Australia has confirmed one of the largest defense export deals in its history selling armored combat vehicles to Germany. The $661million announcement was made by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he arrived in Berlin ahead of talks at a NATO summit in Lithuania.

Australia will supply Germany with 100 Brisbane-made Boxer armored combat vehicles from 2025.

The deal is worth $661 million and is expected to be formally signed on Tuesday.

Analysts have said the Boxer heavy assault vehicle, which is armed with a cannon, has a reputation for mobility, firepower and protection from explosives with a reinforced hull and wheel housings. The Australian-made assault vehicles will eventually replace aging heavy weapons carriers in German army platoons.

German defense contractor Rheinmetall started producing the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle in the Australian state of Queensland in March. It has a contract to supply more than 200 vehicles to the Australian military.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen European nations replenish military hardware, which has given Australia the opportunity to export German military technology back to Germany.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Berlin, Germany Sunday that it was a historic arms deal for his country.

“This will be one of our largest-ever exports,” he said.  [It] will guarantee that the 1,000 jobs that are there in Queensland will go into the future and will be worth in excess of AUD$1 billion for the Australian economy. This will boost our sovereignty; this will increase our defense capability and boost our economy.”

Albanese also is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Kyiv’s war effort.

Canberra has recently approved an additional $73.3m in military aid to Ukraine.

On Sunday, Education Minister Jason Clare told local media that while there had been criticism that Australia’s assistance to repel the February 2022 Russian invasion was not enough, the Canberra government has indicated that more support could be on its way, although no details were given.

Albanese will also meet the New Zealand prime minister, Chris Hipkins, on his trip to Europe, along with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, who have also been invited to attend this week’s NATO summit.
…

The war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda Monday as U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet in London as allies prepare for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. 

It will be the leaders’ sixth meeting in six months. In June, Biden hosted Sunak at the White House, committing to the Atlantic Declaration to cooperate on advanced technologies, clean energy, and critical minerals to counter China’s clout around the world.   

Biden is also due to meet Monday with Britain’s King Charles before traveling to Vilnius, where it remains unlikely NATO will welcome Sweden as its 32nd member due to persistent objections from Turkey.   

During the flight to Britain, Biden spoke on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a last-minute push to pave the way toward Ankara agreeing to Sweden’s accession – a process that must be unanimous among all current members.   

“I can’t characterize how close, how far, all I can say is that we believe that Sweden should be admitted to NATO as soon as possible,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told VOA aboard Air Force One enroute to London. “We believe that there should be a pathway to do so.”   

In a readout of the call, Ankara stated that Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction but has not made sufficient progress to support Stockholm’s application to join NATO.   

Ankara has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward militant Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist groups. Following Turkish demands, Sweden has enacted reforms, including a new anti-terrorism law. Erdogan initially accused Finland of doing the same but approved Helsinki’s application to join NATO in April.   

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg invited Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to discuss their positions at a meeting Monday in Vilnius. 

Sullivan added that Biden and Erdogan discussed the sale of F-16s, a subject that remains a sticking point for Ankara despite its public denials. In its statement, Ankara noted Erdogan said “it would be incorrect to associate Sweden’s NATO accession with the sale of F-16 jets” while thanking Biden for his support to Ankara on its desire to purchase the fighter planes.   

Lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. Congress, which has authority to approve major weapon sales, insist that Ankara must first drop its objections to Sweden’s accession before the deal can proceed.  

Hungary also opposes Sweden’s bid but has said it will approve it if Turkey assents.   

NATO summit 

At their two-day meeting in Vilnius, NATO leaders will discuss bolstering support for Ukraine, which includes hashing out the final wording of a compromise communique that will signal to Kyiv it is moving closer to membership without promises of a quick accession.

Biden has repeatedly said Ukraine must make additional reforms to qualify for NATO membership.  In an interview taped last week, Biden told CNN he thinks it is premature to call for a vote on Ukraine joining NATO.   

“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” he said. “I don’t think there’s unanimity in NATO now … in the middle of a war. If the war is going on [and Ukraine was a NATO member], then we’re all in the war. We’re at war with Russia,” because NATO’s charter calls for all its members to defend any individual country when it is attacked.   

Allies will also discuss security guarantees for Kyiv outside of the NATO framework as it moves toward membership. Sullivan said that Washington alongside allies and partners within a multilateral framework will negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments with Ukraine.   

“Meaning that the United States would be prepared to provide in various forms of military assistance, intelligence and information sharing, cyber support and other forms of material support, so that Ukraine can both defend itself and deter future aggression,” he said.   

NATO countries, led by the United States, have sent billions of dollars in armaments to Ukraine, but Russian aerial bombardments have continued to kill dozens of Ukrainian civilians even as Kyiv’s forces have shot down hundreds of incoming missiles. The ones that landed have killed people and destroyed residential buildings.  

Heading to Helsinki next 

After the NATO summit, Biden heads to Helsinki, the Finnish capital, to commemorate Finland recently joining the military alliance created in the aftermath of World War II, and to meet with Nordic leaders.   

Finland joined NATO in April, effectively doubling the length of Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Biden has characterized the strengthened NATO alliance as a sign of Moscow’s declining influence.   

White House Correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this report. 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden is in London for an overnight stop Sunday enroute to Lithuania for the NATO summit in Vilnius, where it remains unlikely that the alliance will welcome Sweden as its 32nd member due to persistent objections from Turkey.

During the flight to Britain, Biden spoke on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a last-minute push to pave the way toward Ankara agreeing to Sweden’s accession — a process that must be unanimous among all current members.

“I can’t characterize how close, how far, all I can say is that we believe that Sweden should be admitted to NATO as soon as possible,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told VOA aboard Air Force One enroute to London. “We believe that there should be a pathway to do so.”

In a readout of the call, Ankara stated that Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction but has not made sufficient progress to support Stockholm’s application to join NATO.

Ankara has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward militant Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist groups. Following Turkish demands, Sweden has enacted reforms, including a new anti-terrorism law. Erdogan initially accused Finland of doing the same but approved Helsinki’s application to join NATO in April.

Sullivan added that Biden and Erdogan discussed the sale of F-16s, a subject that remains a sticking point for Ankara despite its public denials. In its statement, Ankara noted Erdogan said “it would be incorrect to associate Sweden’s NATO accession with the sale of F-16 jets” while thanking Biden for his support to Ankara on its desire to purchase the fighter planes.

Lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. Congress, which has authority to approve major weapon sales, insist that Ankara must first drop its objections to Sweden’s accession before the deal can proceed.

Hungary also opposes Sweden’s bid but has said it will approve it if Turkey assents.

Biden, British leaders to meet

On Monday Biden will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles to discuss various bilateral issues and climate financing for developing nations.

It will be Biden and Sunak’s sixth meeting in six months. In June, Biden hosted Sunak at the White House, committing to the Atlantic Declaration to cooperate on advanced technologies, clean energy, and critical minerals to counter China’s clout around the world.  

Biden heads to Vilnius Monday evening for a two-day meeting with NATO leaders where they will discuss bolstering support for Ukraine, which includes hashing out the final wording of a compromise communique that will signal to Kyiv it is moving closer to membership without promises of a quick accession. He has repeatedly said Ukraine must make additional reforms to qualify for NATO membership.

In an interview taped last week, Biden told CNN he thinks it is premature to call for a vote on Ukraine joining NATO.

“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” Biden said. “I don’t think there’s unanimity in NATO now …in the middle of a war. If the war is going on [and Ukraine was a NATO member], then we’re all in the war. We’re at war with Russia,” since NATO’s charter calls for all its members to defend any individual country when it is attacked.

Allies will also discuss security guarantees for Kyiv outside of the NATO framework as it moves toward membership. Sullivan said that Washington alongside allies and partners within a multilateral framework will negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments with Ukraine.

“Meaning that the United States would be prepared to provide in various forms of military assistance, intelligence and information sharing, cyber support and other forms of material support, so that Ukraine can both defend itself and deter future aggression,” he said.

NATO countries, led by the United States, have sent billions of dollars in armaments to Ukraine, but Russian aerial bombardments have continued to kill dozens of Ukrainian civilians even as Kyiv’s forces have shot down hundreds of incoming missiles. The ones that landed have killed people and destroyed residential buildings.

Next stop: Helsinki

After the NATO summit, Biden heads to Helsinki, the Finnish capital, to commemorate Finland recently joining the military alliance created in the aftermath of World War II, and to meet with Nordic leaders.

Finland joined NATO in April, effectively doubling the length of Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Biden has characterized the strengthened NATO alliance as a sign of Moscow’s declining influence.

White House correspondent Anita Powell and VOA’s Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report.  
…

At least 300 people who were traveling on three migrant boats from Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands have disappeared, migrant aid group Walking Borders said Sunday. 

Two boats, one carrying about 65 people and the other with between 50 and 60 on board, have been missing for 15 days since they left Senegal to try to reach Spain, Helena Maleno of Walking Borders told Reuters. 

A third boat left Senegal on June 27 with about 200 people aboard. 

The families of those on board have not heard from them since they left, Maleno said. 

All three boats left Kafountine in the south of Senegal, which is about 1,700 kilometers (1,057 miles) from Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. 

“The families are very worried. There [are] about 300 people from the same area of Senegal. They have left because of the instability in Senegal,” Maleno said. 

The Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa have become the main destination for migrants trying to reach Spain, with a much smaller number also seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Spanish mainland. Summer is the busiest period for all attempted crossings. 

The Atlantic migration route, one of the deadliest in the world, is typically used by migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. At least 559 people — including 22 children — died in 2022 in attempts to reach the Canary Islands, according to data from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration. 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden expressed a desire to see Sweden join NATO “as soon as possible” in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in which they discussed Sweden’s bid to become a member of the Western alliance, the White House said Sunday.

Turkey, along with Hungary, has been a stumbling block to Sweden’s bid, which requires unanimous approval by all NATO members.

Erdogan told Biden that Stockholm has taken steps in the right direction for Ankara to ratify its bid, referring to an anti-terrorism law, but said these steps were not useful as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters continued to hold demonstrations in Sweden, the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate said separately Sunday.

Biden “conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said in a statement.

The leaders agreed to meet face-to-face in Vilnius, Lithuania, at an upcoming NATO summit and discuss bilateral relations and regional issues in detail, the Turkish presidency also said.

On Thursday, Sweden failed to convince Turkey to lift its block on Stockholm’s path to NATO membership in a foreign minister-level meeting, as Ankara requested more action in the fight against terrorism.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would convene a meeting Monday between Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, abandoning policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the decades of the Cold War in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While Finland’s NATO membership was green-lighted in April, Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden’s bid. Stockholm has been working to join at next week’s NATO summit in Vilnius.

During their call, Biden and Erdogan also discussed the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and Ukraine’s aim to join NATO, according to the Turkish presidency’s readout.
…

A man arrested in Paris during a memorial rally for his brother, who died in police custody seven years ago, was released from hospital Sunday, amid calls for more protests.

The appeals for action came with France still on edge after the police killing of a teenager near Paris sparked the worst rioting in the country since 2005.

Youssouf Traore, 29, was detained by police Saturday amid protests across the country that commemorated the death of his brother Adama Traore, a black 24-year-old, in 2016, many of them in defiance of police bans on gatherings.

According to a police source, Youssouf Traore was injured in the eye during his arrest at the Paris protest attended by some 2,000 people and was taken to hospital after becoming sick at the police station.

Traore appeared with a swollen right eye at a gathering Sunday in support of another man who was arrested at the rally, an AFP journalist said.

According to a medical report seen by AFP, he suffered a fractured nose, head trauma with a black eye, and contusions to his chest, abdomen and lumbar. 

Traore’s lawyer Yassine Bouzrou said he had filed a complaint for deliberate violence.

Traore was arrested on charges of violence against a public official, having been accused of hitting a police officer at the start of the rally at Place de la Republique, according to a source close to the case.

Traore said he was the victim of “injustice” and denied attacking the police officer.

His sister Assa Traore denounced a police “ambush” and said the images of the arrest revived painful memories. 

“My brother (Adama) died in exactly the same way,” she said.

The second arrested man left custody Sunday, the campaign group set up in Adama Traore’s memory told AFP.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the investigation into Youssouf Traore “was continuing,” while the second man was summoned to appear before a magistrate later.]

The forceful arrest of Youssouf Traore, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down by several police officers, sparking condemnation by several left-wing politicians on social media. 

Left-leaning associations, unions and political parties called for another day of mobilization against police violence in Paris on July 15.

France has been on edge since a police officer shot dead Nahel M., a 17-year-old with Algerian roots, during a traffic stop on June 27 in a Paris suburb.

The shooting rekindled long pent-up frustrations and accusations of systemic racism among France’s security forces and sparked nights of rioting, the worst urban unrest in the country since 2005.

More than 3,700 people were taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.
…

The BBC said Sunday that it has suspended a leading presenter who is alleged to have paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos.

As senior British politicians urged a rapid investigation, the broadcaster said it was working to establish the facts of “a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances.”

The U.K.’s publicly funded national broadcaster was scrambling to head off a worsening crisis after The Sun newspaper reported allegations that the male presenter gave a youth $45,000 starting in 2020 when the young person was 17.

Neither the star nor the youth was identified. Amid speculation on social media about the identity of the presenter, several of the BBC’s best-known stars spoke up to say it wasn’t them.

Though the age of sexual consent in Britain is 16, it’s a crime to make or possess indecent images of anyone under 18. 

The Sun said the young person’s mother had complained to the BBC in May but that the presenter had remained on the air.

The BBC said in a statement on Sunday that it “first became aware of a complaint in May,” but that “new allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature.”

The broadcaster said “the BBC takes any allegations seriously and we have robust internal processes in place to proactively deal with such allegations.” It said the corporation had also been in touch with “external authorities,” but did not specify whether that was the police.

“This is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances and the BBC is working as quickly as possible to establish the facts in order to properly inform appropriate next steps,” the BBC said.

“We can also confirm a male member of staff has been suspended.” 

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer held crisis talks with the broadcaster’s director-general about what she called “deeply concerning” allegations. She said Director General Tim Davie had assured her the BBC was “investigating swiftly and sensitively.”

Given the nature of the allegations, it is important that the BBC is now given the space to conduct its investigation, establish the facts and take appropriate action. I will be kept updated,” she wrote on social media.

Rachel Reeves, economy spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said the BBC needed to “speed up their processes” and “get their house in order.”

Commercial U.K. broadcaster ITV recently faced its own scandal after Phillip Schofield, a long-time host on the channel’s popular morning show, quit in May, admitting he had lied about an affair with a much younger colleague.

ITV executives were summoned to Parliament to answer questions about whether the broadcaster had a “toxic” work culture and had covered up misconduct by stars.

The BBC faces greater scrutiny than other broadcasters because it is taxpayer-funded and committed to remaining impartial in its news coverage. It was engulfed in a storm over free speech and political bias in March when its leading sports presenter, former England soccer player Gary Lineker, criticized the government’s immigration policy on social media.

Lineker was suspended — and then restored after other sports presenters, analysts and Premier League players boycotted the BBC airwaves in solidarity.
…

U.S. President Joe Biden departed Sunday on a five-day trip to Europe, heading first to Britain. He then travels to Lithuania for a NATO summit in Vilnius, before making a final stop in Finland to meet with Nordic leaders.

In London, Biden will have meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles to discuss various bilateral issues and climate financing for developing nations.

Just a month ago, in Washington, Biden and Sunak agreed to an “Atlantic Declaration” and committed to collaborating on advanced technologies, clean energy, and critical minerals. Biden hosted Sunak at the White House.

At the NATO summit, Western leaders will discuss their latest efforts to bolster Ukraine’s fight against Russia along with Sweden’s bid to join the West’s main military alliance. Twenty-nine NATO nations support the bid over the objections of members Hungary and Turkey. Efforts by Ukraine to join the bloc will also be on the agenda.

In an interview taped last week, Biden told CNN he thinks it is premature to call for a vote on Ukraine joining NATO.

“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” Biden said. “I don’t think there’s unanimity in NATO now …in the middle of a war. If the war is going on [and Ukraine was a NATO member], then we’re all in the war. We’re at war with Russia,” since NATO’s charter calls for all its members to defend any individual country when it is attacked.

As it stands, leaders of the NATO countries will discuss the state of Ukraine’s slow-moving counteroffensive to recapture territory in the southeastern part of the country that Russia took in the earliest stages of 16 months of fighting.

NATO countries, led by the United States, have sent billions of dollars in armaments to Ukraine, but Russian aerial bombardments have continued to kill dozens of Ukrainian civilians even as Kyiv’s forces have shot down hundreds of incoming missiles. The ones that landed have killed people and destroyed residential buildings.

After the NATO summit, Biden heads to Helsinki, the Finnish capital, to commemorate Finland recently joining the military alliance created in the aftermath of World War II, and to meet with Nordic leaders.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with Biden at the White House last month, days after Biden hosted Britain’s Sunak. Biden and Stoltenberg pledged their continued support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“The NATO allies have never been more united. We both worked like hell to make sure that happened. And so far, so good,” Biden said as he sat alongside Stoltenberg, whose term as NATO leader has been extended for a year.

Finland joined NATO in April, effectively doubling the length of Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Biden has characterized the strengthened NATO alliance as a sign of Moscow’s declining influence.

Sweden is also seeking entry into NATO, although alliance members Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. Biden last week hosted Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the White House as a show of support for Sweden’s bid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Sweden is too lax on Kurdish terrorist groups and security threats, while Stoltenberg has said Sweden has met its obligations for NATO membership by toughening anti-terrorist laws and other measures. Hungary’s reasons for opposing Sweden have been less defined, with officials in Budapest complaining about Sweden’s criticism of democratic backsliding and the erosion of the rule of law. Hungary, however, has said it will approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid if Turkey assents.

All NATO nations have to ratify the entry of new member countries.

 
…

Two controversial laws signed by the Bosnian Serb president, which Washington says undermine the peace deal that ended Bosnia’s 1990s war, entered into force on Sunday.

Kremlin ally President Milorad Dodik had on Friday signed legislation into law that effectively allow the Bosnian Serb entity to bypass or ignore decisions made by the top international envoy to Bosnia.

The latter, currently German diplomat Christian Schmidt, oversees the civilian aspects of the Dayton peace deal that ended the 1992-1995 war.

The international envoy has important executive powers notably to sack elected officials and impose laws.

A second piece of legislation signed into law by Dodik on Friday suspends the Bosnian Serb entity’s recognition of rulings made by Bosnia’s constitutional court.

On Sunday, both bills, that were approved by Bosnian Serb lawmakers last month, officially entered into force with their publication in the official gazette of Republika Srpska (RS).

The RS along with the Muslim-Croat Federation makes up post-war Bosnia.

The two semi-autonomous entities are linked by a weak central government.

The Bosnian Serb entity’s initiatives had provoked strong reactions particularly from Bosnian Muslim leaders, and have also been criticized by Washington, Paris and Berlin.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday tweeted that Dodik’s signing of a law rejecting the international envoy authority “violates the Bosnia and Herzegovina constitution and undermines the Dayton Accords.”

Dodik signed the bills just days after Schmidt tried to head off the controversial moves by passing an executive order that deems them illegal and prevents their implementation.

Schmidt made the ruling last weekend when he also passed a new measure that would allow Bosnia’s judiciary to prosecute politicians who oppose his orders and those of the constitutional court — with punishments running up to five years in jail.

Dodik has refused to recognize Schmidt’s authority since the position lost the backing of the United Nations thanks to an intervention by Russia and Beijing.

Dodik — who remains a Moscow ally — has held enormous sway over the Bosnian Serb entity for years, repeatedly stoking ethnic tensions with his secessionist threats.

Earlier this week, Dodik vowed to continue to oppose the envoy.
…

Two weeks ahead of Spain’s election, the conservative People’s Party (PP) opened up its lead over the ruling Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) but would still need the help of the far-right Vox party to govern, according to an opinion poll published by a newspaper on Sunday.   

A poll carried out by Ipsos for La Vanguardia newspaper between July 3 and July 6 interviewed 2,000 people and showed the opposition PP with 35% of the votes and the PSOE on 28%.  

The far-left Sumar party would win 13%, just ahead of Vox with 12.6%, the poll found ahead of the election on July 23.   

Voting forecasts would give the PP between 138 and 147 seats in the 350-member lower house, with the PSOE winning between 102 and 112 seats.  

Vox — the PP’s most likely coalition ally — would win between 32 and 39 seats. Sumar was forecast to win between 31 and 39 seats.   

If the results of the poll are correct, it means that a right-wing coalition of the PP and Vox would together win up to 180 seats, enough for an absolute majority.   

Alternatively, the PP and Vox together could win up to 170 seats which would give them more than a left-wing alliance of the PSOE and Sumar which the poll forecast would win no more than 150 seats.   

The national election was called by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after a disastrous showing in regional elections in May.   

All polls have so far predicted that the PP would win the most votes in the elections. 

 
…

NEZUK, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA — A solemn peace march started on Saturday through the forests in eastern Bosnia in memory of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since World War II.

The annual 100-kilometer march retraces a route taken by thousands of men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, who were slaughtered as they tried to flee Srebrenica after it was captured by Bosnian Serb forces late in the 1992-95 war.

The march is part of several events preceding the commemorations on the actual date of the massacre on July 11.

Nearly 4,000 people joined this year’s march, according to organizers. The event comes as ethnic tensions still persist, with Bosnian Serbs continuing to push for more independence and their open calls for separation.

“I come here to remember my brother and my friends, war comrades, who perished here,” said Resid Dervisevic, who was among those who took this route back in 1995. “I believe it is my obligation, our obligation to do this, to nurture and guard (our memories).”

Osman Salkic, another Srebrenica survivor, said, “Feelings are mixed when you come here, to this place, when you know how people were lying (dead) here in 1995 and what the situation is like today.”

The war in Bosnia erupted in 1992 after the former Yugoslavia broke up and Bosnian Serbs launched a rebellion and a land grab to form their own state and join Serbia. More than 100,000 people died before the war ended in 1995 in a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.

In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosniak males were separated by Serb troops from their wives, mothers and sisters, chased through woods around Srebrenica and killed. Bosnian Serb soldiers dumped the victims’ bodies in numerous mass graves scattered around the eastern town in an attempt to hide the evidence of the crime.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Bosnia’s carnage was considered the worst in Europe since WWII. There have been fears that the separatist policies of pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik could fuel further instability as the war rages in Ukraine.

Despite rulings from two U.N. courts, Dodik has denied that genocide took place in Srebrenica, even as the remains of newly identified victims are continuously being unearthed from mass graves. They are reburied each year on July 11, the day the killing began in 1995.

A U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, has sentenced to life in prison both the wartime Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic and the ex-military commander Ratko Mladic for orchestrating the genocide.

So far, the remains of more than 6,600 people have been found and buried at a vast and ever-expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica. The remains of 30 more victims will be laid to rest there Tuesday.
…

STOCKHOLM – Surrounded by emotional fans from around the globe, Elton John hailed them as his “lifeblood” as he gave his final farewell concert in Stockholm after more than 50 years of live performances.

“You know how much I like to play live. It’s been my lifeblood to play for you guys, and you’ve been absolutely magnificent,” he told the delighted audience at the arena in the Swedish capital.

Wearing a tailcoat accented with rhinestones and a red pair of his trademark large glasses, the 76-year-old pop superstar sat down at the piano shortly after 8 p.m. local time to cheers to open his farewell show with one of his most popular songs, Bennie and the Jets.

Playing for more than two hours, John interspersed the songs with moments when he would leave the piano to thank not only his fans but also his band and his crew, some of whom have been with him for more than 40 years.

“I want to pay tribute to these musicians. … They’re really incredible, they’ve been with me so long, some of them. And they are the best, I tell you, the best,” he said.

Shortly after a rendition of Border Song which he dedicated to Aretha Franklin, John’s I’m Still Standing brought the 30,000 fans at the Tele2 Arena to their feet.

Before he took his encore, John screened a message from Coldplay, who were playing in the western Swedish city of Gothenburg, in which singer Chris Martin thanked him for his career and commitment.

“It was amazing. I have no words right now because I haven’t processed all the show, but it was amazing,” said Anton Pohjonen, a 25-year-old bank worker from Finland.

“You almost start tearing up on his account. But then it feels great to be here,” added Swedish teacher Conny Johansson, who bought tickets for the show four years ago.

Excited fans were looking forward to an emotional end to the superstar’s glittering live career even before the curtain went up.

“It’s going to be very emotional tonight,” said Kate Bugaj, 25, a Polish student who admitted she had delayed her master’s exams to follow her musical hero’s tour.

Describing herself as a “huge fan,” she said it all began the first time she watched The Lion King, the 1994 Walt Disney film which gave John one of his two Oscar music wins.

Fifty-year-old Jeanie Kincer traveled from Kentucky in the United States for the show.

“I wanted to be here for the end because I was too young to be here in the beginning,” she said.

The star has been winding down his decades-long live career with a global farewell tour.

He played his last concerts in the United States in May and brought the curtain down on Britain’s annual Glastonbury Festival last month.

Saturday’s farewell concert was the second consecutive evening the Stockholm stadium hosted the legendary British singer-songwriter for the last leg of his final tour, which began five years ago and was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a hip operation in 2021.

On his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, John will have given 330 concerts, crisscrossing Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain, before closing in Stockholm.

Overall, the tour has seen him perform in front of 6.25 million fans. 
…

PARIS – About 2,000 people defied a ban Saturday to join a memorial rally in central Paris for a young Black man who died in police custody, while marches took place throughout France to denounce police brutality, as tensions remain high after days of rioting engulfed the country.

Nationwide, around 5,900 people took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Seven years after the death of Adama Traore, his sister had planned to lead an annual commemorative march north of Paris in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise.

But fearful of reigniting recent unrest sparked by the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. at a traffic stop near Paris, a court ruled the chance of public disturbance was too high to allow the march to proceed.

In a video posted on Twitter, Assa Traore, Adama’s older sister, denounced the decision.

“The government has decided to add fuel to the fire” and “not to respect the death of my little brother,” she said.

She instead attended a rally in central Paris’s Place de la Republique to tell “the whole world that our dead have the right to exist, even in death.

“We are marching for the youth to denounce police violence. They want to hide our deaths,” she said at the rally, also attended by several lawmakers.

“They authorize marches by neo-Nazis, but they don’t allow us to march. France cannot give us moral lessons. Its police is racist and violent,” she said.

The Paris rally had also been banned on the grounds that it could disrupt public order and a legal case has been opened against Assa Traore for organizing the event, police said.

Youssouf Traore, another of Assa Tarore’s brothers, was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of violence against a person holding public authority, public prosecutors told AFP.

“The march went off peacefully, it was a success, we don’t understand his arrest,” Assa Traore said.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the outspoken head of the radical leftist France Unbowed party, castigated the government on Twitter.

“From prohibition to repression … the leader is taking France to a regime we have already seen. Danger. Danger,” he tweeted, referring to the World War II regime of Vichy leader Philippe Petain who collaborated with the Nazis.

Many at the rally shouted “Justice for Nahel” before calmly dispersing later in the afternoon.

Around 30 demonstrations against police violence also took place across France, including in the southern port city of Marseille and in Strasbourg in the east. Authorities in Lille banned a gathering.

Several trade unions, political parties and associations had called on supporters to join the march for Traore as France reels from allegations of institutionalized racism in its police ranks following Nahel M.’s shooting.

Traore, who was 24 years old, died shortly after his arrest in 2016, sparking several nights of unrest that played out similarly to the weeklong rioting that erupted across the country in the wake of the point-blank shooting of Nahel.

The teenager’s death on June 27 rekindled long-standing accusations of systemic racism among security forces, and a U.N. committee urged France to ban racial profiling.

The foreign ministry on Saturday disputed what it called excessive and unfounded remarks by the panel.

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — 18 independent experts — on Friday asked France to pass legislation defining and banning racial profiling and questioned “excessive use of force by law enforcement.”

“Any ethnic profiling by law enforcement is banned in France,” the ministry responded, adding that “the struggle against excesses in racial profiling has intensified.”

Far-right parties have linked the most intense and widespread riots France has seen since 2005 to mass migration and have demanded curbs on new arrivals.

More than 3,700 people have been taken into police custody in connection with the protests since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures. 
…

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN – Confidence in the reform agenda of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is at a low ebb in Uzbekistan ahead of an election Sunday in which the incumbent faces no real opposition and is expected to be returned to power with a huge majority.

With his limited steps toward greater openness and accountability, Mirziyoyev is still seen as an improvement over his post-Soviet predecessor, the autocratic Islam Karimov. But his 2021 pledge to keep the country “on a democratic path” was followed by constitutional changes that opened the door to Sunday’s snap election – and the formerly term-limited president’s eligibility for two more seven-year terms.

“People realize what is happening,” said Umidjon Mamarasulov, a blogger in Andijan. “But they seem too preoccupied with economic worries to do anything. Very little trust in elections in general, as the means for positive change.”

In pre-election interviews with VOA, many Uzbeks shared the sense that the ruling elite is unwilling to allow genuine political competition, and they have little hope the elections will be free or fair — something Uzbekistan has not witnessed since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

“To date, the campaign has been low-key, mirroring lack of opposition to the incumbent,” said a June 26 statement from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It said the campaign has been focused on the economy, health care, education, water and the environment.

“We deserve better but who dares resist the leadership? This is where we’re stuck for now,” said Khatam, a voter in Tashkent. A cabdriver, he sees the public as “quite concerned about the future” but also fearful that opposition to the president would lead to social tension.

Selling homemade savories in Chorsu Bazaar, Nilufar Rashidova argued that if allowed, Uzbeks “can totally handle pluralism, and everything else that comes with more freedom.” She said she appreciated Mirziyoyev’s reforms but wished that “we had some real candidates in this election trying to win our trust and vote.”

Standing against Mirziyoyev are candidates representing three parliamentary factions: the Ecological Party’s Abdushukur Khamzayev, the People’s Democratic Party’s Ulugbek Inoyatov, and Robakhon Makhmudova from the “Adolat” Social Democratic Party.

But no one who spoke with VOA viewed any of them as a genuine rival to Mirziyoyev, who was nominated by the Liberal Democratic and the National Revival Democratic parties. None of the three has challenged the president or urged voters to choose himself or herself over Mirziyoyev.

Khidirnazar Allakulov has led the Truth, Development and Unity opposition movement for the last four years. He said he saw Khamzayev, Makhmudova and Inoyatov as “string puppets” who would not even debate among themselves, let alone against Mirziyoyev.

“They are the faces of this crooked establishment, tasked to validate its reforms, which are empty promises,” he said. “Uzbekistan needs a real party reflecting the nation’s aspirations for freedom, integrity and prosperity.”

Allakulov’s group has twice been rejected registration by the Justice Ministry, which said the applicant failed to collect the required 20,000 signatures.

“We won’t give up,” said Allakulov. “Our countrywide network, led by women, is engaging the public, gathering support. No pressure, no harassment will stop us. We are taking this effort to ensure our children’s future. They must live in a better Uzbekistan.”

President’s pledges

Mirziyoyev claims he is governing a “New Uzbekistan.” Campaigning region by region, he has pledged to create jobs, ease labor migration, build schools and hospitals, boost business and attract more investment. He vows to keep Uzbekistan open to the world and maintain balanced relationships with major powers and neighbors.

He also says he is committed to developing Karakalpakstan, an autonomous western region where at least 21 people were killed last July during protests over proposed changes to the constitution. A year later, Mirziyoyev has kept his promise not to change the republic’s “sovereign” status, but Tashkent notably ignored the anniversary of the killings.

Sixty-one Karakalpaks were convicted in connection with the protests this past year, after trials that rights groups criticized for lack of due process. No officers have been held accountable for killing protesters, and a report by a parliamentary commission — which authorities heralded as independent — remains unreleased.

Sources told VOA that following these elections, authorities plan to introduce another round of parliamentary elections, citing the new constitution as the reason.

Despite some improvements in society, Oybek Alijonov, a migrant worker-turned-blogger in Jizzakh, observed “continuous backsliding, eroding trust and deep cynicism towards the political system. People are not as optimistic as they seemed three, four years ago. I sense growing fear and corruption seems to be expanding day by day.”

Some say the Mirziyoyev of 2023 is not as democratically minded as he initially seemed. Others underscore that he is “the best option” Uzbekistan has.

Those who support Allakulov see Sunday’s vote as mere theater, predicting a manipulated turnout in which the president will be reelected by an overwhelming majority.

“I have never seen a free and fair election in Uzbekistan, and I’m over 80. We have never democratically elected any leader. I feel sorry for our people, but at same time, I question all of us for tolerating this for so long,” said Yuldash, who chose not to reveal his last name.

Better than predecessor

Still, many told VOA they vastly preferred Mirziyoyev to his predecessor, crediting the incumbent for caring about Uzbekistan’s future, even though, they said, the system he runs remains profoundly authoritarian and nepotistic.

Mothers from the Ferghana Valley, from where millions migrated to Russia and elsewhere over the years, said they wanted Mirziyoyev to improve the economy.

“Our kids should work at home, have opportunities for well-paid jobs here,” said Dilkhumor Kuchkarova, who has worked as a teacher for 40 years. Her sister Gulbahor Kuchkarova agreed, urging the authorities to serve the population’s needs.

Engineering student Renat Abdirayimov, 21, insisted that Uzbekistan was advancing despite enormous challenges.

“As a society, we are slowly yet steadily becoming more critical and demanding. … The nature of governance and elections will improve as we become more assertive and responsible as citizens,” Abdirayimov told VOA.

“This is not the same Uzbekistan I grew up in. We must enable ourselves to tackle our problems, instead of expecting others to solve them for us.” 
…

WHITE HOUSE – President Joe Biden remains the most reluctant among NATO allies to grant Ukraine a quick pathway to join the alliance, setting up a contentious debate at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week with eastern flank members who are eager for the war-torn country to join as soon as its conflict with Russia ends.

Publicly, Biden says Ukraine must make additional reforms to qualify for NATO membership, saying in June that he was “not going to make it easier” for Kyiv. But his aides have also signaled that Biden believes a fast-track membership for Kyiv is an invitation for conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, rather than a deterrent.

“We are not seeking to start World War III,” said Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, in response to VOA’s question during Friday’s White House press briefing.

Biden’s reluctance is puzzling to some observers.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, criticized the administration for “not leading on this critical issue.”

“This is an historic juncture,” Herbst told VOA. “The administration has obviously made a major commitment to ensure Ukraine does not lose. Why is it dawdling in ensuring that Ukraine emerges successfully from this crisis?”

A key consideration is the potential for the alliance to be dragged into a conflict with Russia. As a pillar of NATO, the U.S. would have to send many of its troops to do the fighting, something that Biden has repeatedly promised he would not do.

From Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea to its current military invasion, Washington has shown it is not willing to commit American forces to fight Russia on Ukraine’s behalf, said George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a think tank that advocates a restrained U.S. foreign policy.

“Nor should we take on such a commitment, because avoiding a direct war with nuclear-armed Russia is far more important to U.S. security than defending Ukraine,” he told VOA.

While the administration is holding firm on Ukraine’s NATO bid, Sullivan reiterated it would support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and provide it with “an exceptional quantity of arms and capabilities.”

Those capabilities now include a cluster munitions package, weapons that can kill over a wide area and are banned by more than 100 countries, which Kyiv has been requesting for months amid its artillery shortage. The weapons contain multiple explosive bomblets that can spread widely and stay undetonated on the ground for years.

Responding to criticism for sending such indiscriminate weaponry, Sullivan argued that the risk of letting Russia take more territory outweighs the risk of civilian harm from unexploded bomblets.

Compromise for Kyiv

Days before the summit in Vilnius, NATO’s 31 members are still negotiating the final wording of a compromise communique that will signal that Kyiv is moving closer to membership without promises of a quick accession.

“I expect allied leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a press conference in Brussels on Friday.

A key agenda item will be whether the allies will agree to allow Kyiv to bypass the Membership Action Plan, a NATO program to assist countries wishing to join the alliance.

A second track that allies are hoping to secure is a deal to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces “for as long as it takes,” including its postwar needs, through a series of long-term commitments or security guarantees made by individual allies outside the NATO framework.

“I don’t want to talk about specific platforms or systems, just that there will be a more robust discussion about what long-term defense needs Ukraine is going to need,” said John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, in an interview Thursday with VOA.

Security guarantees

The security guarantees will fall short of NATO’s Article 5 collective defense principle, that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. Some observers find such guarantees insubstantial, referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, wherein the United States, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and to refrain from the threat or use of military force. In return, Kyiv relinquished the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which it had inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union.

Russia breached the memorandum with its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Battle-worn after 16 months of Moscow’s invasion, Kyiv is skeptical of the value of such assurances. However, they would be useful in the interim, said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who is now vice president for Europe and Russia at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

“Until Ukraine gets into NATO, it needs some way to ensure that it has that military capability to deter Russia,” Taylor told VOA.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend the two-day Vilnius summit to make the case that his country should join when the conflict ends. He said the indecision is threatening the strength of the alliance and global security.

“I think there is not enough unity on this,” Zelenskyy said Friday in a press conference during his visit to Slovakia, reiterating his request for “concrete steps” on Kyiv’s movement toward membership.

Sweden’s accession

Another unresolved issue ahead of the Vilnius summit is Sweden’s bid to join the alliance, which has not been ratified by Turkey or Hungary, in a process that must be unanimous among all current members.

Last-minute negotiations continue between Stoltenberg and the leaders of Turkey and Sweden aimed at overcoming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining NATO. Ankara has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward militant Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist groups.

Observers say those concerns deflect the real issue, which is Ankara’s long-delayed request to purchase F-16 fighter jets made by the U.S. company Lockheed Martin. The sale is held up in the U.S. Congress, which has authority to block major weapons sales, as leading senators from both parties insist Ankara must first drop its objections to Sweden’s accession.

Iuliia Iarmolenko and Tatiana Vorozhko contributed to this report.
…

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin in August. 

He was speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the two leaders met to discuss the fate of an arrangement, brokered last year by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea despite the war. 

Zelenskyy’s visit followed stops in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, part of a tour of some NATO capitals aimed at encouraging them to take concrete steps during a summit next week toward granting Kyiv membership in the alliance, which Erdogan said Ukraine deserved.  

Erdogan said work was under way on extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17 and for longer periods beyond that. The deal would be one of the most important issues on the agenda for his meeting with Putin in Turkey next month, he said. 

“Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. We will make an effort in this regard and try to increase the duration of it to two years,” he said at the news conference with Zelenskyy. 

Both men said they had also discussed another key question for Erdogan’s talks with Putin — the question of prisoner exchanges, which Zelenskyy said had been the first thing on their agenda. “I hope we will get a result from this soon,” Erdogan said. 

Zelenskyy said he would wait for a result to comment but made clear the discussion had gone into specifics on returning all captives, including children deported to Russia and other groups.  

“We are working on the return of our captives, political prisoners, Crimean Tatars,” he said, referring to members of Ukraine’s Muslim community in the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. “Our partners have all the lists. We are really working on this.”  

Erdogan said the issue could also come up in his contacts with the Russian leader before his visit. “If we make some phone calls before that, we will discuss it on the call as well,” he said.  

The Kremlin said it would be watching the talks closely, saying Putin has highly appreciated the mediation of Erdogan in attempting to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. 

“As for forthcoming contacts between Putin and Erdogan, we do not rule them out in the foreseeable future,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of the Istanbul talks between Erdogan and Zelensky, which began Friday. 

Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal’s implementation, has threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17. 

Turkey, a NATO member, has managed to retain cordial relations with both Russia and Ukraine over the past 16 months of the war and last year it helped to broker prisoner exchanges.  

Turkey has not joined its Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on Russia, but has also supplied arms to Ukraine and called for its sovereignty to be respected.
…

Russia launched a missile attack on an apartment building in Lviv early Thursday, leaving at least 10 people dead and 42 wounded. Rescuers are still searching for people in the rubble. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story.
…

With Russia’s war in Ukraine in its sixteenth month, the conflict is exacting an emotional and physical toll on the local journalists covering it.

More than a dozen journalists have been killed while on assignment since the full invasion began in February 2022. The latest victim: Victoria Amelina.

The award-winning writer who had switched to documenting war crimes, died from her injuries a week after a Russian missile strike in the city of Kramatorsk hit a restaurant that was a popular gathering place for journalists and aid workers.

Early in the conflict, media organizations set up centers offering hostile environment training and safety equipment. But many are now offering ways to try to grant temporary relief to reporters who woke to find themselves in a war zone.

The International Press Institute or IPI in Vienna last month announced a program to offer grants to help Ukrainian reporters travel temporarily to other parts of Europe to work on projects or gain new skills.

The idea, says IPI deputy director Scott Griffen is, “to give journalists a break, but also give them a chance to develop stories or participate in international forums.”

“We hope it will be just one additional contribution to our efforts to support independent media in Ukraine as they continue to do their incredible work under extremely difficult circumstances,” Griffen told VOA.

Studies show that continued exposure to traumatic events through covering conflict or violence can take a toll on the mental and physical health of journalists.

Newsrooms are seeing a move toward more trauma support for staff, said Hannah Storm.

The media specialist is founder and director of the Headlines Network, an organization that provides newsroom support and training.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge that mental health and mental safety and wellbeing is the other side of the coin from physical safety and physical health,” Storm told VOA. “We can’t have one without the other.”

But the exchange goes both ways, according to Leif Lonsmann, a board member of the Nordic Journalism Center.

The nonprofit offers training for journalists from the Baltics and Nordic regions and for exiled Russian reporters.

Lonsmann told VOA that while such programs offer a refresher in journalistic skills and a retreat for Ukrainian reporters, they also allow media elsewhere in Europe to learn from reporters who have been on the front lines.

“The mutuality seen from our point of view is that it’s a gift to any journalist and any media house,” the senior media adviser added.

A visit from a Ukrainian journalist, “adds to the reporting with eyewitness reports and sources as seen from inside,” he said. “It’s like a mutually beneficial solution.”

Griffen said that since the IPI started offering its grants two weeks ago, it has received more than 2,000 applications.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
…

A senior U.N. official said Friday that despite discouraging remarks from Moscow, the United Nations is continuing to pursue an extension of the deal that allows the safe export of grain from Ukraine via the Black Sea. 

“We hear repeated statements from the Russian Federation, saying that there’s been no advantage to them and time’s up,” U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters of the grain deal. “But of course, as the [U.N.] Secretary-General has made clear, this doesn’t deter us from doing everything we can to work for renewal.” 

The Black Sea Grain Initiative is due for renewal on July 18. Moscow has said repeatedly during the lead-up to previous extension deadlines that it is not benefiting enough under the deal. 

A parallel memorandum of understanding between Moscow and the United Nations has sought to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer. While food and fertilizer are not sanctioned by the West, efforts have been made to ease concerns of anxious banks, insurers, shippers and other private sector actors about doing business with Russia. 

Since the grain deal was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, nearly 33 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs have been exported to global markets, helping to ease food prices, which spiked at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. 

“The world has seen the value of the Black Sea initiative,” Griffiths said. “This isn’t something you chuck away.” 

But exports have slowed significantly since May, as ship inspections and registrations dropped dramatically. Diplomats have previously blamed Russia for slowing inspections and registrations. 

The U.N. said last week that no new ships have been registered to transit the Black Sea since June 26 at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which oversees the deal. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. have representatives at the JCC. 

“It’s very clear that there has been a complete slowdown. It’s not hidden,” Griffiths said. “It’s about in the JCC in Istanbul, one party saying that we cannot in all conscience start processing ships into this, if we don’t know that they will get out of it before the 18th of July, and that’s the reason for it.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Turkey on Friday, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two discussed the grain deal, among other issues. Erdogan was instrumental in achieving the deal nearly a year ago. 

Damaged pipeline

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for damage caused to a section of an ammonia pipeline last month in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The pipeline runs from the Russian city of Tolyatti to the Ukrainian port of Odesa.

Griffiths said the pipeline is damaged in three places and that the U.N. has offered to send a technical team to assess what repairs are needed but has not received the guarantees it needs to do so.

“It’s a very active war zone, and that’s why it was damaged, in our opinion,” he said of the pipeline. “To get to those three places to assess damage already requires a certain amount of agreement between the parties to provide a safe ‘window of silence’ to allow you to get there.”

With the clock ticking on the grain deal and harvest season around the corner, Griffiths says he is eager to sit down with the parties in Istanbul next week, and his colleague, U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, would like to go to Moscow where she has led negotiations.

Pressed by reporters about whether the deal will end if Russia refuses a renewal, Griffiths said it is not for him to say but that he would expect active support from the United States and European Union, which is critical to removing impediments to Russian exports, to quickly fade if Moscow ends its participation. 
…

An overnight fire in a retirement home in Milan killed six people and injured around 80, including three who are in a critical condition, Italian authorities said on Friday.

The fire started in a first-floor room of the facility. It was put out quickly and did not spread to the rest of the building, yet produced a vast quantity of toxic fumes.

Two residents burned to death in their room, while four others died from intoxication, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said, speaking to reporters on the scene.

“It could have been (even) worse. Having said that, six dead is a very heavy death toll,” Sala said, indicating that the facility housed 167 people.

Firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but added that it was likely accidental.

Firefighters intervened at the “Home of the Spouses” residential facility in the south-eastern Corvetto neighborhood shortly after 1 a.m. (2300 GMT).

They evacuated about 80 people, including many in wheelchairs, while another 80 or so were taken to hospital, local firefighters’ chief Nicola Miceli told RAI public television.

He described rescue operations as “particularly complicated” due to heavy smoke, which limited visibility, and the fact that many residents could not stand without aid.

Lucia, a local resident, said she saw some of them “gasping for air” at their windows, holding rags over their faces to protect themselves from the fumes.

She said rescuers “were wonderful” as they helped everybody. “Those who could walk, they walked them out, those who could not, I think they were carried out in their bed sheets.”
…