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Ukraine reports Russian attacks with 10 missiles, 81 drones

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China calls US sanctions over Ukraine war ‘illegal and unilateral’

BEIJING — China called U.S. sanctions on its entities over the Ukraine war “illegal and unilateral” and “not based on facts,” in comments on Tuesday ahead of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s arrival in Beijing for days of high-level talks.

Last week the United States imposed sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, including Chinese companies that U.S. officials say help Moscow skirt Western sanctions and build up its military.

Washington has repeatedly warned Beijing over its support for Russia’s defense industrial base and has already issued hundreds of sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow’s ability to exploit certain technologies for military purposes.

China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, who has done four rounds of shuttle diplomacy, opposed the sanctions at a briefing for diplomats in Beijing after the latest round of meetings with officials from Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa.

“A particular country uses the crisis … to shift blame in an attempt to fabricate the so-called China responsibility theory and threatens countries that have normal economic and trade ties with Russia with illegal and unilateral sanctions,” said Li.

Li did not name the United States, but China’s commerce ministry said on Sunday it strongly opposed the sanctions and the foreign ministry has expressed similar opposition to previous rounds of curbs.

Last week’s sanctions include measures against companies in China involved in shipping machine tools and microelectronics to Russia.

“These words and deeds are totally for their selfish interests and are not based on facts, the international community will never accept them,” added Li.

China has been striving to present itself as a party that is actively looking for a solution to the conflict, despite skipping a Swiss peace conference in June.

After past rounds of talks led by Li, Beijing put forward proposals on supporting the exchange of prisoners of war, opposing the use of nuclear and biological weapons and opposing armed attacks on civilian nuclear facilities.

In a 12-point paper more than a year ago China set out general principles for ending the war, but did not get into specifics.

China and Brazil jointly called this year for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. On Tuesday, Li expressed the hope that more countries would endorse China’s peace efforts.
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French president rules out left-wing government amid bitter deadlock

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday ruled out naming a left-wing government to end the country’s political deadlock, saying it would be a threat to “institutional stability.”

While Macron said he would start new talks Tuesday to find a prime minister, left-wing parties reacted with fury to his announcement, calling for street protests and the impeachment of the president.

Macron has held protracted talks on a new government since elections in July gave a left-wing alliance the most seats in parliament but not enough to govern.

The president rejected left-wing claims to govern after negotiations Monday with far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen and other political leaders.

While some reports said Macron had wanted to name a prime minister on Tuesday, the president instead said he would embark on a new round of negotiations.

“My responsibility is that the country is not blocked nor weakened,” Macron said in a statement, calling on “all political leaders to rise to the occasion by demonstrating a spirit of responsibility.”

The July election left the 577-seat National Assembly divided between the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance with over 190 seats, followed by Macron’s centrist alliance at around 160 and Le Pen’s National Rally at 140.

‘Stability’ threatened

The NFP, particularly the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), has demanded the right and opportunity to form a government but centrist and right-wing parties have vowed to vote it down in any confidence vote.

A purely left-wing government “would be immediately censored by all the other groups represented in the National Assembly” and “the institutional stability of our country therefore requires us not to choose this option,” Macron said.

Macron said he would talk with party leaders and “personalities distinguished by experience in the service of the state and the Republic.”

Without naming the LFI, the president called on socialists, ecologists and communists in the leftist alliance to “cooperate with other political forces.”

A source close to Macron later confirmed that he would not hold further talks with the LFI or the National Rally, nor with Eric Ciotti, leader of the right-wing Republicans (LR), who had allied himself with Le Pen’s far-right party for the snap vote.

The LFI reacted with fury, with its national coordinator Manuel Bompard called Macron’s comments an “unacceptable anti-democratic coup.”

LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called for a “firm and strong response” by the public and politicians including a “motion of impeachment” against the president.

Communist party leader Fabien Roussel called for a “grand popular mobilization” and rejected new talks. Green party leader Marine Tondelier said “the people must get rid of Macron for the good of democracy. He is chaos and instability.”

Macron has left Gabriel Attal as caretaker government leader for a post-war record time since the July election as he seeks a figure with enough broad support to survive a confidence vote.

The pressure is on however as the deadline to present a draft 2025 budget for the heavily indebted government is just over a month away.

Leftist parties had pushed for Macron to name 37-year-old economist and civil servant Lucie Castets as prime minister.

Melenchon even said there could be a left-wing government without ministers from his party, but this has still been opposed by Macron and center-right parties.

The president has repeatedly called LFI an “extreme” movement, branding the party as equally zealot as Le Pen’s.

Since Melenchon’s offer, center-right parties have focused attention on the NFP’s big-spending manifesto at a time when France is battling a record budget deficit and a debt mountain.

Attal reaffirmed the opposition to the LFI in a letter to deputies that called Melenchon’s offer an “attempted coup,” saying it would be “inevitable” that an NFP government would lose a vote of confidence.
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What is Telegram, why was its CEO arrested in Paris?

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China objects to new sanctions on firms aiding Russia

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Police in Iceland call off search at ice cave collapse that killed 1 person

London — Police in Iceland called off a search Monday for two tourists initially believed missing after the collapse of an ice cave that killed one person and seriously injured another, saying they now believe no one is missing.

Icelandic authorities said they called off the search after examining the tour operator’s records and determining that only 23 people were on the trip, not 25 as was first believed.

One person died and one person was seriously injured Sunday when the cave collapsed shortly before 3 p.m. local time. Both victims are American citizens, police said.

“A moment ago, the police field manager located at the scene announced that all the ice that was thought to have fallen on the people had been moved,‘’ police said. “It has come to light that no one (was) hidden under the ice.’’

Rescuers had worked by hand to cut through the remnants of the collapsed ice cave as they searched for those they had believed to be missing.

The search, which was suspended overnight when conditions made it too dangerous, had resumed at about 7 a.m., Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported. Video showed rescuers working inside two large craters surrounded by the sand-blackened ice of the Breidamerkurjokull glacier.

But by the end of the day, they were satisfied that a mistake had been made in record keeping and that no one else was missing.

Police said there had been “misleading information” about the number of people on the trip. Based on what initially was available, it was deemed necessary to continue the search until rescuers could be assured no one was under the ice, police said.
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France’s Macron: Arrest of head of Telegram messaging app wasn’t political

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation.

French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

In France’s first public comment on the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”

Denouncing what he called false information circulating about the arrest, he said it “is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov’s arrest, with some calling it politically driven and saying it showed the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.

Telegram, which says it has nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother in the wake of the Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.

The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news.

Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.

In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

A French investigative judge extended Durov’s detention order on Sunday night, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.

The Russian Embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, “We still don’t know what exactly Durov is being accused of. … Let’s wait until the charges are announced – if they are announced.”

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X who has in the past called himself a ” free speech absolutist,” posted “#freePavel” in support of Durov following the arrest.

Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.

In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to reporting illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.

Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.
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Russia skips UN meeting pledging respect for humanitarian law

Geneva — Switzerland hosted United Nations Security Council members at a meeting in Geneva on Monday to recommit to international humanitarian law, describing an “alarming” global context characterized by over 120 armed conflicts, with Russia the only member absent.

Switzerland, which is one of the 15 members, organized the informal meeting to commemorate the Geneva Conventions, signed 75 years ago after World War II in the Swiss city to limit the barbarity of war.  

“I call for us to raise respect of the Geneva Conventions to the level of a top political priority,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told the meeting attended by envoys from a range of countries, including 14 of the 15 U.N. Security Council members.

Asked about Russia’s absence, he said that all members were invited to think about international humanitarian law collectively but said attendance was not compulsory.

A Russian envoy in New York described the meeting as a “waste of time.”

“We believe that the Security Council should be focusing on more important matters than traveling around Europe,” said Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative in New York Dmitry Polyanski in a message sent by the diplomatic mission in Geneva.

Russia is a ‘P5’ member which holds a permanent seat within the broader Security Council alongside the United States, France, Britain and China.  

At the same meeting the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric described the Geneva Conventions as “under strain,” referring to the Gaza conflict as well as Ukraine. Russia launched more than 100 missiles and around 100 attack drones at Ukraine on Monday, killing at least five people and striking energy facilities.
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Russia hits Ukraine with widespread drone, missile attacks

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China opposes US sanctions on firms with alleged ties to Russia’s war efforts

Beijing — China on Sunday expressed its opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies over their alleged ties to Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying it will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of the country’s businesses.

The U.S. announced Friday sweeping sanctions on hundreds of firms in Russia and across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, accusing them of providing products and services that enable Russia’s war effort and aiding its ability to evade sanctions. The U.S. Department of State said it was concerned by “the magnitude of dual-use goods exports” from China to Russia.

The Ministry of Commerce in China in its statement firmly opposed the U.S. putting multiple Chinese companies on its export control list. The move bars such companies from trading with U.S. firms without gaining a nearly unobtainable special license.

The ministry said the U.S. action was “typical unilateral sanctions,” saying they would disrupt global trade orders and rules, as well as affect the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

“China urges the U.S. to immediately stop its wrong practices and will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interest of Chinese companies,” it said.

The U.S. action is the latest in a series of thousands of U.S. sanctions that have been imposed on Russian firms and their suppliers in other nations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The effectiveness of the sanctions has been questioned, especially as Russia has continued to support its economy by selling oil and gas on international markets.

According to the U.S. State Department, some China-based companies supplied machine tools and components to Russia companies.

China has tried to position itself as neutral in the Ukraine conflict, but it shares with Russia high animosity toward the West.

After Western countries imposed heavy sanctions on Russian oil in response to Russia sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, China strongly stepped up its purchase of Russian oil, increasing its influence in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin also underlined the importance of China by meeting in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon after being inaugurated for a fifth term in the Kremlin.
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Reuters journalist missing after strike on hotel in Ukraine

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