MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Asma Assad, the British-born wife of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, wanted a divorce and to leave Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected Turkish media reports which suggested that Assad had been confined to Moscow and had his property assets frozen.
Asked on a conference call if the reports corresponded to reality, Peskov said: “No they do not correspond to reality.”
Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia, where the Assad family were granted asylum this month after militants took control of Damascus following a lightning advance.
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Kremlin rejects media reports about Asma, Assad’s wife, seeking divorce and wanting to leave Russia
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Kremlin rejects media reports about Asma, Assad’s wife, seeking divorce and wanting to leave Russia
- Turkish and Arabic media reported on Sunday that Asma Assad had filed for divorce in Russia
Board of Deputies of British Jews member resigns over stance on Gaza
- Daniel Grossman, 21, said the UK’s largest Jewish body ‘failed to act morally’ over Israel’s war
- Grossman among 36 elected members to sign letter to the BoD demanding it respect ‘Jewish values’ and ‘speak out’ about the war
LONDON: A member of the UK’s Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest official Jewish organization in the country, has resigned over its position on Gaza.
Daniel Grossman, 21, is among 36 elected members of the BoD who signed an open letter last month saying “Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out” about Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory, adding: “Israel’s soul is being ripped out.”
Grossman, a student at Bristol University, subsequently left the organization, and said that the BoD had “failed to act morally and failed to represent the increasing diversity of opinion within the British Jewish community” on the issue, adding it was trying to “stifle dissent.”
He told The Guardian: “It’s very simple. They (the BoD) are refusing to explicitly and publicly condemn Israel’s genocidal assault in Gaza and to criticize the (Israeli) government for abandoning the hostages, who have been in captivity for far too long.
“Increasing numbers of people are recognizing that Israel’s actions in Gaza cannot be justified as purely self-defense. They seemingly want to declare a perpetual war against Palestinian civilians with the goal of ethnically cleansing them from the Gaza Strip.”
Following the publication of the letter, the BoD, which has 300 elected representatives, began disciplinary proceedings against the 36 signatories. An investigation into their conduct is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
Grossman, who said that he grew up in a normal Jewish community in the UK, described the months since the attack on southern Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, as “a journey for me,” adding it had become “increasingly clear that the way the Israeli government is acting is not acceptable by any measure.”
Following his resignation from the BoD, he told the Guardian: “More people were sympathetic than I expected, and it has genuinely astonished me. Lots of these people may not feel able to speak out themselves, they might find it difficult with friends or family. But people have reached out to me.
“A huge shift is happening. The diversity of opinion in the Jewish community is becoming increasingly clear,” he said.
“My 89-year-old grandmother, who was a refugee during the Holocaust, said I had done the right thing and she is proud of me for speaking up.”
A BoD spokesperson told The Guardian: “Daniel’s term as a deputy was due to end in a few weeks with him having been replaced by another representative from the Union of Jewish Students. We wish him well with his future endeavours.”
Merz says Germany will ‘do everything’ to prevent Nord Stream restart
- “We will continue to increase the pressure on Russia,” Merz said
- “We will do everything in this context to ensure that Nord Stream 2 cannot be put back into operation“
BERLIN: Germany will “do everything” to make sure the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia will not resume deliveries of natural gas to Europe, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday.
“We will continue to increase the pressure on Russia,” Merz said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin.
“We will do everything in this context to ensure that Nord Stream 2 cannot be put back into operation.”
The Nord Stream 2 gas link connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea was damaged in September 2022 by huge underwater explosions, said to be an act of sabotage.
The explosions destroyed one of the two pipes of Nord Stream 2 and both branches of its controversial sister pipeline, Nord Stream 1.
While Nord Stream 2 never went into operation, Nord Stream 1 for years shipped cheap Russian gas to Europe via Germany.
Critics have argued the existence of the pipeline left Germany and the rest of Europe overly reliant on fossil fuel deliveries from Moscow.
German and British media have recently reported that Washington and Moscow had discussed the idea of reviving the Nord Stream 2 project during talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
Senior political figures in Merz’s own party had also expressed tentative support for restarting gas deliveries via the pipeline from Russia before the chancellor definitively ruled out the possibility.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month the bloc was working on a new set of sanctions that would include measures against Nord Stream 1 and 2, pre-empting a restart.
Explaining the measures, EU spokeswoman Paula Pinho said, “the idea is to dissuade any interest, and notably interest from investors, in pursuing any activity on Nord Stream, also in the future.”
Andrew Tate and brother charged with rape: UK prosecutors
- Andrew Tate and his brother have been charged in the UK with several counts of rape, assault and trafficking
LONDON: Avowed misogynist and social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have been charged with several counts of rape, assault and trafficking, UK prosecutors said Wednesday.
The accusations, which date back to between 2012 to 2015, were authorized by the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2024, but have only been revealed now.
Former kickboxer Tate, 38, faces 10 charges in the UK including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution relating to three women.
His brother, Tristan, 36, has been accused of 11 similar charges against one woman.
“A European arrest warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate,” prosecutors said in a statement.
“However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.”
Andrew Tate is facing legal action in several countries, including some cases where he is accused alongside his brother.
In Romania, the Tate brothers face separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
Both men, who have dual British-US nationality, have denied all charges against them.
Andrew Tate, the figurehead of the online masculinist movement, traveled to Florida with his brother in February, marking the first time they had left Romania since their 2022 arrest.
Romanian prosecutors allege that the brothers and two women set up a criminal organization in Romania in 2021 and sexually exploited several victims.
In a separate civil case in the United Kingdom, four British women have accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control.
Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in Britain.
He leapt to fame in 2016 when he appeared on the “Big Brother” UK reality television show, but was removed after a controversial video emerged.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his often misogynistic and divisive views on how to be successful.
Tate is followed by more than 10.7 million people on the social network X, where he shares his angry vision of masculinity and often homophobic and racist posts.
Extremist violence and coups test West Africa ECOWAS bloc at 50
- Extremist violence has surged this year in Nigeria and the Sahel region, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — nations that have recently seceded from ECOWAS
- Established on May 28, 1975, ECOWAS aimed to promote regional economic integration, security cooperation, human rights, and democratic governance
LAGOS: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) faces growing threats of terrorism, climate change, military coups, and poverty, its most senior official said on Wednesday as leaders marked 50 years since the bloc’s formation in Nigeria.
Extremist violence has surged this year in Nigeria and the Sahel region, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — nations that have recently seceded from ECOWAS in protest over sanctions following military coups.
“We are confronting the greatest challenges we face today, terrorism, climate change and unconstitutional change of government, poverty and economic disparities,” ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray said, expressing confidence in overcoming the challenges.
Established on May 28, 1975, ECOWAS aimed to promote regional economic integration, security cooperation, human rights, and democratic governance.
However, five decades later, military juntas in founding member states Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have disassociated from the bloc, saying it no longer serves their interests.
The countries have formed their own Alliance of Sahel States and a confederation, cut military and diplomatic ties with Western powers and sought closer cooperation with Russia.
Touray said ECOWAS would continue trying to cooperate with the three countries.
Security and political analysts said curbing insecurity was crucial for ECOWAS to fulfill its promise of prosperity and lift millions from poverty.
Beverly Ochieng, senior analyst at Control Risk in Dakar, Senegal, said: “If you don’t have security, then of course it means that you cannot guarantee a robust economy in the region.”
Analysts also criticized ECOWAS for its silence when leaders controversially amend constitutions to extend their rule, leading to citizens applauding military coups.
They cited the recent example of Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbe, who was granted the influential new role of President of the Council of Ministers with no fixed term limit — a move opposition parties labelled a constitutional coup potentially extending his rule indefinitely.
Power outage hits Gabonese capital
- SEEG said it had managed to restore power to around half of its customers in the capital
- For several months last year, electricity supply was disrupted due to significant infrastructure problems
LIBERVILLE: Gabon’s capital Libreville was without electricity for several hours Wednesday following a “major technical incident,” the national energy supplier said.
The early morning power outage “resulted in the loss of all production facilities in the Libreville Interconnected Network (RIC),” the Gabonese Water and Energy Company (SEEG) said without giving further details.
SEEG said it had managed to restore power to around half of its customers in the capital “by early morning,” adding its teams were working to find and analyze the fault, which AFP reporters said also cut Internet and mobile phone coverage.
On Monday, the Gabonese presidency had announced the end of an interim administration of SEEG started in August on the back of a slew of supply cuts.
As of Wednesday, “management of SEEG will be fully transferred” and it will return to its majority shareholder, the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund (FGIS), the company stated.
For several months last year, electricity supply was disrupted due to significant infrastructure problems.
A rotating load shedding system was established leading to supply cuts in entire neighborhoods for hours at a time, to enable power supply for other parts of the city.
A protocol signed between the Gabonese government and Turkish firm Karpowership for supply of 70 megawatts via two floating power plants to cover greater Libreville saw the situation improve in recent months.
Revamping the network is a top priority for Gabon’s leader Brice Oligui Nguema, a general who overthrew the Bongo dynasty and won 94.85 percent of the vote in April’s election, 19 months on from his August 2023 coup.
Earlier this month he vowed to provide “universal access” to drinking water and electricity.
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