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☆ Beth Rodden: After her kidnapping, she was ‘embarrassed’ to feel traumatized. Now, this climber is learning to be vulnerable
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Weeks after being taken hostage by captors from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, American climber Beth Rodden was back home – but plagued by nightmares of her ordeal. On their return to the US, Rodden was baffled to find that people within the climbing community were inclined to “celebrate” their ordeal. And obviously, this was a harrowing tale,” Rodden tells CNN Sport 24 years on from the incident. Rodden struggled with insomnia and nightmares, and although she went to a few therapy sessions she says she didn’t really open up. People that are postmenopausal that are older, younger – I feel like it’s just becoming a more inclusive, well-rounded community,” she added.

Persons: CNN — Weeks, Beth Rodden, Rodden, Tommy Caldwell, –, Caldwell, Beth Radley, Jason Smith, John Dickey, ”, ” Rodden, Rich Pedroncelli, “, ‘, It’s, ‘ You’re, ’ Rodden, Ryan Moon, There’s, Smith Organizations: CNN, Islamic, of, CNN Sport, “ Locations: of Uzbekistan, American, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz, Tajikistan, El Capitan, Davis , California, perfectionism, Yosemite, Oregon

☆ Elon Musk vs Australia: Fight heats up over Sydney church stabbing video on X
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The country’s e-safety commissioner ordered social media giants to take it down. Australia wants X to remove the video completely, not just hide it from Australian users who could circumvent a local ban by using virtual private networks. With her message to Musk, Australian Senator Jacqui Lambie posted an image of herself in army fatigues taken at a Veteran Mentors' Junior Leadership camp in January. President David Adler told CNN he hadn’t been asked to take it down, either by X or Australia’s e-safety commissioner. In a statement Wednesday, Australia’s eSafety commissioner said the takedown request wasn’t designed to stifle discussion about the church attack.

Persons: Elon Musk, that’s, X, ’, Anthony Albanese, Jacqui Lambie, “, hadn’t, ”, fatigues, AJA, David Adler, Adler, AJA hasn’t, Krissy Barrett, Reece Kershaw, Marcus Hoyne, Bishop, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, Joanne Gray, Grzegorz Wajda, Gray, Musk, Musk’s, Australia’s, Lambie’s Organizations: Australia CNN, Christian Church, Australian, Leadership, Australian Jewish Association, CNN, ” CNN, Joint Counter, Counter, New South Wales Police Seven, Australian Federal Police, AFP, Australia’s Security Intelligence Organisation, National Press Club, Musk, Court, Bishop Mar, Good Shepherd, University of Sydney, European Jewish Association, X Corp Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney, Tasmania, United States, New, Australia’s, Krakow, Poland

☆ Putin expected to use deadly Moscow attack to Russia's advantage, whoever's to blame
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

U.S. officials and defense experts agreed that it's highly likely that IS was responsible for the attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that "what happened yesterday in Moscow is obviously just Putin and the other scum trying to blame it on someone else." Moscow openly rebuffed and ignored a warning from the U.S. earlier in March that "extremists" had "imminent plants" to attack large gatherings in Moscow. Law enforcement officers stand guard near the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a reported shooting incident, near Moscow, Russia. Just days before the attack, Putin instructed Russia's security services to focus their efforts on supporting Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Metzel, Vladimir Putin's, Olga Maltseva, hasn't, Ukraine —, Putin, Ali Cura, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Maksim Blinov, Maximilian Hess, Hess, Putin's, Tatyana Makeyeva Organizations: Sputnik, Afp, Getty, Hall, Islamic State, Ukraine, West, Crocus City Hall, Anadolu, Russia's Security, NBC News, Foreign Policy Research Institute, CNBC, Islamic Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Crocus, Ukraine, Kyiv, Europe, Basmanny, U.S, Chechen, Islamic State, Syria, Afghanistan

☆ Crocus City attack: The ghost of Russia’s past wars comes back to haunt Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Twenty years ago, the Dubrovka gunmen were the disturbed product of Russia’s savage anti-terror campaign that summarily executed hundreds of military aged males in Chechnya in the early 2000s. Emergency services personnel and police work at the scene of the Crocus City Hall attack. First, there will be further efforts to suggest Ukraine and the West are somehow involved in these attacks. The Dubrovka attack was followed two years later by airplanes being blown out of the sky and the catastrophic nightmare of the Beslan school siege. In 2002, Dubrovka forced Moscow reluctantly yet closer to the United States’ war on terror.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Kadyrov, Stringer, Maria Zakharova, Margarita Simonyan, overstretched Putin, Dubrovka, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Gunmen, Dubrovka Theatre, Chechen, Crocus City, Kremlin, Authorities, Getty, Russia Today, ISIS Locations: Moscow, Crocus, Russia, Chechnya, Iraq, Syria, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Caucasus, AFP, Ukraine, fatigues, Russian, Beslan, United States

☆ What we know about the Moscow concert hall attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Nearly a dozen people have been detained in connection with the attack, which saw armed assailants storm a popular concert venue complex on the outskirts of the capital, killing more than 130 people. An unnamed male witness who survived the attack said the gunmen entered the concert hall and “started shooting everyone.”“I was sitting in the hall upstairs where the balconies were. Law enforcement officers outside the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following the attack on Friday. The United States had previously warned Moscow that ISIS militants were determined to target Russia in the days before assailants stormed the concert hall. Video Ad Feedback ISIS claims responsibility for attack in busy Moscow-area concert hall 05:22 - Source: CNNWhat else is Russia saying?

Persons: “, ”, Molotov, Yulia Morozova, Andrey Vorobyov, ” Vorobyov, Olga Maltseva, Amaq, Adrienne Watson, Putin, people’s, Alexander Bortnikov, Maria Zakharova, David Cameron, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Narendra Modi, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Xi Jinping, Antonio Guterres Organizations: CNN, Attackers, Ostorozhno Novosti, Reuters, Crocus City, Russian Emergencies Ministry, Hall, Russia’s, Authorities, Getty, ISIS, SITE Intelligence Group, Islamic, SITE, United, US National Security, RIA Novosti, RIA, Russian Security Service, Russian Foreign, ”, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kremlin, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, British, India’s, Saudi Arabia’s Crown, United Nations Security Council Locations: Russia, Crocus, Moscow, AFP, Islamic State, United States, ”, Ukraine, ” Ukraine

☆ Russia says 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Gunmen who opened fire at a Moscow concert hall killed more than 60 people and wounded over 100 while sparking an inferno, authorities said on March 23, 2024, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. The prosecutor's office said several men in combat fatigues entered the concert hall and fired on concertgoers. Working to extinguish the blaze continues at Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, Russia after reports of a shooting incident on March 23, 2024. Working to extinguish the blaze continues at Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, Russia after reports of a shooting incident on March 23, 2024. An injured woman is transported to an ambulance near the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a reported shooting incident, near Moscow, Russia.

Persons: Stringer, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Sobyanin, Putin, fatigues, Ali Cura, Dave Primov, Primov, Aymenn Jawad, Dmitry Medvedev, Mykhailo Podolyak, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, John Kirby, Maksim Blinov Organizations: Crocus City, Gunmen, Islamic, Afp, Getty, Associated Press, Moscow, Health, Crocus City Hall, Anadolu, Russian, U.S, AP, Soviet Union, Russia's Security, White House National Security Council, Embassy, Sputnik Locations: Russian, Crocus, Krasnogorsk, Moscow, U.S, Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow's, Sinai, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Africa, Soviet, Islamic State, Kaluga, Ingushetia, Russia's Caucasus

Video shows RSF soldiers humiliating men from a village in Jazira state. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF told him they would only return his car if he worked for them, Farouk recalled. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF’s violent advances in Jazira state, their targeted destruction of warehouses, Sudan’s gene bank and irrigation systems will inevitably further exacerbate Sudan’s massive food shortages,” she said.

Persons: CNN —, “, Sudan’s, ”, Alex de Waal, Mohamed Badawi, Luis Tato, Sidiq Farouk, Farouk, ” Farouk, hasn’t, ‘, ’, Hala Al, Al Karib, Tomoya Obokata, Leni Kinzli, ” Kinzli, Omar Marzoug, geolocated, Waal, Médecins, Anette Hoffmann, You’re, ” CNN’s Benjamin Brown Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, Peace Foundation, African Center for Justice, Peace Studies, Getty, Food Programme, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Hala, Initiative, Women, UNICEF, WFP, “, ” CNN, ”, Farmers ’ Alliance, Clingendael Institute, Agriculture Organization Locations: Al Jazira, Sudan’s, Darfur, Jazira, Sudan’s breadbasket Jazira, Sudan, Khartoum, of, Sudanese, Renk, South Sudan, AFP, Chad, Gedaref, Hala Al Karib, Horn of Africa, Omdurman, Al, of Africa

The woman is Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a Crimean Tatar, and she shared video of the moment on her social media accounts. It’s inevitable.”Arrests like hers, as well as large mass raids, especially, but not exclusively, in areas predominantly inhabited by Crimean Tatar communities, have been common since 2014. “The situation is only getting worse,” said human rights lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, himself a Crimean Tatar. AFP/Getty ImagesThe major concern now is that Crimea is a template for the other four Ukrainian regions now fully or partially occupied by Russia. Propaganda effortWhen it comes to Crimea, Russia has tried to hide its oppression under a veil of public investment, and patriotism.

Persons: “, ”, Russia’s, ” Zudiyeva, Joseph Stalin, Emil Kurbedinov, Daniel van Moll, NurPhoto, Kurbedinov, Ukraine –, Viktor Yanukovich’s, ” —, Baz Ratner, Yanukovich –, Sergey Aksyonov, Sean Gallup, ” Kurbedinov, Krzysztof Janowski, ” Janowski, Vladimir Putin, Irina Volk, Zaporizhzhia –, Volk, didn’t Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Tatars, Soviet Union, Fleet, Reuters, Research, Russia, Crimean, Getty, UN, Ukrainian, Moscow Locations: Crimean, Ukrainian, Crimea, Crimean Tatar, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars, Russia, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Russian, Soviet, Moscow, Kyiv, Russian Republic of Crimea, AFP, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Avdiivka, Kerch, “

Russian Telegram channels have showed other mobile election teams across the occupied territories, including some which appear to clearly show Russian soldiers accompanying election officials as they go house to house. Ukrainian officials say intimidation tactics like that are commonplace and are aimed at forcing people to give their vote to Putin. For their part, Russian-installed officials in the occupied territories reported several explosions close to polling stations on Saturday, at least some of which Ukraine appeared to acknowledge. Russia’s election officials have been posting updates on what they say is turnout in the various regions. Ukraine says Moscow will fabricate the final results and insists that the majority of people living under Russian occupation are choosing not to take part in the poll.

Persons: CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Iryna Vereshchuk, ” Vereshchuk, “ We’ve, ”, fatigues, Putin, Vladimir Rogov, Vladimir Saldo, Saldo Organizations: CNN, RIA Novosti, Russian, Ukrainian, Saturday Locations: Russia, Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Moscow, Avdiivka, Russian, Ukraine, Berdiansk, Kakhovka, Dnipro

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel’s Military Presents Civilian Evacuation Plan for Gaza’s Combat Areas
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

A man set himself on fire on Sunday afternoon outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. A U.S. Air Force spokeswoman, Ann Stefanek, confirmed on Sunday night that the man was an active-duty airman. The man was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition. No embassy staff members were injured, and all were accounted for, according to Tal Naim, a spokeswoman for the embassy. The New York Times could not confirm who was behind the account that posted the video, but the video featured a man walking toward the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

Persons: Ann Stefanek, Vito Maggiolo, Tal Naim, “, ”, dousing, Sean Hickman Organizations: Embassy, Metropolitan Police Department, U.S . Air Force, U.S, Secret Service, New York Times, Air Force, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Israel, International Locations: Washington, U.S, Gaza, Texas, Israel, Atlanta

☆ U.S. airman sets himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Secret Service vehicles block access to a street leading to the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC on Feb. 25, 2024. A U.S. military service member set himself on fire, in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza, outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The man was transported to an area hospital after the fire was put out by U.S. Secret Service officers, DC Fire and EMS posted online. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the incident involved a active duty airman. Local police and Secret Service are investigating the incident.

Organizations: Embassy, Sunday, Secret Service, DC, Metropolitan Police Department, An Air Force, New York Times, Times, Local, Secret Locations: Embassy of Israel, Washington , DC, U.S, Gaza, Washington

☆ Phillip Mehrtens: Militants squabble over fate of New Zealand pilot on anniversary of his kidnapping
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Militant rebels in Indonesia’s restive West Papua are urging their most feared comrade to release a New Zealand pilot held hostage for a year. Mehrtens’ captors initially threatened to kill him unless New Zealand agreed to pressure Indonesia into allowing West Papua to secede from Indonesia, a seemingly impossible demand. West Papua separatist fighters release images of their hostage soon after his capture in February 2023. West Papua National Liberation ArmyFailed rescue effortsGrainy proof of life videos sent by the rebels between February and November 2023 show Mehrtens growing thinner and more unkempt. “The Indonesian response is dictated by the Indonesian military and their view is that they will hunt down this group, kill the leaders and release Mehrtens,” Kingsbury said.

Persons: Eganius Koyega, Phillip Mehrtens, Mehrtens ’, Mehrtens, Koyega, ” Koyega, ” TPNPB, Terryanus Satto, aren’t, hasn’t, Damien Kingsbury, ”, Winston Peters, Christmas Phillip, ” Peters, ” Kingsbury, “, Cammi Webb, Gannon, ’ ”, Webb, ” Webb, TPNB, Andreas Harsono, Prabowo Subianto, “ Prabowo, ” Harsono Organizations: CNN — Militant, New, Koyega, West Papuan National Liberation Army, Free Papua Movement, West Papua National Liberation Army, Indonesian Army, New Zealand, New Zealand Foreign Affairs, New Zealand Government, CNN, Australia’s University of Wollongong, Indonesian, Human Rights Watch, Rights, West Locations: Indonesia’s restive West Papua, Zealand, Nduga, New Zealand, Indonesia, West Papua, Indonesian, Papuan, West, New, Australia, Jakarta, “, ” West Papua, Papua

☆ Fresh From Battles Won With U.A.E. Arms, Sudanese General Takes Victory Lap
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, the leader of a notorious paramilitary force fighting for supremacy in Sudan’s civil war, is not the president of his country. Yet on a recent whirlwind tour of six African nations, he was treated just like one. Some of the continent’s most powerful leaders rolled out the red carpet for General Hamdan after he arrived on a luxury jet for meetings in late December and early January, having swapped his military fatigues for business suits. And in Rwanda, General Hamdan posed solemnly at a memorial to victims of the 1994 genocide — even though his own troops have faced accusations of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. The surprise tour was a remarkable comeback for a commander often rumored dead or wounded since Sudan plunged into war in April.

Persons: Mohamed Hamdan, Hamdan, Cyril Ramaphosa, General Hamdan, General Hamdan’s Organizations: General, General Hamdan’s Rapid Support Forces, United Arab, United Nations Locations: Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Sudan’s Darfur, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Persian, Horn of Africa

☆ Video shows man in military fatigues shooting mentally disabled Palestinian in West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Kareem Khadder | Celine Alkhaldi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A video reviewed by CNN Tuesday shows a man in military fatigues shooting and wounding a mentally disabled Palestinian near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. “Anybody who meets Tarek can tell immediately he has special needs,” Diaa Abu Abed said. The soldiers refused to listen.”The men had their rifles aimed at Tarek Abu Abed, and shouting can be heard. Diaa Abu Abed said that an onlooker called him, and he arrived on the scene soon after. Tarek Abu Abed suffered heavy bleeding and has undergone surgery on his leg, his brother said.

Persons: Tarek Abu Abed, ”, Diaa Abu Abed, “, Tarek, Diaa, Abu Abed Organizations: CNN, CNN Tuesday, West, Israel Defense Forces, Military Police, Palestine Red Crescent Society, West Bank, Palestinian Ministry of Health Locations: West Bank, Hebron, Palestinian, Sidet, Palestine, Qalqas, Israel, Jerusalem

Convicted of selling drugs and ostracized by his family, he endured abuse from guards and frequent spells in solitary confinement at a high-security Russian prison. He told a friend he felt alone and racked with guilt. Then, in the summer of 2022, Mr. Mokin and other inmates in Penal Colony No. He offered freedom and money, even as he warned that the price for many would be death. Mr. Mokin and 196 other inmates enlisted the same day.

Persons: Aleksandr Mokin, Mokin, Yevgeny V, fatigues, Wagner, “, ” Mr Organizations: Penal, The New York Times Locations: Chelyabinsk, Ukraine

☆ All the 'Virgin River' books, in order
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Esme Mazzeo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

While waiting for season six, here's the full list of books in the "Virgin River" series and the correct order to read them in. "Virgin River" (2007)"Virgin River" HarperCollins"Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. "A Virgin River Christmas" (2008)"A Virgin River Christmas" HarperCollins"Last Christmas Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to her husband, Bobby. But the Sheridan and Riordan families have different plans for Patrick and Angie and for Christmas, Virgin River style!" "Return to Virgin River" (2020)"Return to Virgin River."

Persons: —, Robyn Carr, Melinda Monroe, she's, Mel, …, Sheridan, John, Middleton, Paige Lassiter, Semper Fidelis —, it's, Brie Sheridan, Mike Valenzuela, Virgin River's, Mike, Brie, Marcie Sullivan, Bobby, Ian Buchanan, Bobby's, Ian, Marcie, Ian doesn't, Virgin River, Vanessa Rutledge, Vanessa, Matt, Paul Haggerty, he's, Matt's, Paul, Shelby McIntyre, Luke Riordan, Shelby, Luke, Rick Sudder, Iraq —, Rick, Dan Brady, they'd, Nathaniel Jensen, Annie McCarty, Noah Kincaid, Noah, Ellie Baldwin, Ellie, Franci Duncan, Sean Riordan, Sean, — he's, Franci, Rosie, Erin Foley, Erin, Aiden Riordan, journaling, there's, Drew Foley, Sunny Archer, Sunny, Drew, Clay Tahoma, Lilly Yazhi, Lilly, There's, Clay, HarperCollins, Colin Riordan, Jillian Matlock, Jillian, Colin, Kelly, Kelly's, Lief Holbrook, Courtney, Becca Timm, Denny Cutler, Denny, Becca, Connor Danson, Leslie Petruso didn't, Connor, Leslie, Katie Malone, Katie doesn't, Dylan Childress, Dylan, Katie, Nora Crane, they've, harvesttime, Tom Cavanaugh, Nora doesn't, Nora, She's, Tom won't, Riordan, Patrick, Angie LeCroix, Jack Sheridan, she'd, Patrick Riordan, Angie, Kaylee Organizations: Netflix, Service, HarperCollins, California, Virgin, Virgin River, eBay, Bar, Marines, redwoods Locations: California, Virgin River, Virgin, Sacramento, Fallujah, Vanni, Paradise, Iraq, Los Angeles, —, Jill's, San Francisco, LA, Kelly's, Redwood, Southern California

☆ Fact Check: Video showing armory predates November 2023 attack on Al Shifa hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video showing a room in the occupied West Bank stocked with firearms, army fatigues and other military equipment dates to at least August 2023 and is unrelated to the November attack by the Israeli army on Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. The clip, captioned, “Israel defense forces found a complete ARMORY inside the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. #Israel #IStandWithIsrael” was shared on Facebook (archived) amid a military blockade by Israeli troops around Shifa before they eventually entered the building on Nov. 15, 2023. The video also circulated on messaging platform X (archived), formerly Twitter, with a caption saying that it shows the Shifa hospital. The video dates to at least August 2023 and was filmed in the West Bank, not Gaza.

Persons: Al, IStandWithIsrael ”, Hanan Amiur, “, ”, Amiur, Read Organizations: West Bank, Facebook, Oslo Accords, ” Reuters, Reuters, Central Unit, IDF, Border Police, Israeli Police, Thomson Locations: Al Shifa, Gaza, Israel, Shifa, Ramallah, Oslo, Gaza’s, Judea, Samaria, Beitunia

☆ Fact Check: Video of men boarding cargo ship predates Houthis hijacking
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video of armed personnel climbing aboard a bulk carrier from three smaller motorboats has been falsely presented online as showing Yemen’s Houthis hijacking a cargo ship in the Red Sea in mid-November. The video can be dated to at least June 2022, more than a year before the Red Sea incident. On Nov. 20, the Houthis released video of armed men seizing the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship that the rebels described as being Israeli. The vessel in the Houthis video does not resemble the one in the social media posts. The video dates to at least June 2022, thus predating the Houthis seizure of the Galaxy Leader.

Persons: Yemen’s, YEMENIS, Houthis, Read Organizations: Galaxy Leader, Reuters, Polish Special Forces Component Command, Car Carriers, Ray Shipping, Thomson Locations: Red, Iran, British, Isle of, Tel Aviv

☆ A 2-year-old girl who was seized from a Ukrainian orphanage was adopted by a Putin ally: BBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The child was stolen from a Ukrainian orphanage, according to the BBC. Russia has abducted thousands of Ukrainian children, says the UN. AdvertisementA political ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted a girl who was taken from an orphanage in occupied Ukraine, according to a BBC investigation. AdvertisementAccording to the Ukrainian government, around 20,000 children have been taken by Russian authorities since the war began. The International Criminal Court in the Hague earlier this year issued arrest warrants for Putin and his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Persons: Sergey Mironov, —, Vladimir Putin, Mironov, Inna Varlamova, Margarita Prokopenko, Marina Sergeevna Mironova, Putin, Maria Lvova Organizations: BBC, UN, Service, Criminal Court Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Kherson Oblast, Kherson, Podolsk, Moscow, Hague

☆ Fact Check: Video of Syria’s Tadamon massacre shared as showing Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Editor’s note: Graphic footage and images linked to in paragraphs two, three, four and five)A video of men in Tadamon, Syria, being pushed into a mass grave and shot has been shared online purporting to show Israeli soldiers shooting civilians in Gaza in 2023. A Facebook user (archived) sharing the video on Nov. 1 wrote: “Israeli military are conducting a war crime on the ground operation in Gaza they're doing exactly what Hitler did to them. Please share it.” Text on the clip reads that Israeli ground troops were conducting a “genocide roundup”. But the video, which shows men in military fatigues shooting blindfolded men in civilian clothes, is unrelated to events in Gaza in 2023. The clip was captured in Syria in 2013, according to researchers who investigated it when it was leaked to them in 2019.

Persons: Hitler, Annsar, Umit, Read Organizations: Institute for, Genocide, New Lines, The Guardian, Reuters, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Tadamon, Syria, Gaza, Damascus, Amsterdam, France

☆ Russia parades Ukrainian war prisoners as ‘volunteers’ for its army in apparent violation of international law
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Anna Chernova | Yulia Kesaieva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A group of former Ukrainian servicemen, including prisoners of war, have “volunteered” to fight on the front lines for Russia, Moscow’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti has claimed, in a potential violation of international law. The Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing Russian state media, said in late October that Russia had “recruited” 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) from various penal colonies. Coercing POWs to serve in the Russian forces would be a violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been adopted by all nations, according to the International Red Cross. “Russian authorities have likely coerced Ukrainian prisoners of war into joining a ‘volunteer’ formation that will fight in Ukraine, which would constitute an apparent violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War,” the ISW said. Russia and Ukraine remain locked in battle as the war enters a third winter with neither country’s forces establishing the upper hand.

Persons: ”, –, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, ” Khmelnitsky, “, Volodymyr Zelensky, Valery Zaluzhny Organizations: CNN, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Donetsk People’s, Cross, Geneva Convention Locations: Russia, Moscow’s, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukraine’s, The Washington, Russian, Geneva

☆ Videos show African ethnic groups rounded up in Sudan’s Darfur region
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Sarah Dean | David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Members of African ethnic groups in Sudan’s Darfur region appear to have been rounded up by members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and other Arab militias, according to videos and images verified and geolocated by CNN. The RSF on Saturday announced it had taken over the main army base in El Geneina (the 15th division headquarters), close to where these videos were filmed. Ethnic related killings have intensified since fighting broke out mid-April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, according to witnesses and aid groups operating in the region. MSF said at its hospital in Adré, a 27-year-old man told them he fled El Geneina with 16 other people, but their group was attacked on the road to Chad. It comes after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for an “immediate cessation of attacks” in El Fasher in North Darfur.

Persons: “, Toby Harward, El Geneina, Médecins, ”, Nabila Abdel Rahman, Stephanie Hoffmann, Dominique Hyde, ” Hyde, RSF “, RSF, State Anthony Blinken, El Fasher, ” Blinken, CNN’s Sarah Dean, David McKenzie, Allegra Goodwin Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Saturday, Reuters, Twitter, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, MSF, UN, UNHCR, US State Department, African Union, State Department, State, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces Locations: Sudan’s Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, fatigues, Darfur, Chad, Ardamata, Ardamata , West Darfur, Sudan, El, Arab, Ardmata, Adré, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United States, El Fasher, North Darfur, South Africa, London

Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines of their homeland to fight on Moscow's side in the war, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. The news agency said Tuesday the soldiers swore allegiance to Russia when they joined the battalion, which entered service last month. The Institute for the Study of War in Washington said there have been previous reports of Ukrainian POWs being asked to “volunteer” for the battalion. Earlier this year, Russian media reported about 70 Ukrainian POWs joined the battalion. Given the location of the unit, Hird said she expected the Ukrainian POWs would be deployed to the front lines in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Persons: ”, Yulia Gorbunova, Nick Reynolds, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Karolina Hird, ” Hird, Hird, Reynolds Organizations: RIA Novosti, Associated Press, Ukrainian, Russian Defense Ministry, AP, Human Rights Watch, Land Warfare, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Russian, Geneva, Ukraine, London, Washington, Moscow, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, russia, ukraine

☆ Fact Check: Image of praying soldiers predates Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A photo of kneeling soldiers dating to at least 2017 has been falsely claimed online to depict American troops praying ahead of deployment to defend Israel in its war against Hamas. The image shows men in military uniform gathered in a hall, kneeling in front of their chairs while some raise their right hands. A Facebook user sharing the picture on Nov. 4 wrote: “American soldiers praying for their country, for Israel before being deployed to defend Israel. S. Soldiers praying together after a Chapel service in Fort Benning, Georgia’." Photo of kneeling soldiers predates the Israel-Hamas war by at least six years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Read Organizations: Israel, Hamas, Facebook, U.S, West Bank, UN, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Fort Benning , Georgia, Iraq, Gaza, Iran

That prompted an outcry, leading the Israeli military to overhaul the system. But elite reservists are deployed in Gaza, some in units that include professional soldiers. On Monday, Israeli news media reported that an air force reservist was fired for criticizing Mr. Netanyahu in a private WhatsApp group. “Political comments while serving in uniform is against the rules,” an Israeli military spokesman said. Gen. Ari Singer, a former chief reserves officer of the Israeli military.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ‘, don’t, ’, Erez, “, Mr, Netanyahu, ”, Yagil Levy, ” Sergeant Schnider, Ari Singer, Manuel Trajtenberg Organizations: West Bank, Mr, Military, Open University of Israel, Tel, Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies Locations: Lebanon, Lebanese, Gaza, Brig, Tel Aviv

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