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☆ Problems in China have US intelligence worried the rising military power may become 'even more aggressive and unpredictable'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China may act "even more" aggressively and unpredictably thanks to its domestic problems, US intel said. China's demographic issues, as well as economic challenges, put its leadership and military in difficult positions. US intel suggested China's global leadership and military ambitions are meeting resistance. AdvertisementAs China grapples with mounting domestic challenges, its already concerning behavior on the world stage may become even more aggressive and unpredictable, according to US intelligence. "China's serious demographic and economic challenges may make it an even more aggressive and unpredictable global actor," the threat assessment said.

Persons: —, Xi Jinping, Yang Jie, That's Organizations: intel, Service, US Intelligence Community, National Intelligence, Pentagon, People's Liberation Army Navy, Getty, Democratic Progressive Party's, East China, East China Seas, Liberation Army, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Force Locations: China, United States, China's, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, Xinhua, Taiwan, Beijing, South, East, East China Seas, Philippine, PRC, People's Republic of China, Hefei, Anhui province, COVID

☆ Left-wing AOC was with her fiancé at a Brooklyn cinema when pro-Palestine supporters accosted her, demanding she say the word 'genocide'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had just left the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn with her fiancé earlier this week when she was accosted by a group of Pro-Palestinian protesters. Just say the word. I need you to understand that this is not OK."She responded that she had said that it was a genocide. AdvertisementIn a virtual town hall around the same time, AOC responded to a constituent who said the US was "funding a genocide." A Jew and a liberal Zionist, Sanders was asked by Novara Media in February if he would call what is happening in Gaza a genocide.

Persons: —, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Ocasio, Brad Schneider, Yitzhak Rabin, Israel, Jesus, Christ, King Herod, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, Barack Obama, Court's Dobbs, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh Organizations: Service, Alamo, Business, Ministry, Gaza, New, Global, Movement, Israel, International, NBC News, Novara Media, Twitter, Washington DC Locations: Alexandria, Brooklyn, Israel, Palestine, Ocasio, Gaza, Bethlehem, Washington

☆ Women in Iran: UN report says repression of protesters and discrimination against women amounts to ‘crimes against humanity’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Eve Brennan | Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Iran’s “repression of peaceful protests” and “institutional discrimination against women and girls” has led to human rights violations, some of which amount to “crimes against humanity,” according to a United Nations’ report. It cited a report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a task force set up by the UN Human Rights Council to look at claims of deteriorating human rights conditions in Iran. She became the face of women calling for greater rights and freedoms curtailed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Protests erupted across Iran again in September last year on the first anniversary of her death. AFP/Getty ImagesA CNN report in November 2022 also found that Iran’s security forces used rape to quell protests in the country.

Persons: ”, Jina Mahsa Amini, Mahsa, ” “, Mahsa Amini, Sara Hossain, Iran’s Organizations: CNN, United Nations, United Nations Office, Human Rights, Independent, UN Human Rights, UN, “, Getty, ” Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran, Tehran, AFP

☆ Argentina Photo of Half Naked, Bowed Prisoners Shows Tough-On-Crime Shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The governor of Santa Fe province, Maximiliano Pullaro, shared details on Tuesday of a recent police search operation in the Pinero prison complex, where several high-profile drug traffickers are housed. She has previously applauded Bukele's approach to drug-related crime and said she was "interested in adapting the Bukele model" to Argentina. "They are going to have it worse and worse," Pullaro wrote on his Instagram social media account, alongside a picture of the prisoners with naked torsos and their heads bowed surrounded by guards in military gear. "Orders come out from the prisons that make life impossible for the people of Santa Fe," the governor added. Santa Fe is home to the strategic grains port city of Rosario, which last year recorded one of the highest homicide rates in Argentina as criminal gangs fight over drug territory.

Persons: Lucinda Elliott, El, Nayib, Maximiliano Pullaro, Pinero, Patricia Bullrich, Bukele's, Pullaro, torsos, El Salvador's Bukele, Bukele, Javier Milei's, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, El Salvador, Argentina's, Legal, Social Studies, Conservative Political, Conference Locations: Argentina, Santa Fe, Maximiliano, Rosario, Buenos Aires, Washington

☆ China slams ‘unfathomable absurdities’ of US trade controls as it ramps up high-tech drive
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“If it only wants itself to prosper, but denies other countries legitimate development, where is international fairness? Bilateral trade between China and Russia hit a historic $240 billion last year, surpassing a target of $200 billion set by Xi and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019 ahead of schedule. While China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict it has appeared unwilling to use its significant economic leverage to curb Russia’s aggression and has not condemned the invasion. During the briefing, Wang repeated China’s call for peace talks to avoid an “unthinkable” escalation and deterioration of the conflict. He also reiterated past rhetoric framing China’s relationship with Russia as a responsible one.

Persons: Beijing CNN —, Wang Yi, China ”, ” Wang, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Wang, ”, Xi, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Beijing CNN, Washington ., CNN, Sputnik Locations: Beijing, Washington, China, Xinjiang, Ukraine, US, San Francisco, Russia, Russian, Moscow

☆ At Least 126 Activists Killed in Latin America in 2023 -Report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 126 human rights and environmental defenders were murdered in Latin America in 2023, according to data from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) published on Tuesday, matching the previous year's figure. The IACHR, an autonomous organ of the Washington-based Organization of American States, expressed alarm over "high rates of violence" against human rights defenders in the region, where 54 assassinations were reported just in the year's final three months. Colombia was the deadliest country for environmental and human rights activists, with murders rising to 34 last year from 26 in 2022. Brazil was second with 10 murders, followed by Mexico with four, and Guatemala, Honduras and Peru with three, two and one assassination respectively. The IACHR congratulated Mexico's budget increase aimed at bolstering a government program for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists, while expressing concern over the killings of four human rights defenders.

Persons: IACHR, Aida Pelaez, Fernandez, Sandra Maler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Inter, American, of Human Rights Locations: MEXICO, America, Washington, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru

☆ Haiti declares state of emergency after armed gangs storm two of the country's largest prisons
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Sam Meredith | Www.Linkedin.Com In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This screen grab taken from AFPTV shows tires on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 3, 2024, after a breakout by several thousand inmates. A 72-hour state of emergency has been declared in Haiti after armed gangs stormed two of the country's largest prisons, reportedly allowing thousands of people to escape. A government statement said two prisons, one in the capital of Port-au-Prince and another in nearby Croix des Bouquets, were overrun by gang members over the weekend, according to multiple media reports. Nearly all the 4,000 inmates at Haiti's National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince were thought to have escaped. Haitian lawyer Arnel Remy, head of the Collective of Lawyers for the Defense of Human Rights in Haiti, said in a Google-translated update on the X social media platform that a total of 3,597 prisoners escaped from the National Penitentiary.

Persons: Patrick Boisvert, Al, Ariel Henry, Arnel Remy Organizations: CNBC, Finance, Lawyers, Defense of Human Rights, National Penitentiary Locations: Port, Prince, Haiti, Croix des, Haiti's, Al Jazeera, Boisvert, Haitian, Kenya

Port-au-Prince, Haiti CNN —From above, Haiti’s capital city Port-au-Prince still looks serene, its white-washed homes climbing steep green hills that encircle a glittering bay. Police officers run holding their guns while confronting a gang in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 1, 2024. Haiti’s gangs were once seen as thuggish instruments for powerful politicians and business elites. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry at the United States International University Africa, in Nairobi on March 1, 2024. Anger toward the government for Haiti’s gangs problem is misplaced, he also said, emphasizing that the government has limited options.

Persons: Toussaint, Prince, Ariel Henry, Haiti’s, “, ”, Jimmy “, Robin Hood, Ralph Tedy Erol, Henry, “ Ariel Henry, Haiti Ulrika Richardson, Kraze Barye, John Bosco, Jeremie, CNN’s, Ariel kraze peyi, Ariel, Jovenel Moise, Guy Philippe, Odric Octina, Johnson Sabin, Shutterstock, Simon Maina, Henry’s, Jean Junior Joseph, –, Leinz Vales, Sean Walker Organizations: Haiti CNN, CNN, Police, United Nations, FBI, Global, Transnational, UN, National Police, Haitian, Canadian Embassy, Catholic, St, Bank, ”, Haitian Environment, Penitentiary, Reuters, Haiti, Caricom, United States International University Africa, Getty, Kenyan, United Nations Security Council, United Locations: Prince, Haiti, Port, Toussaint L’Ouverture, Kenya, New York, Delmas, Cité, Kizito, Jeremie, farmworkers, United States, Canada, It’s, Haitian, West, Nairobi, AFP

☆ West closely watching Putin's next move after breakaway region asks Moscow to 'protect' it from Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with his confidants for the 2024 election at Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 31, 2024. Maxim Shemetov | ReutersSpeculation is mounting that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use his annual address to Russian lawmakers Thursday to announce that Russian troops will be sent to "protect" the pro-Russian, breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova. Officials in the separatist region appealed to Russia on Wednesday for "protection" against Moldova's pro-Western government. "We keep a close eye and reiterate that the Transnistrian region is aligned with the goal of peace and security of Moldova. A map of Moldova, including the breakaway region of Transnistria.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Maxim Shemetov, —, Putin, Moldova's, Daniel Voda, Matthew Miller, Tursa, Russia's, Ivana Stradner, Daniel Mihailescu Organizations: Gostiny Dvor, Reuters, Moldova's, Russia's Foreign, RIA Novosti, Analysts, Federal, U.S . State Department, EU, Getty Russia, United Nations, Defense, Democracies, CNBC, Kremlin, Russian Federation, Institute for, Afp, Getty Locations: Moscow, Russia, Transnistria, Moldova, Soviet Union, Europe, Pridnestrovie, Moldavian Republic, Transnistrian, Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russian, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Washington, U.S, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Chisinau

Without ever clicking a mouse or touching a screen, Mark selected this command on his computer simply using signals from his brain. “I figured I had two choices: I could wallow in self-pity, or I could pick myself up by the bootstraps and do what I could to help,” Mark said. Synchron’s brain implant, the one Mark has, is called a Stentrode and consists of a stent with electrode sensors that can detect electrical brain activity. That external transmitter sits right above the internal transmitter and carries the signal from Mark’s brain to the computer almost instantaneously. Earlier this month, Musk also said Neuralink’s first human trial participant can control a computer mouse with their brain.

Persons: Sanjay Gupta’s, Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN —, Mark, Lou Gehrig’s, ” Mark, Elon Musk, ”, “, Sanjay Gupta, Synchron, Tom Oxley, hardwired, he’s, Mark didn’t, “ We’d, Maria Nardozzi, ” Oxley, CNN Mark, Musk’s Neuralink, Oxley, António Guterres, ” Elon Musk, Gonzalo Fuentes, Neuralink, Musk, Hope Organizations: CNN, BCI, US Food and Drug Administration, Netflix, US Securities and Exchange Commission, United Nations, Reuters, SpaceX Locations: Neuralink, UNESCO’s, Pennsylvania

☆ Belfast Court Rules Against Granting Immunity for ‘Troubles’ Violence
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Belfast court ruled on Wednesday that a new British law granting people immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during Northern Ireland’s bloody sectarian conflict — known as the Troubles — would be a breach of human rights. The British government introduced the legislation, known as the Legacy Act, last year, aiming to “promote reconciliation” in the region, despite opposition from every political party there. Crucially, the law also includes provisions for conditional amnesty for people suspected of crimes committed during the Troubles, including serious offenses. Wednesday’s decision, by the High Court in Belfast, was the result of a judicial review that it carried out after victims and families affected by the Troubles brought the issue to the court. Judge Adrian Colton, who delivered the ruling, said he believed that granting immunity from prosecution under the act would breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Persons: Adrian Colton Organizations: High, Human Rights Locations: Belfast, Northern

☆ Amazon to pay $1.9 million to migrant contract workers to settle claims of human rights abuses
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon will pay more than 700 migrant workers roughly $1.9 million to settle claims they suffered human rights abuses as a result of exploitative labor contracts in Saudi Arabia. While they worked at Amazon warehouses, the workers were housed in accommodations that were "overcrowded and dirty, infested with bed bugs and lacking even the most basic facilities," Amnesty wrote. The abuses suffered by workers were so severe that they likely amounted to "human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation as defined by international law and standards," Amnesty wrote in the October report. Amazon has disputed regulators' allegations, and it has said it continues to invest in worker safety. WATCH: Amazon's worker safety hazards come under fire from regulators and the DOJ

Persons: Verité, Abdullah Fahad Al, AFMCO, they're Organizations: Amazon, Amnesty, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Investigative Journalism, Guardian Locations: Robbinsville , New Jersey, Saudi Arabia

☆ Julian Assange makes last-ditch attempt in UK court to avoid extradition to the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images Assange attends a seminar at the Swedish Trade Union Confederation in Stockholm on August 14, 2010. LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images Assange and his bodyguards are seen after a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2010. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images Assange, on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, holds up a United Nations report in February 2016. Carl Court/Getty Images Assange speaks to the media in May 2017, after Swedish prosecutors had dropped their investigation of rape allegations against Assange. Jack Taylor/Getty Images Assange was seen for the first time in months during a hearing via teleconference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2018.

Persons: London CNN — Julian Assange’s, Priti Patel, Assange, Julian Assange, Jack Taylor, LEON NEAL, BERTIL ERICSON, FABRICE COFFRINI, Carl Court, Geoff Caddick, Oli Scarff, CARL COURT, Leon Neal, Philip Toscano, Ricardo Patino, Frank Augstein, David Paul Morris, John Stillwell, Mike, Pompeo, Maria Sol Borja, Chelsea Manning, Alastair Grant, Daniel Leal, Elizabeth Cook, Assange’s, Edward Fitzgerald, ”, “, ” Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Assange “, ” Mark Summers, Stella, Julia Hall, Rebecca Vincent, ” Vincent, Nick Vamos, “ It’s, Vamos Organizations: London CNN, WikiLeaks, European, of Human Rights, Ecuadorian, Guardian, Getty, Swedish Trade Union Confederation, St, Paul's, Court, British, Ecuadorian Embassy, Oxford Union Society, Ecuadorian Foreign, Southwest Festival, Bloomberg, United Nations Human Rights, United, United Nations, CIA, CNN, Army, Ecuador, Southwark Crown, Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, Eastern, of, Department, US, UK’s, Media, Foreign Press Association, Amnesty, International Campaigns, US Espionage, Peters & Peters, Prosecution Service Locations: United States, British, Belmarsh, Queensland, Australia, Westminster, London, Afghanistan, AFP, Stockholm, Iraq, Geneva, Switzerland, Sweden, Ecuador, Austin , Texas, Ecuadorian, United Nations, United Kingdom, Quito, Southwark, America, of Virginia, Guantanamo, Australian, Europe, UK’s

☆ Opinion | Kicking Native People Off Their Land Is a Horrible Way to Save the Planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Robert Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That’s why government officials recently announced a change in the legal status of Ngorongoro that will prohibit human settlement inside and near it. The decision will force authorities to remove nearly 100,000 people — mostly Maasai pastoralists who have used Ngorongoro’s vast grasslands to sustain their seminomadic cattle-herding way of life for generations — from the protected area. According to the government, the Maasai must be removed to conserve the land and protect biodiversity. The Maasai argue that removal puts their lives and cultural survival at risk and that the government should instead expand tourism in a way that respects their rights. Yet in many cases people are already living and surviving off these lands — indeed, an estimated 476 million Indigenous peoples dwell on lands that are home to 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity.

Organizations: World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Arizona Indigenous Peoples Law, United Nations, Indigenous Peoples Locations: Mara, Kenya, United States, France, Germany, Japan

☆ Jimmy Carter’s spirit ‘as strong as ever’ after year in hospice, grandson says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Aileen Graef | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —As former President Jimmy Carter marked one year in hospice care on Sunday, his family celebrated his resolve and expressed gratitude for the support they’ve received. He entered hospice care in February 2023 after a series of hospital stays. There is no time limit on how long a person can receive hospice care. “One year after entering hospice care, President Carter continues to be at home with his family. The Carter Family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time,” the Carter family said in a statement Sunday.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, they’ve, ” Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s, Carter, “, ”, Rosalynn Carter, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, CNN’s Carma Hassan, Erica Henry, Michelle Shen, Keith Allen, Julia Manchester Organizations: CNN, CBS, Accords, Israeli, Democrat, Carter Locations: Georgia, United States, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea, Guinea

☆ Firms With Deep Roots in China Reconsider Their Xinjiang Ties
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its joint venture in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China and another German industrial giant is starting to sell its stakes there following new international scrutiny of forced labor using predominantly Muslim ethnic groups. Volkswagen said last week that it was in discussions with one of its main joint venture partners in China, the state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, in the wake of allegations of human rights violations at their joint venture in Xinjiang. The companies are examining “the future direction of the J.V.’s business activities in Xinjiang,” VW said, adding that “various scenarios are currently being examined intensively.”BASF of Germany, the world’s largest chemical company, disclosed on Feb. 9 that it began moving late last year to divest its stakes in two manufacturing joint ventures in Xinjiang.

Persons: VW Organizations: Volkswagen, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, BASF Locations: Xinjiang, China, Germany

☆ Navalny's Wife Should Keep His Voice Alive, Litvinenko Widow Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON (Reuters) - The wife of Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, needs to keep her husband's voice alive, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko said on Saturday following the death of the prominent Kremlin critic. Photos You Should See View All 33 ImagesLitvinenko said she was shocked by the news of Navalny's death. Many Western leaders expressed outrage over Navalny's death, in what Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called an unacceptable response. British foreign minister David Cameron said Britain would take action over Navalny's death, although he did not say what such action would entail. "When we see even tiny protest, even tiny reaction to death of Alexei Navalny, I think it's very serious.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, Alexander Litvinenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Alexei, Marina Litvinenko, Marina Litvinenko's, Litvinenko, Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, David Cameron, Kristian Brunse, Farouq Suleiman, Frances Kerry Organizations: Kremlin, Reuters, KGB, of Human Rights Locations: Munich, Russia, London, Britain

☆ Opinion: In Navalny’s death, echoes of Stalin
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —We don’t yet know the exact details of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death, reported Friday by the Russian prison service — and we may never find the precise truth. When the Wall fell, Putin was a KGB officer in Dresden in what was then East Germany. And the most dangerous thing a Russian leader can do is lose a war as the Romanovs did in World War I, which helped spark the Russian revolution in 1917. By contrast with Gorbachev, Stalin ruled with an iron fist and was critical to the Allies winning World War II. How will news of Navalny’s death be received in Russia?

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Alexey Navalny’s, Kamala Harris, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Navalny, Andrei Sakharov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Mikhail Gorbachev, ” Gorbachev, quagmire, Alexis de Tocqueville, Gorbachev’s, Gorbachev, Stalin, Tucker Carlson’s, Boris Nadezhdin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, Munich Security, Human Rights, Soviet Union, Soviet, Kremlin, Great, Literature Locations: New America, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Eastern Europe, Dresden, East Germany, Afghanistan, Russian

☆ Navalny is the latest in a long line of Putin critics who met an early death
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

CNN —When Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny returned to Russia in 2021, there were many who feared he would face an untimely end. The Kremlin has said it is investigating the critic’s death, the circumstances of which were not immediately clear. After his death, opposition leader Ilya Yashin said his friend had been working on a report about Russian troops and their involvement in Ukraine. Nemtsov’s death came two days before he was set to lead an opposition rally in the Russian capital. Alexander PerepilichnyyOver the years, suggestions have emerged of the possible use of a rare plant poison in the death of Russian financier Alexander Perepilichnyy.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, ”, Navalny, Yegveny Prigozhin Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Reuters Yevgeny Prigozhin, –, Bill Browder, “ Putin, ” Boris Nemtsov, Boris Nemtsov, Dmitry Korotayev, Boris Yeltsin, Ilya Yashin, Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin, Nemtsov’s, Boris Berezovsky Boris Berezovsky, Yelena Gorbunova, Peter Macdiarmid, Boris Berezovsky, Putin, Berezovsky, Alexander Perepilichnyy, CNN Alexander Perepilichnyy, Perepilichnyy, Sergei Magnitsky, ANDREY SMIRNOV, Magnitsky, Browder, Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Litvinenko, Natasja Weitsz, Alexander Litvinenko, Litvinenko –, Robert Owen, Putin “, Litvinenko, Marina Litvinenko, Anna Politkovskaya, JENS SCHLUETER, Lom, Ali Gaitukayev, Politkovskaya, Chechen Republic …, ” Drownings, Prigozhin, Gennady Lopyrev –, “, Lopyrev, Pyotr Kucherenko, Pavel Antov, Vladimir Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Buzakov, Anatoly Gerashchenko, Ravil Maganov, Lukoil, Maganov “, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Sergei Skripal, Skripal, Yulia Organizations: CNN, Putin’s United, “, Kremlin, PMC Wagner, Reuters, Republican Party of Russia, Party, Newsweek, Royal Botanic, Getty Images, Hermitage Capital, KGB, Getty, Authorities, The, Protect Journalists, RIA Novosti, Russia’s, Science, Higher Education, Gazprom, Lukoil, Moscow Aviation Institute, TASS Locations: Russia, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Putin’s United Russia, Ukraine, ” Boris Nemtsov Russian, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, London's, England, Soviet Union, Britain, Surrey, London, Kew, American, Chechnya, Leipzig, Germany, AFP, The New York, Chechen Republic, Washington, Gelendzhik, ”, Cuba, India, United States

Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. Civil unions may become more common among Orthodox countries gravitating toward the European Union. Greek Orthodox showed relative tolerance, with half of Orthodox saying homosexuality should be accepted and a quarter favoring same-sex marriage. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, he oversees the world's largest Orthodox flock.

Persons: ”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, “, George Demacopoulos, ” Demacopoulos, —, Vladimir Putin, “ perversions, Putin, Kirill, Moscow, Tiny Montenegro, Aleksandar Vucic, ″, ___ Smith, Yuras, Stephen McGrath, Illia Novikov, Veselin Toshkov Organizations: European Union, Pew Research Center, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University, Ukrainian, of, of Human, Russian Orthodox Church, Kremlin, Russia’s, Levada, MONTENEGRO Serbia, Balkan, Serbian Orthodox Church, of Human Rights, Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Associated Press, Gec, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Greece, Montenegro, Cyprus, Russia, Eastern Europe, Washington, New York, European, UKRAINE, Ukraine, RUSSIA, Russian, BELARUS, Belarus, SERBIA, MONTENEGRO, Serbia, ROMANIA, MOLDOVA Romania, Romania, Bucharest, Moldova, BULGARIA, Bulgaria, Pittsburgh, Tallin, Estonia, Belgrade, Kyiv, Sofia

☆ Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in Putin’s side
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Laura Smith-Spark | Zamira Rahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

From prison, Navalny denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country. Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. Navalny took up Nemtsov’s mantle, becoming Russia’s most prominent opposition figure. Alexey Navalny was given a suspended sentence and his brother was sentenced to a prison term. Russia launched a new fraud accusation and jail threat against Navalny at the end of 2020, increasing pressure on him.

Persons: CNN — Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Navalny, Alexei Navalny, Dmitry Lovetsky, “, Putin, ”, Kira Yarmysh, Dmitry Peskov, Alexander Litvinenko, Novichok, Sergei Skripal, Russia’s, Boris Nemtsov, Alexey Navalny, ‘ Putin, Oleg, Yves Rocher, “ Putin, ” Navalny, Dasha Navalnaya, Margarita Kotova, gaunt, Alexey, –, Putin –, Alexander Nemenov, vociferously, I’m, Yulia Navalnaya Organizations: CNN, United, Kremlin, CNN Former, Getty, Corruption, Navalny, “, Moscow’s, Peoples University, Transneft, Court, of Human Locations: United Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Germany, Moscow, CNN Former Russian, Britain, Russian, English, Salisbury, Siberian, Tomsk, Omsk, France, Sweden, Anadolu, Melekhovo, Vladimir Region, Butyn, AFP, Moscow’s

As Prabowo Subianto looks set to succeed Joko Widodo as President, economic growth remains resilient and inflation has stayed low over the past year. But external risks, including Russia's war on Ukraine, continue to cloud the horizon. The World Bank warned in January that global growth will slow for the third consecutive year, to 2.4% in 2024, when the global economy may record the slowest half-decade of GDP growth in 30 years. The government remains hopeful of hitting its 5.2% target in 2024, said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in early February, acknowledging the risks posed by global economic turmoil, such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Regional leadershipTo reach developed country status, a nation typically requires sustained annual economic growth of 7% for 15 consecutive years.

Persons: Prabowo, Joko Widodo, Krisna Gupta, Widodo, Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Sri Mulyani, Radityo Dharmaputra, Indonesia's Organizations: World Bank, State of, Global, Center, Indonesian, Center for Indonesian, Studies, Bank, Economic Affairs, for Economic Co, OECD, Universitas Airlangga, Ukraine, Insider Studios, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Locations: Indonesia, Ukraine, State, Russia, Jakarta, Southeast Asia, Crimea, Subianto

Autocracies – governments in which one person possesses unlimited power – are on the rise. Meanwhile, the percentage of electoral democracies – political systems that hold meaningful, free and fair elections with multiple political parties – has gone down. Starting in the 1960s and again in the 1980s, the global share of autocracies decreased dramatically as democracy started to gain more of a foothold around the world, according to V-Dem’s analysis. And despite the relative rise in autocracies in recent years, there were still 58 elected democracies globally compared to 30 closed autocracies in 2022. In 2022 there were also 58 electoral autocracies, which “hold multiparty elections but their quality or conditions around them are not sufficient to be classified as an electoral democracy,” according to V-Dem experts.

Persons: ”, Thomas Carothers, –, “, Barbara Wejnert, Carothers, Viktor Orbán, Recep Tayyip Edrogan, Narendra Modi, Subianto, it’ll, “ It’s, ” Carothers, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump’s Organizations: Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, University of Buffalo, Global Democracy, European Union, Brookings Institution, The Washington, New York Times, Reuters Locations: Indonesia, autocracies, China, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, India, Indonesian, U.S

☆ Greece legalizes same-sex marriage in a first for an Orthodox Christian country
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Elinda Labropoulou | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Athens, Greece CNN —The Greek parliament on Thursday passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, in a landmark victory for human rights in Greece and making it the first majority Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality for all. Now, same-sex parents can both be recognized as legal parents to their children. A recent poll carried out by Metron Analysis showed that although 62% of respondents said they were in favor of same-sex marriage, 69% were against same-sex parenthood. The same-sex marriage bill has drawn the wrath of the influential Greek Orthodox Church to which more than 80% of the population belong. All three voted against the same-sex marriage law, and the legislation could still push some angry voters to the right ahead of European elections in June.

Persons: Greece CNN —, Andrea Gilbert, “, ”, Katerina Trimmi, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Sergio Berezovski, Mitsotakis, Alexis Rafailides, Stefanos, ” Kasselakis, Tyler McBeth, Kasselakis, Elias …, ” Stelios Pandazopoulos, Angelo, – Organizations: Greece CNN, Athens Pride, CNN, Greek National Commission of Human Rights, Rainbow, Computer, EU, Metron, New Democracy Locations: Athens, Greece, surrogates, Thursdau, ”, Syriza, American, Karditsa

☆ Analysis-Indonesia's Prabowo Poised for Power, but How Will He Rule?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

One major question is how well, and for how long, his alliance with outgoing President Joko Widodo, or "Jokowi", will hold. On the campaign trail Prabowo has promised policy "continuity", but analysts say that is far from guaranteed. "Make no mistake a President Prabowo would be his own president." 'UNCERTAINTY' ON THE CARDSIn contrast to Jokowi, Prabowo is from an elite family, the son of a prominent Indonesian economist and the ex-son-law of the country's former authoritarian ruler, Suharto. Once his victory is officially endorsed, Prabowo will assume the controls of Southeast Asia's biggest economy on October 20.

Persons: Kate Lamb JAKARTA, Prabowo Subianto, Prabowo, Long, general's, Joko Widodo, Liam Gammon, Jokowi, Doug Ramage, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Indonesia's, Kevin O'Rourke, Suharto, “, He's, ANU's Gammon, Gammon, Kay Johnson, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Defence, Australian National University, ANU, Jokowi, Analysts, Human Rights Watch Locations: Indonesia, Prabowo, BowerGroupAsia, Indonesian, Ukraine, Qatar

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