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WASHINGTON (AP) — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a rare interview with Fox News on Wednesday that negotiations over Israel means the prospects of normalized relations between both countries “get closer" every day, but that treatment of Palestinians remains a “very important” issue to be resolved. Saudi Arabia is discussing a major agreement with the United States to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for a U.S. defense pact and aid in developing its own civilian nuclear program. We think it’s good not just for Israel and Saudi Arabia, we think it’s good for the whole region,” Kirby said. Saudi Arabia has made major progress in winding down its devastating war with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, this week hosting a rebel delegation in the capital, Riyadh. The 38-year-old bin Salman assumed day-to-day rule after the aging King Salman named him next in line to the throne in 2017.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “, Bret Baier ”, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Netanyahu, ”, bin Salman, we’ve, John Kirby, Saudi Arabia “, ” Kirby, Bin Salman, ” Bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, ” bin Salman, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s, PIF, Salman, King Salman Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Fox News, MBS, Israeli, General Assembly, West Bank, National Security, Washington Post, Saudi, Fox News Channel, White House, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Trump, Arab League Locations: — Saudi, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States, Palestinian, Saudi, New York, Asia, East, Europe, Iran, Saudi Arabi, Western, Yemen, Riyadh, Syria, America

☆ Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse: Thai King's son signals willingness to talk about lese majeste as he attends exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, 42, the King’s second-oldest son, who lives in New York, confirmed that he went to see the exhibition on his official Facebook page Monday. “The King can do wrong.”Nonetheless lese majeste prosecutions continued in the last decade of his reign, and increased dramatically when the military seized power in a 2014 coup. An unprecedented demand was royal reform to ensure the King is answerable to the constitution and amendments to the royal insult law. A political toolFor years, human rights organizations and free speech campaigners have said lese majeste has been used as a political tool to silence critics of the Thai government. At least 253 people have been charged with lese majeste during that time, the group said.

Persons: Thailand’s, Maha Vajiralongkorn, King, LeRoy Neiman, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, lese, Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, “, ’, ” Vacharaesorn, Vacharaesorn, Thais –, Thais, ”, Pavin, ” Pavin, King Vajiralongkorn, Bhumibol Adulyadej, Bhumibol, Srettha Thavisin, lese majeste, majeste, King Bhumibol, Prayut Chan Organizations: CNN, LeRoy, New York’s Columbia University, Kyoto University’s Center, Southeast Asian Studies, Elections, Thai, YouTube, Facebook, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Thai Prime Locations: New York, Thailand, Thai, Local

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada on Tuesday firmly rejected the Indian government’s denial of any involvement in the assassination of a Sikh dissident in Canada, calling on India to take his country’s allegations seriously. “We are not looking to provoke or escalate,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India.”On Monday, the prime minister stunned Canadians when he told the House of Commons that “agents of the Indian government” had been behind the shooting in June of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader and a Canadian citizen, near a Sikh temple in suburban Vancouver, British Columbia.

Persons: Justin Trudeau of, Mr, Trudeau, ”, Hardeep Singh Nijjar Organizations: Justin Trudeau of Canada, of Locations: Canada, India, Ottawa, Canadian, Vancouver, British Columbia

☆ The tumultuous life of Alexei Navalny, Russia's outspoken dissident who has been sentenced to 19 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Alexei Navalny, Russia's most famous living dissident, made a name for himself as an anti-corruption blogger. In 2013, Navalny ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Moscow and — despite a conviction that barred him from running — also attempted to run for president in the 2018 election. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. He dubbed Putin's political party United Russia "the party of Crooks and Thieves," and called Putin "a thieving little man in a bunker." He's now locked in a remote penal colony that's typically reserved for those accused of violent crimes and incarcerated people serving life terms.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Navalny, —, Alexei Navalny —, Vladimir Putin —, Crooks, Putin, Russian agents.He, He's Organizations: Service, Putin Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, United Russia, Russian, Germany, Russia

☆ Colombia gov't, largest FARC dissident group to begin peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Then Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bogota, Colombia, April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Colombia's government and the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest FARC dissident group, on Tuesday said in a joint statement they would begin peace talks on Oct. 8 and start a 10-month bilateral, national ceasefire on the same day. The EMC was founded by dissident former members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, who reject a 2016 peace deal signed by that group. Colombia's government in May suspended a national ceasefire with the EMC in some areas of the Andean country following the murder of four Indigenous teenagers. The government is also in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and the two sides have also agreed a bilateral ceasefire.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Jaime Saldarriaga, Gustavo Petro's, Oliver Griffin, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Estado Mayor Central, FARC, EMC, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda Marquetalia, National Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Rights BOGOTA

☆ One year since Mahsa Amini’s death, a protester shot in the eye during Iran’s crackdown continues her struggle from exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Adam Pourahmadi Sarah El Sirgany Jomana Karadsheh | Adam Pourahmadi | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Milan, Italy CNN —Elahe Tavakolian’s shooter was so close, she could see him pointing his gun at her. Flares of dissent were slowly lighting up cities and small towns like Esfarayen in the northeast of the country, where Tavakolian was shot. Help!’” she tells CNN in an interview in Milan, Italy, where she has sought asylum. Tavakolian felt like her fight wasn’t over. Now fitted with a prosthetic eye in Italy, Tavakolian is coming to terms with her new reality.

Persons: Italy CNN — Elahe, ”, “, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tavakolian, ” Tavakolian, can’t, ‘, didn’t, ’, I’m, Mahsa, IranWire, ophthalmologists, Mark Esplin, Roberta Rei, she’s Organizations: Italy CNN, Iran’s, CNN, Taxi, Amnesty, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights, San Locations: Milan, Italy, Iran

☆ BlackRock voted against Glencore's climate progress report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A specialist trader works at the post where BlackRock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies BlackRock Inc FollowGlencore PLC FollowLONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Major Glencore shareholder BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) was among investors to reject the mining giant's (GLEN.L) climate progress report at its annual meeting in May, citing inconsistencies, a voting disclosure page on the asset manager's website shows. BlackRock allows many clients to cast their own votes at companies' annual general meetings. The page also showed BlackRock did not back a shareholder resolution seeking more disclosure on progress in scaling back thermal coal production, which got 29% support, without saying why. But BlackRock in August reported a further decline in its support for shareholder resolutions on environmental and social themes, citing corporate progress on the areas and poorly crafted measures.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Glencore, company's, Clara Denina, Simon Jessop, Josie Kao Organizations: BlackRock, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, BlackRock Inc, BIS, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Paris

☆ House Oversight Democrats ask GOP to subpoena Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner's $3 billion Saudi-backed private equity fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Shortly after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner got $2 billion in funding from the Saudi government for his private-equity fund. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who developed close ties to Kushner, pushed the deal through, the New York Times reported. Now, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are asking the GOP to investigate with the same zeal they've applied to Hunter Biden. The letter puts special focus on a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. AdvertisementAdvertisementBut MBS, who chairs the fund, intervened to push the deal through, according to the Times' repoAffinity Partners now has an office in Miami.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Mohammed bin Salman, Kushner, they've, Hunter Biden, Jamie Raskin, Joe Biden's, Raskin, Donald Trump's, James Comer, Comer, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Lockheed Martin, Jamal Khashoggi, Abraham, Austin Hacker, Hacker Organizations: White, New York Times, Service, Democratic, GOP, Affinity Partners, White House, Democrats, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, MBS, Trump, Intercept, The New York Times, Lockheed, National Security Council, Saudi, Times, Abraham Accords, Trump White House, Affinity, CNN Locations: Saudi, Wall, Silicon, Maryland, Saudi Arabia, Miami

☆ Opinion: Putin, Trump, and a remarkable split-screen moment in world history
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. First, that Prigozhin had openly challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin, and second, that countless others who had defied Putin have met untimely, violent deaths. In different ways, both Putin and Trump are key players in that phenomenon. Neither Trump nor Putin are novices at the art of conjuring major victories by going to war against the truth. Putin launched the full-scale war in Ukraine around the 8th anniversary of his 2014 invasion of Crimea.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Alexander Solzhenitzyn, Robert Mueller’s, indicting Prigozhin, ” Prigozhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Facebook Putin, Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Soviet Union, Kremlin, Internet Research Agency, Ukraine, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Atlanta, Soviet, United States, “, Crimea

☆ See inside President Vladimir Putin's opulent $100 million superyacht
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin spent $32 million refitting a superyacht, a new report suggests. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile his troops flooded into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin was spending millions of dollars on an opulent refit of one of his superyachts, according to an investigation from opposition leader Alexei Navalny's team. Advertisement Advertisement Watch: Inside Putin's secret bunker and billion-dollar palaceThe total cost of the works came to $32 million, according to the investigation. AdvertisementAdvertisement"OFAC is identifying Russia-flagged Graceful and Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia, as blocked property in which President Vladimir Putin has an interest," the US Treasury website said in a June 2022 press release. The Russian president is reportedly also the owner of the 450-foot, $700 million Scheherazade, one of the largest yachts in the world.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny's, Pyotr Stolypin, Putin, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich Organizations: Morning, Russian, Blohm, Russian Federation, US Department of, Foreign, Control, US Treasury, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Saint Petersburg, Hamburg, Germany, Voss, Kaliningrad, Russia, Islands, Belarus, Cayman Islands, Olympia

☆ Escape China by Jet Ski? A Dissident Is Said to Have Planned It for Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( John Yoon | More About John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The South Korean Coast Guard has confirmed that on Aug. 16 it found a man stranded with a Jet Ski-type vehicle on a mud flat off the country’s west coast, near the city of Incheon. He had set off from the Shandong Peninsula with a helmet, a life jacket, a telescope and a compass, according to the Coast Guard. He also had five containers of fuel, which he’d tied to the watercraft and used to keep the tank filled during the 14-hour journey, the Coast Guard said. “He felt depressed living in China due to the autocracy and lack of freedom of speech,” said Mr. Ran, 36, who met Mr. Kwon on an online forum about Chinese history.

Persons: he’d, Matt Ran, Kwon, ”, Mr, Quan Ping, Ran, “ Organizations: Korean Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Iowa State University Locations: Incheon, South Korea, China, Shandong, New York City

☆ A dissident who mocked Xi Jinping online fled China on a jet ski, crossing 180 miles of sea to reach South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He used a jet ski and a compass to get to the South Korean city of Incheon, per AFP. "He refilled the petrol on the ride and dumped the empty barrels into the sea," said the Korea Coast Guard on Tuesday, according to AFP. Kwon is now considering whether to apply for refugee status in South Korea, which only grants asylum to only a limited number of refugees each year. "While his means of entry into South Korea in violation of the law was wrong, surveillance of the Chinese authorities and political persecution of Kwon since 2016 are behind his life-risking crossing into South Korea," Lee told the news agency. The Incheon Korea Coast Guard Station was unable to be reached for comment because it was outside of office hours.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Kwon Pyong, Xi, Lee Dae, Kwon, Lee Organizations: AFP, Service, Agence France, Presse, Dialogue China, Korea Coast Guard, South Korea Korea Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Incheon Korea Coast Guard Locations: China, Korean, Incheon, Wall, Silicon, South Korea, Shandong, AFP, South

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A jet ski rider detained by South Korea for allegedly entering the country illegally is a prominent Chinese dissident who rode hundreds of miles across the sea to escape from China, activists say. The man, who is in his 30s, was apprehended August 16 near Incheon, on South Korea’s west coast near to the capital Seoul, the Incheon Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday. He is suspected of traveling from China’s eastern Shandong province, which lies about 400 kilometers (250 miles) across the Yellow Sea from Incheon. Upon arrival in South Korea, he got stuck on the muddy shore and had to call an emergency line for help, the release said. Lee Dae-seon, an activist working with Dialogue China and based in South Korea, said Kwon had been sentenced to jail and released in March 2019.

Persons: Kwon Pyong, Kwon, Xi Jinping, “, ”, Lee Dae, Lee, “ Kwon, ” Lee Organizations: South Korea CNN, South, Incheon Coast Guard, CNN, Iowa State University, House, Freedom, Dialogue Locations: Seoul, South Korea, China, Incheon, South Korea’s, Shandong, United States, Dialogue China

CNN —Russian dissident journalist Elena Kostyuchenko has revealed how she was traveling to Berlin by train last autumn when she was abruptly taken ill, in a case that has led German authorities to investigate a suspected poisoning attempt. Kostyuchenko was living in exile at the time in the German capital after being warned of Russian plans to assassinate her. In March 2022, she said she was tipped off by a source in Ukrainian military reconnaissance about Russian plans to assassinate her. Kostyuchenko eventually fled to Germany, where she rented an apartment in Berlin and began working for Meduza on September 29. Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny also fell ill on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow in 2020.

Persons: Elena Kostyuchenko, Kostyuchenko, Sebastian Büchner, ” Kostyuchenko, “, ”, Zelimkhan, Sergei Skripal, Yulia, Theresa May, Alexei Navalny Organizations: CNN, Russian, Novaya Gazeta, Meduza, UK Locations: Russian, Berlin, Munich, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Iran, Meduza, Ukrainian, Chechen, English, Salisbury, Siberian, Tomsk, Moscow

☆ Northern Ireland police confident militants have officers' data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A police officer stands guard on the steps of Stormont Parliament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoBELFAST, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Northern Irish police are confident that militant groups are in possession of details of officers it accidentally shared publicly last week, the region's police chief said on Monday. The accidental data leak is hugely sensitive in Northern Ireland, where officers are still sporadically targeted by dissident groups in bomb and gun attacks, despite a 1998 peace deal largely ending three decades of sectarian violence. "We are now confident that the workforce dataset is in the hands of dissident republicans," Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne told a news conference. He added that he was confident the UK government stood ready to provide additional funding for protecting its workforce or staff if needed.

Persons: Clodagh, Constable Simon Byrne, Sinn, Gerry Kelly, Byrne, Amanda Ferguson, Padraic Halpin, Alistair Smout Organizations: REUTERS, Northern Irish, " Police Service of Northern, Irish, Thomson Locations: Belfast , Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, " Police Service of Northern Ireland, Belfast

☆ Yevgeny Prigozhin: Where in the world is the Wagner warlord?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It was a stark contrast to the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Back in June, Prigozhin led the abortive mutiny that presented the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in over two decades of rule. Speaking after Wagner fighters relocated to Belarus, Prigozhin suggested he remained focused on this core African market. In a recent Telegram message, Prigozhin hinted that Wagner might be ready to offer its services there. “And this is the (the reason for the) love for PMC Wagner, this is the high efficiency of PMC Wagner.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Prigozhin hasn’t, –, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Andrei Kelin, Kelin, “, ” Kelin, Vladimir, Kara, Murza, … Prigozhin, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Candace Rondeaux, Rondeaux, it’s, ” Rondeaux, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, ” Prigozhin, Sudan –, PMC Wagner, Mohamed Bazoum, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Amanpour, Putin’s, NATO, Polish, Wagner Group, PMC Wagner, PMC, Russian Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Putin Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Africa, St . Petersburg, Orchestra_W, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, America, Prigozhin, Putin’s Russia, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Sudan, Libya, Niger, Putin Russia

☆ Northern Irish police accidentally share names of all officers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Police officers stand outside the Grand Central Hotel, where U.S. President Joe Biden is staying, as he visits Northern Ireland, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 12, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoBELFAST, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's police force accidentally shared the names and work locations of every member of staff on Tuesday in a data breach it said would be of "significant concern" to officers who are often targeted by militant groups. The information was publicly available on the requestor's website for around two-and-a-half hours before being removed, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. However, officers' data is especially sensitive in Northern Ireland as many "go to great lengths and do everything possible to protect their police identity and role," the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, the representative body for officers, said in a statement. While a 1998 peace deal largely ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, police officers are still sporadically targeted by dissident groups in bomb and gun attacks.

Persons: Joe Biden, Clodagh, Chris Todd, Todd, Amanda Ferguson, Padraic Halpin, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Grand Central Hotel, REUTERS, Police Service of Northern, Police Federation, Northern, Thomson Locations: Northern Ireland, Belfast , Northern Ireland, Northern, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Belfast

London CNN —A graffiti wall in London’s bustling street art hub of Brick Lane has become an unlikely canvas for protest messages against China’s authoritarian rule, after it was whitewashed and painted over with propaganda slogans promoting Chinese Communist Party ideology. On Chinese social media, some supporters argued the young Chinese artists were exercising freedom of expression and applauded them for “exporting” Chinese culture and values. By Sunday, the slogans had been overlaid with a flurry of new graffiti that was deeply critical of both Xi and the Chinese Communist Party. A grafitti wall in Brick Lane was whitewashed and painted over with red slogans promoting China's "core socialist values." There’s no one leader or anything, but everybody’s expressing their dissenting views against the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

Persons: ”, Xi Jinping, –, Critics, Xi, George Orwell’s, “, Milan, Lyndon Li Shixiang, Ivana Kottasova, Yi Que Organizations: London CNN, Chinese Communist Party, Communist Party, CNN, Milan Kundera, Hong Locations: Brick, China, London –, Britain, Lane, London’s, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, Tiananmen, Hamlets, London, Australian

☆ Inside Prague's Institute of Crypto Anarchy — where they're plotting to bring down the dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Today, that union of minds finds refuge in Prague in a retrofitted factory building called Paralelní Polis, or "parallel world." The dark stucco of Polis' Prague headquarters is an outlier among the ornate, brightly-colored buildings that tower over it. ETHPrague 2023 was held at Paralelní Polis in the Czech Republic Pavel SinaglThe 'parallel world' concept is sticky. The Vienna branch goes so far as to self-describe as a living example of how "the Paralelní Polis cryptoliberation virus is spreading." The most popular Czech bitcoin YouTuber boasts 90k subscribers, while the annual Czech-only bitcoin conference called Chaincamp attracts around 2000 visitors, even during the bear market."

Persons: Czech Republic Pavel Sinagl, Ztohoven —, Ztohoven, provocateurs, Václav Benda, Dan Ligocký, Ligocký, William Lobkowicz, ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum, Pavel Sinagl, Prague MacKenzie Sigalos, Holy, William, Ileana Lobkowicz, Josef Tětek, Tětek, isn't, biohacking, —, Carl Menger, Friedrich Hayek, BTCPrague, Michael Saylor, Satoshi cryptographer, Adam Back, Saifedean Ammous, bitcoin, Gary Gensler, bitcoin maximalist, Vaclav, — Matěj Žák, Jan Čapek, Christoph Kassas, YouTuber Jakub Vejmola, Jameson Lopp, Stephan Livera, Robert Breedlove, Stani Kulechov, Ondrej Polak, Czech Republic Pavel Sinagl Ligocky Organizations: Paralelní, CNBC, European Union, Polis, of Cryptoanarchy, Austrian, Securities, Exchange, Czech Craft, U.S, Treasury, Casa, Ethereum Foundation, Czech Blockchain Association, optimist Locations: Paralelní Polis, Czech Republic, Czech Republic Pavel Sinagl PRAGUE, Czech, Bohemian, Prague, It's, Polis, Polis —, Lobkowicz, Nazi, Vienna, Barcelona, Bratislava, Slovakia, Košice, Austrian, ., Alza, Bohemia, Europe, Old Town, Holešovice

☆ Colombia, ELN rebels start six-month ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Luis Jaime Acosta | Thomson Reuters | Luis Jaime Has Worked At Reuters For More Than Years. While He Chiefly Covers Colombia'S Armed Conflict | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] An attendee looks on during an event with peace negotiators of Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, in Bogota, Colombia August 3, 2023. "Welcome to peace," Petro told the inauguration of a committee meant to ensure civil society participation in the talks. The government's high peace commissioner, Danilo Rueda, had said on Tuesday the ceasefire would safeguard civilians and protect them from crimes like kidnapping. The United Nations Secretary-General congratulated the two sides on the ceasefire in a statement on Thursday, hailing its potential to reduce civilian suffering. The U.N. Verification Mission in Colombia will monitor the effort under a mandate form the Security Council.

Persons: Vannessa Jimenez, Gustavo Petro's, Petro, Eliecer Herlinto Chamorro, guerre Antonio Garcia, Danilo Rueda, Aureliano Carbonell, Carbonell, del, Rueda, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Leslie Adler Organizations: National Liberation Army, REUTERS, United Nations, Security Council, Force, Clan, Reuters, Congress, Estado Mayor Central, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Segunda, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Vannessa Jimenez BOGOTA, Petro

☆ A Uyghur’s Lament for a Persecuted People
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Barbara Demick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

WAITING TO BE ARRESTED AT NIGHT: A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide, by Tahir Hamut Izgil. The Uyghur poet Tahir Hamut Izgil’s new memoir, “Waiting to Be Arrested at Night,” is an outlier among books about human rights. When the book opens, in 2009, Izgil is living in Urumqi, a city of nearly five million in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, the traditional homeland of the country’s persecuted Muslim Uyghur minority. At 40, Izgil is happily married with two daughters, his own home and a robust circle of friends. In short, he’s at the top of his game, a precarious position to maintain and one that requires constant vigilance.

Persons: Tahir Hamut Izgil, Joshua L, Freeman, Tahir Hamut, Izgil, he’s Organizations: Chinese Communist Party Locations: Urumqi, Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey

"I had no hesitation, I immediately did whatever was possible to get out," Sossinsky told Reuters in a phone interview. Fluent in three languages and still delivering classes to students in Russia via Zoom, he now expects to live out his life in exile. She fled Russia in 1923 with her mother and sisters. Alexey got his first taste of Russia in the mid-1950s, after the death of Stalin, when the family visited there on holiday. "My daughter is absolutely panicked by the thought that I will return to Russia and will be put in prison and God knows what.

Persons: Alexey Sossinsky, Vladimir Putin, Sossinsky, Putin, Ariadna Chernova, Viktor Chernov, fleetingly, Bronislav Sossinsky, Alexey, Bronislav, Stalin, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mark Trevelyan, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, Constituent, Bolsheviks, White Army, Moscow State University, KGB, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, France, United States, Istanbul, Russia's, New York, Moscow, Soviet Union

Parts of Europe and the southern United States are expected to experience record-breaking highs, with consequences for human health and economic activity. As China faces sweltering heat, John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, met with the country’s premier to urge cooperation in fighting climate change. Microsoft and Activision reportedly plan to extend a deadline for their deal. The Competition and Markets Authority, which had previously moved to block the transaction, has set an Aug. 29 deadline for the talks. Under new rules negotiated by the Treasury Department, American businesses now have until 2026 before other countries can start imposing new levies on corporations deemed to have paid too little in the United States.

Persons: Fink, Jamal Khashoggi, John Kerry, isn’t, Elizabeth Warren, Tesla, Elon Musk, Biden Organizations: Investment Initiative, Northern, Microsoft, Activision, Bloomberg, The, Markets Authority, Massachusetts Democrat, Elon, Twitter, Treasury Department Locations: Saudi, Europe, United States, China, U.S, Massachusetts

BOGOTA, July 12 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Colombia fell 29.1% in 2022 versus the previous year spurred by sharp decreases in the country's Amazon region, the government said on Wednesday, marking the lowest level since 2013. Nationally, deforestation fell by just over 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) last year to just over 1,235 square kilometers (477 square miles). That is down from 1,741 square kilometers in 2021 and surpassed the government's target of cutting the rate to 1,400 square kilometers a year by 2026. Deforestation in Amazon provinces, where a majority of the activity occurs, fell significantly, the environment ministry said in its report, with a 50% decrease in Caqueta province alone. Despite smashing the deforestation reduction target, both the government and Botero cautioned against declaring victory.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Susana Muhamad, Muhamad, Rodrigo Botero, Botero, audios, Oliver Griffin, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Foundation for Conservation, Sustainable Development, Thomson Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Bogota, Brazil, Amazon, Caqueta

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - Russia is decaying in a potent brew of absurdity and repression that is comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev-era of the Soviet Union, Oleg Orlov, one of the Russia's most respected human rights campaigners, told Reuters. One of the leaders of the Memorial rights group, which won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 a year after being banned and dissolved in Russia, Orlov stood by his articles and cast Russia as a country gripped by the demons of history. "Russia is going backwards," Orlov told Reuters in his Moscow flat over a glass of the traditional fermented kvas. "For Putin, war is his political technology," Orlov said. Current Russian levels of repression, he said, could be compared to the Brezhnev era of the Soviet Union after the arrest of writers Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel in 1965.

Persons: Leonid Brezhnev, Oleg Orlov, Orlov, Wagner, Russia, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Brezhnev, Andrei Sinyavsky, Yuli Daniel, unpatriotic, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, William Faulkner, Fyodor Dostoevsky's, Tatiana, Guy Faulconbridge, Filipp Lebedev, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, Memorial, Solidarity, West, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Afghanistan, Chechen, Russian, Tbilisi

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