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China questions, begins probe of European Union subsidies for dairy industry exports 

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British military: Greek oil tanker drifting and ablaze after repeated attacks in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated attack Wednesday, leaving the vessel “not under command” and drifting ablaze after an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the British military said.

The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year.

In the attack, men on small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

Four projectiles also hit the ship, it added. It wasn’t immediately clear if that meant drones or missiles.

“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO said, likely meaning it lost all power. “No casualties reported.”

Later, the UKMTO warned the ship was drifting while on fire in the Red Sea.

The Greek shipping ministry later identified the vessel as the tanker Sounion, which had 25 crew members on board at the time of the attack as it traveled from Iraq to Cyprus.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their assaults.

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on Hodeida that hit fuel depots and electrical stations, killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels say.

After the strikes, the Houthis paused their attacks until Aug. 3, when they hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker came under a particularly intense series of attacks beginning Aug. 8, likely carried out by the rebels. A similar attack happened Aug. 13 as well.

The last three recent attacks, including Wednesday’s, targeted vessels associated with Delta Tankers, a Greek company.

As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the U.S. military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. America also has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine into the Mideast, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman.

Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.
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Modi calls for peace and stability as he heads to Ukraine 

New Delhi — Ahead of a visit to Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an early return to peace and stability and said he will “share perspectives” on a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Modi will travel to Kyiv on Friday after visiting Poland. He will hold talks with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy weeks after a visit by the Indian prime minister to its longstanding partner Moscow drew sharp criticism from the Ukrainian leader.

Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July on a day when Russian missiles struck multiple targets including a children’s hospital in Kyiv killing many civilians.

The Indian leader had called the death of children heart-wrenching, but images of Modi hugging Putin were embarrassing, according to analysts.

“The optics of the Russia visit were not good. So, the effort by going to Ukraine is to show that India is not just taking a passive position on the conflict but wants to actively help in a settlement,” said Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

Zelenskyy had said that it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts” to see Modi hug “the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”

Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to visit Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic ties.

“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” Modi said in a statement on Wednesday before leaving New Delhi. He said his trip will be a “natural continuation of extensive contacts” between India and Ukraine.

Modi met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit held in Italy in June. In March this year, Ukraine’s foreign minister visited the Indian capital in a bid to give momentum to their political and economic ties.

India has not joined its Western allies in directly holding the Kremlin responsible for the war, but it has been urging the two nations to resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

The Indian foreign ministry said on Monday that India has “substantive and independent ties” with both Russia and Ukraine and was ready to support the negotiation of a peace settlement.

“India has high credibility with Russia,’’ analyst Joshi told VOA. ‘’So the hope is that it can play some kind of a mediatory role and can raise issues with Moscow directly.’’

The visit is also seen as an effort by India to balance its growing ties with Western countries with its refusal to join them in isolating its decades-long partner Russia.

Following the Modi-Putin summit, the United States State Department said it had raised concerns with India about its relationship with Russia and hoped it would use its ties with Moscow to firmly encourage the Kremlin to adhere to the United Nations charter.

Since the conflict began more than two years ago, India has abstained from all U.N. votes against Russia and become one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil as it continues to trade with Moscow.

Analysts say New Delhi’s big challenge is to convince the West and Kyiv that its friendship with Russia is not an endorsement of Putin’s Ukraine policy.

“India is walking the tightrope,’’ Joshi said. ‘’As the war continues and even becomes more intense, it brings more pressure on New Delhi and the Indian position stands out starkly, especially as the Western position on Russia hardens.”

Modi’s visit to Poland, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 40 years, is expected to focus on strengthening economic and political cooperation. He will meet both Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, according to the foreign ministry.

Analysts say Modi’s visit to the two countries – Poland and Ukraine – is also part of India’s efforts to increase its engagement with countries in central and eastern Europe as it tries to raise its global profile.
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Andrew Tate’s Romania home searched as part of new probe

Bucharest, Romania — Romanian authorities on Wednesday searched the home of controversial influencer Andrew Tate, who is awaiting trial over human trafficking and rape charges, as part of a new investigation, officials said.

One of the world’s best-known influencers known for misogynist and sometimes violent maxims, Andrew Tate has been accused of having formed an organized criminal network in early 2021 in Romania and Britain, along with his brother Tristan. They have denied the charges.

Prosecutors allege that 37-year-old Tate, his 36-year-old brother and two women set up a criminal organization and sexually exploited several victims. A trial date has not yet been set.

On Wednesday prosecutors “conducted a raid this morning, on August 21, 2024, at the residence of the Tate brothers as part of a search related to a new investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The office for organized crime said that four search warrants were executed, in connection with “the crimes of forming an organized criminal group, trafficking in minors,” “sexual relations with a minor” and “money laundering.”

Neither of the statements indicated whether the new charges targeted the brothers.

They were detained in 2022 in Bucharest and spent three months in detention before being released under judicial supervision to await trial.

The brothers also face rape and assault allegations in separate cases in Britain, where they have also been accused of tax evasion.

In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.

He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views.

Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, his videos have made him one of the world’s best-known influencers.
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Ukrainian forces take more Russian terrain

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country’s forces now control 92 settlements and more than 1,250 square kilometers in Russia’s Kursk region, after Ukrainian responses to Russia’s cross-border attacks evolved into a surprising offensive. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest.
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Latvia advocates for use of Russian assets to support Ukraine

Germany and other G7 countries are developing ways to support Ukraine through loans financed with the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The German Finance Ministry announced the effort on Tuesday. Latvia, once a sanctuary for Russian money, is a strong backer of the plan, as VOA’s Myroslava Gongadza reports from Riga. Videographer: Daniil Batushchak
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A ‘huge number of people’ did not burn alive in the Donetsk shopping mall

The Kremlin-appointed governor of Russian-controlled Donetsk in Ukraine said 11 people suffered moderate or minor injuries during the Galaktika mall fire.
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Iran shuts down German language institute

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Erdogan facing growing scrutiny over Israel embargo

Turkey’s embargo on trade with Israel faces growing scrutiny amid opposition claims it’s being increasingly circumvented. The accusations come as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to play a leading role in opposing Israel’s war on Hamas. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Russia’s top court extends detention for Navalny’s lawyers, pending trial on extremism charges

MOSCOW — Russia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the pre-trial detention of three lawyers who once represented Russia’s slain opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, and are now facing charges of extremism. It also refused to transfer their case to a different court, even as the defense alleged a conflict of interest. 

Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser were arrested in October in a case widely seen at the time as a means to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin’s fiercest foe. 

According to Navalny’s allies, authorities accused the lawyers of using their status as defense attorneys to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to his team, thus serving as intermediaries between Navalny and what they called his “extremist group.” 

Navalny’s organizations in Russia — the Foundation for Fighting Corruption and a vast network of regional offices — were outlawed and labeled as extremist groups in 2021, a step that exposed anyone involved with them to prosecution. 

Lawyers for the three attorneys had petitioned the Supreme Court to transfer their case away from a court in Russia’s western Vladimir region, claiming it may not be objective or impartial. 

The defense argued the bulk of the prosecution’s evidence was gathered in a law enforcement raid they consider illegal, and that had been ordered by a superior court in the same region — something they said constituted a conflict of interest. It also charged that courts in Vladimir had pressured Navalny’s lawyers to disclose confidential communications with him before the politician’s February death in a remote Arctic prison. 

Navalny himself had been serving prison terms totaling more than 30 years, including on extremism charges tied to his anti-corruption activism. He and his allies had rejected all charges against him as politically motivated, and accused the Kremlin of seeking to jail him for life. 

Russian authorities in February also put two more of Navalny’s lawyers on a wanted list. One of them, Olga Mikhailova, who had defended the politician for a decade, said she had been previously charged in absentia with extremism after fleeing the country. The other, Alexander Fedulov, also said last year that he was no longer in Russia.
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