UK to ban Russia’s Wagner Group as ‘terrorist’ organization: reports

Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman makes a statement on the court of appeal's decision to support an appeal rejecting the government's immigration policy on sending mgrants to Rwanda, in the House of Commons. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 06 September 2023
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UK to ban Russia’s Wagner Group as ‘terrorist’ organization: reports

  • “Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas,” the newspaper quoted Braverman as saying

LONDON: Britain is to ban Russian mercenary outfit the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, media reports said on Tuesday, quoting Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
The UK was set to make the Wagner Group a “proscribed” organization under anti-terror laws, putting it on a par with Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, a report in the Daily Mail said.
“Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas,” the newspaper quoted Braverman as saying.
“While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals.”
Under the Terrorism Act 2000 the home secretary has the power to proscribe an organization if they believe it is involved in terrorism.
A proscription order makes it a criminal offense to support the group.
“They are terrorists, plain and simple — and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law,” a BBC report added, quoting the minister.
“Wagner has been involved in looting, torture and barbarous murders,” Braverman added in the Daily Mail.
The group’s operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa “are a threat to global security,” she said.
“That is why we are proscribing this terrorist organization and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its fight against Russia.”
Draft measures to ban the Wagner Group under the act will be laid in Parliament on Wednesday, the reports said.
In July, Britain announced sanctions against 13 individuals and businesses it said had links to the Russian group in Africa, accusing it of crimes there including killings and torture.
The people and entities targeted — which are no longer able to deal with UK citizens, companies and banks, and have any UK assets frozen — were allegedly involved in Wagner’s activities in Mali, Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan.
They included the purported head of Wagner in Mali, Ivan Aleksandrovitch Maslov; its chief in CAR, Vitalii Viktorovitch Perfilev; and the group’s operations head there, Konstantin Aleksandrovitch Pikalov.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died last month in a plane crash, had already been sanctioned by Britain alongside several of his key commanders who had participated in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin — a Kremlin confidant turned “traitor” — died two months after ordering his troops to topple Russia’s military leadership.
 

 


Harvard loses another $450 million in grants in escalating battle with Trump administration

Updated 5 min 10 sec ago
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Harvard loses another $450 million in grants in escalating battle with Trump administration

  • A federal antisemitism task force said Harvard will lose grants from eight federal agencies
  • Harvard has faced escalating sanctions from the White House after becoming the first US university to openly defy the government’s demands to limit pro-Palestinian activism

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration is cutting another $450 million in grants to Harvard University a day after the Ivy League school pushed back against government allegations that it’s a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism.

In a letter to Harvard on Tuesday, a federal antisemitism task force said Harvard will lose grants from eight federal agencies in addition to $2.2 billion that was previously frozen by the Trump administration.

The letter said Harvard has become a “breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination” and faces a “steep, uphill battle” to reclaim its legacy as a place of academic excellence.

“There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support,” the letter said.

It was signed by officials at the Education Department, Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration.

University officials did not immediately provide comment on the letter.

Harvard has faced escalating sanctions from the White House after becoming the first US university to openly defy the government’s demands to limit pro-Palestinian activism and end diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Trump, a Republican, has said he wants Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, and the Department of Homeland Security has threatened to revoke the school’s eligibility to host foreign students.

Last week, the Education Department said Harvard will receive no new federal grants until it meets the government’s demands.

The Trump administration has demanded Harvard make broad leadership changes, revise its admissions policies and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many viewpoints.

The demands are part of a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities. The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, seeking compliance with Trump’s agenda.

Harvard is suing to block the federal funding freeze.

Harvard President Alan Garber disputed the government’s allegations in a Monday letter, saying Harvard is nonpartisan and has taken steps to root out antisemitism on campus. He insisted that Harvard is in compliance with the law, calling the federal sanctions an “unlawful attempt to control fundamental aspects of our university’s operations.”

The government’s letter on Tuesday said Harvard has repeatedly failed to address racial discrimination and antisemitism on campus. It cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down Harvard’s use of race in the admissions process, along with a recent internal report at Harvard detailing cases of antisemitic harassment.

___ Collin Binkley has covered Harvard for nearly a decade — most of the time living half a mile from its campus.


Trump to meet with Syria’s Al-Sharaa as he weighs easing sanctions after Assad’s overthrow

Updated 4 sec ago
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Trump to meet with Syria’s Al-Sharaa as he weighs easing sanctions after Assad’s overthrow

  • Trump said he’s weighing removing US sanctions on the Syrian government

RIYADH: President Donald Trump will meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad.
“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said.
The US has been weighing how to handle Al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran’s return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad’s government during a decade-long civil war.
Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.
As he prepared to leave Washington, Trump said he’s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian government.
“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.
The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, Al-Sharaa joined the ranks of Al-Qaeda insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003 and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.
Al-Sharaa, whom the US once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to Al-Qaeda, came back to his home country after the conflict began in 2011 where he led Al-Qaeda’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and cut links with Al-Qaeda.


Bulgarian parliament rejects president’s euro referendum proposal

Updated 41 min 30 sec ago
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Bulgarian parliament rejects president’s euro referendum proposal

  • Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution
  • The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro
Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution
The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro

SOFIA: The speaker of the Bulgarian national assembly Nataliya Kiselova has dismissed President Rumen Radev’s proposal for a national referendum on adopting the euro, saying it violated the constitution, the BTA news agency reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, Radev had suggested a referendum on Bulgaria’s plans to adopt the euro next year with the question: “Do you agree that Bulgaria should introduce the single European currency ‘euro’ in 2026?” His proposal was criticized by the government, with one minister saying it was an attempt to sabotage its efforts to join the single currency.

Sending back the proposal, Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution and related European Union treaties, and was inconsistent with rulings from the country’s constitutional court.

The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro.

The government aims to adopt the euro next January, pending confirmation from the European Commission and the European Central Bank in June that all membership criteria have been met.

Economists say that Bulgaria, whose lev currency has long been pegged to the euro, would attract more foreign investment if it adopted the single currency and would secure credit ratings upgrades that could cut its debt financing costs.

However, Bulgarians are split on the euro’s adoption, with concerns that it might lead to price hikes, similar to what occurred in Croatia when it switched to the euro in 2023.

Germany’s Merz: EU to tighten sanctions on Russia if no progress on Ukraine this week

Updated 13 May 2025
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Germany’s Merz: EU to tighten sanctions on Russia if no progress on Ukraine this week

  • Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia
  • “I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable“

BERLIN: The European Union is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if progress on ending the war in Ukraine is not made this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday, adding a new package of sanctions was prepared.

“We are waiting for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s agreement and we agree that if there is no real progress this week, we want to work together at European level for a significant tightening of sanctions,” Merz said at a news conference with his Greek counterpart.

“We will be looking at other areas, such as the energy sector and also the financial market,” he said.

Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia in Istanbul this week on the condition that Russian bombardment and attacks on civilians in Ukraine must stop.

While saying he admired Zelensky’s willingness to compromise if it could help a ceasefire, Merz added:

“I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable,” said Merz.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the EU must be at the center of any peace settlement.


Putin ‘doesn’t dare’ meet Zelensky in Istanbul: EU’s Kallas

Updated 13 May 2025
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Putin ‘doesn’t dare’ meet Zelensky in Istanbul: EU’s Kallas

  • The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations
  • Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks

COPENHAGEN: The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday she didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would turn up for talks in Turkiye this week with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.

Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks that the Kremlin leader himself suggested, but Moscow has so far declined to respond to the invitation.

“I think it’s a good move if they sit down,” Kallas told a democracy conference in Copenhagen, adding: “But I don’t think he dares, Putin.”

“It has been over two months since Ukraine agreed to an unconditional ceasefire,” she said.

“Russia is clearly playing games, trying to find time, hoping that time is on their side. We haven’t seen any good efforts or good signs from their side.”

Ukraine said Tuesday that a Putin no-show would be a clear sign that Moscow is not serious about peace.

“If Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkiye, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement.