Attackers injure pro-Russia judge who sentenced foreigners to death in Ukraine

Attackers injure pro-Russia judge who sentenced foreigners to death in Ukraine
Women walk past damaged apartment buildings in Donetsk, where Ukrainian attackers shot and seriously injured a judge who sentenced three foreigners to death in June. (AP)
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Updated 05 November 2022
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Attackers injure pro-Russia judge who sentenced foreigners to death in Ukraine

Attackers injure pro-Russia judge who sentenced foreigners to death in Ukraine
  • Alexander Nikulin had been injured late on Friday in the town of Vuhlehirsk
  • Doctors assessed Nikulin to be in a serious but stable condition

DONETSK, Ukraine: Ukrainian attackers shot and seriously injured a judge in an eastern Russian-controlled region of Ukraine who sentenced three foreigners to death in June, a pro-Moscow official said on Saturday.
Denis Pushilin, the administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said Alexander Nikulin had been injured late on Friday in the town of Vuhlehirsk to the north east of the city of Donetsk.
“The Ukrainian regime continues to display its vile terrorist methods,” Pushilin wrote on Telegram.
Doctors assessed Nikulin to be in a serious but stable condition, he added.
In June, Nikulin passed death sentences on two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine, ruling they had tried to overthrow local authorities.
The three men, who Pushilin described as “Nazi war criminals,” were released in September as part of a major prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
A number of Russian-installed officials have been killed and injured in recent months in apparent assassination attempts.


China, at UN, presents itself as a member of the Global South as alternative to a Western model

China, at UN, presents itself as a member of the Global South as alternative to a Western model
Updated 24 sec ago
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China, at UN, presents itself as a member of the Global South as alternative to a Western model

China, at UN, presents itself as a member of the Global South as alternative to a Western model
  • “Global South” is loosely defined as referring to nations around the world that are less developed and less rich than what have typically been called “first-world nations”
  • China was not included in the list of 125 nations, led by Brazil and India, that have identified themselves part of the Global South

UNITED NATIONS: China told assembled world leaders Thursday that it considers itself part of the Global South, saying it identifies with the goals and challenges of less-developed nations and offering them an alternative to what it has long called “Western hegemony.” The message came from a second-tier official after the country’s powerful president, Xi Jinping, skipped the annual UN meeting again.
Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng to deliver a policy statement at the General Assembly’s leaders’ meeting that covered the government’s usual positions with familiar language but appeared to focus on building coalitions around its approach to development and international relations.
“As the largest developing country, China is a natural member of the Global South. It breathes the same breath with other developing countries and shares the same future with them,” Han said. He also said China supports those nations’ development path “in keeping with their national conditions.”
The loosely defined term “Global South,” which has come up frequently at the United Nations this year, identifies nations around the world that are less developed and less rich than what have typically been called “first-world nations.” They’re not necessarily in the Southern Hemisphere; many, in fact, are not.
Leaders of a number of larger developing nations, including Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and India’s Narendra Modi, have of late pitched themselves as leaders around whom the Global South could coalesce. Just Tuesday, Lula told leaders at the UN meeting that “Brazil is back” in a speech widely received as Global South-focused maneuvering. And Modi in January hosted a “Voice of the Global South” virtual summit.
China, too, has loosely cast itself in a similar role for more than a decade — and more so since Xi launched the “Belt and Road Initiative” to drive Chinese development, infrastructure and influence in other nations, particularly developing ones. The sprawling project has been widely touted but has encountered bumps along the way.
“China,” Han promised, “will remain a member of the big family of developing countries.”
That statement is in keeping with Beijing’s attempts to balance — often adeptly — the benefits of continuing to be a developing nation with the advantages of being a major global economic and diplomatic power and counterbalance to the West.
For decades, since the start of the “reform and opening up” launched by Deng Xiaoping after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, China has positioned its approach to both domestic and international affairs as an alternative to “Western hegemony.” That counternarrative is a frequent cornerstone of its international identity. Han’s “Global South” statements Thursday match that longtime sensibility.
And China benefits from association with the Global South, which allows it to style statements as if it speaks for many nations — nations that may not be strong enough to object if such a powerful government mischaracterizes them.
Whether China and its $18 trillion GDP should actually be considered part of the Global South is a frequently debated matter. In January, at Modi’s summit, 125 countries were included but China wasn’t one of them. That may have had more to do with China’s often-tense relations with India than with its attitude toward the concept in general.
Xi was one of four leaders of permanent UN Security Council members who did not show at the United Nations this week. France’s Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Rishi Sunak and Russia’s Vladimir Putin also skipped it; US President Joe Biden, leader of the host nation, was the only permanent Security Council member to deliver a speech.
Han Zheng’s presence at the United Nations came at a time when China’s diplomatic operation appears to be in a bit of disarray.
Many expected Foreign Minister Wang Yi to come to the General Assembly and possibly pave the way for a Xi-Biden meeting. Wang attended and delivered the speech last year. In the months since, a newly appointed foreign minister came and went with some mystery, and Wang took the role on again.
Han, in his speech, covered China’s usual topics in such meetings. Among them:

  • He reiterated that Taiwan, the island off China’s coast that has its own independent government, is historically a part of China and always will be — a frequent message to the United States and the world. The island and the mainland split in 1949 after a civil war.
  • He said China supported human rights “suited to our national conditions in response to the needs of our people.” Beijing’s repressive policies toward ethnic Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang and its policies toward dissent, including in the special administrative region of Hong Kong, come under frequent Western scrutiny.
  • He said, as China has many times before, that a cease-fire and peace talks are the only path to ending war in Ukraine. China has tread a delicate line in the 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.


 


Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says

Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says
Updated 12 sec ago
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Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says

Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says

TORONTO: The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh Canadian is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a Canadian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The official said the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada.
The official did not say which ally provided intelligence or give specific details of what was contained in the communications or how they were obtained. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first reported the intelligence.
Earlier Thursday, India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff as the rift widened between the once-close allies over Ottawa’s allegation that New Delhi may have been involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, in a Vancouver suburb in June.
Ties between the two countries have plunged to their lowest point in years since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination.
Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down outside the temple he led in the city of Surrey.
Speaking Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trudeau acknowledged the complicated diplomatic situation he faces.
“The decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons was not done lightly,” he said. “There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with.”
“We are not looking to provoke or cause problems but we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians.”
The bombshell allegation set off an international tit-for-tat, with each country expelling a diplomat. India called the allegations “absurd.”
Canada has yet to provide public evidence to back Trudeau’s allegations, and Canada’s UN ambassador, Bob Rae, indicated that might not come soon.
“This is very early days,” Rae told reporters Thursday, insisting that while facts will emerge, they must “come out in the course of the pursuit of justice.”
“That’s what we call the rule of law in Canada,” he said.
On Thursday, the company that processes Indian visas in Canada announced that visa services had been suspended until further notice.
The suspension means Canadians who don’t already have visas cannot travel to India. Canadians are among the top travelers to India: In 2021, 80,000 Canadian tourists visited the country, according to India’s Bureau of Immigration.
Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi blamed the visa suspension, which includes visas issued in third countries, on safety issues.
“Security threats being faced by our High Commission and consulates in Canada have disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, they are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” Bagchi told reporters. He gave no details on the alleged threats.
The announcement quickly rippled across Canada, especially among people with ties to India.
Sukhwinder Dhillon, a 56-year-old grocery store owner in Montreal, said he had a trip planned to India to see family and sort out his deceased father’s estate. Dhillon, who came to Canada in 1998, said he makes the trip every two or three years and has lost two immediate family members since he was last home.
“My father passed, and my brother passed,” Dhillon said. “I want to go now. ... Now I don’t know when we’ll go.”
Bagchi, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman, also called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered Indian diplomats in Canada.
The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi said Thursday that its consulates in India are open and continue to serve clients. It said some of its diplomats had received threats on social media, adding that Canada expects India to provide security for its diplomats and consular officers working there.
On Wednesday, India warned its citizens to be careful when traveling to Canada because of “growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate-crimes.”
India’s security and intelligence branches have long been active in South Asia and are suspected in a number of killings in Pakistan. But arranging the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada, home to nearly 2 million people of Indian descent, would be unprecedented.
India has criticized Canada for years over giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar. New Delhi had accused him of links to terrorism, which he denied.
Nijjar was a local leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
While the active insurgency ended decades ago, the Indian government has warned that Sikh separatists are trying to stage a comeback and pressed countries like Canada, where Sikhs comprise over 2 percent of the population, to do more to stop them.
At the time of his killing, Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on independence from India.
New Delhi’s anxieties about Sikh separatist groups in Canada have long been a strain on the relationship, but the two have maintained strong defense and trade ties and share strategic interests over China’s global ambitions.
In March, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government summoned the Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi, its top diplomat in the country, to complain about Sikh independence protests in Canada.
Signs of a broader diplomatic rift emerged at the summit of the Group of 20 leading world economies hosted by India earlier this month. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Modi, and a few days later Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall. A trade deal between the two is now on pause.
On Wednesday, India’s National Investigation Agency said it has intensified its crackdown on Sikh insurgents operating in India.
It announced rewards of up to 1 million rupees ($12,000) for information leading to the arrest of five insurgents, one of whom is believed to be based in neighboring Pakistan. It accused them of extorting money from businesses for a banned Sikh organization, the Babbar Khalsa International, and of targeted killings in India.


Venezuela retakes prison from gang in massive operation involving 11,000 troops backed by tanks

Venezuela retakes prison from gang in massive operation involving 11,000 troops backed by tanks
Updated 22 September 2023
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Venezuela retakes prison from gang in massive operation involving 11,000 troops backed by tanks

Venezuela retakes prison from gang in massive operation involving 11,000 troops backed by tanks
  • The multinational gang Tren de Aragua had gradually taken control of the prison of 1,600 and turned into its main base
  • Venezuelan officials said the gang leaders had mistreated other prisoners and kept them in “a kind of slavery”

MARACAY, Venezuela: Bitcoin mining machines and rocket launchers were among the astonishing contraband found in a Venezuelan prison recaptured from a gang that had turned it into a playground kitted out with a pool, a nightclub and a zoo.

Venezuelan authorities showed off the loot on Thursday after seizing control of the Tocoron prison in a massive operation involving more than 11,000 police and soldiers backed up by tanks and armored vehicles.

One soldier was killed in the operation, which had been planned for more than a year, said Interior and Justice Minister Remigio Ceballos.
The facility hit in Wednesday’s raid had served as the headquarters of the Tren de Aragua gang that operates in Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Ceballos said sniper rifles, explosives, rocket launchers and grenades were seized, along with cocaine, marijuana and expensive motorbikes.
The wives or girlfriends of inmates who had been living inside with them were kicked out.
At a press conference outside the prison, authorities displayed buckets of bullets, heaps of machine gun ammunition belts and machines used to mine the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
On Wednesday, AFP saw officers carrying televisions, microwaves and air conditioners out of the jail as angry women outside shouted, “That’s ours!.”
Ceballos said zoo animals kept at the facility died in a fire started by prisoners. He did not say which creatures had lived there, or how many.
The minister added that four prison guards were arrested as suspected accomplices of the gang members who had lived it up behind bars.
“There will be no impunity. We will act against all the criminals and accomplices,” said Ceballos, hailing a “successful operation that allowed us to strike a blow against criminal groups.”

After declaring it had taken control of the prison, the government began evacuating its 1,600 inmates to other locations.
On Wednesday, the government said some prisoners had managed to flee during the clampdown.
Ceballos said the gang leaders had mistreated other prisoners and kept them in “a kind of slavery.”
Surrounded by riot police, dozens of relatives gathered outside the facility for news of the inmates being transferred.
“Where is my son?” cried Doris Colmenares, who said he had escaped during Wednesday’s raid but turned himself in shortly thereafter.
Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most powerful home-grown gang, is involved in crime countrywide and has spread its tentacles to Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia.
According to an investigation by Venezuelan journalist Ronna Risquez, it has some 5,000 members.
The gang emerged a decade ago, and is involved in kidnappings, robberies, drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion and illegal gold mining.
The InSight Crime think tank said the gang is also a major player in migrant smuggling.
Risquez said Tocoron had been entirely in the hands of the gang and described the prison as a “hotel” for the gang leaders, with a bank, baseball field, and a restaurant.
This was confirmed by several of the women evicted from the prison.
The gang’s leader is Hector Guerrero Flores, who was serving a 17-year sentence in the prison for murder and drug trafficking, said Carlos Nieto, coordinator of A Window for Freedom, a prison rights NGO.
Authorities have not commented on his whereabouts.


Brazil’s firefighters battle wildfires raging during rare late-winter heat wave

Brazil’s firefighters battle wildfires raging during rare late-winter heat wave
Updated 22 September 2023
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Brazil’s firefighters battle wildfires raging during rare late-winter heat wave

Brazil’s firefighters battle wildfires raging during rare late-winter heat wave

RIO DE JANEIRO: Firefighters on Thursday were battling flames in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state, fanned by strong winds and abnormally high temperatures for the season, authorities said.

While it is still technically winter in Brazil, with spring due to start in a couple days, a heat wave prompting record temperatures has swept across much of the country since the beginning of the week.

Faced with a growing number of hot spots caused by high temperatures, Bahia’s association of forestry-based companies this week launched a campaign to prevent — and combat — wildfires.

State authorities said they have mobilized over 150 military firefighters to put out fires in different areas across the state, as well as in Chapada Diamantina, a national park known for its panoramic views.

The Instagram account of Bahia’s secretary for public security showed images of firefighters making their way through parched forests, equipped in high-visibility orange gear and helmets, attempting to bring the licking flames under control.

The fires broke out Monday, according to local media reports. There are no details regarding the size of the affected area, but Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology has categorized the heat wave as a “great danger.”


First US Abrams tanks to reach Ukraine ‘next week:’ Biden

First US Abrams tanks to reach Ukraine ‘next week:’ Biden
Updated 22 September 2023
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First US Abrams tanks to reach Ukraine ‘next week:’ Biden

First US Abrams tanks to reach Ukraine ‘next week:’ Biden
  • Biden also said he had “approved the next tranche of security assistance for Ukraine,” which the Pentagon later valued at $325 million

WASHINGTON: The first US M1 Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine “next week,” US President Joe Biden said Thursday, boosting Kyiv’s forces as they battle Russian troops in a slow-moving counteroffensive.

“Next week, the first US Abrams tanks will be delivered in Ukraine,” Biden said at the White House, alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who is on his second visit to the United States since Russia invaded his country in February 2022.

Biden also said he had “approved the next tranche of security assistance for Ukraine,” which the Pentagon later valued at $325 million.

It includes air defense missiles, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, and artillery rounds.

But the package does not feature the long-range ATACMS missiles that Kyiv has repeatedly requested.

It does include 155mm rounds that contain cluster munitions, which Washington first agreed to provide to Ukraine in July despite concerns over the long-term risk posed to civilians by bomblets that fail to explode.

The United States said it has received assurances from Kyiv that it would minimize the risk the weapons pose to civilians, including by not using the munitions in populated areas.

Washington had promised the 31 Abrams tanks to Kyiv at the start of the year, part of more than $43 billion in security assistance pledged by the United States over the past 18 months.

The tanks will be paired with 120mm armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds.

Such munitions are controversial due to their association with health problems, such as cancer and birth defects, in areas where they were used in past conflicts, although they have not been definitively proven to have caused them.

The decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine represented a U-turn as American defense officials had repeatedly said they were ill-suited for Kyiv’s forces due to their complexity.