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Marrakech Film Festival bestows Palestinian film 'Happy Holidays' with top awardMOSCOW (AP) — Russian police raided several bars and nightclubs across Moscow on Saturday as part of the government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported. Smartphones, laptops and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass news agency said, citing sources in law enforcement. The raids come exactly a year since Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that the “LGBTQ+ movement” should be banned as an “extremist organization." Its decision followed a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has touted “traditional family values” as a cornerstone of his quarter-century in power. Footage shared on social media appeared to show partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the floor as officers moved through Moscow’s Arma nightclub. The capital’s Mono bar was also targeted, Russian media reported. In a post on Telegram on Saturday, the club’s management didn't directly reference an incident with law enforcement, but wrote, “Friends, we’re so sorry that what happened, happened. They didn’t find anything forbidden. We live in such times, but life must go on.” Police also detained the head of the “Men Travel” tour agency on Saturday under anti-LGBT laws, Tass reported. The news agency said that the 48-year-old was suspected of preparing a trip for “the supporters of nontraditional sexual values” to visit Egypt over Russia’s New Year's holidays. The raids mirror the concerns of Russian activists who warned that Moscow’s designation of the “LGBTQ+ movement” as “extremist” — despite it not being an official entity — could see Russian authorities crack down at will on groups or individuals. Other recent laws have also served to put pressure on those that the Russian government believes aren't in line with the country’s “traditional values.” On Nov. 23, Putin signed into law a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender-affirming care is legal. The Kremlin leader also approved legislation that outlaws the spread of material that encourages people not to have children .'We really don't know what's going to happen': Uncertainty grips Damascus
NoneQatar tribune Agencies Moscow/Kiev Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have spoken on the phone about the war in Ukraine after a request from the Hungarian side, Kremlin officials said. Orbán declared his willingness to contribute to political and diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the ongoing conflict and said he could use his contacts with Western politicians, Moscow officials said. Putin said Kiev was pursuing a destructive approach and still ruling out any possibility of a peaceful settlement, the Kremlin said. Orbán later posted on his Facebook page that Hungary would use all diplomatic means to bring about a ceasefire. Analysts have commented that this signals the phone call did not produce any tangible results. Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Orbán maintains close contacts with Moscow. He paid a surprise visit to Putin in July at the beginning of the Hungarian EU Council presidency, earning him criticism from EU colleagues showing solidarity with Kiev. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said it had hit an oil depot in western Russia that fuels a key pipeline for Russian military supplies. The military’s general staff said on Wednesday the overnight attack had caused a “massive fire” to break out at the facility in the Bryansk region. Footage posted by the Astra Telegram channel, which shares war updates from Russian journalists, appeared to show huge flames towering into the sky near the targeted site. Ukrainian news site Pravda also published an image of the blaze. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz acknowledged a production facility in the region had caught fire after a drone attack, but said it had been extinguished. The Soviet-built Druzhba oil pipeline, which pumps oil from the fields in Western Siberia and the Caspian Sea to markets of Europe, runs through the Bryansk region, as does the Baltic Pipeline System which runs to the Baltic Sea. Meanwhile in Zaporizhzhia, one of the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to annex in 2022 without fully controlling, casualties continued to mount from an attack the day before that hit a medical clinic and office building. At least seven people have been confirmed killed and others are still trapped under the rubble, said Ukraine’s State Emergency Service on Wednesday. Copy 12/12/2024 10