MOSCOW: The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last week, said Thursday officials were pressuring her to agree to a “secret” burial for her son.
The Navalny case remained in the international spotlight with US President Joe Biden meeting the Russian politician’s widow and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco on Thursday.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic, said she had been shown his body in a morgue in Salekhard, the nearest town to the remote prison, after several days of being refused access.
“Yesterday evening they secretly took me to the morgue where they showed me Alexei,” she said in a video released on social media by Navalny’s team.
But she said investigators wanted her son, who was 47, to be buried “secretly, without a chance to say goodbye.
“They are blackmailing me, they put conditions for where, when and how Alexei should be buried. This is illegal,” she said.
Navalny, whose death was announced last Friday, galvanized mass protests against Putin, winning popularity with a series of investigations into state corruption.
He was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent in 2020, then jailed in 2021 after returning to Russia following a period of treatment in Germany.
He was sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges and sent to IK-3, a harsh penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle known as “Polar Wolf.”
Western governments and Russian opposition figures have accused the Kremlin of being responsible for Navalny’s death on February 16.
Biden met privately with the Navalny’s widow and daughter “to express his heartfelt condolences for their terrible loss,” the White House said.
The White House also backed the mother’s campaign to retrieve Navalny’s body.
“The Russians need to give her back her son,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Personal tensions between Biden and Putin increased after the US leader called his Russian counterpart a “crazy SOB” an election campaign event late Wednesday.
Putin responded with his sarcasm, referring to his recent remark that he would prefer the more “predictable” Biden over Donald Trump in the White House.
“He can’t of course say to me: Volodya, well done, thank you (for the endorsement), you’ve helped me a lot?” Putin said.
Hundreds of people have been detained in Russia in recent days at events to pay tribute to Navalny and his widow has vowed to continue his work.
Lyudmila Navalnaya traveled to Russia’s Far North the morning after Navalny’s death was announced, hoping to be able to see and retrieve her son’s body.
“They want to take me to the edge of a cemetery to a fresh grave and say: Here is where your son lies. I am against that.
“I want that for those of you for whom Alexei is dear, for everyone for whom his death became a personal tragedy, to have the possibility to say goodbye to him.”
She said she recorded the video because investigators were “threatening” her.
“Looking me in the eye, they said that if I do not agree to a secret funeral they’ll do something with my son’s body... I ask for my son’s body to be given to me immediately,” she said.
Navalny’s mother also said that investigators had told her they knew the cause of death but did not say what it was.
The Kremlin has refused to say when the body will be handed over and has branded Western accusations as “hysterical.”
Putin has remained silent on the death of his main political opponent.
Navalny’s spokesman Kira Yarmysh said that a medical report on the death shown to Lyudmila Navalnaya “stated that the cause of death was natural.”
Navalny mother says being pressured into ‘secret’ burial
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Navalny mother says being pressured into ‘secret’ burial
- The Navalny case remained in the international spotlight with US President Joe Biden meeting the Russian politician’s widow and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco
- Lyudmila Navalnaya, mother of President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic, said she had been shown his body in a morgue in Salekhard
Biden administration is giving $1 billion in new weapons and ammo to Israel, congressional aides say
Biden administration is giving $1 billion in new weapons and ammo to Israel, congressional aides say
- The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the aides said
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday.
It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be announced by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold earlier in the month. The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The congressional aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.
The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the aides said.
There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. Israel is now seven months into its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans to move the package.
House Republicans were planning this week to advance a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. Following Biden’s move to put a pause on bomb shipments last week, Republicans have been swift in their condemnation, arguing it represents the abandonment of the closest US ally in the Middle East.
The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress. The bill also has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.
In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.
“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy US security assistance consistent with US foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.
Court probing Ukraine, Gaza wars vows to defy threats
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
- In May of last year Russia put Kahn on its list of wanted persons after the court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as part of the war
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Tuesday he will not be intimidated by threats as his office probes possible war crimes in Ukraine and Gaza.
During a UN Security Council meeting on his probe into war crimes in Libya, prosecutor Karim Khan was challenged by the ambassadors of Russia and Libya, who criticized what they called his inaction as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“One wonders if the effectiveness of the ICC on this track is affected by the fact that a new bipartisan bill has been submitted to the US Congress to sanction ICC officials involved in investigating not only the US but also its allies,” said the Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzia.
Nebenzia was alluding to news reports that a bill to this end has been submitted to the US Congress.
Khan responded by citing what he said were threats against him and his office to make him halt his probes.
“We will not be swayed, whether it’s by warrants for my arrest or the arrest of elected officials of the court by the Russian Federation, or whether it’s by other elected officials in any other jurisdiction,” Khan said.
In May of last year Russia put Kahn on its list of wanted persons after the court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as part of the war.
In early May Kahn’s office said on X that the court’s “independence and impartiality are undermined, however, when individuals threaten to retaliate against the court or against court personnel.”
It did not say where the threats are coming from.
“Such threats, even not acted upon, may constitute an offense” against the ICC’s “administration of justice,” the office warned, calling for an end to such activity.
The court made this comment after US and Israeli media reports which suggested the ICC prosecutor could issue warrants against Israeli politicians including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders.
“We have a duty to stand up for justice, to stand up for victims,” Kahn said Tuesday.
“And I am fully cognizant that there are Goliaths in this room. There are Goliaths with power, with influence” he said.
He added: “We have something called the law. All I can do is say that we will stand up to the best of our ability. We will stand up by the law with integrity with independence.”
Sweltering heat across Asia was 45 times more likely because of climate change, study finds
ENGALURU, India: Sizzling heat across Asia and the Middle East in late April that echoed last year’s destructive swelter was made 45 times more likely in some parts of the continent because of human-caused climate change, a study Tuesday found.
Scorching temperatures were felt across large swaths of Asia, from Gaza in the west — where over 2 million people face clean water shortages, lack of health care and other essentials due to Israeli bombardment — to the Philippines in the southeast, with many parts of the continent experiencing temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) several days in a row.
The study was released by the World Weather Attribution group of scientists, who use established climate models to quickly determine whether human-caused climate change played a part in extreme weather events around the world.
In the Philippines, scientists found the heat was so extreme it would have been impossible without human-caused climate change. In parts of the Middle East, climate change increased the probability of the event by about a factor of five.
“People suffered and died when April temperatures soared in Asia,” said Friederike Otto, study author and climate scientist at Imperial College in London. “If humans continue to burn fossil fuels, the climate will continue to warm, and vulnerable people will continue to die.”
At least 28 heat-related deaths were reported in Bangladesh, as well as five in India and three in Gaza in April. Surges in heat deaths have also been reported in Thailand and the Philippines this year according to the study.
The heat also had a large impact on agriculture, causing crop damage and reduced yields, as well as on education, with school vacations having to be extended and schools closed in several countries, affecting thousands of students.
Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam broke records for their hottest April day, and the Philippines experienced its hottest night ever with a low of 29.8 degrees Celsius (85.6 degrees Fahrenheit). In India, temperatures reached as high as 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit). The month was the hottest April on record globally and the eleventh consecutive month in a row that broke the hottest month record.
Climate experts say extreme heat in South Asia during the pre-monsoon season is becoming more frequent and the study found that extreme temperatures are now about 0.85 degrees Celsius (1.5 Fahrenheit) hotter in the region because of climate change.
Internally displaced people, migrants and those in refugee camps were especially vulnerable to the searing temperatures, the study found.
“These findings in scientific terms are alarming,” said Aditya Valiathan Pillai, a heat plans expert at New Delhi-based think tank Sustainable Futures Collaborative. “But for people on the ground living in precarious conditions, it could be absolutely deadly.” Pillai was not part of the study.
Pillai said more awareness about heat risks, public and private investments to deal with increasing heat and more research on its impacts are all necessary to deal with future heat waves.
“I think heat is now among the foremost risks in terms of personal health for millions across the world as well as nations’ economic development,” he said.
Amsterdam university cancels classes after violence erupted at a pro-Palestinian rally
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
- The protest was one of many that sprung up around Europe following rallies across college campuses in the United States
THE HAGUE: The University of Amsterdam canceled classes Tuesday and shut buildings for two days after the latest pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the war in Gaza turned destructive.
Protests continued to simmer at several European universities where students faced off with academic authorities on whether relations with Israel should be broken off or drastically reduced, as the death toll continues to climb during the seven-month Israel-Hamas war.
Overall, the protests in Europe have failed to reach the intensity of demonstrations at several US universities.
In the Netherlands, the board at the nearly 400-year old University of Amsterdam issued a statement saying it could not guarantee the safety of anyone on campus after a group of masked agitators barricaded doors and spray painted slogans on the walls.
The mayhem on Monday followed a peaceful walkout of staff and students against the Israel-Hamas war and the university’s response to earlier protests.
“They (the university) called in the police after people wouldn’t remove their face coverings but the police came in balaclavas,” political science professor Enzo Rossio told The Associated Press, describing Monday’s events. He had returned to his office following the walkout, only for the building to be evacuated minutes later.
While standing outside the building, Rossio said he and his wife, who also works for the university, were repeatedly hit by police with batons.
Last week, police used a bulldozer to evict demonstrators from an encampment established by students who want the university to cut ties with Israel. The protest was one of many that sprung up around Europe following rallies across college campuses in the United States.
Smaller demonstrations have taken place against the war, both at the University of Amsterdam and at other Dutch universities. But last week’s protest grew into the thousands, with demonstrators chanting slogans including, “Palestine will be free!” and “Cops off campus!”
Riot police were called in multiple times to end the demonstrations, leading to aggressive confrontations. “I’ve never witnessed this kind of violence,” history student Marin Kuijt said in an interview. Kuijt said he had regularly attended climate change marches and joined the walkout on Monday to protest against the university and police response.
After the walkout, some students set up tents inside buildings, intending to occupy the spaces until the university listened to their demands. According to the University of Amsterdam, the peaceful protest was “hijacked by violent elements” who left behind “wanton destruction.”
Higher education institutions in the Netherlands published guidelines on Tuesday for student protests. They include a ban on remaining overnight, occupying buildings and wearing face coverings. Last week, the University of Amsterdam already announced it would not hold talks with any protester who refused to show their face.
In a statement, Amsterdam Student Encampment, which is organizing some of the demonstrations, said it was concerned about outside elections causing destruction, saying it “overshadowed” the protests. The group is calling for more demonstrations at the university in the coming days.
Smaller students actions were held in Belgium, Greece and Italy, among other EU nations.
UK Mideast minister: Israel’s actions leaving its allies ‘pretty challenged’
- Lord Ahmad: Many are uneasy about adherence to international humanitarian law
- UK FM opposes arms ban despite ‘grave concerns around humanitarian access issue in Gaza’
LONDON: The UK’s Middle East minister has warned that the war in Gaza is causing Israel’s allies numerous problems over allegations that it has broken international humanitarian law, the Daily Telegraph reported.
“I think Israel is really leaving many of its partners, including ourselves, pretty challenged on where we are currently on the issue of IHL, and how they are fulfilling their obligations,” Lord Ahmad told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
“Israel has obligations. We are allies of Israel and as a constructive friend to Israel, we’d land these points very directly to them.”
On Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said an arms ban against Israel would not be “a wise path.”
In April, he said the UK’s stance on selling arms to Israel was “consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received, and as ever we will keep the position under review.
“Let me be clear, though, we continue to have grave concerns around the humanitarian access issue in Gaza.”
UK law requires a ban on the sale of weapons to states that breach or fall short of adhering to international humanitarian law.
So far Canada, Japan, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have suspended arms sales to Israel. The UK’s main opposition Labour Party called for a halt on exports this week.
