 other people have reported similar symptoms, the U.K. Health Security Agency said. Cases can last more than two weeks.
South West Water’s Chief Executive Susan Davy apologized for the outbreak and said technicians were working around the clock to identify and fix the problem that may have come from a pipe in a cattle pasture.
"I am truly sorry for the disruption and wider anxiety this has caused," Davy said. "I know on this occasion we have fallen significantly short of what you expect of us."
The crisis is unrelated to Britain’s larger ongoing water woes but emblematic of an aging system in distress.
Water companies have been under fire for more than a year to stop frequent sewage overflows into rivers and oceans that have literally caused a stink, sickened swimmers, polluted fishing streams and led to an outcry from the public to clean up their act.
An environmental group this week reported that 70,000 sewage releases spilled for a total of 400,000 hours along England's coast last year. More than a quarter were within two miles of a swimming spot, Friends of the Earth said in its analysis of government data.
Clean water advocates have blamed the problems on Britain’s privatization of the water system in 1989. They say that companies have put shareholders ahead of customers and not spent enough to update outdated plumbing systems.
Thames Water, the largest of the companies, is on the brink of insolvency and its leaders have said it faces the risk of being nationalized after shareholders refused to inject more cash.
Earlier this week, in another sign of problems, millions of gallons of raw sewage were pumped into England's largest lake. After a fault caused pumps to fail, backup systems then pumped human waste into Lake Windermere, a UNESCO World Heritage site, for 10 hours, the BBC reported.
The cryptosporidiosis outbreak is hardly the first time South West Water has encountered problems, according to authorities.
The company is facing charges in Plymouth Magistrates’ Court alleging 30 offenses for illegal water discharges or breaches of environmental permits between 2015 and 2021, the Environment Agency said.
The recent outbreak appears to come from a damaged air valve in a pipe that runs through a field where cows graze that is close to a reservoir, said Laura Flowerdew, a spokesperson for South West.
A primary school was forced to close Thursday because it didn't have clean drinking water.
The water company is providing free bottled water at three locations and has increased compensation to customers from $19 to $145.
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said it's likely more people will become ill with cryptosporidiosis in coming days or weeks because of a lag in the incubation period.
"Even if they have stopped all new infections by now, you would expect to see further cases for at least 10 days to two weeks," he told the BBC.
Anthony Mangnall, a Conservative member of Parliament from the area, said residents are likely to have to boil water for another week. He said he was concerned with the water company's response to the outbreak and vowed to hold it accountable.
"They have been slow to act and communication with customers has been very poor," Mangnall said. "This has certainly undermined trust in our water network."
French security reinforcements ease violent unrest in New Caledonia
The number of violent incidents reported in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia fell slightly on Friday, a day after France imposed a state of emergency as 1,000 promised reinforcements for security services were deployed with increased powers to quell unrest in the archipelago that has long sought independence.
The top French official in the territory, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, announced stringent measures Friday under the state of emergency declared by President Emmanuel Macron. In light of severe public order disturbances, a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. is now in effect.
The overnight curfew was extended for the duration of the state of emergency, which will be in place for at least 11 days. French military forces were deployed to protect ports and airports and free up police troops.
FRANCE GRAPPLES TO REGAIN CONTROL OF VIOLENT UNREST IN NEW CALEDONIA AS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 4
"Exceptions to this curfew include essential public service personnel, urgent medical travel, and critical night-time activities," Le Franc said.
He said curfew violations would result in penalties of up to six months in prison and a fine, urging everyone to follow the regulations and help restore order.
There have been decades of tensions on the archipelago between Indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and descendants of colonizers who want to remain part of France.
Clashes erupted Monday following protests over voting reforms that passed in the National Assembly in Paris. Lawmakers approved changes to the French constitution, spearheaded by the government of President Emmanuel Macron, that would allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to cast ballots in provincial elections.
Thierry de Greslan, a representative from the hospital in Noumea, the territory's capital, expressed concern over the deteriorating situation, worsened by roadblocks in the city.
De Greslan, president of the medical commission at Noumea’s Territorial Hospital Center, said: "We estimate that three or four people may have died due to lack of access to medical care," adding that around 50 dialysis patients had been unable to receive their treatments. "We are having great difficulty bringing our patients and healthcare workers in. Teams have been working since Monday and are exhausted."
The number of visits to emergency rooms dropped significantly, with a 50% decrease recently and an 80% reduction on Thursday. "We are in an urban guerrilla situation with nightly gunshot wounds," de Greslan said.
The hospital’s operating rooms are running around the clock, and while the staff are prepared for immediate crises, de Greslan expressed concern about the future. "We are ready to face this, but I worry about the ‘rebound’ effect on patients not currently receiving care and who are extremely stressed," he noted.
French authorities in New Caledonia and the interior ministry in Paris said five people, including two police officers, were killed after the protests earlier this week.
At least 60 members of the security forces were injured and 214 people were arrested over clashes with police, arson and looting Thursday, Le Franc said.
Two members of the Kanak community were among five people killed.
Leaders of a Kanak Workers Union in Paris appealed for calm and said they were deeply saddened by deaths in their faraway homeland.
First brewery opens in Abu Dhabi as parts of UAE loosen alcohol laws
In 2018, Chad McGehee opened Side Hustle Brews and Spirits, an Abu Dhabi-branded brewery and distillery with funky camels on its cans and playful names familiar to anyone living in the United Arab Emirates.
The only problem was it was illegal to produce alcohol in the country, so his company made its hoppy India pale ale in the United States and then imported it to the UAE for sale.
That's all changed as Abu Dhabi has overhauled its laws to allow for the micro and craft breweries that have taken the rest of the world by storm, part of a wider reconsideration of alcohol policies in the Islamic nation increasingly drawing tourists. And McGehee's dream of IPAs in Arabia became a reality — though it took hard work as they were the first to open.
"The government had created a regulation around fermentation, but the steps of getting a permit, the steps of inspection, all of these things were not put on paper yet. So that had to be built out as we were going through this process," McGehee said on a recent afternoon at his brew pub on Abu Dhabi's Al Maryah Island.
Abu Dhabi has long been considered by those living in the UAE to be more buttoned-up than the rambunctious neighboring emirate of Dubai, home to nightclubs, beach bars and pubs drawing tourists and residents to imbibe. In the seven emirates of the UAE, Sharjah outright bans the sale and consumption of alcohol, like neighboring Saudi Arabia, as well as Iran and Kuwait.
But beginning in 2020, Abu Dhabi changed its policies. It eliminated its licensing system for alcohol purchases for drinkers to boost sales and tourism during the coronavirus pandemic. Eliminating the licenses allowed Muslims, if they chose, to drink, as well as decriminalized alcohol possession for those without a license.
"I think progression in this country is par for the course, they’re always moving things forward," said Nadeem Selbak, one of the partners at Craft, which is Side Hustle's brew pub.
The Emirates still maintains a strict no-tolerance policy on drunken driving and public intoxication. Islam also considers alcohol consumption as "haram," or forbidden.
But alcohol sales long have been a major driver of tax revenue and a moneymaker for the UAE. Dubai Duty Free, for instance, sold 6 million cans of beer last year, as well as 3.8 million bottles of liquor and 2.3 million bottles of whiskey for thirsty travelers.
But despite that demand, there was no local equipment available to open a brewery in the UAE. McGehee ended up importing almost everything for the brewery, nearly all of it coming from the U.S.
Abu Dhabi represents a completely untapped market for Side Hustle.
"The idea for me was like going back in time, when I started almost 20 years ago," said Mitchell Dougherty, Side Hustle's brewmaster.
At any given point, Craft has 14 beers on tap. So far this year they have brewed 34 and aim to reach up to 100 by the end of the year. The names of the beers include some winking reminders of life in the UAE, including one called "Massage Card Ninja" — a nod to business cards showing scantily clad women that appear under car windshield wipers in some Dubai neighborhoods.
McGehee said the different types of beers include ingredients from the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Japan and the U.S., covering a variety of palates for their international customers.
"If you look at Abu Dhabi, you have people from almost 200 countries," he said. "They all have their own definition of what beer is, what craft beer is, or what lager is, or what IPA is, so we’re trying to cater to as many of them as possible."
Taiwan’s foreign minister calls for global unity against ‘expansionism’ by China and Russia
Russia and China are helping each other expand their territorial reach, and democracies must push back against authoritarian states that threaten their rights and sovereignty, Taiwan’s outgoing foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
His comments came as Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a visit to China amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reaffirmed their "no-limits" partnership as both countries face rising tensions with the West.
Wu called on democracies to align in countering Russia and China’s military assertiveness in Europe, the South China Sea and beyond. China threatens to invade Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that it claims as its own territory.
TAIWAN STANDS AS MAJOR LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST GLOBAL WAR WITH CHINA, CRITICAL FOR US SECURITY
"Putin’s visit to Beijing is an example of the two big authoritarian countries supporting each other, working together with each other, supporting each other’s expansionism," he said.
In particular, Wu called on Western powers to continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia to send a message that democracies will defend one another.
"If Ukraine is defeated at the end, I think China is going to get inspired, and they might take even more ambitious steps in expanding their power in the Indo-Pacific, and it will be disastrous for the international community," Wu said.
Wu warned about the risk of a potential conflict in the South China Sea, a resource-rich area and key transit route for global trade, where China has overlapping territorial claims with several of its neighbors. The Philippines in particular has had numerous territorial skirmishes with China in recent months, some of which have led to minor collisions, injuring Filipino navy personnel and damaging supply boats.
CHINA INCREASES AGGRESSIVE MOVES AGAINST TAIWAN AS ISLAND PREPARES TO INAUGURATE NEW PRESIDENT
Wu said tensions in the South China Sea are "more dangerous" than those in the Taiwan Strait, and they indicate China’s ambition to project power in the region.
"(China) wants the international community to focus on the Taiwan Strait and forget about China’s actions in different parts of the world," Wu said. "And I think … we shouldn’t lose the vision that the expansionism of authoritarianism is everywhere in the Indo-Pacific."
Wu said joint military drills between China and Russia in the region raise tensions in Japan and other neighboring countries. He also criticized Beijing’s strategy of pursuing security agreements with nations such as the Solomon Islands, a former Taiwan diplomatic ally, and increased military presence across Asia and Africa.
Wu said Taipei is committed to continuing a policy of maintaining peace and the status quo in relations with Beijing, as the island prepares to inaugurate its new president, Lai Ching-te, on Monday.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be retaken by force if necessary, and maintains military and economic pressure on the island by sending warships and military vessels near it almost daily. China and Taiwan have had separate governments since the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, retreated to the island after losing a civil war to the Communist Party in 1949.
"We don’t provoke the other side of the Taiwan Strait, and we don’t bow to the pressure," Wu said. "But at the same time, the policy approach from Taiwan is that we keep our door open for any kind of contact, dialogues or negotiations in between the two sides in a peaceful manner. And that door will remain open."
He added Beijing is trying to change the status quo with Taiwan through a series of actions, including by ramping up military pressure, conducting information warfare and introducing new flight routes along the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an informal demarcation zone.
Wu said security pacts like those between the U.S., Australia and Japan, and the new AUKUS partnership between Australia, Britain and the U.S. serve to deter China from becoming even more aggressive in the region.
On Taiwan’s relationship with the U.S., Wu said he was confident Taipei will continue to have "very close" ties with Washington no matter who wins the November presidential election.
Wu, who once described his work as "probably the most difficult foreign minister job in the world," will leave his post after six years and return to a previous job as secretary-general of the National Security Council. He will be replaced by presidential aide Lin Chia-lung. The outgoing diplomat said the Taiwan foreign minister job still comes with plenty of challenges.
China bars its diplomatic partners from having formal exchanges with Taipei, and during Tsai’s years in office, Beijing poached several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, bringing the remaining number down to 12.
Despite the losses, Wu has worked to improve unofficial ties with European and Asian nations and the U.S., which remains Taiwan’s strongest unofficial ally and is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Delegations from several European countries have visited Taiwan in recent years, and Lithuania opened a trade representative office — a de facto embassy — in Taipei.
Wu said European nations have become more sympathetic to Taiwan’s cause and cautious of China due to a series of factors including China’s actions in the South China Sea, its human rights crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Nobody should be ... thinking that they are immune from authoritarian influence," Wu said.
South Africa ends rescue efforts at collapsed building with 33 confirmed dead, 19 still missing
An exhaustive rescue operation to find missing construction workers trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa will end on Friday after nearly two weeks and with 19 people still unaccounted for, authorities said.
At least 33 people have been confirmed dead after the collapse of the unfinished five-story apartment complex in the city of George on the country's south coast on May 6.
That death toll is expected to ultimately increase to over 50 as it changes to a recovery and clear-up operation. The decision, announced by the George municipality and its disaster response unit, means rescuers don't expect to find anyone else alive in the debris and are presuming that the remaining 19 workers who have been missing for 12 days are dead.
The tragedy was one of South Africa's worst building collapses. Authorities say there were 81 workers on the site when the building came down. They say that 29 survivors were pulled from the rubble, with some of those still hospitalized.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the collapsed building on Thursday to show support for the victims' families, emergency workers and others who have been on the site for more than 250 hours, working night and day in shifts to try and find survivors.
More than 600 emergency responders and other personnel were part of the search in the days after the collapse, although that had been scaled down.
There were some remarkable stories of survival amid the thousands of tons of concrete that collapsed, including a man who was found alive after being trapped for six days without food and water. Rescuers said he incredibly had only minor injuries.
As the rescue operation ends, the building will be handed over to the national department of employment and labor to conduct an investigation into the collapse, city authorities said. There will be multiple other investigations, including by police and the provincial Western Cape government.
Many of the workers were foreign nationals from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The construction contractors responsible for the building have come under scrutiny and the investigations will probe whether they adhered to safety standards. The building was due to be completed in July or August.
Large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea cuts power, burns refinery
A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said.
The drone raids marked Kyiv's attempt to strike back during Moscow's offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners.
Ukraine has not commented on the attack or claimed responsibility for it.
PRO-UKRAINE RUSSIAN PARAMILITARIES JOIN FIGHT ON FRONT LINES
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city’s power plant. He said it could take a day to fully restore energy supplies and warned residents that power would be cut to parts of the city.
"Communal services are doing their best to restore the power system as quickly as possible," he said in a statement.
Razvozhayev also announced that schools in the city would be closed temporarily.
Earlier Ukrainian attacks damaged aircraft and a fuel storage facility at Belbek air base near Sevastopol, according to satellite images released by Maxar Technologies.
In the Krasnodar region, the authorities said a drone attack early Friday caused a fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse which was later contained. There were no casualties.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted refineries and other energy facilities deep inside Russia, causing significant damage.
Ukrainian drones also attacked Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port. The Krasnodar region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said fragments of downed drones caused several fires but there were no casualties.
Belgorov Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, killing a woman and her 4-year-old child. Another attack set a fuel tank ablaze at a gas station in the region, he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops were fighting to halt Russian advances in the northeastern Kharkiv region that began late last week.
The town of Vovchansk, located just 3 miles from the Russian border, has been a hot spot in the fighting in recent days. Ukrainian authorities have evacuated some 8,000 civilians from the town. The Russian army’s usual tactic is to reduce towns and villages to ruins with aerial strikes before its units move in.
Russia has also been testing defenses at other points along the roughly 620-mile front line snaking from north to south through eastern Ukraine. That line has barely changed over the past 18 months in what became a war of attrition. Recent Russian attacks have come in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as the Chernihiv and Sumy regions in the north and in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. The apparent aim is to stretch depleted Ukrainian resources and exploit weaknesses.
North Korea test-fires suspected missiles after US and South Korea conduct fighter jet drill
North Korea launched suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Friday, South Korea's military said, a day after the U.S. and South Korea conducted a joint military exercise.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from North Korea's east coast Wonsan region and traveled about 185 miles before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said a North Korean missile landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to the Associated Press.
The missile test, which South Korea called "a clear provocation," came one day after the U.S. and South Korea flew fighter jets in a joint drill that North Korea has called a major security threat.
The statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea will maintain a firm readiness to repel potential Aggressions by North Korea in conjunctions with military assistance from the United States.
NORTH KOREA ISSUES NUCLEAR ‘WARNING SIGNAL' TO US, SOUTH KOREA
North Korea has extended its run of weapons testing in recent months as part of its efforts to enlarge and modernize its arsenal, while diplomacy with the United States and South Korea remains stalled. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test firing of a new multiple rocket launch system, according to the North’s state media.
North Korea says it has been forced to boost its nuclear and missile programs to deal with U.S.-led hostilities. North Korea cites expanded U.S.-South Korean military training, which it calls an invasion rehearsal. Many foreign experts say North Korea uses its rivals' military drills as a pretext for building a larger weapons arsenal in the belief that it would boost its leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S.
JUSTICE DEPT. MAKES ARRESTS IN NORTH KOREA IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME INVOLVING THOUSANDS OF IT WORKERS
The joint military exercise on Thursday involved two South Korean F-35As and two U.S. F-22 Raptors that flew over the central region of South Korea, the Associated Press reported.
North Korean state media said Friday the deployment of U.S. F-22s to South Korea, the first in seven months, is "another clear proof of the hostile nature of the U.S." which seeks "a showdown of force" with North Korea. The official Korean Central News Agency, a mouthpiece for North Korea's government, accused "the military gangsters" in South Korea of intensifying tensions to keep pace with "their master's confrontation scheme" against the North.
US OFFICIAL RAISES ALARM OVER FORCIBLE REPATRIATION OF NORTH KOREANS FROM CHINA
KCNA warned that F-22 flyovers "will only precipitate the advent of a situation that the U.S. does not want to see." But the warning carried no specifics.
In a statement Friday, Kim's sister and senior official Kim Yo Jang said North Korea's recent weapons tests were part of a five-year arms buildup plan started in 2021. She said the ballistic missiles tested Friday are designed to attack South Korea's capital of Seoul and denied outside speculation that the tests were meant to demonstrate weapons that North Korea intends to sell to Russia.
"We don’t conceal the fact that such weapons will be used to prevent Seoul from inventing any idle thinking," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement reported by KCNA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pakistan hit by suspected militant bombing of girl's school in former Taliban stronghold
Suspected militants bombed a girl's school in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold, destroying the structure, police said Friday, although no one was hurt in the overnight attack.
The attack happened in South Waziristan, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It was the second one this month after another school was badly damaged in the region, local police official Safdar Khan said.
Nobody immediately claimed responsibility, but the suspicion is likely to fall on Islamic militants and specifically the Pakistani Taliban, who had previously targeted girl's schools in the province, saying that women should not be educated.
PAKISTAN'S MILITARY CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL TEST-FIRE OF NEWLY DEVELOPED ROCKET SYSTEM, ARMY SAYS
Until years ago, Pakistan's northwest witnessed multiple attacks on girl's schools, especially in the Swat Valley where the Pakistani Taliban long controlled the former tribal regions.
In 2012, insurgents attacked Malala Yousafzai, a teenage student and advocate for female education. She later went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, were evicted from Swat and other regions in recent years. The TTP are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power over Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban takeover in neighboring Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.
Japan revises nearly 80-year-old law, allowing joint custody for divorced parents by 2026
Japan’s parliament on Friday passed a revision to the country’s civil code that will allow divorced parents the option of joint child custody, a change that brings the nation in line with many other countries.
The revision, the first to custody rights in nearly 80 years, is to take effect by 2026. It will allow divorced parents to choose either dual or single custody while requiring them to cooperate in ensuring their children’s rights and well-being.
Under the current law, child custody is granted to only one divorced parent, almost always the mother.
JAPAN, US TO DEVELOP MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM TO COUNTER HYPERSONIC WEAPONS THREAT
The change comes as divorces are increasing in Japan and a growing number of divorced fathers hope to stay in touch with their children. A number of high-profile allegations by divorced foreign fathers of child abductions by former partners who returned to Japan also encouraged the change.
The revision requires the sharing of child-rearing costs by the parent who is not the main custodian. Currently, most divorced mothers, who are often part-time workers with low incomes, do not receive financial support from their former husbands.
In cases in which domestic violence or abuse by either parent is suspected, the other person will have sole custody, according to the revision.
Supporters of joint custody say it allows both divorced parents to play a role in child-rearing. Opponents, including rights groups and some victims of domestic violence, have raised concern that the new system could make it harder for parents to cut ties with abusive spouses and that they may not be allowed a real say in custody decisions.
The concerns prompted some modifications to the legislation during parliamentary debate to require authorities to make sure the custody decision was not one-sided.
Under the revision, divorced parents who choose joint custody must reach a consensus on their children's education, long-term medical treatment and other key issues, and will need to seek a family court decision if an agreement cannot be reached.
Either parent can make decisions about their children's daily activities, such as private lessons and meals, or emergency treatment.
The revision is to be reviewed five years after it takes effect.
8 European Union nations advocate for re-evaluation of Syrian refugee policies
The governments of eight European Union member states said Friday the situation in Syria should be re-evaluated to allow for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland.
In a joint declaration, officials from Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta and Poland said they agree on a re-assessment that would lead to "more effective ways of handling" Syrian refugees trying to reach European Union countries.
The eight countries, which held talks during a summit meeting in the Cypriot capital, said the situation in Syria has "considerably evolved," even though complete political stability hasn't been achieved.
SYRIAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME AS ANTI-REFUGEE SENTIMENT INTENSIFIES IN LEBANON
Cyprus has in recent months seen an upsurge of Syrian refugees reaching the island nation primarily from Lebanon aboard rickety boats.
Earlier this month, the EU announced a $1.06 billion aid package for Lebanon aimed at boosting border controls to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants to Cyprus and Italy.
The eight countries said the EU should further boost support for Lebanon to "mitigate the risk of even greater flows from Lebanon to the EU."
"Decisions as to who has the right to cross a member state’s borders, should be taken by the government of the relevant member state and not by criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings," the joint declaration said.
The Syria re-evaluation call comes a day afte r 15 EU member countries publicly called for the bloc to boost partnerships with countries along migratory routes to support the local population in hopes of heading off attempts to reach EU countries.
A Cypriot official said that any re-evaluation of conditions within Syria would not necessarily mean that Syrian refugees would be deported back to their country. Instead, Syrian refugees hailing from areas re-designated as safe would lose any allowances, benefits and the right to work, creating a disincentive to others to come to Cyprus.
The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about details of the proposal.
The countries said that while they "fully embrace" the need to support Syrian refugees in line with international law, they hoped their talks could open a wider debate within the 27-member bloc on the process of granting the migrants international protection.
"What European citizens want from us...are solutions, practical, realistic solutions that can be implemented," said Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis.
In Lebanon, where anti-refugee sentiment has been surging recently, more than 300 Syrian refugees returned to Syria in a convoy earlier this week.
Lebanese officials have long urged the international community to either resettle the refugees in other countries or help them return to Syria.
French police kill armed man suspected of setting fire to synagogue
An armed man believed to have set fire to a synagogue in northwestern France was shot and killed by police on Friday.
Officers in Rouen responded to an alert early Friday morning stating that smoke was rising from a synagogue in the city, according to The Associated Press. When they arrived at the building, they came in contact with an unidentified man who was armed with a knife and a metal bar.
The national police information service said the man, who was allegedly leaving the synagogue, lunged toward the officers with his weapons. He was then shot and killed by one of the officers.
WARSAW SYNAGOGUE ATTACKED AT NIGHT WITH 3 FIREBOMBS, NO INJURIES REPORTED
Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol told local reporters the man climbed up the synagogue and threw "a sort of Molotov cocktail" into its main praying room, which started a fire and caused "significant damage." Nobody was hurt during the incident.
"When the Jewish community is attacked, it's an attack on the national community, an attack on France, an attack on all French citizens," he said, adding that "it’s a fright for the whole nation."
ANTISEMITISM HAS PROLIFERATED WORLDWIDE, NEW REPORT RELEASED ON HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY SAYS
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin thanked officers for their response to the act and for taking out the threat.
"In Rouen, national police officers neutralized early this morning an armed individual clearly wanting to set fire to the city’s synagogue. I congratulate them for their reactivity and their courage," he wrote on X.
Prosecutors in Rouen are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire at the synagogue and the man killed by police, according to The AP.
France, which has the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in western Europe, has seen an increase in antisemitic acts and anti-Israel protests following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What to know about how much the aid from a US pier project will help Gaza
A U.S.-built pier is in place to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, but no one will know if the new route will work until a steady stream of deliveries begins reaching starving Palestinians.
The trucks that will roll off the pier project installed Thursday will face intensified fighting, Hamas threats to target any foreign forces and uncertainty about whether the Israeli military will ensure that aid convoys have access and safety from attack by Israeli forces.
Even if the sea route performs as hoped, U.S, U.N. and aid officials caution, it will bring in a fraction of the aid that's needed to the embattled enclave.
Here's a look at what's ahead for aid arriving by sea:
WILL THE SEA ROUTE END THE CRISIS IN GAZA?
No, not even if everything with the sea route works perfectly, American and international officials say.
U.S. military officials hope to start with about 90 truckloads of aid a day through the sea route, growing quickly to about 150 trucks a day.
Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other aid officials have consistently said Gaza needs deliveries of more than 500 truckloads a day — the prewar average — to help a population struggling without adequate food or clean water during seven months of war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has hindered deliveries of food, fuel and other supplies through land crossings since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel launched the conflict in October. The restrictions on border crossings and fighting have brought on a growing humanitarian catastrophe for civilians.
International experts say all 2.3 million of Gaza's people are experiencing acute levels of food insecurity, 1.1 million of them at "catastrophic" levels. Power and U.N. World Food Program Director Cindy McCain say north Gaza is in famine.
At that stage, saving the lives of children and others most affected requires steady treatment in clinical settings, making a cease-fire critical, USAID officials say.
At full operation, international officials have said, aid from the sea route is expected to reach a half-million people. That's just over one-fifth of the population.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR THE SEA ROUTE NOW?
The U.S. plan is for the U.N. to take charge of the aid once it's brought in. The U.N. World Food Program will then turn it over to aid groups for delivery.
U.N. officials have expressed concern about preserving their neutrality despite the involvement in the sea route by the Israeli military — one of the combatants in the conflict — and say they are negotiating that.
There are still questions on how aid groups will safely operate in Gaza to distribute food to those who need it most, said Sonali Korde, assistant to the administrator for USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, which is helping with logistics.
U.S. and international organizations including the U.S. government's USAID and the Oxfam, Save the Children and International Rescue Committee nonprofits say Israeli officials haven't meaningfully improved protections of aid workers since the military's April 1 attack that killed seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen organization.
Talks with the Israeli military "need to get to a place where humanitarian aid workers feel safe and secure and able to operate safely. And I don’t think we’re there yet," Korde told reporters Thursday.
Meanwhile, fighting is surging in Gaza. It isn’t threatening the new shoreline aid distribution area, Pentagon officials say, but they have made it clear that security conditions could prompt a shutdown of the maritime route, even just temporarily.
The U.S. and Israel have developed a security plan for humanitarian groups coming to a "marshaling yard" next to the pier to pick up the aid, said U.S. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command. USAID Response Director Dan Dieckhaus said aid groups would follow their own security procedures in distributing the supplies.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have moved into the border crossing in the southern city of Rafah as part of their offensive, preventing aid from moving through, including fuel.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said that without fuel, delivery of all aid in Gaza can't happen.
WHAT'S NEEDED?
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, the U.N. and aid groups have pressed Israel to allow more aid through land crossings, saying that's the only way to ease the suffering of Gaza's civilians. They've also urged Israel's military to actively coordinate with aid groups to stop Israeli attacks on humanitarian workers.
"Getting aid to people in need into and across Gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Thursday.
"To stave off the horrors of famine, we must use the fastest and most obvious route to reach the people of Gaza — and for that, we need access by land now," Haq said.
U.S. officials agree that the pier is only a partial solution at best, and say they are pressing Israel for more.
WHAT DOES ISRAEL SAY?
Israel says it places no limits on the entry of humanitarian aid and blames the U.N. for delays in distributing goods entering Gaza. The U.N. says ongoing fighting, Israeli fire and chaotic security conditions have hindered delivery.
Under pressure from the U.S., Israel has in recent weeks opened a pair of crossings to deliver aid into hard-hit northern Gaza. It said a series of Hamas attacks on the main crossing, Kerem Shalom, have disrupted the flow of goods.
Justice Dept. makes arrests in North Korean identity theft scheme involving thousands of IT workers
The Justice Department announced Thursday multiple arrests in a series of complex stolen identity theft cases that officials say are part of a wide-ranging scheme that generates enormous proceeds for the North Korean government, including for its weapons program.
The conspiracy involves thousands of North Korean information technology workers who prosecutors say are dispatched by the government to live abroad and who rely on the stolen identities of Americans to obtain remote employment at U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies, jobs that give them access to sensitive corporate data and lucrative paychecks. The companies did not realize the workers were overseas.
NORTH KOREA'S MENACING NUCLEAR THREAT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO IGNORE. US MUST LEAD BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT
The fraud scheme is a way for heavily sanctioned North Korea, which is cut off from the U.S. financial system, to take advantage of a "toxic brew" of converging factors, including a high-tech labor shortage in the U.S. and the proliferation of remote telework, Marshall Miller, the Justice Department's principal associate deputy attorney general, said in an interview.
The Justice Department says the cases are part of a broader strategy to not only prosecute individuals who enable the fraud but also to build partnerships with other countries and to warn private-sector companies of the need to be vigilant — and not duped — about the actual identities of the people they're hiring.
FBI and Justice Department officials launched an initiative in March centered on the fraud scheme and last year announced the seizure of more than a dozen website domains used by North Korean IT workers.
"More and more often, compliance programs at American companies and organizations are on the front lines of protecting our national security," Miller said. "Corporate compliance and national security are now intertwined like never before."
The Justice Department said in court documents in one case that more than 300 companies — including a high-end retail chain and a "premier Silicon Valley technology company" — have been affected and that more than $6.8 million in revenue has been generated for the workers, who are based outside of the U.S., including in China and Russia.
Those arrested include an Arizona woman, Christina Marie Chapman, who prosecutors say facilitated the scheme by helping the workers obtain and validate stolen identities, receiving and hosting laptops from U.S. companies who thought they were sending the devices to legitimate employees and helping the workers connect remotely to companies.
According to the indictment, Chapman ran more than one "laptop farm" where U.S. companies sent computers and paychecks to IT workers they did not realize were overseas.
At Chapman’s laptop farms, she allegedly connected overseas IT workers who logged in remotely to company networks so it appeared the logins were coming from the United States. She also is alleged to have received paychecks for the overseas IT workers at her home, forging the beneficiaries’ signatures for transfer abroad and enriching herself by charging monthly fees.
Other defendants include a Ukrainian man, Oleksandr Didenko, who prosecutors say created fake accounts at job search platforms that he then sold to overseas workers who went on to apply for jobs at U.S. companies. He was was arrested in Poland last week, and the Justice Department said it had seized his company's online domain.
A Vietnamese national, Minh Phuong Vong, was arrested in Maryland on charges of fraudulently obtaining a job at a U.S. company that was actually performed by remote workers who posed as him and were based overseas.
It was not immediately clear if any of the three had lawyers.
Separately, the State Department said it was offering a reward for information about certain North Korean IT workers who officials say were assisted by Chapman.
And the FBI, which conducted the investigations, issued a public service announcement that warned companies about the scheme, encouraging them to implement identity verification standards through the hiring process and to educate human resources staff and hiring managers about the threat.
Peruvian lawmakers begin yet another effort to remove President Dina Boluarte from office
Peruvian lawmakers on Thursday began yet another effort to remove President Dina Boluarte from office as authorities continue various investigations against her and her inner circle.
The small legislative opposition cited "moral incapacity" as the reason for the removal request they submitted to Parliament. Boluarte has already survived four attempts to cut her term short thanks to a coalition of conservative lawmakers who have rallied behind her and have kept the measures from getting the necessary votes to move forward.
PERU’S PRESIDENT WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS OVER OWNERSHIP OF LUXURY WATCHES, HER LAWYERS SAY
Lawmaker Susel Paredes explained on X that the opposition group presented the request due to "the serious new acts" she alleged Boluarte committed, which "are incompatible with continuing to lead the country." Paredes’ announcement came less than a week after prosecutors opened an investigation into the Boluarte administration’s decision to disband a police unit that was looking into the activities of her inner circle, including one of her brothers.
The lawmakers’ effort is the latest step in mounting pressure on Boluarte, who became president in December 2022, when she replaced then-President Pedro Castillo. He was dismissed by Parliament and is now imprisoned while being investigated for alleged corruption and rebellion.
Boluarte is under investigation for her use of three luxury watches and fine jewelry that she did not list in a mandatory asset declaration form and that authorities estimate could be worth more than $500,000. In late March, armed police officers broke down the front door of Boluarte’s house with a battering ram and entered the property to search for the watches.
The raid marked the first time in Peru’s history that police forcibly entered the home of a sitting president. Days later, lawmakers filed the fourth request to remove Boluarte from office.
The move must earn 52 votes in order for Parliament to accept it and open a debate. To remove Boluarte, the move requires 87 votes from the 130-seat unicameral Parliament.
Boluarte, a 61-year-old lawyer, was a modest district official before entering the government of then-President Pedro Castillo on a monthly salary of $8,136 in July 2021. Boluarte later assumed the presidency with a lower salary of $4,200 per month. Shortly thereafter, she began to display the luxury watches.
Late last week, authorities arrested one of Boluarte’s brothers and her lawyer in connection with an investigation into influence peddling. The document accuses the president’s sibling, Nicanor Boluarte, of working to appoint government officials in exchange for money and an agreement to gather signatures to register a political party.
Meanwhile, authorities accuse attorney Mateo Castañeda of interfering with the investigation into Nicanor Boluarte by offering certain benefits to members of the now-disbanded police unit, which focused on tax probes.
A judge granted the prosecutors’ request to keep both men incommunicado for 10 days, meaning they won't be able to communicate with anyone — a legal maneuver that authorities typically reserve for cases they deem highly serious.
Nicanor Boluarte said he is "innocent" as he left his home handcuffed after his arrest last week, while Castaneda in a handwritten letter shared on social media by his law firm also denied any wrongdoing.
Ex-South African leader's corruption trial date set as he fights another case to run for election
Former South African President Jacob Zuma will go on trial for alleged corruption next April, four years after he was formally charged with taking bribes in connection with a multi-billion-dollar arms deal and 20 years after he was first implicated, prosecutors said Thursday.
Zuma is charged with multiple counts of corruption as well as racketeering, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering over a huge deal the South African government signed to revamp its armed forces in 1999. Zuma is accused of taking bribes from French arms company Thales, then named Thomson-CSF, and a subcontractor in the deal.
HOW SOUTH AFRICA'S FORMER LEADER ZUMA TURNED ON HIS ALLIES AND BECAME A SURPRISE ELECTION FOE
The arms deal became one of South Africa's biggest political scandals and was clouded in corruption allegations.
Zuma pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing in 2021 that was supposed to mark the start of his trial, but it has been subject to long delays after Zuma launched appeals asking for the judge and the prosecutor to be removed from the case, alleging they were personally biased against him. The original trial judge recused himself but Zuma's attempt to remove the prosecutor was rejected.
Prosecutors said the trial would now begin on April 14 next year, with a pre-trial hearing set for this August. Thales is a co-defendant in the case and has also pleaded not guilty.
"We are hoping that there are no hurdles that we will have to navigate now and that, finally, the matter will proceed," Mthunzi Mhaga, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, told South African media. He said Zuma had engaged in "delaying tactics."
The charges against Zuma relate to a period between 1995 and 2005, before he became president. During that time, he was an influential politician on the rise and later the deputy president of South Africa. He is accused of receiving bribes in return for giving the deal political protection and ensuring it went through despite questions over it.
Zuma was fired as deputy president in 2005 after his financial adviser, who is alleged to have been the fixer for the bribes, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison.
Zuma was served with a preliminary indictment in 2005 but the charges were dropped and reinstated multiple times over the years.
Zuma made a dramatic political comeback to become president of South Africa in 2009. He resigned as leader of Africa's most developed country in 2018 because of separate corruption allegations.
If Zuma is convicted of the charges in the arms deal trial, he faces a possible sentence of between 15 years and life in prison. The 82-year-old served part of a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court in 2021 for refusing to testify at a corruption inquiry that was not related to his trial.
Zuma has since made yet another political return, this time as the leader of a new political party, and is involved in another court case over whether he's eligible to run as a candidate in a national election this month. The national election body says he is ineligible because of his criminal conviction for contempt.
Russia expels British defense attaché in a tit-for-tat move
Russia on Thursday declared Britain's defense attaché persona non grata and gave the diplomat a week to leave the country in response to London's decision to expel the Russian defense attaché earlier this month over spying allegations.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned a representative of the British Embassy in Moscow on Thursday to express its "strong protest in connection with the unfriendly and groundless decision" to expel the Russian attaché from London. "We emphasized that we regard this step as a politically motivated action of clearly Russophobic nature, which is causing irreparable damage to bilateral relations," the statement read.
BRITAIN TO EXPEL RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT IN RESPONSE TO MOSCOW'S 'RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS ACTIVITIES'
Britain on May 8 announced several measures to target Moscow’s intelligence gathering operations in the U.K. Those included a decision to boot Maxim Elovik, a Russian colonel who the British government termed an "undeclared military intelligence officer," rescinding the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties because they are believed to have been used for intelligence purposes, and imposing new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits.
The government said the measures followed criminal cases in London alleging espionage and sabotage by people acting on behalf of Russia.
It also cited allegations that the Russian government planned to sabotage military aid for Ukraine in Germany and Poland and carried out spying in Bulgaria and Italy, along with cyber and disinformation activities, air space violations and jamming GPS signals to hamper civilian air traffic.
In response, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced the expelling of the British defense attaché Adrian Coghill, and vowed "further retaliatory steps."
The U.K. has had an uneasy relationship with Russia for years, accusing its agents of targeted killings and espionage, including cyberattacks aimed at British lawmakers and leaking and amplifying sensitive information to serve Russian interests. After Russia sent troops into Ukraine, Britain has also sanctioned hundreds of wealthy Russians and moved to clamp down on money laundering through London’s property and financial markets.
Panama president-elect builds business-friendly cabinet
Panama President-elect Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday pulled business leaders and an economist into his ranks, the first cabinet selections in what Mulino has promised will be an administration friendly to the private sector.
Mulino, whose government will begin the transition process next month, tapped business leader Felipe Chapman for the economy and finance minister post and economist Javier Martinez-Acha as foreign minister.
TREACHEROUS MIGRATION ROUTE THROUGH PANAMA TO SHUT DOWN UNDER NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT
"The campaign is over, from here on out it's our job to lead the country with the best people possible," Mulino said.
Chapman is the son of former Planning Minister Guillermo Chapman.
His appointment is "clearly a positive development, one that increases the likelihood of more sound fiscal management in upcoming years," wrote analysts from BancTrust & Co. in a note to clients.
Julio Molto, head of the national police under Martinelli, will also serve as trade minister. In his role, Molto will oversee the closure of the once-lucrative First QuantumFM.TO copper mine in the nation.
Martinelli is a close ally of Mulino's and had headed the presidential ticket before his run in this month's elections was disqualified and Mulino took his place.
The former president holed up in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City after his conviction in a money-laundering case known as "New Business" was upheld, though he still wielded outsized influence on the election, with Mulino visiting him after the vote.
Despite the legal troubles, Martinelli's 2009-2014 administration was an economic bonanza, with businesses and job creation booming.
Mulino has vowed to follow Martinelli's economic strategy, though "the new authorities will have to overcome the challenges that are being inherited from the (outgoing) administration," the BancTrust analysts wrote.
"Maintaining the country on the path of fiscal consolidation continues to be unlikely in the short term," they cautioned.
Mulino also named Jose Icaza, the former head of Panama's chamber of commerce, as minister for the Panama Canal. The trade route, one of the world's busiest, has been hit by a recent drought and daily crossings have been limited.
The president-elect said on Thursday he still had to name an interior minister and education minister.
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