Iran imposed sanctions Wednesday on 34 individuals and entities from the European Union and Britain in reaction to similar measures they have taken over Tehran’s response to months-long protests. 

Tehran’s move comes two days after the EU and Britain placed another round of sanctions on the Islamic republic, which has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini. 

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly breaching the country’s strict dress code for women. 

The sanctions imposed by Tehran include the blocking of accounts and transactions in Iran’s banks and the “prohibition of visa issuance and entry” to Iran, the foreign ministry said. 

Iran accuses the people and organizations of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups, instigating and encouragement to terrorist acts and violence against Iranian people.” 

It also accuses them of “interference in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and fomenting violence and unrest and dissemination of false information about Iran.” 

The EU said “these Iranian measures are purely politically motivated,” insisting the European sanctions were “adopted on clear legal grounds.” 

“The European Union will continue to call on Iranian authorities to ensure accountability and basic freedom for its people,” Peter Stano, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, told AFP. 

The Iranian sanctions include 25 listed names from the EU and nine from Britain. 

France’s Radio J, the European Friends of Israel group, and 22 individuals including six members of the European Parliament are among those targeted. 

The list also includes the Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan, who burned a copy of the Koran in Sweden on Saturday, sparking strong protests from the Muslim world. 

The EU on Monday imposed its fourth round of sanctions against Iran since the protests started, placing 37 more officials and entities on an asset freeze and visa ban blacklist. 

Britain on the same day sanctioned five more Iranian officials, broadening its blacklist to 50 individuals and organizations it considers to be involved in dealing with the protests. 

The new Iranian list also includes nine French nationals, among them Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. 

Also targeted are three members of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which as an entity was on a previous Iranian sanctions list for publishing caricatures of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

In Britain, they include Victoria Prentis, the attorney general, army chief Patrick Sanders and the former Defense Secretary, Liam Fox. 

The EU has imposed sanctions on more than 60 Iranian officials and entities over the crackdown on protesters, including the morality police, state media and individual commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

But the 27-nation bloc has so far stopped short of blacklisting the IRGC as a whole as a “terrorist” organization, despite calls from Germany and the Netherlands to do so. 

Iran has warned the bloc against sanctioning the Revolutionary Guards, and EU officials are wary it could forever end stalled talks they have been mediating on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. 

The agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop or acquire a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied wanting to do. 
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France has received a request from junta-ruled Burkina Faso to withdraw its troops from the Sahel country and will do so within a month, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

“On Tuesday … we formally received notice from the Burkinabe government of the termination of the 2018 agreement on the status of French armed forces present in the country,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

“According to the terms of the accord, the termination takes effect a month after reception of written notification. We will respect the terms of the agreement by honoring this request.”

About 400 French special forces are currently based in Burkina Faso in a deployment dubbed “Sabre,” part of a broader military presence to fight jihadists across the Sahel region.

But the country has followed a similar course to neighboring Mali, falling out with Paris after a military coup brought a junta to power and the French presence became increasingly unpopular among the public.

The Burkinabe government has assured Paris it will not follow Mali by turning to Russia’s Wagner to back up its army—although a liaison team from the mercenary group has already visited.

A source familiar with French military plans told AFP that while the troops would be gone by the end of February, their equipment would be picked up by late April.

Paris asked for clarification from Ouagadougou’s transitional president Ibrahim Traore on Monday after the government had said it was asking French forces to leave.

“This does not mean the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France,” government spokesman Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo told broadcaster RTV following the announcement.

In addition, the government has requested that Paris replace its ambassador after incumbent Luc Hallade commented publicly on the worsening security situation in the country.

The landlocked state, a former French colony, is one of the poorest and most volatile in Africa.

Thousands of troops, police and civilians have been killed and about 2 million people have fled their homes since jihadists launched an insurgency from neighboring Mali in 2015.

More than a third of the country lies beyond the control of the government, and frustration within the army at the mounting toll triggered two coups last year.
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The European Court of Human Rights said cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia over human rights violations in the two breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, and the shooting down of Flight MH-17, were admissible. 

The decision is procedural and does not rule on the merits of the cases, but it does show the Strasbourg-based court considers Russia can be held liable for alleged human rights violations in the separatist regions. 

“Among other things, the Court found that areas in eastern Ukraine in separatist hands were, from 11 May 2014 and up to at least 26 January 2022, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” the court said in a ruling on Wednesday. 

The cases will now move on to the merits stage, expected to take another one to two years before a final decision is issued. 

The ECHR ruling opens the doors to at least three other cases by the Ukrainian state against Russia, which had been put on hold pending the decision on jurisdiction. 

The Netherlands filed its case with the ECHR in 2020, saying the shooting down of Flight MH-17 over territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed separatists breached the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the destruction of the aircraft as fighting raged between the separatists and Ukrainian government forces. 

The two Ukrainian cases, which date from 2014, pertain to what Kyiv says were administrative practices by Russia in eastern Ukraine in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the abduction of three groups of Ukrainian orphan children and children without parental care, and a number of adults accompanying them.

All were returned home one day or, in the third case, five days after their abduction, the ECHR said. 
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Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.

Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin.” But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people.

In the U.S., more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional. Gay rights advocates say the antiquated laws are used to harass homosexuals, and point to new legislation, such as the “Don’t say gay” law in Florida, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality outright, saying they violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a breach of countries’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. “It must do this. It must do this,” he said.

Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.

“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.

Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered,” while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.

In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies.”

In the end, the pope did not meet with the groups, which instead met with the Vatican No. 2, who reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence.”

On Tuesday, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.

“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.

Catholic teaching holds that while gay people must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis has not changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.

Starting with his famous 2013 declaration, “Who am I to judge?” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.

Despite such outreach, Francis was criticized by the Catholic LGBTQ community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin.”

The Vatican in 2008 declined to sign onto a U.N. declaration that called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, complaining the text went beyond the original scope and also included language about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” it found problematic. In a statement at the time, the Vatican urged countries to avoid “unjust discrimination” against gay people and end penalties against them.
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Pleas by Ukrainian officials for more tanks, and more advanced tanks, to use in their fight against Russia have begun to resonate in Washington with the United States now preparing to send Kyiv dozens of its top-of-the-line battle tank.

A U.S. official familiar with the deliberations told VOA on Tuesday that the White House is working to finalize a plan to get Ukraine the coveted M1 Abrams tanks, though it could be some time before Ukraine would be able to take delivery and insert them onto the battlefield.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the plans, said the tanks would likely be provided through the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). The fund allows the Defense Department to purchase weapons and systems either from defense manufacturers or from other sources, rather than draw them directly from U.S. stocks.

In this case, the official said the U.S. might seek to purchase the M1 Abrams tanks from other countries and refurbish them before sending them to Ukraine.

The decision to send the M1 Abrams to Ukraine, as part of a diplomatic understanding with Germany regarding provision of some of its tanks to Ukraine, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The move to provide Kyiv with the tanks would represent an about-face for U.S. officials, many of whom have dismissed the idea of sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, warning that while Abrams tanks are very capable, they are difficult to maintain and require more fuel than Kyiv can spare.

“We should not be providing the Ukrainians systems they can’t repair, they can’t sustain, and that they, over the long term, can’t afford, because it’s not helpful,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters last week.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder echoed those concerns Tuesday.

“Our focus has been on providing Ukraine with capabilities it can employ right now on the battlefield,” he said. “The M1 [Abrams tank] is a complex weapon system that is challenging to maintain. … That was true yesterday. It is true today. It will be true in the future.”

The shift in the U.S. position on sending Ukraine the M1 Abrams tanks came as multiple German news outlets reported that Germany had decided to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in addition to clearing the way for other countries to send their German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv.

Earlier, following a meeting in Berlin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Germany’s decision to allow allies, led by Poland, to send Ukraine the coveted German-made tanks.

“At this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do it faster,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that providing battle tanks to Ukrainian forces is important in order to both repel Russian advances and to help Ukraine retake its territory.

Ukrainian officials have said Western battle tanks, like the Leopard and the Abrams, will allow their forces to maneuver more effectively, with greater firepower and protection, as they seek to push back Russian forces occupying their country.

“A few hundred tanks for our tank crews — the best tank crews in the world. This is what is going to become a real punching fist of democracy against the autocracy from the bog,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram Tuesday.

In the meantime, the U.S. signaled that despite an initial reluctance to provide Ukraine with some weapon systems, it remains willing to shift gears as conditions on the ground change.

“We have not taken capabilities off the table,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Tuesday. “This is a conversation based on what our Ukrainian partners need, where they need it, when they need it.”

Ukraine corruption

Several senior Ukrainian officials announced their resignations Tuesday amid what Zelenskyy said would be some personnel changes in his government.

Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov, who was in charge of logistical support for Ukraine’s forces, stepped down from his post, citing allegations about a food procurement scandal that he denies.

Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko and the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, also resigned without giving reasons for their departures.

“There are already personnel decisions — some today, some tomorrow — regarding officials at various levels in ministries and other central government structures, as well as in the regions and in law enforcement,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address Monday.

U.S. officials on Tuesday said there appear to be no indications that the corruption issues have affected U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.

“We’re not aware of any type of widespread issues regarding corruption that would negatively impact the fight,” said the Pentagon’s Ryder.

Nike Ching, Cindy Saine and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Hundreds of people attended a memorial service in Lusaka on Tuesday for a Zambian student who died fighting for Russia in Ukraine as Tanzania confirmed the death of another student who was also recruited in a Russian jail.

Family members broke down as they filed past the coffin of Lemekani Nyirenda at Lusaka Baptist Church, where the 23-year-old was a regular worshipper before moving to Russia to study nuclear engineering.

Nyirenda was recruited by Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group last year while serving a nine-and-a-half year jail term for a drug offense and sent to fight in Ukraine.

His death in September sparked a diplomatic spat, with Zambia demanding an urgent explanation from the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, Tanzania on Tuesday confirmed that another student, Nemes Tarimo, had been killed after also being recruited in jail by Wagner.

“When Tarimo was serving jail, he was given an opportunity to join the Russian army group called Wagner for payment and the promise that he would be freed after the war,” Tanzanian Foreign Minister Stergomena Tax said.

“Tarimo agreed, and he was taken to Ukraine where he was killed on October 24.”

In recent months, men have been recruited from Russian prisons to fight on the front lines in Ukraine with the promise of reduced sentences and attractive fees.

Tarimo, who had been studying in Russia since 2020, was arrested in March 2022 and sentenced to a seven-year jail term for undisclosed reasons.

“It’s illegal for a Tanzanian national to join any foreign army,” added the foreign minister.

On Tuesday, Nyirenda’s father paid tribute to his son, saying he was a hard worker who helped set up a beehive business for the family.

Edwin Nyirenda told mourners his son had sought a part-time job and “started working as a courier” after posting an advertisement online when he got into trouble.

The two were last in touch at the end of August when Nyirenda told his father he would return home after going to fight in Ukraine.

Nyirenda’s body was repatriated in December and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony in Rufunsa, east of Lusaka, on Wednesday.

Funerals were delayed after some family members raised concerns that the remains might not belong to the student.

But doubts were dispelled by a DNA test, said family spokesman Ian Banda.

“There may be some parts missing but by and large, we have the remains of Lemekhani,” Banda told journalists after the service.
…

Several key U.S. lawmakers endorsed the next major step in American assistance to Ukraine on Tuesday, encouraging the White House to move forward with a plan to send M1 Abrams tanks to combat Russian aggression. 

“Seldom in the history of modern warfare has so much depended on so few tanks,” Republican Lindsey Graham told reporters Tuesday after returning from a congressional trip to Ukraine. “Three hundred tanks given to the Ukrainians who have an ability to take any weapon system and maximize its benefit.”

Despite the difficulties of running M1 Abrams tanks on jet fuel, the Biden administration is reportedly weighing sending the tanks to Ukraine, hoping it would increase chances of Germany sending its own Leopard tanks. 

Poland announced Monday it would seek German approval to send tanks from its stock of Leopards, and Great Britain announced last week it would send Challenger 2 tanks. Ukrainian officials said Challenger 2 tanks were “not sufficient to meet operational goals.”

Ukraine has consistently asked Western nations to supply tanks to defend itself against Russia. Last week at a meeting of NATO officials, Germany said it would consider supplying Leopard 2s – seen as the most advanced tanks – if the United States would supply M1 Abrams. 

German news outlet Der Spiegel and others cited unconfirmed reports late Tuesday that the German government has decided to send the Leopard 2 tanks. American news service The Associated Press reported officials saying the U.S. will announce it will send M1 Abrams tanks as soon as this Wednesday.

“If press reports are true, I am very pleased with the Biden Administration’s apparent decision to send Abrams tanks to help Ukraine evict Russia from Ukrainian soil,” Graham said in a statement.

“The Ukrainians can win if they have the tools that are necessary – beginning with tanks,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who was also part of the delegation that met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine. “The Leopard 2 tanks are important because they are there. They’re in Europe, thousands of them within easy transport, training, fueling. They are essential. And just very bluntly, if it takes sending three, five, 10 Abrams tanks there, let’s do it.”

The Pentagon said earlier Tuesday that M1 Abrams are “complex weapons systems that are challenging to maintain.” Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters, “Our focus has been on providing Ukraine with capabilities it can employ right now on the battlefield.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned on the Senate floor Tuesday that the West’s failure to act could have devastating consequences.

“Germany has not only resisted calls to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but has also prevented other European nations to transfer their own German-produced Leopards to Ukraine. Time is short, and while Berlin agonizes over its own decision whether to provide Leopards to Ukraine, it should proactively and explicitly make clear that other allies are free to do so,” McConnell said.

He added that the Biden administration’s “latest deliveries failed to include the longer-range missiles and more sophisticated munitions that Ukraine has been requesting for months. Mr. President, Ukraine’s brave resistance deserves our continued praise. But more importantly, it needs our concrete and consistent material support.”

Ukraine on Tuesday marked the 11-month anniversary of the Russian invasion. Since then, the United States has provided nearly $50 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid. But U.S. assistance to Ukraine could face a roadblock in the House of Representatives, where Republicans holding the majority have expressed concern about oversight of the aid. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said last year the United States would not continue to write a “blank check” on aid while Americans face a difficult domestic economic situation. 

But Graham pushed back against the perception the aid is not being properly managed.

“We’re very reassured that that our military assistance is going to where it should be going to and that accountability and transparency is there,” Graham said. “To my House colleagues, to those who believe we shouldn’t write a blank check, I agree. To those who have concerns about what’s going on in Ukraine – go. Don’t talk about it in Washington, get on a plane, get on a train, rest up, drink a lot of water, take your vitamins, and they will open up the books.”   
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For the past few months, human rights activists have been sounding alarms about the Russian private military company Wagner Group using convicts to fight Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Now, the White House says casualties are “extraordinarily high” among the estimated 40,000 convicts fighting for the mercenary group on front lines in Ukraine. Igor Tsikhanenka has more. Patsy Widakuswara contributed.
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Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership is in doubt with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voicing opposition after demonstrators burned a Quran in Stockholm.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference Tuesday that he did not expect any progress on Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bid until after the Turkish elections later this year.

Haavisto’s comments follow Ankara’s outrage over demonstrators Saturday in Stockholm burning the Muslim holy book, the Quran, close to the Turkish Embassy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday ruled out supporting Sweden’s bid.

Erdogan said, the “Swedish government does not need to (talk) about the rights and freedom to us. If you really do respect rights and freedom, at first, you need to respect the Turkish republic or Muslims’ religious beliefs. If you do not show that respect, I am sorry, you will not see any support from us regarding NATO membership.”

Even before the Quran burning, the Turkish government was outraged over a protest earlier this month in Stockholm in which demonstrators hanged from a lamp post an effigy of the Turkish leader.

The Swedish government, while condemning the protests, says they fall within freedom of expression, a stance supported Monday by United States. 

Speaking in Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We have a saying in this country: something can be lawful but awful. I think in this case, what we’ve seen in the context of Sweden falls into that category.”

Washington is strongly backing both Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO.

But with Sweden granting asylum to many of Erdogan’s opponents, some of whom Ankara accuses of being terrorists, Turkey is demanding concessions from Stockholm in exchange for lifting its veto.

Last year NATO brokered a deal among Stockholm, Helsinki, and Ankara to resolve the impasse. But Ilhan Uzgel, an analyst for the Kisa Dalga news portal, said that with Erdogan facing reelection by June, the Turkish president sees a political opportunity in prolonging the dispute.

“This issue can be handled in diplomatic corridors. But Erdogan prefers to make it public that he has the power. He is still a world leader. He can bend the will of NATO and to aspiring countries, even the United States. So, I guess that he’s going to use it until the elections,” said Uzgel.

Saturday’s Quran burning, some analysts say, will likely be a political opportunity by the Turkish president to rally his base of religious and nationalist voters.

Standing up to NATO also will play well with his supporters, said Sebnem Ayse Duzgit, an international relations professor at Sabanci University close to Istanbul.

“It has to do with the sort of anti-NATO sentiment that’s very closely related with the anti-Western and anti-American sentiment in Turkey and the sort of perception that NATO has never really helped Turkey to fight with its own terrorism problem,” said Duzgit.

With Turkey’s president lagging in many opinion polls as the country grapples with economic problems, few predict any softening in Ankara’s stance before elections that are due by June. 
…

European Union foreign ministers slapped a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, discussed a possible 10th sanctions package against Russia, and agreed to more than $540 million in new military spending for Ukraine.

The new military funding for Ukraine brings to nearly $12 billion the total European Union and member state military spending for Kyiv since the country’s war began nearly a year ago.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said EU oil sanctions against Moscow are working.

“Russia needs 70 percent in order to balance its budget — so it’s losing $40 per barrel,” Borrell said. “It is a big hit on Russian financial stability.”

But European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels failed to make progress on one key sticking point: getting Germany to formally greenlight EU member states’ sending its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which Kyiv says are vital to its war effort.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has suggested Germany will not oppose countries like Poland sending the tanks — but there has been no announcement beyond that.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said his country will send Kyiv the tanks anyway.

“Certainly, we are going to send these tanks,” Rau said. “We will be [in] touch with the German government about it. But regardless of the decision of other countries, we are more than determined, as we have promised the Ukrainian side to send the tanks.”

The EU is discussing another round of sanctions against Moscow, but Hungary, whose leader has had close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaled its opposition.

The bloc also agreed to a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its widespread crackdown against anti-government protests. EU travel bans and asset freezes target 37 entities and individuals, including members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

But the Europeans stopped short of sanctioning the Revolutionary Guard as a whole — for now. Britain and the United States have also agreed to new sanctions against Iran.
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Turkey’s president cast serious doubt on NATO’s expansion Monday after warning Sweden not to expect support for its bid for membership into the military alliance following weekend protests in Stockholm by an anti-Islam activist and pro-Kurdish groups. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Rasmus Paludan’s Quran-burning protest on Saturday, saying it was an insult to everyone, especially to Muslims. He was particularly incensed at Swedish authorities for allowing the demonstration to take place outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm under “the protection” of security forces. 

“It is clear that those who allowed such vileness to take place in front of our embassy can no longer expect any charity from us regarding their NATO membership application,” Erdogan said in his first comments regarding the weekend protests, saying Sweden must have calculated the consequences of permitting Paludan’s demonstration. 

The burning of Islam’s holy book angered people across the political spectrum in Turkey, just as Sweden and Finland appeared on the cusp of NATO membership after dropping their longstanding policies of military nonalignment following Russia’s war on Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin now stands to benefit as the potential enlargement of the world’s most powerful military alliance appears to be stymied. 

Erdogan also criticized Sweden for allowing pro-Kurdish protests where demonstrators waved flags of various Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. The PKK is considered a terrorist group in Turkey, the European Union and the United States, but its symbols aren’t banned in Sweden. 

“So you will let terror organizations run wild on your avenues and streets and then expect our support for getting into NATO. That’s not happening,” Erdogan said, referring to Sweden and Finland’s accession bids for the military alliance. He said if Sweden won’t show respect to NATO-member Turkey or Muslims, then “they won’t see any support from us on the NATO issue.” 

A joint memorandum signed by Turkey, Sweden and Finland in June averted a Turkish veto of their membership bid at NATO’s Madrid summit where they confirmed the PKK as a terror group and committed to prevent its activities. Continued protests are infuriating Ankara who has said Sweden must address Turkey’s security concerns and demands for the Turkish parliament to ratify their NATO request. 

“If they love terror organization members and enemies of Islam so much, we recommend that they refer their countries’ security to them,” he added. Several hundred pro-Kurdish protesters walked over a photo of Erdogan on Saturday and an Erdogan effigy was hung from a lamppost in a previous protest. Turkish officials canceled bilateral meetings in response. 

Swedish officials have stressed that freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Swedish Constitution and gives people extensive rights to express their views publicly, though incitement to violence or hate speech isn’t allowed. Demonstrators must apply to police for a permit for a public gathering. Police can deny such permits only on exceptional grounds, such as risks to public safety. Top Swedish officials have said freedom of expression is crucial to democracy while criticizing Paludan’s actions as disrespectful and ones they disagree with. 

Anti-Islam activist Paludan, who holds both Danish and Swedish citizenship, established far-right parties in both countries that have failed to win any seats in national, regional or municipal elections. In last year’s parliamentary election in Sweden, his party received just 156 votes nationwide. His burning of the Quran sparked counterprotests in Turkey over the weekend, where demonstrators burned his photograph and a Swedish flag. 
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A retired senior official of the FBI has been arrested and indicted in New York and Washington on charges of violating U.S. sanctions by secretly working for a Russian oligarch and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from a former Albanian intelligence service employee while still employed by the bureau.

Charles F. McGonigal, who was the chief of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York field office from 2016 to 2018, and Sergey Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat and translator, were arrested Saturday in New York on sanctions and money laundering violations.

McGonigal and Shestakov are accused of investigating a rival Russian oligarch in exchange for receiving secret payments, according to a five-count indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York.

In a separate nine-count indictment unsealed in Washington, D.C., McGonigal is accused of receiving at least $225,000 in cash from a former employee of the Albanian spy agency while leading counterintelligence efforts for the FBI’s New York field office.

Prosecutors say McGonigal concealed from the FBI the nature of his relationship with the man described in court documents as “a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Albania … resided in New Jersey… and had been an employee of the Albanian intelligence service several decades earlier.”

In the Deripaska case, prosecutors say that in 2021, McGonigal and Shestakov investigated an unnamed rival Russian oligarch in return for payments from Deripaska, in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska In 2018.

The investigation focused on the rival oligarch’s interests in a large Russian company, control of which both Deripaska and the other oligarch were contesting, among other things.

In an earlier scheme in 2019, McGonigal and Shestakov allegedly unsuccessfully tried to have the sanctions against Deripaska lifted, according to court documents.

Before retiring from the FBI in 2018, McGonigal led and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska, according to the Justice Department.

Shestakov was a Soviet and Russian diplomat before becoming a U.S. citizen and a Russian interpreter for U.S. federal courts and prosecutors, according to the Justice Department.

According to court documents, the duo tried to conceal Deripaska’s involvement in the investigation of his rival by using shell companies, not naming the businessman in communications and forging signatures.

In September, Deripaska, an aluminum magnate with suspected ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and three associates were indicted on charges of evading U.S. sanctions and obstruction of justice.

Deripaska remains at large.

According to McGonigal’s LinkedIn profile, he has been employed since retiring from the FBI in 2018 as senior vice president for safety for Brookfield Properties, a commercial real estate company.

A Brookfield Properties spokesperson declined to comment in response to a query from VOA, saying McGonigal left the company more than a year ago.

Court documents indicate that the investigation of McGonigal and Shestakov began more than a year ago, with FBI agents seizing their electronic devices in November 2021.

Seth DuCharme, a lawyer for McGonigal, did not respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Shestakov could not be located for comment.
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As bombs rain down across Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, some residents remain in its near-deserted cities and towns, patching up bombed-out buildings and holding on to hope that the war will come to an end. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar in the Donbas. Camera: Yan Boechat.
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Burkina Faso has decided to end a military accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents on its territory because the government wants the country to defend itself, the government said Monday.  

The West African country is facing an Islamist insurgency by groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State which have taken over large swathes of land and displaced millions of people in the wider Sahel region, just south of the Sahara.  

The national television station reported on Saturday that the government had suspended a 2018 military accord with Paris on January 18, giving France one month to pull its troops out.  

French president Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said he was awaiting clarifications from Burkina Faso’s transitional president Ibrahim Traore about the decision. 

“At the current stage, we don’t see how to be more clear than this,” said government spokesman Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, speaking on national television.

He said the decision was not linked to any particular event, but that it was the “normal order of things” for France to hand over responsibility to Burkina Faso for its own defense. The one-month deadline is part of the military agreement, he added.

“This is not the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France,” said Ouedraogo, adding that his country still wanted support in the form of military equipment.

French authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

French troops pulled out of neighboring Mali last year, ending a decade-long fight against insurgents, after relations deteriorated between the two countries.

Both Burkina Faso and Mali are ruled by military juntas that seized power by force in the last two years, promising to improve security and burning bridges with their traditional allies.

Macron has accused Russia of a “predatory” influence in troubled African countries as France has seen its own influence on its former colonies diminish.

The French army’s departure from Mali coincided with the junta’s decision to hire Russian mercenaries to help it fight insurgents, a move Western countries strongly condemned.

Burkina Faso has neither confirmed nor denied recent reports that it has also decided to hire Russia’s Wagner group. 

 
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South Africa has defended its warm relations and joint military drills with Russia as it hosts Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on his first visit since the invasion of Ukraine.

Lavrov said he appreciated South Africa’s neutral stance since the war started one year ago and placed the blame for the continuing conflict squarely on the Ukraine and the West.

“It is well known that we supported the proposal of the Ukrainian side to negotiate early in the special military operation… it is well known that our American and British and some of our European colleagues told Ukraine that it is too early to deal,” he said.

Russia has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian and Western demands that it withdraw completely from Ukraine as a condition for any negotiations.

Lavrov also denied Moscow is targeting civilians, despite numerous attacks on residential buildings in Ukraine that experts say likely add up to war crimes.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, reiterated Pretoria would like to see a diplomatic solution through dialogue.

“As South Africa, our sincere wish that the conflict in Ukraine will soon be brought to a peaceful end through diplomacy and negotiation,” she said.

However, she defended South Africa’s right to maintain bilateral relations with whichever countries it wants and not be dictated to by the West.

South Africa is hosting the Russian and Chinese navies for February exercises off Durban.

Pandor noted all countries conduct military exercises “with friends.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Cornelius Monama said Monday that the drills would “strengthen the strong bonds between the countries.”

“Contrary to the assertions by our critics, South Africa is not abandoning its neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance has called for the drills to be called off and Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, told VOA recently that she didn’t understand why South Africa was conducting exercises with, quote, “the army of rapists and murders.”

Steven Gruzd, a Russia expert at the South African Institute for International Affairs, said Lavrov had “clearly found some sympathy” from Pandor and he expects to see greater cooperation between the two BRICS allies going forward.

“I think it’s interesting to read the body language between minsters Lavrov and Pandor, the Russian and South Africa foreign ministers, I think it was quite warm from the press conference and there is a genuine meeting of minds between the countries,” he said.

But Gruzd said South Africa’s hosting naval exercises with Russia could affect its standing on the international stage.

He added that it will be interesting to see the chemistry between Pandor and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who arrives in South Africa late Tuesday for a visit.

Despite pressure from the U.S., Pretoria has refused join Washington in condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

South Africa also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit later this year for the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies, though it’s not yet clear if he will attend.

The BRICS group is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
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Retired general and former NATO official Petr Pavel led billionaire ex-prime minister Andrej Babis by a nearly 18-point margin ahead of a Czech presidential election run-off vote, according to the final Ipsos agency poll published on Monday.

Czech presidents do not wield much daily powers but they appoint prime ministers, central bank governors, and have a limited role in foreign policy. They also shape public debate and can pressure governments on policies.

Pavel was polling at 58.8% to 41.2% for Babis in the survey conducted on Jan. 20-22. The two candidates meet in the second round of the election on Jan. 27-28.

Pavel, an independent backed by the center-right government, has projected a clear pro-Western policy stance and support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression.

Babis, 68, has tried to label Pavel as a threat to peace, and presented himself over the past week since the first election round as a force against war.

His campaign posters declare “I will not drag Czechia into a war” and “I am a diplomat. Not a soldier”.

Pavel has dismissed the suggestions as nonsense.

Czech media reported widespread anti-Pavel messaging on disinformation websites and chain emails.

Babis, who heads the largest opposition political party, won the backing of retiring President Milos Zeman as well as figures from the extreme fringes of the political scene, including the pro-Russian former ruling Communist Party. Zeman had favored closer ties with China and Russia, until Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

In a television debate on Sunday night, Babis caused a stir by saying he would refuse to send troops to defend NATO allies Poland and the Baltics in case they were attacked.

He later backtracked on those comments, saying he would respect NATO’s mutual defense commitments.

The Ipsos poll confirmed a message in two surveys over the weekend where Pavel also led by a wide margin.

Pavel, 61, was a soldier since the communist era, but rose in the ranks after the 1989 democratic “Velvet Revolution”. He served in special forces and military diplomacy roles and led the army general staff in 2012-2015.

In the subsequent three years, he headed NATO’s military committee of national army chiefs, the principal military advisory body to the alliance’s secretary-general.

Monday was the deadline for polling ahead of a blackout period. One more poll was expected on Monday afternoon.
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U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak opened an investigation Monday into allegations that the chairman of the governing Conservative Party settled a multimillion-dollar unpaid tax bill while he was in charge of the country’s Treasury.

It’s one of multiple stories about secret loans and unpaid taxes causing discomfort for Sunak, who has faced scrutiny of his own personal wealth and family tax arrangements.

Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi has acknowledged a dispute with tax authorities over shares in YouGov, a polling company he co-founded. But he said that the error was “careless and not deliberate.”

“So that I could focus on my life as a public servant, I chose to settle the matter and pay what they said was due, which was the right thing to do,” he said in a statement.

The BBC and other British media reported that the tax bill, including a fine, came to almost 5 million pounds ($6.2 million). They say the bill was settled when Zahawi was Treasury chief between July and September, during the final weeks of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tenure.

Sunak said Monday he had asked his standards advisor, Laurie Magnus, “to investigate the matter fully and establish all the facts and provide advice to me on Nadhim Zahawi’s compliance with the ministerial code.”

“Integrity and accountability is really important to me and clearly in this case there are questions that need answering,” he said.

Sunak took office as U.K. leader in October, promising “integrity, professionalism and accountability” after a tumultuous few years that saw Johnson ousted by multiple scandals and his successor Liz Truss toppled after her policies rocked the U.K. economy.

Johnson’s financial arrangements are back in the headlines after media revealed that in 2021, Canadian businessman Sam Blyth, a distant cousin, acted as guarantor for an 800,000-pound ($993,000) loan to the then prime minister.

The Sunday Times reported that banker and Conservative donor Richard Sharp helped broker the deal. Weeks later, Sharp was appointed chairman of the BBC on the recommendation of the government.

Sharp told the Sunday Times he had “simply connected” people and there was no conflict of interest. He said Monday that he had called an internal investigation “to ensure that all the appropriate guidelines have been followed.”

The stories are fuel for opponents who accuse Sunak – a former investment banker who is married to the daughter of an Indian billionaire – of leading a government of the wealthy that is out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people.

Last year, it was revealed his wife Akshata Murthy didn’t pay U.K. tax on her overseas income, including 11.5 million pounds a year in dividends from Infosys, the Indian IT company founded by her father. The practice was legal, but it looked insensitive at best at a time when Sunak – who was then the U.K. Treasury chief — was raising taxes for millions of Britons.

U.K. prime ministers aren’t required to publish their tax returns, but Sunak has promised that he will do so in the interests of transparency.

In a further embarrassment, Sunak was fined by police on Friday for taking off his seat belt to film a social media video in the back of a moving car.
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Turkey’s president has announced May 14 as the date for the country’s next parliamentary and presidential elections.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who plans to seek reelection, made the announcement during a Saturday youth conference in northwestern Bursa province. A video of the event was released Sunday.

“I thank God that we are destined to share our path with you, our valued youth, who will vote for the first time in the elections that will be held on May 14,” said Erdogan, who had hinted at the date last week.

He said in Bursa he would make the formal call on March 10, after which Turkey’s Supreme Election Council would prepare for the elections.

If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, a second round of voting would be held May 28.

Erdogan, who has been in office since 2003 — first as prime minister and as president since 2014 — faces his most difficult election yet as Turkey’s troubled economy struggles with soaring inflation.

A six-party opposition alliance has yet to put forth a presidential candidate. A pro-Kurdish party that is the third largest in parliament has so far been excluded from the alliance and said it might field its own candidate.

Erdogan, 68, introduced a system of governance in 2018 that abolished the office of the prime minister and concentrated most powers in the hands of the president. The office of the president was largely a ceremonial post before then. Under the new system, presidential and parliamentary elections are held on the same day.

The opposition has blamed Turkey’s economic downturn and an erosion of civil rights and freedoms on Erdogan, saying the revised government system amounts to “one-man rule.” The presidential system was narrowly approved in a 2017 referendum and took effect after the 2018 elections.

This year’s elections were supposed to take place in June, but ruling party members said that month would coincide with summer and religious holidays, prompting an earlier date.
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Germany’s foreign minister said Sunday that Berlin wouldn’t object if Poland decides to send German-made tanks to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against Russian invaders.

Annalena Baerbock told French TV channel LCI that, while Poland has not requested permission to export its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, she said if the request were made, “we would not stand in the way.”

Ukraine has long sought heavy tanks to combat Russian forces using more modern tanks than those in Ukraine’s arsenal.  Until Baerbock’s comments Sunday, Germany has been reticent to send its own Leopard 2s to Ukraine or approve their transfer by countries who purchased the tanks from Germany.

Earlier Sunday, French and German officials held a summit in France to discuss additional weapons for Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not say whether Germany would agree to provide Ukraine with a delivery of battle tanks, but the Reuters news agency cited him as saying such decisions would be made in coordination with allies including the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he does not rule out the possibility of sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine. He cautioned, however, that sending tanks must not endanger France’s security or escalate the war between Ukraine and Russia.

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said Sunday in an interview with Sky News he would like to see the Ukrainians “equipped with things like the Leopard 2.” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the newly installed Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told ABC’s “This Week” that the United States should offer its heavy Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine to encourage Germany to send its Leopard 2s as well.

“Just one Abrams tank would be enough to prompt allies, notably Germany, to unlock their own tank inventories for the fight against Russia,” he said.

US also urged to provide tanks

Democratic Senator Chris Coons also told ABC that it was time to set aside U.S. concerns about delivering the Abrams.

“I respect that our military leaders think the Abrams is too sophisticated, too expensive a platform to be as useful as the Leopards, but we need to continue to work with our close allies and move forward in lock step.”

Their comments Sunday echoed reactions of European officials Saturday against Germany’s indecision about sending its heavy tanks to Ukraine. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics called on Berlin to “provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now.”

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called for “many more” weapons to be sent to Ukraine and faster. Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau urged “action now.”

“Ukrainian blood is shed for real,” he wrote on Twitter. “This is the price of hesitation over Leopard deliveries,” he said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Saturday expressed frustration with the slow pace of the military support the country’s allies are providing. “Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops will start training to use Leopard 2 battle tanks on Polish soil, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told VOA’s Ukrainian service Friday. Reznikov described the development as a breakthrough.

“I am optimistic regarding this because the first step has been made. We will start training programs for our tank crews on Leopard 2s,” Reznikov said.

Ukrainian corruption

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised Sunday he would continue to root out corruption in Ukraine’s government, Reuters reported.

The pledge came amid allegations of senior-level corruption, including a report of dubious practices in military procurement despite officials promoting national unity to confront the invasion, Reuters said.

“I want this to be clear: there will be no return to what used to be in the past, to the way various people close to state institutions or those who spent their entire lives chasing a chair used to live,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Transparency International in 2021 ranked Ukraine’s corruption at 122 out of 180 countries.

Russia claims new advances

Russia’s defense ministry said for the second straight day Sunday that its forces were improving their positions in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region.

“During offensive operations in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, units of the Eastern Military District took up more advantageous ground and positions,” the defense ministry said.

It claimed to have inflicted casualties and destroyed equipment including Ukrainian fighting vehicles, howitzers and two U.S.-made HIMARS rockets. The Reuters news agency was not able to independently verify Russia’s battlefield accounts. Ukraine Saturday said Russia’s claims of progress in Zaporizhzhia were exaggerated.

Return of bodies

Saturday, the Wagner Group, the private Russian paramilitary group, announced through its RIA FAN website that it plans to send the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed during fighting in the captured town of Soledar to Ukraine-held territory.

The RIA FAN website, part of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s media holdings, quoted a Wagner commander as saying the mercenary company would send the bodies from Soledar to Ukrainian-held territory in four or five convoys totaling about 20 trucks.

Saturday’s report did not say how many bodies would be returned to Ukrainian authorities but claimed Ukraine’s forces had suffered heavy losses in Soledar.

It said Prigozhin had made clear that soldiers’ bodies should be returned to Ukraine in a “dignified” way but did not provide further details.

The White House has imposed new sanctions on Prigozhin’s paramilitary organization.

In a separate letter addressed to National Security Council coordinator John Kirby, Prigozhin’s press service asked, “Dear Mr. Kirby, could you please clarify what crime was committed by PMC Wagner?”

Kirby called Wagner “a criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses.”

VOA’s Ruslan Petrychka contributed to this story. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Police on Sunday were searching a Ryanair RYA.I passenger plane that landed at Athens International Airport for any suspicious items after receiving an alert for a bomb threat, police officials said.

The pilot of the Boeing 737 aircraft, with about 190 passengers and crew on board, had earlier alerted authorities over a possible explosive device on board, one of the officials said.

The plane, which was flying from Katowice in Poland to Greece arrived in Athens escorted by two fighter jets at 5:35 p.m. (1535 GMT). Firefighting engines were on standby as it landed.

Police were later searching passengers as they were disembarking and their luggage was lined up outside the aircraft.
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