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xbet casino online Liverpool shines in Champions League, dumping Real Madrid down the table. Dortmund rises to 4thLiberal MP Chandra Arya is accusing his caucus colleague Sukh Dhaliwal of threatening him in the House of Commons on Friday. The incident allegedly took place after Dhaliwal, MP for Surrey—Newton in B.C., attempted to get unanimous consent from the House on a motion to condemn the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as "genocide." A number of MPs — including Arya, who represents the Ontario riding of Nepean — called out "no" before Dhaliwal was able to finish reading his motion, denying it unanimous support. Arya later claimed he was the only one to say "no." Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal tried to introduce a motion on Friday that called on the House to to condemn the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as a "genocide." (Murray Titus/CBC news) About 20 minutes later, Arya stood up in the House on a point of order and said Dhaliwal "threatened" him on his way out of the Commons chamber. He also said another unnamed MP "aggressively accosted" him in the lobby. "As a member of Parliament, I should be able to express my opinion, my views, freely in the House and I should not [feel] threatened by any words or actions of my fellow members," Arya said. CBC News has reached out to both Arya and Dhaliwal for clarification on what happened Friday, but neither has responded. More than 3,000 Sikhs died in the anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards. The Indian government has consistently rejected any push to recognize the anti-Sikh riots as a genocide and has said it estimates the death toll at 2,800. Dhaliwal later posted on X, formerly Twitter, about his motion, saying that "sadly, some Conservative MPs and one Liberal MP opposed it." Arya also posted about the House incident on X, calling on Hindu-Canadians to push their MPs to oppose such "divisive" motions. "There is no guarantee I will be in the House to block it the next time any other Member, from any political party, attempts to bring this motion forward," Arya wrote in his social media post. "I urge all Hindu-Canadians to act now." Friday's incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Sikh and Hindu communities in Canada. Last month, three men were after violent clashes took place between protestors in Brampton and Mississauga, including incidents outside a Hindu temple and Sikh gurdwara. Arya has been an outspoken advocate for the Hindu community and has consistently spoken out against what he calls "Khalistani extremists" — a reference to a movement pushing for an independent Sikh homeland in northern India. In August, Arya travelled to India and met with current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A statement from Global Affairs Canada at the time said Arya "travelled to India on his own initiative and was not representing the Government of Canada." Hindu nationalism has become the dominant political ideology in India in the past decade under Modi, whose party has been accused of aggravating religious fault lines and steadily eroding the secular principles enshrined in India's constitution.

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It was fourth-and-7 early Saturday night under the Hofstra lights. Massapequa had the ball at the Farmingdale 17, down six in overtime in the Nassau I championship game. What to do? Offensive coordinator Mike Ambury had an idea. It was a play that got put in about three weeks ago, a play that never had been tested in a real game. It involved quarterback Joey Diesso and running back Tyler Villalta, but not in a way that you would think. “[Ambury] schemes things up and puts the ball in our kids’ hands, and he’s as creative as can be,” coach Kevin Shippos said. “He said, ‘Everyone’s keying on Tyler. Why don’t we put in a play with Tyler throwing to Joey?’ ” So Diesso got open in the left side of the end zone, Villalta threw it to him and Diesso hung on — tie score. After scoring first in overtime, Farmingdale had gone for two and failed, so when Massapequa’s Chris Bascetta booted the extra point, the celebration was on. Third-seeded Massapequa overcame a sensational 313-yard, five-touchdown rushing effort by Josh Kama and earned a 35-34 victory over its rival, No. 1 Farmingdale, to successfully defend its Nassau I title. Massapequa won its 10th straight game since an opening loss to Oceanside. “It feels amazing,” Villalta said. “All the hard work. I’m so proud of this group.” Massapequa will try to capture its second straight Long Island Class I championship when it faces Floyd in a game tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. “We’re going to do our best to do what we did last year,” Diesso said after throwing for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Farmingdale had to settle for just being in this title game and a 9-2 finish after taking that lead in OT. “A tough one to lose,” Dalers coach Buddy Krumenacker said. And a great one to win. “It means everything,” Diesso said. “After the first game of the year, we lost and I was trying everything in my power to get back here.” Diesso said he wasn’t that surprised about the last-hope play, thinking that “they aren’t expecting something like this, game on the line . . . the ball was in the air and I just watched it into my arms.” Villalta, who had rushed 25 times for 119 yards, said, “I just knew it was a pitch-and-catch with one of my best friends.” Bascetta still had to win it. “Honestly, I just thought of it as a regular extra point, not a game-winner,” the junior kicker said. The Dalers began OT at the Massapequa 20 in a 28-28 game. Kama took a handoff on the first play, found running room on the right side and took the ball to the end zone. Krumenacker went for two, but the running play was stopped. “What we were thinking was that we’d go for two because I really believed that if we went for one and [Shippos] scored, he would then go for two to end the game,” Krumenacker said. “So we were going to get the number to eight.” And you know what? It didn’t work out, but Krumenacker’s belief was correct. “To tell you the truth, if they had kicked an extra point and we scored, we were going for two,” Shippos said. Farmingdale led 21-14 at halftime thanks largely to TD runs of 59, 3 and 67 yards by Kama. Diesso threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony DiNello in the third quarter, but it was 28-21 Dalers after Kama’s 14-yard TD run late in the quarter. “He plays like that all the time,” Krumenacker said. “What you saw was Josh Kama.” Diesso scrambled on fourth-and-9 at the Farmingdale 11 and made it to the end zone with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter. Bascetta tied it, setting up the first overtime championship game in Nassau I in 25 years. “I wouldn’t say I was worried we were going to lose [at any point],” Diesso said. “ . . . I have full confidence in my team and myself that we can do anything together.” Brian Heyman covers high school, college and pro sports. He joined Newsday in 2021 and previously worked as a sportswriter for The Journal News in White Plains and The Hudson Dispatch in Union City, New Jersey. His work has appeared in The New York Times, MLB.com and Baseball Digest magazine.Italian Grand Prix to remain on Formula 1 calendar at Monza until at least 2031Elon Musk Drops Infamous Reply After Don Jr. Suggests He Buy MSNBC

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Caught in a bind: more people need help but donations to charity are down"in my casual ware, I love wearing U of I gear and my same blue jeans. My kids call me a walking advertisement of UIUC," Rashid Bashir says. To subscribe, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To pitch a 'My Turn' guest column, email jdalessio@news-gazette.com . Want to purchase today's print edition? Here's a map of single-copy locations. Sign up for our daily newsletter here How’s this for an immigration success story: Teen brothers, aged 15 and 17, move from their native Pakistan to the United States, landing in Lubbock, Texas, where the youngest gets a part-time job working the grill at McDonald’s and eventually grows up to become dean of the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering. “It was our father’s vision to send us to America for education and to better our lives. I had money for one year and a return ticket,” says RASHID BASHIR , who’s in Year 7 of running higher ed’s No. 9 engineering school, per U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings. You name it, the scholar with two degrees from Purdue has done it in his field — Bashir has authored 250-plus journal papers, been granted 45 patents and been named a fellow in eight international professional societies. The Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, who joined the UI faculty in 2007, took time out to answer questions from Editor Jeff D’Alessio in the 261st installment of our weekly speed read spotlighting leaders of organizations big and small. Grainger College of Engineering Dean Rashid Bashir chats with acclaimed UI alum Steve Chen, who co-founded YouTube. The single-most important question I ask job candidates during interviews is ... how would you like to change the world for the better or what Mars-shot goal would you like to achieve in 10 years? My philosophy on meetings is ... define the purpose, focus on outcomes, assign tasks and walk away with action items. My single favorite moment of all-time in this job was ... the celebrations of the college naming to Grainger College of Engineering. When it comes to the one thing I can’t live without ... I hate to say this but my cellphone. The three adjectives I hope my staff would use to describe me are ... empathetic, humble and visionary. On my office walls, you’ll find ... pictures of my family, my professional awards and fellowships of professional societies. My professional role model is ... in my current research realm, John Rogers, who is now at Northwestern. John is a genius, works super hard and is just a very nice guy. I’m frugal in that ... in my casual ware, I love wearing U of I gear and my same blue jeans. My kids call me a walking advertisement of UIUC. If I could trade places for a week with any other business person in town, I wouldn’t mind switching with ... Dr. Jim Leonard, CEO of Carle, to learn and experience the health-care delivery industry from the inside. And health care is such a challenging and important industry. I have great regards for Carle — how it’s running and growing and partnering with us in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. My one unbreakable rule of the workplace is ... have respect for each other. The first thing I do when I get to work most days is ... talk to Cindy Pruitt, my amazing administrative assistant, about the day and the next few days. For lunch, I like to ... just work through and catch up on email and tasks. Lunch is not a priority if I don’t have meetings. I wind down after work by ... spending time with family, catching up on news and monologues from the previous night’s comedy shows. The most beneficial college classes I took were ... two bioengineering graduate elective classes during the last year of my Ph.D. I fell in love with biology and bioengineering. That is when I decided to make a switch from electrical engineering and nanotechnology research to integrating nanotechnology with biology and medicine. I also took a short course on neuro-electric interface at Princeton and my Ph.D. advisor supported me to take that summer short course, and this further heightened my interest in bioengineering. The last good book I read was ... “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology” — but I now have a stack that I cannot find time to read. My exercise routine consists of ... at least 30 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on weights — three to four times a week if I can. I knew this is what I wanted to do for a living at age ... 25, when I finished my Ph.D. I knew I wanted to do research in bioengineering and be a professor. The first job I ever had was ... when I was 15/16, at McDonald’s in Lubbock, Texas, making hamburgers on the 10:1 grill. I learned a lot — discipline, hard work, customer service. The manager taught all the high schoolers to never stand still and keep smiling. I was the proud winner of the store competition, in-town competition and went to state competition — a great experience. The worst job I ever had was ... my second job — at Fur’s Cafeteria in Lubbock, washing dishes. It was tough. I was 17.

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These 11 Raw Fury games run well on Steam Deck, and are $15 at HumbleAbout 15 minutes before this match Emiliano Martínez was introduced on to the pitch for a touch of grandstanding, to commemorate the Argentinian becoming the first goalkeeper to win the Yashin Trophy twice. Then, about an hour later, Martínez exhibited quite why he is held in such high esteem, not that Aston Villa supporters required a reminder. Martínez’s fantastic, impulsive save to thwart Francisco Conceição midway through the second half denied Juventus the chance to seize the lead. Goalline technology showed Martínez kept the ball out by a few millimetres, a shaving of the starry Champions League ball remaining on and not over the Villa goalline. Juventus, regulars on this stage compared to Villa, got the point they probably deserved. The Juventus captain, Manuel Locatelli, stuck out a left boot to prevent John McGinn from converting a Leon Bailey cutback and in the first half Lucas Digne rattled the crossbar with a free-kick from the edge of the box. For Villa, a draw against the Serie A team will surely be seen as credible, but Unai Emery’s side are now winless in seven matches. The last time Villa went seven games without a win was under Dean Smith four years ago, when they – just about – escaped relegation, when McGinn and Ezri Konsa, an unused substitute here, were in the starting lineup. Emery has not gone seven games without a win since being dismissed by Arsenal in November 2019, a defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, when Martínez was in goal for Emery, the final straw of a difficult run. Emery went six games without a win at the end of last season, when qualification for this competition had been rubber-stamped. For Villa, there is no need to panic, but a tricky run could feasibly be extended to eight matches by the time they head home from Chelsea on Sunday. On the eve of this game the Juventus manager, Thiago Motta, accused Unai Emery of bluffing after his Villa counterpart, who was Motta’s coach in the twilight of his career at Paris Saint-Germain, suggested he would be happy with a point. Motta insisted it was a poker face on Emery’s part and perhaps because Juventus arrived here so light on numbers. Juventus flew to England with a 17-man squad, minus Dusan Vlahovic, their star striker. Douglas Luiz, who has struggled since swapping Birmingham for Turin, was absent from the team sheet because of a muscle injury. The Serie A club named six substitutes, two of which were goalkeepers. Villa, meanwhile, welcomed back Boubacar Kamara into the base of midfield and Emery pushed John McGinn forward into a role behind Ollie Watkins. Morgan Rogers operated off the left flank. There was the familiar rally cry from Emery in his programme notes at the prospect of another memorable evening against a European superpower, even if their reputation has faded so slightly in recent years. Regardless of Juventus’s rich and storied past and Emery was adamant Villa had to be much improved to take anything from the game. Leon Bailey made a fast start, cutting in off the right flank to fire a shot at goal but this match was stodgy for almost all 46 first-half minutes. Villa’s frustrations were typified by the moment Youri Tielemans, the recipient of an early yellow card, was left hopping on the spot after the line to Watkins was snipped by an alert Federico Gatti in the Juventus defence. Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'. If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version. In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications. Turn on sport notifications. Until Watkins registered the first shot on target, spinning in the box after seamlessly latching on to Kamara’s cannoned effort. Watkins swivelled neatly and sent a left-foot shot at goal off his laces, forcing the Juventus goalkeeper, Di Gregorio, into a fine save. From the leftovers of the subsequent corner Matty Cash saw a stinging effort blocked. Lucas Digne bent a free-kick on to the crossbar after Pierre Kalulu, a walking yellow card, was eventually booked by the referee for crunching Watkins. At the other end Francisco Conceição moseyed down the right flank before squeezing a weak shot at the near post, allowing Martínez to gather comfortably. Conceição was busy and proved difficult to get to grips with, his cross a few minutes into the second half the trigger for a handball shout against Pau Torres. Juventus hounded in packs. Khéphren Thuram sent a shot wide after Teun Koopmeiners shifted the ball infield after seizing on a loose pass by Bailey, who was almost punished for his high-wire act in keeping the ball in on the opposite touchline.Juventus’s big chance dropped on 65 minutes. Koopmeiners’s corner zoomed towards the back post, Conceição eluded Rogers and headed goalwards unmarked. For a split second, the Portuguese appeared to peel away in celebration, before realising Martínez had somehow prevented his header from going over the line. The goalkeeper plunged down to his right to repel the ball with his right glove, goalline technology showing he did just enough. Villa supporters crooned Martínez’s name in unison. Three minutes of second-half stoppage time had been and gone when Morgan Rogers thought he had snatched victory with surely the final kick. Teun Koopmeiners conceded a cheap foul on halfway, allowing Villa one last chance to pump the ball into the box. Diego Carlos rose to challenge the Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, in pursuit of the high ball but it ran free and Rogers simply hooked the ball into an empty net. A VAR review apparently penalised the Villa centre-back. As Carlos headed down the tunnel, he offered the Spanish referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, a filthy look.

Election results on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean have set the background for the final stretch of campaigning for Irish parties ahead of polling day on Friday. Donald Trump’s presidential election victory in the US has brought heightened concern that his administration’s proposals around corporation tax and tariffs would significantly impact Ireland’s economic model. Mr Harris, leader of Fine Gael, has argued Ireland and other EU countries need to prepare for the possibility of trade shocks as he criticised the scale of Sinn Fein’s spending pledges as well as their saving plans. He said: “I think that is irresponsible, I think it is dangerous and I think it is reckless.” He accused Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald of not being able to say what her party was prepared to do in the event of an economic crash, adding that Fine Gael would borrow and stop putting money towards a rainy-day fund. Asked if the party was engaging in “project fear” to dissuade voters against Sinn Fein, Mr Harris said: “I call it ‘project truth’. It’s telling people what’s being discussed right across European capitals.” Ms McDonald told an RTE interview on Wednesday morning that a Sinn Fein government would also be prepared to start borrowing in the event of an economic downturn. Both Mr Harris and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, who were partners in the last coalition government in Ireland, have made clear they will not countenance Sinn Fein as a potential partner in the next administration in Dublin. One day after the only three-way debate featuring the leaders of the main parties, Mr Martin accused Sinn Fein of being “dishonest” about how they will fund their manifesto plans. Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday, he said he is anxious to get clarity on the issue. “I think Sinn Fein have been very dishonest, frankly, in terms of the funds, because if you go through their figures, and this is a matter of fact, not opinion, they’re predicting a surplus of a billion in 2026, a billion in 2027. “Even in 2025, they’re talking about a mini budget, which would mean reducing the surplus that we’re anticipating in 2025. “There’s a legislative obligation now on any new government to put 0.8% of GDP to one side, and into the funds. There’s no way you can do that with a surplus of a billion in 2026 or 2027, and we would argue they would not have enough funds next year either to put into the funds.” He added: “It means they have no room to manoeuvre if things go wrong, if there’s headwinds come externally, or there are shocks internationally, Sinn Fein is not allowing any headroom at all in terms of room to respond or to move it.” Ms McDonald accused the other two parties of conspiring to keep Sinn Fein out of government and prevent change in Ireland. She said the two men were now “indistinguishable” from each other as she claimed they were suffering “acute amnesia” in regard to their records in government. On a visit to Naas fire station in Co Kildare, she said: “To listen to them, you’d imagine they had just arrived on the scene and that they were going to come up with all of these solutions. “They have had ample chances, ample opportunity, to make things better, and they have failed, and in between the two of them I make the case that now we ask for our chance, with our plans, with our team, to demonstrate how change can happen, how your community, your family, yourself, can be supported when the government is actually on your side.” Mr Martin’s and Mr Harris’ coalition partner Roderic O’Gorman, the leader of the Greens, issued a warning to the public over a future government without his party. On Wednesday, he said it is looking likely that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be returned to government – but cautioned they may not want the Greens to continue “fighting hard” on policies. He told reporters: “My sense is certainly the mood music from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is that they’d like an easier life in the next government – and my concern is they use these small populist parties and right-wing independents.” Mr O’Gorman argued that the Greens could continue to provide stability to government at a time when economic shocks may be around the corner. As the Green leader suggested that relying on independents would be unstable, Mr Martin has also argued that “too much fragmentation would lead to incoherence in government”. Reflecting on Tuesday night’s debate, the Fianna Fail leader said the race remained “too close to call” while Mr Harris said it is “all to play for”. The leaders of Ireland’s three main political parties clashed on housing, healthcare and financial management in the last televised debate before Friday’s General Election. The tetchy debate, which was marked by several interruptions, saw the parties set out their stalls in a broadcast that commentators said did little to move the dial before polling day. The latest opinion poll on Wednesday put the parties in a tight grouping, with Fianna Fail slightly ahead of Sinn Fein and Fine Gael in joint second. After the 2020 general election delivered an inconclusive result, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two parties forged from opposing sides of Ireland’s Civil War of the 1920s, agreed to set aside almost a century of animosity and share power – with the Greens as a junior partner. From 2016 to 2020, Fianna Fail had supported Fine Gael in power through a confidence-and-supply arrangement from the Opposition benches in the Dail parliament. Sinn Fein won the popular vote in 2020 but a failure to run enough candidates meant it did not secure sufficient seats in the Dail to give it a realistic chance of forming a government.

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Industries such as financial services, healthcare, transport, government and more are increasingly adopting digital verifiable credentials connected to biometrics. Their popularity will soon reshape business models and processes and shake up the identity industry itself. For many companies, verifiable credentials will be a disruptor. But despite areas such as the European Union inching closer to implementing the decentralized ID technology, some organizations are still hiding their head in the sand. “There certainly are going to be some companies where it will affect the revenue model negatively,” says , vice president of Customer Success for EMEA and APAC at . Kenny spoke at a recent online event organized by reusable digital identity platform alongside , CEO at Dock and , founder and CEO of decentralized reusable identity company . Last month, Daon and Youverse struck with Dock focused on building their decentralized biometric identity verification capabilities. Companies focused on document-centric identity verification may face the biggest disruptions, the two experts said. This includes firms that charge businesses each time a user submits their document for a Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Reusable verifiable credentials will end the need for repeated KYC. “In four years, it’s going to be too late,” says Torres.”Lots of things are happening now.” Decentralized identity and verifiable credentials are seeing major projects, including the European Union’s Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, the travel industry with Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs) and the U.S. with its mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs). Verifiable credentials are designed to enable individuals to prove their identity and qualifications in a secure and tamper-proof way. They can be used in many scenarios, from accessing medical records and verifying college degrees to showing driver’s licenses or passports. Much of the initial traction is in age assurance, according to the speakers. Many see verifiable credentials and reusable identities as a way to eliminate physical identity documents. But it also opens other possibilities, including putting the user in control of their data and allowing them to share it. “I’m not even sure that reusable ID is the killer app for [verifiable credentials],” says Kenny. “I think it goes well beyond identity. Being able to actually link data and attributes to an identity is, for me, where I think the killer app for this could be.” The solution could end up with a flourishing ecosystem of innovation that we haven’t seen yet because the adoption is not there, adds Torres. Once adoption rises, there will be incentives to develop completely new apps. Verifiable credentials, however, still face misunderstandings and misconceptions, including those connected to differences between decentralized verifiable credentials and centralized digital identities. Another misconception is that this is the perfect utopian solution that will solve all of the world’s privacy issues. “We get carried away with ourselves,” says Kenny. “The goal is to have a better situation than the current one, and for sure, verifiable credentials and digital wallets for digital identity, which are decentralized, is a hundred times better than what we currently have.” Companies will also have to continue working on protecting their users from being tricked into compromising their wallets by fraudsters. “I think that makes biometric credentials so important because we have to assume that wallets will get compromised,” says Lambert. | | | | | | | |Drone attacks and fighting intensified in Ukraine and Russia on December 28, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia's leader of taking "orders" from the Kremlin to harm Kyiv and his own people as an energy feud heightened as well. "It appears that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gave Fico the orders to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people's interests," Zelenskiy wrote on social media. "Fico's threats to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be explained by this." The comments came after Fico on December 27 threatened to halt supplies of electricity to Ukraine if Kyiv blocks transit of Russian gas to Slovakia. Ukraine has announced it will not extend the transit contract of Russian state-owned company Gazprom after January 1 -- ceasing deliveries of gas to several European nations -- as the West looks to cut off the Kremlin's source of funding for the war. The transport deal was signed before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and most European nations have since begun developing alternative sources of gas, although Fico says finding alternatives would be too costly for Slovakia. Fico, along with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, has angered the West by continuing to have close ties to Putin despite U.S. and EU sanctions. Fico visited Putin in Moscow earlier this week and has offered to host potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskiy said Slovakia accounts for nearly 20 percent of Ukraine's power imports. "Slovakia is part of the single European energy market and Fico must respect common European rules," Zelenskiy wrote. "Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or Moscow's orders to Fico regarding electricity cannot cut Ukraine's power supply, but they can certainly cut current Slovak authorities' ties to the European community," he added, suggesting the move would deprive Slovakia itself of some $200 million a year. Meanwhile, as Russia's full-scale invasion grinds on toward its fourth year, Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations of drone attacks in several regions as battlefield clashes intensified along the front lines, with the "hottest" fighting reported around the embattled Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. Russian air defenses destroyed 56 drones overnight, the Defense Ministry said on December 28. It said 28 drones were shot down in the Rostov region, 17 in the Voronezh region, and 11 in the Belgorod region, where local officials reportedly said two residents of a village were injured by shrapnel from a blast. The Russian claims could not be independently verified. A Russian occupation official said on Telegram that four people were wounded in what he said was a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a car in the Russian-held city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s Kherson region early in the morning. In Mykolayiv, the Ukrainian-held capital of a region adjacent to Kherson, the military said Ukrainian defenders had neutralized all 16 drones launched by Russia on December 28. "Of the 16 UAVs launched, 15 were shot down, another one was a simulator. All 15 were shot down in the Mykolaiv region," the Ukrainian Air Force said Earlier, a Russian drone attack in the city caused fires on the roof of a five-story residential building and on the grounds of a commercial enterprise, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegra. He said that nobody was hurt, and that the military had destroyed 12 drones over the region overnight . Russia and Ukraine have used drones regularly since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. There are mounting suspicions that the crash of a Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet earlier this week near Aqtau, Kazakhstan, that killed 38 of the 67 people aboard was caused by Russian air-defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks on the Chechnya region, where the jet was due to land in Grozny before it was diverted across the Caspian Sea. Ukraine said its forces struck a "protected facility" of the Russian military in the Oryol region near the border with Ukraine. It said the target was a warehouse holding Iranian-made Shahed drones. Also on December 28, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it had thwarted a plot to kill a high-level Russian military officer and an unnamed Russian “war blogger” who writes about the invasion. The FSB, whose claim could not be independently verified, said it had arrested a Russian man it said was acting under instructions from Ukrainian military intelligence. It said it had found a cache outside Moscow with an improvised explosive device camouflaged as a stereo speaker. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the FSB claim, which came 11 days after the general who headed Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ) was killed, along with an assistant, by a bomb concealed in a scooter. A source at Ukraine's SBU security service told RFE/RL that the blast that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant was the result of a special operation by the Ukrainian agency. Germany's foreign minister described the suspected sabotage of a Baltic Sea power cable as a "wake-up call" for the West and urged the European Union to impose new sanctions targeting what is known as Russia's " shadow fleet ." Meanwhile, a media outlet focusing on shipping news and intelligence reported that the ship suspected of damaging the cable linking Finland and Estonia on December 25 was equipped with "special transmitting and receiving devices that were used to monitor naval activity." The Eagle S "had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a 'spy ship' for Russia," Lloyd's List reported on December 27, citing "a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago." Finland seized the Eagle S on December 26, citing suspicions that it caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and damaged four Internet lines. Finnish investigators said the ship may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the sea floor. Finnish and EU officials say the Eagle S is believed to belong to a "shadow fleet" of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue for Russia's economy and its war against Ukraine. The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. "The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment , while funding Russia's war budget," the European Commission said on December 26, suggesting the incident was part of a deliberate effort to damage "critical infrastructure" in Europe. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet." In comments on December 28, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged "new European sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet," which she said is "a major threat to our environment and security" that is used by Russia "to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine." "Almost every month, ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea," Baerbock said in a statement to the Funke media group. "Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up.” "It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences," she said. "This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us." TBILISI -- Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili joined thousands of pro-West demonstrators on the streets of Tbilisi to protest the Georgian Dream-led government's moves to delay closer integration with the European Union and its perceived tilt toward Russia. The December 28 rally came at a potentially explosive time in the South Caucasus nation as Zurabishvili has vowed not to step down at the end of her term on December 29, claiming her successor -- chosen by an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream -- was "illegitimate." Zurabishvili and demonstrators, waving Georgian and EU flags, marched along the Saarbruecken Bridge in the capital, joined by members of parliament from allied countries, including Poland and Lithuania, to form a "chain of unity." The rally marked one month since the start of the recent wave of anti-government protests, which have been met with violent police action, injuries, and mass arrests by Georgian authorities. Protesters accuse the government of the Georgian Dream party of moving the country away from the EU and closer to Moscow. The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation. The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on Georgia joining the EU. On December 24, Human Rights Watch called for Georgian security forces to be investigated for the "brutal police violence" against largely peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets for the demonstrations. On December 27, the United States said it had slapped fresh sanctions on Russia-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and the founder of the Georgian Dream party, for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation." "Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The action prompted anger from the Georgian Dream party, while the Georgian opposition hailed the action and called on the EU to also move against Ivanishvili and other Georgian leaders. Zurabishvili -- who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters early in the wave of rallies -- on December 22 called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29. U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson on December 27 wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20. "I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends" in China and Iran, Wilson added, without mentioning Russia. Earlier this month, an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia's next president. His inauguration is supposed to take place on December 29, though the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term ends this year, has said she will not step down, setting up a potentially explosive showdown. "Next week at this time, I will be president," Zurabishvili restated on December 27. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. Afghanistan's Taliban-led government said Taliban forces targeted what it claimed were "centers and hideouts for malicious elements" it said were involved in a recent attack in Afghanistan, as an upsurge of cross-border fighting continues. The statement from the Taliban's Defense Ministry followed reports of deadly early morning clashes on December 28 between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards. It came days after the government said Pakistani aircraft bombed targets in Afghanistan in an attack it said killed dozens of civilians. The ministry gave few details about the strikes, which it said were launched against targets in several districts behind the "hypothetical line" -- a reference to a portion of the border with Pakistan that Afghan authorities have long disputed. Local sources told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that three people in Paktia Province were killed and two wounded by gunfire from Pakistani border guards, and that clashes also took place in the Khost province. The reports could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government. But the head of a community in the Kurram district told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that Taliban forces fired rockets at two security posts near the border at about 6 a.m., setting off fighting that continued for several hours. The Taliban's Defense Ministry suggested the strikes on Pakistan were retaliation for what the Taliban-led government said were Pakistani air strikes that killed 46 civilians in Paktika Province, which also borders Pakistan, on December 24. Pakistan says that militants from the Islamist group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. The Afghan Taliban say the TTP is in Pakistan. There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan. Authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka extended a wave of pardons ahead of a January presidential election in Belarus, ordering the release of 20 prisoners jailed on extremism charges his opponents and rights groups say were politically motivated. Lukashenka's press service suggested the pardons were issued on humanitarian grounds, saying 14 of those ordered released have chronic illnesses and 10 of them have children. It said 11 of the 20 are women. The press service claimed the prisoners had all sought pardons and expressed remorse, an assertion that could not be independently verified. It said that authorities would "monitor their behavior following their release." Since July, Lukashenka has pardoned more than 225 people whom activists consider political prisoners. Rights groups have recognized nearly 3,600 people as political prisoners since the state launched a massive crackdown when pro-democracy protests erupted after Lukashenka, in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in an August 2020 election that millions believe was stolen though fraud . Many of those have served out their sentences. Ahead of a January 26 election in which he is certain to be awarded a new term, Lukashenka may be seeking to signal to the West that he is easing off on the persistent clampdown that the state has imposed since the 2020 election. But the crackdown continues, with frequent arrests and trials on what activists say are politically motivated charges. At least 1,253 people whom rights groups consider political prisoners remain behind bars, and the real number is believed to be higher. Lukashenka has roped Belarus closely to Russia and has provided support for Russia's war on neighboring Ukraine, including by allowing Russian forces to invade from Belarusian territory, and he says Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed in Belarus. But over 30 years in power, he has often tried to capitalize on Belarus’ position between Russia in the east and NATO and the European Union to the west and north. Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized over the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane this week, the Kremlin said, amid growing evidence that the jet was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in the Chechnya region before it went down in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. In a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, when the plane was trying to land at the airport there, a Kremlin statement said. Putin "conveyed his apologies in connection with the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," the statement said, indicating that Putin acknowledged the plane was damaged over Chechnya but stopped short of stating a Russian missile strike was the cause. "In the conversation, it was noted that...the aircraft tried more than once to approach the Grozny airport for landing," it said, adding that “at this time, Ukrainian combat drones were attacking Grozny [and the nearby cities of] Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Russian air-defense systems were repelling these attacks." Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the possible violation of flight safety rules, the statement said. It said two Azerbaijani prosecutors were working with Russian law enforcement in Grozny and that Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakh authorities were working together at the crash site near Aqtau, Kazakhstan. The Kremlin statement is likely to further increase suspicions that a Russian missile damaged the Embraer-190 jet before it was diverted to Aktau, across the Caspian Sea from Chechnya, where it crashed near the shore after a steep descent and burst into flames. Evidence of a missile strike includes footage of damage inside the plane before the crash and images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, as well as comments from survivors who said they heard at least one explosion outside the plane over Chechnya. Azerbaijani lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL on December 27 that there is a "very strong" possibility that the plane was damaged by a Russian air-defense missile. He said that the "observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth." On the same day, White House spokesman John Kirby said U.S. experts "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air-defense systems." Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air-defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia. The crash has disrupted air traffic in the Caucasus and beyond. An Azerbaijan Airlines flight bound for the Russian spa town of Mineranlye Vody, not far from Grozny, took off from Baku on December 27 but then abruptly headed back after receiving a flight information notice that Russian airspace it was due to fly through was closed. Azerbaijan Airlines later said it is suspending flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala. Turkmenistan Airlines announced on December 28 that it was canceling all its flights between the capital, Ashgabat, and Moscow from December 30 to January 31, giving no reason for the decision. Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan on the eastern shore of the Caspian. Also on December 28, Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that restrictions were briefly placed on the operation of the airport in the Tatarstan regional capital, Kazan, to ensure flight safety, and media reports said that all departures and arrivals had been suspended. Flights heading to Kazan from the Siberian cities of Tomsk, Surgut, and Kemerovo were redirected to an airfield in Nizhnekamsk, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the airport's press service. No specific reason was given for the measures, which Rosaviatsia said had been lifted a few hours later. Russia has closed airports at times due to alleged drone attacks, and a drone attack hit high-rise buildings in Kazan on December 21. NATO has said it would bolster its presence in the Baltic Sea after undersea power lines and Internet cables were damaged by suspected sabotage believed to be carried out by vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called “ shadow fleet .” Estonia also announced on December 27 that it had begun a naval operation to guard a crucial electricity line in the Baltic Sea in coordination with allies as tensions mounted in the region. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a social media post following discussions with Finnish President Alexander Stubb that "NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea." Both Finland and Estonia have coastlines on the Baltic Sea. When asked for details about planned actions, NATO officials told AP that the alliance “remains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by enhancing our military presence” in the region. "We have agreed with Estonia, and we have also communicated to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, that our wish is to have a stronger NATO presence," Stubb told a news conference. Stubb added that investigators did not want to jump to conclusions, but a day earlier he had said that "it is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian 'shadow fleet.'" The "shadow fleet" is a reference to old, uninsured oil vessels typically used to bypass Western sanctions on Russia and maintain a source of revenue. European government and the United States have accused Russia of intensifying "hybrid attacks" following reports of damage to Baltic Sea communications cables, although they have not yet directly tied Moscow to the damage. NATO stepped up monitoring critical infrastructure in the Baltic following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline seven months later. Chinese-linked ships have also been suspected of sabotaging undersea infrastructure over recent years. Sweden -- NATO's newest member, which also has a coastline on the Baltic Sea -- said its coast guard had stepped up surveillance of sea traffic and had deployed aircraft and vessels in concert with regional allies. The European Commission on December 26 said a cargo ship suspected of having deliberately damaged power and Internet cables in the Baltic Sea was part of Russia's "shadow fleet." The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. Finnish authorities on December 26 boarded and took command of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker in the Baltic Sea as part of its investigation into the damages, saying it likely belong to the "shadow fleet." Investigators have said the damage could have been caused by the ship intentionally dragging its anchor. The Kremlin said it had no connection to the ship seized by Finland. It has regularly denied that it is involved in any of the many incidents involving Baltic Sea region infrastructure assets. The United States said it has slapped fresh sanctions on Russia-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation." "Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on December 27. Blinken added that "Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream's actions have eroded democratic institutions, enabled human rights abuses, and curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia." "We strongly condemn Georgian Dream's actions under Ivanishvili's leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures." The new measures will block transactions involving entities owned by Ivanishvili, the statement said. According to Bloomberg News, Ivanishvili's fortune is estimated at $7.5 billion, much of it coming through metals, banking, and telecom assets in Russia during the 1990s. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called the U.S. action "blackmail" and said it was Ivanishvili's "reward" for protecting Georgia's national interest. However, opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze of the Unity National Movement hailed the U.S. decision, according to Georgia's Interpress news agency. "I welcome this step from the United States and believe that we are quickly moving toward victory and will celebrate Georgia without Ivanishvili, who is the bringer of chaos and misery to this country," he was quoted as saying. In a previous action, the United States on December 12 said it would "prohibit visa issuance to those who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia." That move affected some 20 people, "including individuals serving as government ministers and in parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens," it said in a statement , without naming the individuals. Georgia, once a closer U.S. ally, has angered Washington and the European Union with its perceived tilt toward Russia and its violent crackdown on dissent in the Caucasus nation. The sanctions come at a crucial time, as Georgia's fate hangs in the balance -- whether it will intensify its tilt toward Moscow, return to the pro-Europe path, or remain in an environment of unrest and uncertainty. Police in Tbilisi have clashed with pro-West protesters over the past several weeks, detaining dozens and injuring scores of people who accuse the government of the Georgian Dream party of moving the country away from the European Union and closer to Moscow. The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation. The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on Georgia joining the EU. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on December 24 called for Georgian security forces to be investigated for the “brutal police violence” against largely peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets for huge anti-government demonstrations. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters -- on December 22 called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29. "Next week at this time I will be president," Zurabishvili restated on December 27. U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20 "I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends" in China and Iran, Wilson added, without mentioning Russia. Earlier this month, an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia's next president. His inauguration is supposed to take place on December 29, though the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term ends this year, has said she will not step down, setting up a potentially explosive showdown. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. PODGORICA -- After a multinational back-and-forth legal battle, Montenegro on December 27 said it would extradite South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Hyeong Do Kwon -- the so-called Crypto King -- to the United States. Do Kwon is sought by both the United States and South Korea and also faces possible legal action in Singapore. Montenegrin courts have previously issued at least eight often-contradictory decisions regarding Do Kwon's fate. In September, the Montenegrin Supreme Court ruled that Do Kwon could be sent to either the United States or South Korea and that the final decision on which country would be up to Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic. On December 24, Do Kwon lost his final appeal against extradition with Montenegro's Constitutional Court. In the latest ruling, the Justice Ministry said the U.S. request had met the threshold for removal and, as a result Bozovic "issued a decision approving the extradition." The ministry said the criteria included the gravity of the criminal acts, the order of submission of the extradition requests, and the citizenship of the person in question. The former CEO and co-founder of the cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs is wanted by U.S. and South Korean authorities for his alleged role in capital market and securities fraud involving assets worth some $40 billion. Do Kwon was arrested with business partner Chang Joon in March 2023 at Podgorica airport while attempting to fly to Dubai using on allegedly forged passports. They each received a four-month prison sentence on the forged-passport charge. Chang, who was wanted only by South Korea, was extradited to that country on February 5. After serving his sentence, Do Kwon was sent to a shelter for foreigners near Podgorica, where he awaited extradition. Do Kwon in October claimed that the South Korean charges were illegitimate and "politically motivated." Despite the legal struggle, Do Kwon's trial in absentia took place in the United States, where a New York jury on April 5 found him and Terraform labs liable on civil fraud charges, agreeing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they had misled investors. Terraform Labs agreed to pay about $4.5 billion in a civil settlement with the SEC following the court's ruling. Do Kwon was ordered to pay $204 million. Following the verdict, a Terraform spokesperson said, "We continue to maintain that the SEC does not have the legal authority to bring this case at all" and that the company was weighing its options. Italy’s Foreign Ministry said journalist Cecilia Sala, who was in Iran to carry out "journalistic activities," has been detained by Tehran police authorities. The ministry said in a statement on December 27 that Sala, who has a podcast called Stories that covers life in places around the world, was detained on December 19. It gave no reason for the detention, but said in a statement that the ambassador from Italy's embassy in Tehran had paid a consular visit "to verify the conditions and state of detention of Sala." "The family was informed of the results of the consular visit. Previously, Sala had the opportunity to make two phone calls with her relatives," it said. Sala posted a podcast from Tehran on December 17 about patriarchy in the Iranian capital. Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. Earlier this month, Reza Valizadeh , a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, was handed a 10-year sentence by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government." Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of work. He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22. His two court sessions, held on November 20 and December 7, reportedly lacked a prosecution representative, with the judge assuming that role. Sources close to the journalist claim he fell into a "security trap" despite receiving unofficial assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal troubles upon returning to Iran. Iran is among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The Paris-based media watchdog says Iran is now also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists. An Azerbaijani lawmaker said there is a "very strong" possibility that the crash of a passenger jet earlier this week was caused by Russian air-defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks. Speculation has mounted that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which was headed from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, may have been hit by an air-defense missile before crossing the Caspian Sea and crashing near Aqtau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 passengers and crew. Lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service in an interview on December 27 that such an explanation is most likely "closest to the truth." "This is only a possibility, but a very strong one, and the observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth," he said. "In this specific case, the incident involves Azerbaijan's airliner being damaged within the territory of the Russian Federation, with the event causing the crash occurring there. Therefore, there is no doubt that responsibility falls on the Russian Federation. If these assumptions are correct, accountability also undoubtedly rests with Russia," he added. Kazakh experts arrived on December 27 to examine the crash site and black box of the ill-fated passenger jet, as speculation -- and evidence -- mounted suggesting that a Russian air-defense missile may have inadvertently struck the craft. Even as the probe intensifies, countries with victims aboard the plane -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan -- continue to mourn their dead and treat the injured from the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft. Since the crash, uncertainty has rocked the aviation industry throughout the Caucasus. An Azerbaijan Airlines flight bound for the Russian spa town of Mineranlye Vody took off from Baku on December 27 but then abruptly headed back after receiving a flight information notice that Russian airspace it was due to fly through was closed . Azerbaijan Airlines later said it is suspending flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala. Speculation has swirled around the tragedy, with some experts pointing to holes seen in the plane's tail section as a possible sign that it could have come under fire from Russian air-defense systems engaged in thwarting Ukrainian drone attacks. White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on December 27 that the United States has seen signs suggesting that the jet could have been hit by Russian air defense systems. U.S. experts "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems," he said. Kirby added that Washington has “offered our assistance...should they need it" to the ongoing investigation being conducted by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Evidence, yet to be corroborated by authorities, includes footage from inside the plane before the crash, images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, a survivor's comments, and accounts indicating there was a suspected drone attack around the time the plane apparently tried to land in Grozny. Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air-defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia. It was not immediately clear where the black box would be examined. The process can be highly technical, and not all countries have the resources to undertake such work. Gulag Aslanli, a leader of Azerbaijan's opposition Musavat party, told RFE/RL that an international commission was needed to investigate the incident. "Russia cannot be allowed there," he said. "If the black box is going to be taken to Russia and examined there, I will look at its outcome with suspicion." Officials said it typically takes about two weeks to fully assess a black box, although various conditions can alter that time frame. Commenting on unconfirmed reports that the plane may have been shot down by a missile, Kazakh Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbaev said it was "not possible" to say what may have damaged the aircraft until the investigation is finished. "Real experts are looking at all this, and they will make their conclusions. Neither Kazakhstan, Russia, nor Azerbaijan, of course, is interested in hiding information, so it will be brought to the public," Ashimbaev said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made a similar comment, reiterating Moscow's previous stance on the deadly incident. "An investigation is under way, and until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so," Peskov told reporters on December 27. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Russian officials as saying the plane, commissioned in 2013, had passed a maintenance check in October and that the pilot had "vast experience" with more than 15,000 flying hours. Azerbaijan Airlines President Samir Rzayev also told reporters the plane had been fully serviced in October and that there was no sign of technical malfunction. But he said it was too early to determine a cause: "The plane has been found with a black box. After detailed research, all aspects will be clear." The airline suspended flights along the route of the crash pending completion of the investigation. Azerbaijan's Prosecutor-General's Office said that "all possible scenarios are being examined." As the first seven survivors arrived back in the country on December 26, Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning. Burials of four of those who lost their lives were conducted during the day, with additional funerals expected in the coming hours and days. Officials in Baku said the wounded arrived on a special flight arranged by Azerbaijan's Emergency Affairs Ministry and that the injured, many with severe burn wounds, were accompanied by medical professionals. Ayhan Solomon, Azerbaijan’s chief consul in Aqtau, told reporters that 26 of those killed were Azerbaijani citizens. He said 16 Azerbaijani citizens survived. “Of those, 10 to 12 are in good condition and others remain critically stable,” he added. Azerbaijan Airlines' supervisory board said on December 26 that the families of those killed will be compensated with 40,000 manats ($23,460), while those injured would receive 20,000 manats ($11,730). Along with the 42 Azerbaijani citizens, those aboard Flight J2-8243 were listed as 16 Russian nationals, six from Kazakhstan, and three Kyrgyz citizens, officials said. The survivors include nine Russian citizens, who were flown to Moscow on December 26 by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry. Three of the Russian survivors were in critical condition, according to Russian health authorities. KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “several” North Korean soldiers – badly wounded in fighting alongside Russian forces – have died after being captured by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield and he accused Moscow of having little regard for their survival. Zelenskiy, echoing earlier remarks by U.S. officials, said soldiers sent to Russia by Pyongyang are suffering major losses in fighting in Russia's Kursk region. The Ukrainian leader accused Moscow and North Korean “enforcers” of leaving the soldiers unprotected in battle and even executing fighters to prevent them from being captured alive. He did not provide evidence to back up the claims and they could not independently be verified. The North Korean military has suffered “many losses. A great deal. And we can see that the Russian military and the North Korean enforcers have no interest in the survival of these Koreans at all,” he said in a video address on December 27. “Everything is arranged in a way that makes it impossible for us to capture the Koreans as prisoners – their own people are executing them. There are such cases. And the Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection.” He said Ukrainian soldiers had managed to take some prisoners. "But they were very seriously wounded and could not be saved.” The remarks came after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said that a North Korean fighter had died of wounds suffered before his capture by Ukrainian special operations troops in the Kursk region. "We have confirmed through an allied intelligence agency that a North Korean soldier who was captured on the 26th died a little while ago due to serious injuries," the news release said. On December 26, the Ukrainian news outlet Militarnyi said a soldier believed to be North Korean had been captured by Ukrainian Special Operations Forces in the Kursk region. A photo of a captured soldier, who is believed to have been injured, also was previously shared on Telegram. The photo has not been independently verified. Details about the soldier's condition and status are not known. Last month Pyongyang ratified a "comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement with Russia, cementing a deal that paved the way for its soldiers to fight on Russian soil against Ukraine. Western sources estimate that 12,000 North Korean troops are in the Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukrainian forces amid ongoing pitched battles. U.S. Response White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on December 27 that North Korean forces are suffering heavy casualties on the front lines, adding that some 1,000 of their troops have been killed or wounded in the Kursk region over the past week. "It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said. Kirby said also U.S. President Joe Biden would likely approve another package of military aid for Kyiv in the coming days as he bids to bolster Ukraine’s forces before leaving office on January 20. U.S. officials later told reporters that a new package of military assistance worth $1.25 billion is scheduled to be announced on December 30. North Korean Losses Zelenskiy on December 23 said more than 3,000 troops, or about a quarter of the North Korean special forces sent to Russia, had been killed or injured, though he couched his statement by saying the data was preliminary. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported on a lower figure, saying on December 19 that about 1,100 North Korean special forces have been killed or injured in Russia since entering the fray against Ukraine. On December 15, Skhemy (Schemes), an investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, received photos from Ukrainian military sources purportedly showing the bodies of dead soldiers in Kursk, including what was said to be North Korean fighters. RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify the claims. Russia has not commented on the report. North Korean military support is coming at a critical time in the war. Russia is seeking to overpower an undermanned and under-resourced Ukrainian infantry and gain territory before its own manpower and resources become constrained. Russia has lost more than 600,000 soldiers in the nearly three-year war, the Pentagon said in early October. It has burned through so much war material that it is struggling to replace its artillery and missile needs amid sweeping Western sanctions. Now nearly two-thirds of the mortars and shells Russia launches at Ukraine come from North Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported , citing Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian Army officer. And every third ballistic missile was made in North Korea, Ukrainian officials said. The European Commission said a cargo ship suspected of having deliberately damaged power and Internet cables in the Baltic Sea is part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," prompting the EU to threaten new sanctions against Moscow. "We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure," the commission said in a statement on December 26. "The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet," the statement added. The statement added that "in response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as in undersea repair capabilities, and international cooperation." The remarks come after two fiber-optic cables owned by Finnish operator Elisa linking Finland and Estonia were broken on December 25. A third link between the two countries -- owned by China's Citic -- was damaged, authorities said. An Internet cable running between Finland and Germany belonging to Finnish group Cinia was also believed to have been severed, according to officials. Investigators said the damage could have been caused by the ship intentionally dragging its anchor. Finnish authorities on December 26 boarded and took command of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker in the Baltic Sea as part of the investigation. The Finnish customs service said the Eagle S is believed to belong to Russia's so-called “shadow fleet” of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue. The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also suggested the cargo has Russian links and that his country is closely monitoring the situation. "It is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet," Stubb wrote on X . EU foreign ministers on December 16 adopted a package of sanctions against Moscow targeting tankers transporting Russian oil as the bloc looked to curb the circumvention of previous measures aimed at hindering Kremlin's ability to wage war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on December 26 that the alliance is ready to help Finland and Estonia as they launch their probe into the possible "sabotage." "Spoke with [Estonian Prime Minister] Kristen Michal about reported possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables,” he wrote on X. “NATO stands in solidarity with Allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations by Estonia and Finland, and we stand ready to provide further support." Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 26 that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is ready to offer a “platform” for possible peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine. Putin told the media Fico said during a recent meeting that "if there are any negotiations, [the Slovaks] would be happy to provide their country as a platform." Most terms suggested so far by Putin have been deemed unacceptable to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Fico is one of the few European leaders Putin has stayed friendly with since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting criticism of the Slovak leader by Zelenskiy and many Western leaders. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here . Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian is scheduled to travel to Russia on January 17, state-controlled media in Iran and Russia reported on December 26. Quoting Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali, Iran's Tasnim news agency said that “the president will visit Russia on January 17 and a cooperation agreement between the two countries will be signed during the visit." Russia and Iran both are under severe financial sanctions imposed by Western nations and have stepped up bilateral cooperation on many fronts in recent years. The West has accused Iran of providing weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine. Tehran has denied the allegations despite evidence widespread use of Iranian-made drones in the war. SARAJEVO -- Bosnia-Herzegovina’s security minister has been arrested on charges of money-laundering, abuse of office, and accepting bribes, the Balkan nation’s prosecutor’s office said. The minister, Nenad Nesic, was among seven people arrested on similar charges, the office said on December 26. The charges stem from an investigation by the Bosnian state prosecutor and the Interior Ministry of Bosnia's ethnic-Serb entity, Republika Srpska, into suspected corruption at the Roads of RS (Putevi RS) public company, where Nesic was general manager from 2016 to 2020. The company's current general manager, Milan Dakic, was also among those arrested, prosecutors said. The company did not immediately comment. Nesic, 46, has been Bosnia’s security minister since 2022. When asked by reporters about the case as he was entering an East Sarajevo police station, Nesic said only that "I continue to fight for Republika Srpska," according to Reuters. Nesic is president of the Democratic People's Alliance (DNS), which is in a coalition with Milorad Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). Dodik, who is president of Republika Srpska, claimed on social media that this was an "unacceptable procedure" and a "persecution of cadres" from the Bosnian government. The pro-Russia Dodik is under sanctions imposed by the United States and Britain for his efforts to undermine the Dayton agreements that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war. He is currently facing trial himself on charges he failed to comply with the decisions of international High Representative Christian Schmidt. Ethnic Serb lawmakers this week said Dodik's trial was political and based on illegal decisions by the high representative. They claimed that the court was unconstitutional because it was set up by Schmidt and not by the Dayton agreement. Since the Dayton peace accords were put into effect, the country has consisted of a Bosniak-Croat federation and the mostly ethnic Serb Republika Srpska under a weak central government, where Nesic holds the security portfolio. Israel carried out large-scale air strikes on the main airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on December 26 as it steps up attacks on the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels in what Tehran called a “violation” of peace and security. Huthi rebels said three people were killed and 14 were injured or missing following the Israeli attacks on the airport and other sites in Yemen, including port facilities. "Fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Huthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. The attacks followed recent rocket launches by the Huthi fighters against the Tel Aviv area, although little damage was reported. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli strikes on Yemen, calling them "aggressions" that it claimed were "a clear violation of international peace and security." It said they represented "an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen," who had "not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine." The Israeli military has said air strikes in Yemen are targeting Huthi sites that have been used to receive Iranian weapons, which are then often transported to other Tehran-linked groups in the Mideast -- mainly Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hamas has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, while Hezbollah has also been deemed a terrorist group by Washington. The EU blacklists its military arm but not its political wing. The U.S. State Department designated the Huthis as a terrorist group at the start of this year. Hamas and Hezbollah have been severely weakened following massive Israeli military strikes on their respective sites in Gaza and Lebanon, and most of their leaders have been killed in Israel's military response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes would continue against the Huthi rebels, who have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea, claiming they are in solidarity of Hamas fighters in Gaza. "We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil. We will continue until the job is done," Netanyahu said in a video statement. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus -- head of the World Health Organization who was at the Sanaa airport during the Israeli attack -- said he was safe but that "one of our plane's crew members was injured.” A Pakistani military court has sentenced 60 people to prison terms ranging between two and 10 years over violent protests that erupted after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2023, the army’s media wing said on December 26. The defendants, who included a relative of Khan as well as two retired military officers, were sentenced in connection with attacks on military facilities. Twenty-five other people were sentenced on the same charges on December 21. They have the right to appeal the sentences, the military’s media wing said in a statement. Protests erupted across Pakistan in May 2023 when Khan was arrested during his court appearance on corruption charges that he and his supporters deny. Thousands of Khan’s supporters ransacked military facilities and stormed government buildings. Several people were killed, and dozens were injured in the unrest. At least 1,400 protesters, including leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party were arrested following the riots. But only 105 of those detained faced military trials. PTI condemned the sentencing, and said the court had violated the defendants’ rights. The United States expressed deep concern about the sentences, while Britain said that trying civilians in military courts "lacks transparency, independent scrutiny, and undermines the right to a fair trial.” The European Union said the sentences are "inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” Kazakh experts are due to arrive on December 27 to examine the crash site and black box of the ill-fated Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet, as speculation – and evidence – mounted suggesting that a Russian air defense missile may have inadvertently struck the craft. Even as the probe intensifies, countries with victims aboard the plane – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan -- continue to mourn their dead and treat the injured among the 67 passengers and crew who were aboard when the Embraer 190 aircraft fell from the sky on December 25. The plane went down on a scheduled flight from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia's Chechnya region after it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 and injuring 29, many with severe burns suffered in the flaming crash. Speculation swirled around the tragedy, with some experts pointing to holes seen in the plane’s tail section as a possible sign that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems engaged in thwarting Ukrainian drone attacks. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told news agencies that indications suggest a Russian antiaircraft system struck the airliner, although the official provided no details. Canada expressed concerns about reports that Russian air defenses may have caused the crash. "We call on Russia to allow for an open and transparent investigation into the incident and to accept its findings," the Canadian Global Affairs office said on X. Evidence, yet to be corroborated by authorities, includes footage from inside the plane before the crash, images of the planes hole-pocked tail section after the crash, a survivor’s comments, and accounts indicating that there was a suspected drone attack around the time the plane apparently tried to land in Grozny. Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia. It was not immediately clear where the black box would be examined. The process can be highly technical, and not all countries have the resources to undertake such work. Gulag Aslanli, a leader of Azerbaijan's opposition Musavat movement, told RFE/RL that an international commission was needed to investigate the incident. "Russia cannot be allowed there," he said. "If the black box is going to be taken to Russia and examined there, I will look at its outcome with suspicion." Talgat Lastaev, Kazakhstan's vice minister of transport, told RFE/RL that experts are scheduled to arrive at the site on December 27 to assess the next steps regarding the black box. Officials said it typically takes about two weeks to fully assess a black box, although various conditions can alter that time frame. Commenting on unconfirmed reports that the plane may have been shot down by a missile, Kazakh Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbaev said it was “not possible” to say what may have damaged the aircraft until the investigation is finished. "Real experts are looking at all this and they will make their conclusions. Neither Kazakhstan, Russia, nor Azerbaijan, of course, is interested in hiding information, it will be brought to the public," Ashimbaev said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made a similar comment, saying: "We need to await the end of the investigation.” It was “wrong” to speculate before the investigators gave their findings, Peskov added. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted officials as saying the plane, commissioned in 2013, had passed a maintenance check in October and that the pilot had "vast experience," with more than 15,000 flying hours. Azerbaijan Airlines President Samir Rzayev also told reporters the plane had been fully serviced in October and that there was no sign of technical malfunction. But he said it was too early to determine a cause: "The plane has been found with a black box. After detailed research, all aspects will be clear." The airline suspended flights along the route of the crash pending completion of the investigation. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also said it was too early to determine a cause but at one point had suggested bad weather could have contributed to the crash. The office of Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General said that "all possible scenarios are being examined." As the first seven survivors arrived back in the country on December 26, Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning. Burials of four of those who lost their lives were conducted during the day, with additional funerals expected in the coming hours and days. National flags were flown at half-mast across Azerbaijan, and signals were sounded from vehicles, ships, and trains as the nation observed a moment of silence at noon to honor the victims of the plane crash. Officials in Baku said the wounded arrived on a special flight arranged by Azerbaijan's Emergency Affairs Ministry and that the injured were accompanied by medical professionals. There was no immediate word on the condition of the injured, who were among 29 survivors from the crash, many of whom suffered severe burn wounds. Ayhan Solomon, Azerbaijan’s chief consul in Aqtau, told reporters that 26 of those killed were Azerbaijani citizens. He said initial reports indicate that 16 Azerbaijani citizens survived. “Of those, 10 to 12 are in good condition and others remain critically stable,” he added. Azerbaijan Airlines' supervisory board said on December 26 that the families of those killed will be compensated with 40,000 manats ($23,460), while those injured would receive 20,000 manats ($11,730). Along with the 42 Azerbaijani citizens, those aboard Flight J2-8243 were listed as 16 Russian nationals, six from Kazakhstan, and three Kyrgyz citizens, officials said. The survivors include nine Russian citizens, who were flown to Moscow on December 26 by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry. Three of the Russian survivors were in critical condition, according to Russian health authorities. Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev -- who is in charge of a special government commission to investigate the incident -- said many of those who died in the crash were not immediately identifiable due to massive burns suffered. Bozymbaev said the 29 survivors had injuries ranging from moderate to severe, with many also suffering from major burns. According to Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry, the injured included at least two children and 11 people had been placed in intensive care. The United States and European Union on December 25 condemned plans by ethnic-Serb leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina to block efforts for closer European integration for the Western Balkan nation. Lawmakers in the country’s ethnic-Serb entity, Republika Srpska, late on December 24 ordered Serb representatives in state institutions to block decision-making actions and law changes needed for the country's further integration into the EU. In response, the embassies of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, along with the EU delegation in Bosnia, in a joint statement condemned the Serb parliament's acts as "a serious threat to the country's constitutional order." "At a time when formal opening of EU accession negotiations has never been so close, a return to political blockades would have negative consequences for all citizens, a majority of whom support EU accession," the statement said. The Republika Srpska parliament announced the actions in response to the trial of regional leader Milorad Dodik, who is under U.S. and British sanctions for actions that Western governments allege are aimed at the eventual secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dodik is on trial in a long-delayed, ongoing process on charges he failed to comply with the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia. He faces up to five years in prison and a ban on participating in politics if convicted. Ethnic Serb lawmakers said Dodik's trial was political and based on illegal decisions by international High Representative Christian Schmidt. They claimed that the court was unconstitutional because it was set up by Schmidt and not by the Dayton agreement. Since the Dayton peace accords that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian War, the country has consisted of a Bosniak-Croat federation and the mostly ethnic Serb Republika Srpska under a weak central government. Dodik, who is friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has often made somewhat contradictory comments about his entity's place in Bosnia. He has denied it has ever pursued a policy of secession or disputed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia under the Dayton agreement. He has said, however, that Republika Srpska "has the right to a political fight for its status” under the Dayton accords. He has also called for the “disassociation” of Republika Srpska from Bosnia -- which Washington called “secession by another name.” PRISTINA -- A special panel in Kosovo overturned a decision by the election commission that had barred the country's largest ethnic-Serbian party from participating in upcoming elections due to its strong links with Belgrade. "The Central Election Commission (CEC) is ordered to certify the political entity Serbian List and the candidates of this political entity...for the elections for the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo to be held on February 9, 2025," the Electoral Complaints and Appeals Panel (ECAP) said on December 25. The ruling stated that the party had fulfilled all obligations required regarding the political filings and was therefore entitled to be certified. On December 23, the CEC said when it announced its decision not to certify Serbian List that its main reason was the party's nationalistic stance and close ties to Serbia. Some commission members noted that Serbian List leader Zlatan Elek has never referred to Kosovo as independent and continues to call it Serbia's autonomous province of Kosovo. The CEC also said that Serbian List has close ties with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and other Serb leaders who also refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence. Serbia has close ties to Russia and has refused to join international sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, although Vucic has attempted to balance relations with the West and has continued to press Belgrade's desires to join the European Union. Elek on December 24 said he planned to appeal the order and said he was confident it would be overturned. The Serbian List -- which described the CEC decision as an attempt "to eliminate" it from the electoral process -- welcomed the latest ruling. The party said the CEC is now obliged to act on the PZAP decision but added it remains to be seen whether the commission will "continue to violate its own law and regulations and act on direct political pressure from the authorities in Pristina." The February parliamentary elections are expected to be a key test for Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose party came to power in 2021 in a landslide in the Western-backed Balkan nation. Prior to the ECAP ruling, political analyst Albert Krasniqi of the Demokraci+ NGO told RFE/RL that the CEC decision is part of the preelection campaign being conducted by Kurti’s Self-Determination party (Vetevendosje). He forecast that Serbian List would appeal the decision and predicted it would be successful in getting it reversed. “All this noise will last at most four days, and I am sure that the ECAP will reverse this decision of the CEC and will oblige the CEC to certify Serbian List,” Krasniqi said. Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade still considers Kosovo a province of Serbia and has a major influence on the ethnic Serbian minority living there. Authorities declared a region-wide state of emergency in Russia's Krasnodar region, warning that oil was still washing up on the coastline following a December 15 incident involving two Volgoneft tankers carrying thousands of tons of low-quality heavy fuel oil. "Initially, according to the calculations of scientists and specialists, the bulk of fuel oil should have remained at the bottom of the Black Sea, which would allow it to be collected in water. But the weather dictates its own conditions -- the air warms up and oil products rise to the top. As a result, they are brought to our beaches," regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on December 25. Dozens of kilometers of Black Sea coastline in the southern Russian region have been covered in heavy fuel after the two oil tankers were badly damaged during a storm in the Kerch Strait. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here .A representative of the United States-backed faction in Syria's resurgent civil war has warned that the Islamic State militant group ( ISIS ) was poised to take advantage of the nationwide chaos brought on by a large-scale rebel offensive that has reversed years of government gains. The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Turkey-backed Syrian National Army launched their surprise push last week and have since seized the country's second-largest city of Aleppo, Hama to the south, and appear to be closing in the strategically located Homs. Unrest has spread elsewhere in the country as well, with Syrian troops reportedly leaving their positions in the east and ISIS rapidly moving in. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which leads the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) with the support of United States troops, has mobilized to defend against both Turkey-backed rebels and ISIS on two fronts as the Syrian military's lines of control collapse. "The Syrian Democratic Forces are concerned about the social structure of the Syrian people in the areas controlled by the Authority and the factions supported by Turkey," Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the SDF-affiliated Syrian Democratic Council in Washington, told Newsweek . "This concern is also reflected in our areas." "The dramatic collapse of the regime forces creates a vacuum that will certainly be exploited by the Islamic State organization ISIS, which still poses a threat to the region as a whole," she said. The SDF and Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad and backed by Iran and Russia, have alternatively clashed and allied with one another at times. Both sides view rebels and ISIS as a threat to their respective positions. They waged largely separate offensives to defeat ISIS after it seized large parts of the country a decade ago. While these campaigns largely dismantled ISIS' self-proclaimed caliphate, the group has retained militant cells in the country and thousands of fighters and families remain held in SDF-led prisons. ISIS has also stepped up attacks abroad in recent years, particularly through its Afghanistan-based Khorasan branch. In Syria, both Syrian troops and SDF forces have operated in the northeast alongside their respective allies. However, with Syrian troops appearing to abandon their positions adjacent to SDF-held territory amid the rebel offensive in the northwest, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami announced Friday that the group had deployed fighters to secure the key eastern city of Deir Ezzor. "The developments taking place in our homeland, Syria, pose a threat to the security of our people and our Deir Ezzor region," Shami said in a statement. "In particular, Turkish occupation-backed mercenary groups and ISIS mercenaries are reactive in the Deir Ezzor desert." "Accordingly, in order to protect our people, our Deir Ezzor Military Council fighters were deployed in the Deir Ezzor city and west of the Euphrates River," he added. "Our primary objective is to protect our security and the security of our people. We are committed to fulfilling this historic mission to the fullest extent." The SDF had also attempted to secure defensive positions in majority-Kurdish areas of Aleppo, Tel Rifaat and al-Shibah, but rebels appear to have severed links between these regions and the AANES. At the same time, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's political wing, the Syrian Salvation Government, issued a statement last Saturday promising to guarantee the security of Kurdish communities. Still, large numbers of Kurdish people have evacuated toward SDF-held territory. Mohamad said the Syrian Democratic Council was aware of the rebels' vows to respect Syrian diversity but was also preparing for any outcome, including through close coordination with the U.S. "As for the other factions involved under the leadership of the Authority, we see and receive a promise for the sake of Syria for all, but we are waiting for words to turn into actions," Mohamad said. "We are ready for all scenarios, and certainly the safety of our people is at the top of our priorities," she continued. "As for Washington, it is aware of what is happening in Syria and the extent of the risks, and we have open channels with them regarding the issues of combating terrorism and terrorist organizations." She said that the SDF has opted to remain focused on the battle against ISIS. "The Syrian Democratic Forces have never fought or attacked any force in Syria except those terrorist organizations," Mohamad said. "The SDF has taken the position of defending the gains of the people in northeastern Syria and has closely monitored the latest situation in Syria. The SDF will not fight on behalf of anyone in order to achieve the political interests of others." The rebel advances mark the most dramatic shifts in years for Syria's civil war, which began in 2011 after anti-government protests and crackdowns by security forces devolved into armed conflict. Then, too, the Syrian government lost control of key cities and swathes of territory, only to reverse these losses later into the conflict. But the successive losses of Aleppo and Hama to insurgents and the imminent threat of losing Homs puts Assad in one of the most precarious positions throughout the 13-year conflict. An insurgent capture of Homs would leave Syria's western coastline, a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect, isolated from the rest of the nation and allow the opposition forces to also push toward the government-held capital of Damascus to the south. Iran and factions of its Axis of Resistance coalition, particularly Iraq-based militias such as the Nujaba Movement, have pledged their support for Assad. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Hezbollah, long considered the most powerful Axis of Resistance faction that played a key role in past Syrian government offensives against rebels, is today reeling from a 14-month battle with Israel in connection with the ongoing war in Gaza. Assad's government has continued to express confidence in its ability to mount a counterattack against the rebels with the aid of its allies, including Russia, whose warplanes continue to strike insurgents. "Our valiant armed forces are carrying out a qualitative operation towards Dar al-Kabira - Talbiseh - Rastan in the northern countryside of Homs, with cover from the joint Syrian-Russian aircraft, artillery, missiles and armored forces, eliminating dozens of terrorists amidst a state of panic, confusion and mass flight in their ranks, and destroying a large number of their vehicles, equipment and weapons," the Syrian Defense Ministry in a statement said Friday. Omar Rahmoun, the spokesperson for Syria's National Reconciliation Committee, said that Moscow and Tehran remained committed to the Syrian government's defense. "The position of Russia and Iran for fourteen years and until now is a fixed position in standing by the Syrian state and supporting it against the Takfiri groups," Rahmoun told Newsweek , referring to Sunni Islamists who consider other sects of Islam such as Alawites and other Shiite Muslims to be apostates. "Both countries confirmed their position in support of Syria," he added, "especially in light of the recent developments." Rahmoun also said that the Syrian government has received "Arab support" as well in light of recent calls between Assad and the heads of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. As for Turkey and the U.S., he argued that both nations "have a major role in arming and supporting the opposition, especially in the recent attack." "Turkish support for the factions is clear, even if Turkey denies it because Turkey has ambitions in Syrian territory," Rahmoun said. "It seeks to achieve its goals under the banner of supporting the opposition. Certainly, the recent attack will make the solution difficult, complicate matters, and reduce the chances of a political solution." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly criticized the U.S. for its support of the SDF, which Ankara considers to be an offshoot of the militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). Turkish forces and partnered rebel groups such as the Syrian National Army have conducted attacks against SDF positions throughout the war. The U.S., which is allied to Turkey through NATO , has occasionally condemned such attacks but has largely directed its operations against ISIS and Iran-backed militias that have stepped up rocket and drone attacks against U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria throughout the conflict in Gaza. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Tuesday that it had conducted strikes against weapons systems after a rocket attack against U.S. troops at a position in eastern Syria. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder asserted that defeating ISIS remained the goal of the U.S. deployment in Syria and its partnership with the SDF. "Our forces are in Syria to conduct a counter-ISIS operation, right, the enduring defeat of ISIS. They have partnered with the SDF on those missions," Ryder said. "Certainly, they communicate with the SDF on a frequent basis, as partners do. But our forces in that region were threatened. We took action to mitigate that threat and will do so again." He asserted that the U.S. had "no role" in the situation in northwestern Syria and also did not actively coordinate with the SDF on its seizure of government-held positions in the east, where he said he was so far unaware of any "significant" ISIS operations. "Our forces are in Syria to conduct the enduring defeat of ISIS mission," Ryder said. "We're doing that in partnership with the SDF. And I'm just going to leave it there."

The New York Rangers have agreed to an expensive contract extension with star, Vezina-Winning netminder Igor “Shesty” Shesterkin. According to ESPN and TSNs Kevin Weekes on X this afternoon, alongside ESPN hockey reporter Emily Kaplan, the extension is eight years. It is worth between $11.5M and $12M per year. This would outstrip the 2024-25 cap hits of very excellent and expensive current NHL goalies. Montreal Canadiens legend Carey Prices cap hit this year is 10.5M. Florida Panthers star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who played a large role in the Cats first Stanley Cup championship last year, has a $10M AAV this year. “Breaking news. Breaking news. I’m told the Rangers have signed an eight-year extension, in principle, with Igor Shesterkin. Let’s go,” Weekes said in a video included in the post. New York Rangers Goalie Igor Shesterkin History It is safe to say Shesty has earned this expensive contract, finishing all four of his Broadway Blueshirts playoffs so far with at least a .900 save percentage in each, in addition to his great regular seasons. His playoff peak save percentage was .931 in 2022-23. The 28-year-old Moscow native has played in two NHL All-Star Games, and notched four shutouts last regular season. But 2021-22 was when the New York Rangers goalie brought home the crown jewel of goaltending awards, the Vezina Trophy, also won by Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist nine years prior. He notched a 2.09 goals-against average and .935 save percentage, the second being the highest regular-season save percentage of his NHL career. The Cats Sergei Bobrovsky is a goalie of Shesty’s caliber and we see an eight-figure cap hit for him, so if paying Shesty $1.5M or $2M more will affect the goalie market in any way, so be it. The already great Rangers skaters should feel more confident and thus better with a netminder like Shesterkin sitting behind them. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday started examining four cases that turn on how far social media should be regulated, and what responsibilities platforms have in cracking down on illegal content. The judicial review comes a month after the same court forced Elon Musk's X platform to obey rulings aimed at battling online disinformation. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

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