rferl--2020-03-05--Ex-UN Chief Who Helped Broker Iran-Iraq Cease-Fire Dies

Former UN chief Javier Perez de Cuellar , who helped broker a cease-fire in the Iran-Iraq war , has died in his native Peru at age 100 , his son said on March 5 .
Perez de Cuellar served as UN secretary-general from 1981 to 1991 .
Perez de Cuellar led the UN during a period marked by the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq , as well as the civil war in U.S.-supported El Salvador , which led to UN-mediated peace talks .
The UN chief also played a role in securing the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Africa .
In addition , he helped end hostilities in Western Sahara as well as civil wars in Cambodia and Nicaragua .
He was president of the UN Security Council from 1973 to 1974 and was UN permanent representative in Cyprus from 1975 to 1977 .
Current UN chief Antonio Guterres wished him `` with pride & joy '' a happy 100th birthday on January 19 .
`` On this momentous occasion , we at the UN draw on his example for inspiration & are deeply grateful for his many contributions and achievements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
Based on reporting by AFP , Reuters , and the BBC

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-03-05--U.S. Defense Chiefs: Taliban Mostly Adhering To Deal Despite Attacks

U.S. defense chiefs have told lawmakers that the initial results from the Taliban peace deal have been mixed , but they insisted that the extremist group is adhering to much of the agreement despite a flare-up of deadly violence in Afghanistan .
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told a Senate panel on March 4 that the extremists are honoring the agreement by not attacking U.S. and coalition forces , `` but not in terms of sustaining the reduction in violence . ''
`` Keeping that group of people on board is a challenge .
They 've got their range of hard-liners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrestling with that too , I think , '' he added .
The comments came after the Pentagon said U.S. forces had conducted a `` defensive '' air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan ’ s southern Helmand Province after a checkpoint manned by Afghan forces was attacked .
Taliban militants killed at least 20 Afghan security officers in a string of attacks on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump 's `` very good '' phone chat with the Taliban 's political chief .
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the United States and the Taliban that would allow allied forces to leave Afghanistan within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government -- which the militant group has so far refused to do .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key clause in the deal involving the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners .
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks until that provision was met .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Afghan leaders while the peace agreement was signed in Qatar – told the Senate panel that the deal allows the U.S. military to act to defend Afghan forces .
`` It ’ s the commitment I made to the Afghans when I was there on .
We would continue to defend the Afghans , '' he said .
Colonel Sonny Leggett , a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan , said in a tweet that Taliban fighters `` were actively attacking an [ Afghan National Security Forces ] checkpoint .
This was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' `` Taliban leadership promised the [ international ] community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks .
We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments , '' he said .
Zalmay Khalilzad , the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan , did not refer to the U.S. strike in a series of Twitter comments .
But he said : `` Increasing violence is a threat to the peace agreement and must be reduced immediately . ''
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 34 provincial capitals , there is no attacks in Kabul , there 's no high-profile attacks , there 's no suicide bombers , there 's no vehicle borne suicide , no attack against the U.S. forces , no attack against coalition . ''
`` Yes , there were significant numbers of attacks , small attacks .
They were all beaten back , '' he said .
The Taliban did not confirm or deny responsibility for any of the attacks .
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet that `` according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is implementing all parts of the agreement one after another in order to keep the fighting reduced . ''
With reporting by AP , Reuters , and AFP

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-03-05--Putin, Erdogan To Meet In Moscow In Bid To Ease Syria Tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey ’ s Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to meet in Moscow as they seek to ease tensions over a flare-up in violence in Syria that threatens to engulf their nations in a direct armed conflict .
Erdogan said he was looking to persuade Putin to agree to a quick cease-fire in Syria ’ s Idlib Province when the two leaders meet in the Russian capital on March 5 .
Meanwhile , Reuters reports that Russia has been racing to bolster its presence in Syria before the talks , citing flight data and shipping movements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Idlib in recent weeks as Turkey launched an offensive against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , a close ally of Russia .
On February 27 , Ankara reported the killing of 34 Turkish soldiers in an air strike blamed on Syria .
That led to retaliation and , on March 1 , Turkey killed 19 Syrian soldiers in drone strikes and shot down two government warplanes .
Turkey and Russia -- which back opposing sides in the conflict -- have avoided direct confrontation so far , but the latest incidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that NATO member Turkey and Russia could become embroiled in an armed conflict .
Erdogan last week demanded that Europe support Turkish efforts in Syria while he prompted a new immigrant crisis by opening Turkey 's border with Greece to refugees and migrants .
Ahead of the talks in Moscow , Erdogan said on March 4 that he hopes `` there will be a cease-fire swiftly established '' in Idlib .
Ankara wants Assad 's forces -- which have launched an assault on Idlib , the last rebel stronghold in Syria -- to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 deal brokered with Moscow .
But the talks with Putin will not be easy .
Erdogan in late February told Putin that Russia should stand aside in Syria to let Turkey deal with Syrian government forces alone .
But Moscow , which has backed Assad with crucial air support in the past five years , has said the Syrian government should be able to assert full control over the country , which has been torn by civil war since 2011 .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders will discuss the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to defuse it .
Experts say Putin is not looking for an armed fight with Turkey but that he is also unlikely to back down .
`` Victory in Syria has become a matter of prestige for Russia -- and for Putin personally , '' Yury Barmin , a Middle East analyst at the Russian International Affairs Council , told AFP .
Separately , Reuters said an analysis of flight data and its correspondents ' monitoring of shipping in the Bosphorus Strait in northwestern Turkey indicate that Russia started to increase naval and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – a day the Turkish soldiers were killed in the Idlib air strike .
Reuters said the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Meanwhile , Washington has expressed strong support for Turkey in the latest flare-up .
Following the February attack on Turkish soldiers , the United States said that `` we stand by our NATO ally Turkey '' and demanded that Syria and Russia end their `` despicable '' offensive in Idlib .
`` We are looking at options on how we can best support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Department spokeswoman said at the time .
With reporting by AFP , Reuters , and Interfax

A cease-fire agreed to by the leaders of Turkey and Russia for the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib has gone into effect, as Ankara and Moscow seek to ease tensions over a flare-up in violence in Syria.
The agreement was announced on March 5 following about six hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Moscow.
The cease-fire -- which will be enforced along existing battle lines -- officially went into effect at midnight in Syria.
However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that just minutes before the truce came into force, bombings were continuing, in the region.
The deal envisages setting up a 12-kilometer-wide security corridor along the M4 highway. The corridor is to be jointly patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops, starting March 15.
The meeting came amid tensions in Idlib, Syria's last rebel stronghold, in recent weeks as Turkey launched an offensive against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Russia.
A previous cease-fire deal for Idlib quickly fell apart, with Moscow and Ankara accusing each other of failing to adhere to that agreement.
After his meeting with Erdogan in Moscow, Putin expressed hope that the new agreement will “serve as a good basis for ending fighting in the Idlib de-escalation zone and ending the suffering of the civilian population.”
Erdogan said Turkey "reserves the right to retaliate with all its strength against any attack" by Syrian government forces.
Hours before the cease-fire took effect, Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced that two Turkish soldiers died and three others were wounded after Syrian government forces opened fire in Idlib.
Turkish forces "immediately" retaliated against Syrian government targets, the statement said.
On February 27, Ankara reported the killing of 34 Turkish soldiers in an air strike blamed on Syria. That led to retaliation and, on March 1, Turkey killed 19 Syrian soldiers in drone strikes and shot down two government warplanes.
Turkey and Russia -- which back opposing sides in the conflict -- have avoided direct confrontation so far, but the latest incidents have led many observers to express concerns that NATO member Turkey and Russia could become embroiled in an armed conflict.
Erdogan last week demanded that Europe support Turkish efforts in Syria while he prompted a new immigrant crisis by opening Turkey's border with Greece to refugees and migrants.
Ankara wants Assad's forces -- which have launched an assault on Idlib to pull back behind lines agreed under a 2018 deal brokered with Moscow.
Erdogan in late February told Putin that Russia should stand aside in Syria to let Turkey deal with Syrian government forces alone.
But Moscow, which has backed Assad with crucial air support in the past five years, has said the Syrian government should be able to assert full control over the country, which has been torn apart by civil war since 2011.
Separately, Reuters said an analysis of flight data and its correspondents' monitoring of shipping in the Bosphorus Strait in northwestern Turkey indicate that Russia started to increase naval and airborne deliveries to Syria on February 28 -- a day after the Turkish soldiers were killed in the Idlib air strike.
Reuters said the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Washington has expressed strong support for Turkey in the latest flare-up.
Following the February attack on Turkish soldiers, the United States said that "we stand by our NATO ally Turkey" and demanded that Syria and Russia end their "despicable" offensive in Idlib.
"We are looking at options on how we can best support Turkey in this crisis," a State Department spokeswoman said at the time.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, Interfax, and AP


rferl--2020-03-05--U.S. Defense Chief Assails Russia's 'Noncompliance' With Open Skies Treaty

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper accused Russia of violating the Treaty on Open Skies , saying Moscow has been blocking the United States from conducting flights over the Baltic Sea city of Kaliningrad and near Georgia , which are permitted by the agreement .
`` We 've also been denied access to military exercise overflights , '' Espert told a congressional hearing on March 4 .
`` I have a lot of concerns about the treaty as it stands now . ''
Signed by 34 nations including Russia , the 18-year-old treaty aims to increase international stability by allowing signatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another ’ s territories to observe military installations and other objects .
The Wall Street Journal reported in October that President Donald Trump had signed a document signaling his administration 's intent to withdraw from the treaty , the latest in a series of major arms control and disarmament accords that are on the verge of collapse .
The administration , however , has yet to announce any plans regarding the treaty .
Esper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Moscow has been cheating on the treaty `` for many years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more clearly about Russian noncompliance , ” he said .
Esper told the panel that he raised the matter at last month 's meeting of NATO defense chiefs .
`` This is important to many of our NATO allies , that they have the means to conduct the overflights , '' he said .
Some U.S. lawmakers and military officials have voiced allegations that Russia was conducting overflights of U.S. territory using advanced camera technology that were more intrusive than past flights .
U.S. administration officials did block a Russian plane using that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later relented , though another delay was imposed at the behest of Republican lawmakers in 2018 .
In September 2018 , after Russia complained about U.S. delays in allowing the Russian flight , Republican Senator Tom Cotton , a vocal opponent of the treaty , raised the issue of Russian restrictions .
`` The Open Skies Treaty is out of date and favors Russia , and the best way forward is to leave it , '' he said .
The treaty is one of several arms control agreements that are on the verge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After years of accusations toward Moscow , the Trump administration last year pulled out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty .
And the New START treaty , which puts limits on the entire nuclear arsenals for both Russia and the United States , is due to expire in 2021 , unless the two sides agree to extend it .
With reporting by AFP , The Washington Times , and The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper accused Russia of violating the Treaty on Open Skies, saying Moscow has been blocking the United States from conducting flights over the Baltic Sea city of Kaliningrad and near Georgia, which are permitted by the agreement.
"We've also been denied access to military exercise overflights," Espert told a congressional hearing on March 4. "I have a lot of concerns about the treaty as it stands now."
Signed by 34 nations including Russia, the 18-year-old treaty aims to increase international stability by allowing signatory nations to conduct surveillance flights over one another’s territories to observe military installations and other objects.
The Wall Street Journal reported in October that President Donald Trump had signed a document signaling his administration's intent to withdraw from the treaty, the latest in a series of major arms control and disarmament accords that are on the verge of collapse.
The administration, however, has yet to announce any plans regarding the treaty.
Esper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Moscow has been cheating on the treaty "for many years."
“We need to speak out more clearly about Russian noncompliance,” he said.
Esper told the panel that he raised the matter at last month's meeting of NATO defense chiefs.
"This is important to many of our NATO allies, that they have the means to conduct the overflights," he said.
'Out Of Date'
Some U.S. lawmakers and military officials have voiced allegations that Russia was conducting overflights of U.S. territory using advanced camera technology that were more intrusive than past flights.
U.S. administration officials did block a Russian plane using that technology from flying in 2016. Officials later relented, though another delay was imposed at the behest of Republican lawmakers in 2018.
In September 2018, after Russia complained about U.S. delays in allowing the Russian flight, Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a vocal opponent of the treaty, raised the issue of Russian restrictions.
"The Open Skies Treaty is out of date and favors Russia, and the best way forward is to leave it," he said.
The treaty is one of several arms control agreements that are on the verge of collapse, or have already collapsed. After years of accusations toward Moscow, the Trump administration last year pulled out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
And the New START treaty, which puts limits on the entire nuclear arsenals for both Russia and the United States, is due to expire in 2021, unless the two sides agree to extend it.
With reporting by AFP, The Washington Times, and The Wall Street Journal


rferl--2020-03-05--IMF Chief: Coronavirus Crisis Dashes Hopes Of Strong Economic Growth In 2020

The head of the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) says the coronavirus outbreak has eliminated hopes of stronger economic growth in 2020 and will likely cap output gains to the lowest rate since the 2008-09 financial crisis .
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva , a Bulgarian economist , said on March 4 that the IMF now sees world growth to be below the 2.9 percent rate achieved in 2019 , perhaps falling to the 0.7 percent level seen in 2009 .
She told a news briefing that the IMF , considered the world ’ s lender of last for resort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forecasts in the next few weeks .
`` Global growth in 2020 will dip below last year 's levels , but how far it will fall and how long the impact will be is still difficult to predict , '' Georgieva said .
The epidemic `` is no longer a regional issue -- it is a global problem calling for a global response , '' Georgieva told reporters .
The Washington-based lender had previously forecast 3.3 percent growth for 2020 .
Georgieva declined to say whether the crisis over the COVID-19 virus could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The IMF will make $ 50 billion in emergency funding available to help poor and middle-income countries with weak health systems respond to the epidemic , she said .
Georgieva added that some $ 10 billion of that can be accessed by the poorest countries at zero interest for up to 10 years .
The virus has forced the closure of factories , disrupted travel , infected nearly 95,000 people worldwide , and killed more than 3,200 , mainly in China .
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the coronavirus outbreak has eliminated hopes of stronger economic growth in 2020 and will likely cap output gains to the lowest rate since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist, said on March 4 that the IMF now sees world growth to be below the 2.9 percent rate achieved in 2019, perhaps falling to the 0.7 percent level seen in 2009.
She told a news briefing that the IMF, considered the world’s lender of last for resort for governments, will likely publish revised forecasts in the next few weeks.
"Global growth in 2020 will dip below last year's levels, but how far it will fall and how long the impact will be is still difficult to predict," Georgieva said.
The epidemic "is no longer a regional issue -- it is a global problem calling for a global response," Georgieva told reporters.
The Washington-based lender had previously forecast 3.3 percent growth for 2020.
Georgieva declined to say whether the crisis over the COVID-19 virus could push the world into a recession.
The IMF will make $50 billion in emergency funding available to help poor and middle-income countries with weak health systems respond to the epidemic, she said.
Georgieva added that some $10 billion of that can be accessed by the poorest countries at zero interest for up to 10 years.
The virus has forced the closure of factories, disrupted travel, infected nearly 95,000 people worldwide, and killed more than 3,200, mainly in China.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-03-05--Abkhazia Opposition Leader Reportedly Hospitalized During Russia Visit

SUKHUMI , Georgia -- An opposition presidential candidate in Georgia 's breakaway region of Abkhazia is now feeling well after being hospitalized in Russia for unclear reasons , his team says .
Aslan Bzhania ’ s team said on March 5 that Bzhania flew from Moscow to the Black Sea resort city of Sochi three days earlier and was hospitalized there because he felt unwell .
Bzhania was later put into an artificially induced coma and transported to the southern Russian city of Krasnodar , his team said .
Russian media reports have reported that Bzhania was diagnosed with `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an allegation rejected by Abkhazia ’ s de facto acting president , Valery Bganba , as being part of “ attempts to destabilize ” the separatist region .
Media in Abkhazia said Bzhania was hospitalized for `` multisegmental pneumonia . ''
Bzhania ’ s campaigners said he met with Abkhazia 's de-facto Deputy Prime Minister Adgur Ardzinba in Krasnodar on March 5 to discuss the “ social and political situation in the region '' ahead of an early presidential election scheduled for March 22 .
Ardzinba , along with the separatist government 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a presidential candidate .
Both suspended their campaign following Bzhania 's hospitalization .
The former leader of the breakaway region , Raul Khajimba , resigned in January following four days of opposition protests in the regional capital , Sukhumi .
The breakaway region 's parliament named de facto Prime Minister Bganba as acting president and announced that the cabinet would remain in place until a new leader is elected .
Abkhazia and Georgia 's other breakaway region of South Ossetia have been recognized as independent states by Moscow after a short Russian-Georgian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the international community consider both regions to be occupied territories .

SUKHUMI, Georgia -- An opposition presidential candidate in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia is now feeling well after being hospitalized in Russia for unclear reasons, his team says.
Aslan Bzhania's team said on March 5 that Bzhania flew from Moscow to the Black Sea resort city of Sochi three days earlier and was hospitalized there because he felt unwell.
Bzhania was later put into an artificially induced coma and transported to the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, his team said.
Russian media reports have reported that Bzhania was diagnosed with "poisoning with an unknown substance," an allegation rejected by Abkhazia’s de facto acting president, Valery Bganba, as being part of "attempts to destabilize" the separatist region.
Media in Abkhazia said Bzhania was hospitalized for "multisegmental pneumonia."
Bzhania's campaigners said he met with Abkhaz de facto Deputy Prime Minister Adgur Ardzinba in Krasnodar on March 5 to discuss the "social and political situation in the region" ahead of an early presidential election scheduled for March 22.
Ardzinba, along with the separatist government's former interior minister, Leonid Dzapshba, is also a presidential candidate. Both suspended their campaign following Bzhania's hospitalization.
The former leader of the breakaway region, Raul Khajimba, resigned in January following four days of opposition protests in the regional capital, Sukhumi.
The breakaway region's parliament named de facto Prime Minister Bganba as acting president and announced that the cabinet would remain in place until a new leader was elected.
Abkhazia and Georgia's other breakaway region of South Ossetia have been recognized as independent states by Moscow after a short Russian-Georgian war in 2008.
Georgia and most of the international community consider both regions to be occupied territories.


rferl--2020-03-05--Ukraine Parliament Passes Vote Of No-Confidence In Top Prosecutor Amid Government Reshuffle

KYIV -- The Ukrainian parliament has passed a no-confidence vote in Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka , the latest move in a reshuffle that saw the prime minister and most of his government ousted .
At an extraordinary session on March 5 , 263 members of the Verkhovna Rada backed the no-confidence resolution against Ryaboshapka , who had been holding the position of prosecutor-general since August last year .
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy 's Servant of the People party has proposed one of their lawmakers , Serhiy Ionushas , as Ryaboshapka 's replacement .
The vote in parliament comes a day after lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Honcharuk , who had been in office for six months , and backed Zelenskiy ’ s choice for his successor , Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal .
Parliament approved other cabinet members , including a new foreign , defense , and finance ministers .
Addressing lawmakers before the March 4 votes , Zelenskiy said Ukraine needs `` new brains and new hearts in the government.
” And Shmyhal wrote in a Facebook post late on March 5 that `` changing the government means that we want even better and faster reforms in Ukraine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ prudent fiscal policy and constructive cooperation with the International Monetary Fund [ IMF ] and other creditors of Ukraine , '' he added .
The government reshuffle has put the country ’ s commitment to reforms into question at a time when Kyiv is seeking to finalize a long-delayed $ 5.5 billion loan program with the IMF , seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence .
In a statement sent to RFE/RL on March 5 , a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department urged the new Ukrainian government to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moving forward with the critical steps necessary to further the country ’ s development , including strengthening the rule of law and combatting corruption.
” '' The strongest signal Ukraine can send that it remains committed to its reform trajectory is to secure a new IMF program . ''
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “ good progress was achieved ” under Honcharuk ’ s government “ in the pursuit of a broad and ambitious reform agenda.
” “ We expect the new government to demonstrate a similar degree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including as regards the fight against corruption and vested interests and in important sectors , including the financial sector , ” the statement said , adding that the rule of law “ remains the cornerstone of economic stability and investments.
” Zelenskiy won a landslide victory in the April 2019 presidential election on promises to end endemic corruption , attract foreign investment , and end the war in the east with Russian-backed separatists .
Three months later , the Servant of the People party swept national elections , giving him unprecedented power to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been stalled by oligarchs for decades .
However , public trust in Zelenskiy has slid from nearly 80 percent in September to around 50 percent last month , polling figures from the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center show .

KYIV -- The Ukrainian parliament has passed a no-confidence vote in Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka, the latest move in a reshuffle that saw the prime minister and most of his government ousted.
At an extraordinary session on March 5, 263 members of the Verkhovna Rada backed the no-confidence resolution against Ryaboshapka, who had been holding the position of prosecutor-general since August last year.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party has proposed one of their lawmakers, Serhiy Ionushas, as Ryaboshapka's replacement.
The vote in parliament comes a day after lawmakers accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, who had been in office for six months, and backed Zelenskiy's choice for his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Parliament approved other cabinet members, including a new foreign, defense, and finance ministers.
Addressing lawmakers before the March 4 votes, Zelenskiy said Ukraine needs "new brains and new hearts in the government.”
And Shmyhal wrote in a Facebook post late on March 5 that "changing the government means that we want even better and faster reforms in Ukraine."
The new cabinet will continue “prudent fiscal policy and constructive cooperation with the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and other creditors of Ukraine," he added.
The government reshuffle has put the country’s commitment to reforms into question at a time when Kyiv is seeking to finalize a long-delayed $5.5 billion loan program with the IMF, seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence.
In a statement sent to RFE/RL on March 5, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department urged the new Ukrainian government to “demonstrate its continued commitment to reform by moving forward with the critical steps necessary to further the country’s development, including strengthening the rule of law and combatting corruption.”
"The strongest signal Ukraine can send that it remains committed to its reform trajectory is to secure a new IMF program."
A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “good progress was achieved” under Honcharuk’s government “in the pursuit of a broad and ambitious reform agenda.”
“We expect the new government to demonstrate a similar degree of determination to pursue these reforms, including as regards the fight against corruption and vested interests and in important sectors, including the financial sector,” the statement said, adding that the rule of law “remains the cornerstone of economic stability and investments.”
Zelenskiy won a landslide victory in the April 2019 presidential election on promises to end endemic corruption, attract foreign investment, and end the war in the east with Russian-backed separatists.
Three months later, the Servant of the People party swept national elections, giving him unprecedented power to push through major economic reforms that had been stalled by oligarchs for decades.
However, public trust in Zelenskiy has slid from nearly 80 percent in September to around 50 percent last month, polling figures from the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center show.
With reporting by Reuters


rferl--2020-03-05--Award-Winning Iranian Filmmaker 'Summoned To Prison'

An Iranian director who won last month the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival has been summoned to serve a 1-year prison sentence over his movies , his lawyer says .
Mohammad Rasoulof won the festival 's Golden Bear for his film There Is No Evil , but was unable to accept the prize in person on February 29 due to a travel ban imposed on him by Iran ’ s authorities .
His lawyer said the 48-year-old filmmaker received an order via text message from the judiciary on March 4 to appear and start serving a 12-month prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentence came from films he made that authorities found to be “ propaganda against the system , ” said the lawyer , Nasser Zarafshan .
Zarafshan said his client would not turn himself into the authorities and would appeal the order , in part because of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran .
`` There are clear orders from the judiciary that prisoners be given leave time , and sentences not be carried out for the current '' Iranian year that ends in a few weeks , the lawyer said .
Zarafshan also said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no legal basis . ''
Rasoulof , who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2017 , is a prominent critic of the Iranian government and has been banned by the authorities from making films .
With reporting by AP and AFP

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-03-05--U.S. Accuses Iran Of Violating Nuclear Safeguards, Calls For Global Pressure

The United States has called for Iran to be held accountable for its commitments under international nuclear treaties , accusing Tehran of violating safeguards .
“ All nations must hold Iran accountable to its commitments , otherwise the NPT [ Nuclear Proliferation Treaty ] isn ’ t worth the paper it is written on , ” U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo told a news conference on March 5 .
Earlier this week , the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) said Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium over the past three months in sharp violation of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world powers .
The UN nuclear watchdog also said on March 3 that Iran appears to have three undeclared atomic sites , which the IAEA is insisting on “ clarifications ” from Tehran .
“ Iran ’ s intentional failure to declare such nuclear material as reported by the IAEA this week , would constitute a clear violation of its safeguard agreements required by the NPT .
The regime must immediately cooperate with the IAEA and fully comply with its obligations , ” Pompeo said .
“ The IAEA ’ s reports are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lie about its past nuclear weapons program , just as it lied about the downing of a civilian airliner and its suppression of the extent of its coronavirus outbreak , ” he added .
Iran in 2015 signed the nuclear accord with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the European Union , but the United States abandoned the deal in 2018 and introduced new sanctions against Iranian officials and can punish entities that do business with Tehran .
Iran has said it no longer considered itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduced some of its commitments under the deal .
It has said it would be willing to move back to full compliance with the deal if Europe provides “ meaningful ” economic benefits , but it has complained that Germany , France , and Britain have not done enough to mitigate the harm U.S. sanctions have caused .
In its report , the IAEA said Iran ’ s stockpile of low-enriched uranium had reached 1,020.9 kilograms , far above the limit of 300 kilograms allowed in the agreement .
In its previous report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the stockpile was at 372.3 kilograms .
Some experts have said Iran is reaching a level sufficient to produce a nuclear weapon , but they caution it would require several more steps -- including further enrichment -- to make the material suitable for use in a bomb .
Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian and energy uses .
The IAEA also said that Tehran refused to grant access to two of three suspected nuclear sites that the UN agency wanted to visit in late January .
With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reuters


rferl--2020-03-05--Coronavirus Fears Trigger Panic-Buying In Tajikistan

DUSHANBE -- Authorities in Tajikistan are trying to reassure the population that the Central Asian nation has enough food supplies , after panic-buying over coronavirus fears caused food price hikes and shortages .
The Health and Social Welfare Ministry said on March 5 that there is enough food in Tajikistan to feed the country ’ s 9 million people for two years .
Meanwhile , the Economy and Trade Ministry called on people “ not to believe baseless rumors ” regarding food shortages .
The statements came a day after Tajiks on March 4 rushed to bazaars to stockpile foodstuffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of flour and other staples .
Prices began to return to normal on March 5 .
The panic-buying followed a decision to suspend mosque prayers as a precaution against the spreading of the coronavirus in mostly Muslim Tajikistan .
The government also canceled traditional public festivities related to the upcoming Norouz celebrations in the capital , Dushanbe .
No confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country bordering China , where the virus emerged .
The COVID-19 disease has killed more than 3,000 people and infected tens of thousands more , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread to more than 60 other countries .

DUSHANBE -- Authorities in Tajikistan are trying to reassure the population that the Central Asian nation has enough food supplies, after panic-buying over coronavirus fears caused food price hikes and shortages.
The Health and Social Welfare Ministry said on March 5 that there is enough food in Tajikistan to feed the country’s 9 million people for two years.
Meanwhile, the Economy and Trade Ministry called on people “not to believe baseless rumors” regarding food shortages.
The statements came a day after Tajiks on March 4 rushed to bazaars to stockpile foodstuffs, causing sudden price hikes and shortages of flour and other staples.
Prices began to return to normal on March 5.
The panic-buying followed a decision to suspend mosque prayers as a precaution against the spreading of the coronavirus in mostly Muslim Tajikistan.
The government also canceled traditional public festivities related to the upcoming Norouz celebrations in the capital, Dushanbe.
No confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country bordering China, where the virus emerged.
The COVID-19 disease has killed more than 3,000 people and infected tens of thousands more, mainly in China. The virus has spread to more than 60 other countries.


rferl--2020-03-05--Kremlin Critic Navalny's Group Fined For Failing To Register As Foreign Agent

A Russian court has fined opposition politician Aleksei Navalny 's Anti-Corruption Foundation ( FBK ) for failing to register as a foreign agent under a controversial Russian law .
Navalny 's spokeswoman , Kira Yarmysh , said on March 5 that the Simonov district court in Moscow ordered FBK to pay a 500,000 ruble ( more than $ 7,500 ) fine .
Navalny , 43 , has been one of President Vladimir Putin 's most vocal critics for the better part of a decade , enduring multiple incarcerations , a barred attempt to run for president , and a hamstrung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Russia passed the original `` foreign agent '' law -- which requires all nongovernmental organizations receiving foreign funding to register -- in 2012 following a major wave of anti-government protests .
The Justice Ministry labelled FBK a foreign agent in October .
The FBK has refused to register as a foreign agent , saying it has never received financial support from foreign entities .
Last year , the “ foreign agent ” law was amended to brand reporters who work for organizations officially listed as foreign agents as foreign agents themselves .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ tried to appeal the decision of being branded a foreign agent .
Navalny has said that the move was another way to impose pressure on his organization .
On March 3 , Navalny and FBK chief Ivan Zhdanov said their bank accounts were emptied and all their payment cards and those of relatives were blocked in what they described as a move to discredit and disgrace them .
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

A Russian court has fined opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) for failing to register as a foreign agent under a controversial Russian law.
Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on March 5 that the Simonov district court in Moscow ordered FBK to pay a 500,000 ruble (more than $7,500) fine.
Navalny, 43, has been one of President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics for the better part of a decade, enduring multiple incarcerations, a barred attempt to run for president, and a hamstrung bid for the Moscow mayor's post.
Russia passed the original "foreign agent" law -- which requires all nongovernmental organizations receiving foreign funding to register -- in 2012 following a major wave of anti-government protests.
The Justice Ministry labelled FBK a foreign agent in October. The FBK has refused to register as a foreign agent, saying it has never received financial support from foreign entities.
Last year, the “foreign agent” law was amended to brand reporters who work for organizations officially listed as foreign agents as foreign agents themselves.
Since October, the FBK has unsuccessfully tried to appeal the decision of being branded a foreign agent. Navalny has said that the move was another way to impose pressure on his organization.
On March 3, Navalny and FBK chief Ivan Zhdanov said their bank accounts were emptied and all their payment cards and those of relatives were blocked in what they described as a move to discredit and disgrace them.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-03-05--U.A.E. Extradites Ablyazov Associate To Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN -- The United Arab Emirates ( U.A.E . )
has extradited to Kazakhstan the former managing director of the country 's BTA Bank , Rustam Ibragimov , an alleged associate of a leading opposition figure residing in France , Mukhtar Ablyazov .
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General 's Office said on March 5 that Ibragimov is suspected of assisting Ablyazov with the illegal transfer of significant sums of money from BTA Bank to foreign financial institutions .
According to the office , Ibragimov 's extradition became possible after a Kyrgyz passport he used had been found to be illegal as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kyrgyz and U.A.E .
authorities .
Ibragimov has been placed in a detention center in Kazakhstan ’ s largest city , Almaty , the statement added .
Ablyazov , a former BTA head , is wanted by Kazakhstan , Russia , and Ukraine on suspicion of embezzling some $ 5 billion .
Ablyazov and his supporters reject the charge as politically motivated .
Ablyazov was sentenced to life in prison in absentia in 2018 after a court found him guilty of masterminding the murder of a banker in 2004 .
In a separate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2017 , Ablyazov was convicted of embezzlement , abuse of office , and organizing a criminal group and sentenced to 20 years in prison .
Ablyazov , who coordinates the activities of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement from abroad , denies all the charges .
Several politicians and activists have fled Kazakhstan in recent years , fearing for their safety or anticipating politically motivated prosecution .

NUR-SULTAN -- The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) has extradited to Kazakhstan the former managing director of the country's BTA Bank, Rustam Ibragimov, an alleged associate of a leading opposition figure residing in France, Mukhtar Ablyazov.
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said on March 5 that Ibragimov is suspected of assisting Ablyazov with the illegal transfer of significant sums of money from BTA Bank to foreign financial institutions.
According to the office, Ibragimov's extradition became possible after a Kyrgyz passport he used had been found to be illegal as a result of joint efforts between Kazakh, Kyrgyz and U.A.E. authorities.
Ibragimov has been placed in a detention center in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, the statement added.
Ablyazov, a former BTA head, is wanted by Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine on suspicion of embezzling some $5 billion. Ablyazov and his supporters reject the charge as politically motivated.
Ablyazov was sentenced to life in prison in absentia in 2018 after a court found him guilty of masterminding the murder of a banker in 2004.
In a separate trial in absentia in Kazakhstan that ended in 2017, Ablyazov was convicted of embezzlement, abuse of office, and organizing a criminal group and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ablyazov, who coordinates the activities of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan movement from abroad, denies all the charges.
Several politicians and activists have fled Kazakhstan in recent years, fearing for their safety or anticipating politically motivated prosecution.


rferl--2020-03-05--U.S. Rejects Top Court's 'Reckless' Decision To Back Afghan War Crimes Probe

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denounced as `` reckless '' a ruling by the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) that an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan could go ahead .
“ This is a truly breathtaking action by an unaccountable political institution , masquerading as a legal body , ” Pompeo said on March 5 following the ICC judges ’ decision to overturn on appeal a previous decision to block the probe into crimes allegedly committed by the Taliban , Afghan security forces , and the U.S. military and intelligence agencies .
The ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in The Hague came days after the United States and the Taliban signed a deal aimed at putting an end to the 18-year war in Afghanistan .
“ It is all the more reckless for this ruling to come just days after the United States signed a historic peace deal on Afghanistan -- the best chance for peace in a generation , ” Pompeo said in his statement .
He said the United States , which is not a party to the ICC , will take “ all necessary measures to protect our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Afghanistan is a signatory of the ICC but officials have expressed opposition to the investigation .
Human rights groups welcomed the Appeals Chamber ’ s decision , with Amnesty International saying : “ This is an historic moment where the International Criminal Court has reversed a terrible mistake and decided to stand by the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all sides to the conflict in Afghanistan . ''
In November 2017 , ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges to initiate an investigation into alleged war crimes and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 2003 .
But in April 2019 , an ICC pretrial chamber rejected the inquiry as not being in the “ interests of justice ” because it would likely fail due to lack of cooperation .
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed this ruling , which was condemned by victims and rights groups , calling it `` a major international victory…for the rule of law . ''
Judge Piotr Hofmanski , president of the ICC 's Appeals Chamber , said in rendering the March 5 judgment that the pretrial chamber “ erred in deciding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this stage would not serve the interest of justice . ''
The Appeals Chamber “ considers it appropriate to amend the appeal decision to the effect that the prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation , '' Hofmanski said .
After the announcement , Solomon Sacco of Amnesty International said the ICC “ represents the first true hope of justice for the victims of conflict , who have been shamefully ignored for years.
” Patricia Gossman , associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch , said : `` Afghans who are skeptical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intra-Afghan peace talks can deliver a better future , now have reason to believe that justice might not be squandered in the process . ''
Washington has said it would revoke or deny visas to ICC staff seeking to investigate the allegations of abuses .
The United States is among dozens of countries that have not ratified the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002 .
U.S. forces and other foreign troops intervened in Afghanistan following the September 11 , 2001 , attacks in the United States and overthrew the Taliban government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country , as well as European forces participating in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission .
More than 32,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict , according to the United Nations .


rferl--2020-03-05--Pompeo Says Afghanistan Violence 'Must Be Reduced' For Peace Process To Move Forward

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has voiced frustration with renewed violence in Afghanistan , saying the Afghan parties to the conflict need to take advantage of a peace deal signed over the weekend .
`` Violence must be reduced immediately for the peace process to move forward , '' Pompeo told reporters on March 5 .
`` Do not squander this opportunity . ''
The comments came after the Pentagon said U.S. forces conducted a “ defensive ” air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan on March 4 , as attacks by the militants left at least 32 Afghan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provinces .
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel a February 29 agreement signed in Doha between the United States and the Taliban and aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan .
The deal would allow allied forces to leave the country within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government -- which the militant group so far has refused to do .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key clause in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 5,000 Taliban prisoners .
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks until that provision was met .
`` What we have urged the parties to do is stop posturing , '' Pompeo told his press conference in Washington , adding that this includes moving ahead with prisoner releases and sitting down to talk .
`` We still have confidence the Taliban leadership is working to deliver on its commitments .
We are working on ours , '' he also said .
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban is honoring the agreement by not attacking U.S. and coalition forces , “ but not in terms of sustaining the reduction in violence.
” “ Keeping that group of people on board is a challenge .
They 've got their range of hard-liners and soft-liners and so they ’ re wrestling with that too , I think , ” Esper added .
Esper , who was in Kabul with Afghan leaders while the peace agreement was signed in Qatar , told senators that the deal allows the U.S. military to act to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the commitment I made to the Afghans when I was there .
We would continue to defend the Afghans , ” he said .
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told lawmakers that `` there were significant numbers of attacks , small attacks , ” adding that the assaults “ were all beaten back . ''
Zalmay Khalilzad , the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan , did not refer to the U.S. strike in a series of Twitter comments .
But he said : `` Increasing violence is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must be reduced immediately . ''
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet that `` according to the plan , [ the Taliban ] is implementing all parts of the agreement one after another in order to keep the fighting reduced . ''
With reporting by AP , Reuters , and AFP


rferl--2020-03-05--Cease-Fire Agreed By Erdogan, Putin Comes Into Effect In Syria’s Idlib

A cease-fire agreed to by the leaders of Turkey and Russia for the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib has gone into effect , as Ankara and Moscow seek to ease tensions over a flare-up in violence in Syria .
The agreement was announced on March 5 following about six hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart , Recep Tayyip Erdogan , in Moscow .
The cease-fire -- which will be enforced along existing battle lines -- officially went into effect at midnight in Syria .
However , the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came into force , bombings were continuing , in the region .
The deal envisages setting up a 12-kilometer-wide security corridor along the M4 highway .
The corridor is to be jointly patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops , starting March 15 .
The meeting came amid tensions in Idlib , Syria 's last rebel stronghold , in recent weeks as Turkey launched an offensive against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , a close ally of Russia .
A previous cease-fire deal for Idlib quickly fell apart , with Moscow and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adhere to that agreement .
After his meeting with Erdogan in Moscow , Putin expressed hope that the new agreement will “ serve as a good basis for ending fighting in the Idlib de-escalation zone and ending the suffering of the civilian population.
” Erdogan said Turkey `` reserves the right to retaliate with all its strength against any attack '' by Syrian government forces .
Hours before the cease-fire took effect , Turkey ’ s Defense Ministry announced that two Turkish soldiers died and three others were wounded after Syrian government forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` immediately '' retaliated against Syrian government targets , the statement said .
On February 27 , Ankara reported the killing of 34 Turkish soldiers in an air strike blamed on Syria .
That led to retaliation and , on March 1 , Turkey killed 19 Syrian soldiers in drone strikes and shot down two government warplanes .
Turkey and Russia -- which back opposing sides in the conflict -- have avoided direct confrontation so far , but the latest incidents have led many observers to express concerns that NATO member Turkey and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conflict .
Erdogan last week demanded that Europe support Turkish efforts in Syria while he prompted a new immigrant crisis by opening Turkey 's border with Greece to refugees and migrants .
Ankara wants Assad 's forces -- which have launched an assault on Idlib to pull back behind lines agreed under a 2018 deal brokered with Moscow .
Erdogan in late February told Putin that Russia should stand aside in Syria to let Turkey deal with Syrian government forces alone .
But Moscow , which has backed Assad with crucial air support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the Syrian government should be able to assert full control over the country , which has been torn apart by civil war since 2011 .
Separately , Reuters said an analysis of flight data and its correspondents ' monitoring of shipping in the Bosphorus Strait in northwestern Turkey indicate that Russia started to increase naval and airborne deliveries to Syria on February 28 -- a day after the Turkish soldiers were killed in the Idlib air strike .
Reuters said the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strong support for Turkey in the latest flare-up .
Following the February attack on Turkish soldiers , the United States said that `` we stand by our NATO ally Turkey '' and demanded that Syria and Russia end their `` despicable '' offensive in Idlib .
`` We are looking at options on how we can best support Turkey in this crisis , '' a State Department spokeswoman said at the time .
With reporting by AFP , Reuters , Interfax , and AP


rferl--2020-03-06--Jailed Tajik Lawyer Yorov Receives Homo Homini Human Rights Prize

PRAGUE -- Jailed Tajik lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov has received the Prague-based People in Need NGO 's annual Homo Homini prize at a special ceremony in the Czech capital .
Prominent Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov , who spent more than four years in Russian prisons for his stance against his native Crimea 's annexation by Moscow in 2014 , and Simon Panek , the head of the People In Need , handed the prize to Yorov 's brother Jamshed on March 5 .
`` Such support for people like Yorov is extremely important .
The more we talk about them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charges , the greater chance that they will not be tortured or killed while in custody .
And there is a better chance that under the pressure of the international community , these people will be freed the way I was freed , '' Sentsov said before handing the prize to Jamshed Yorov .
Panek called Buzurgmehr Yorov `` a lawyer with an extremely strong sense of justice and truth , which led him to the decision to start defending people whose rights were abused , who were unfairly prosecuted , and those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities who ordered the cases to be launched . ''
After receiving his brother 's award , Jamshed Yorov expressed gratitude to the People In Need organization and read out a statement from his brother , who stressed that the award gave him and his compatriots hope that the ideas of `` human rights and the rule of law '' had not been forgotten .
`` Your support , your understanding , and your recognition give me strength and reiterate my belief that justice will always win out .
I do not regret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done for justice and the law , '' Buzurgmehr Yorov 's statement said .
Yorov was sentenced in October 2016 on charges of issuing public calls for the overthrow of the government and inciting social unrest .
His 23-year prison term was later extended by five years after he was found guilty of contempt of court and insulting a government official .
Last year , his prison term was cut by six years as part of a mass amnesty .
Yorov has denied any wrongdoing , saying his trial was politically motivated because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party of Tajikistan , a group that was banned in 2015 as a terrorist organization .
Western governments and human rights organizations have urged the Tajik government to release Yorov , who last year was awarded the Faiziniso Vohidova Human Rights Prize by the Association of Central Asian Migrants in Europe .
The Homo Homini Award annual prize is awarded to people and groups in recognition of their contribution to `` the defense of human rights , democracy , and the nonviolent resolution of political conflicts . ''

PRAGUE -- Jailed Tajik lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov has received the Prague-based People in Need NGO's annual Homo Homini prize at a special ceremony in the Czech capital.
Prominent Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, who spent more than four years in Russian prisons for his stance against his native Crimea's annexation by Moscow in 2014, and Simon Panek, the head of the People In Need, handed the prize to Yorov's brother Jamshed on March 5.
"Such support for people like Yorov is extremely important. The more we talk about them, the innocent people jailed on trumped-up charges, the greater chance that they will not be tortured or killed while in custody. And there is a better chance that under the pressure of the international community, these people will be freed the way I was freed," Sentsov said before handing the prize to Jamshed Yorov.
Panek called Buzurgmehr Yorov "a lawyer with an extremely strong sense of justice and truth, which led him to the decision to start defending people whose rights were abused, who were unfairly prosecuted, and those whose trials were fully controlled by the authorities who ordered the cases to be launched."
After receiving his brother's award, Jamshed Yorov expressed gratitude to the People In Need organization and read out a statement from his brother, who stressed that the award gave him and his compatriots hope that the ideas of "human rights and the rule of law" had not been forgotten.
"Your support, your understanding, and your recognition give me strength and reiterate my belief that justice will always win out. I do not regret anything, everything I've done was done for justice and the law," Buzurgmehr Yorov's statement said.
Yorov was sentenced in October 2016 on charges of issuing public calls for the overthrow of the government and inciting social unrest. His 23-year prison term was later extended by five years after he was found guilty of contempt of court and insulting a government official.
Last year, his prison term was cut by six years as part of a mass amnesty.
Yorov has denied any wrongdoing, saying his trial was politically motivated because he defended members of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, a group that was banned in 2015 as a terrorist organization.
Western governments and human rights organizations have urged the Tajik government to release Yorov, who last year was awarded the Faiziniso Vohidova Human Rights Prize by the Association of Central Asian Migrants in Europe.
The Homo Homini Award annual prize is awarded to people and groups in recognition of their contribution to "the defense of human rights, democracy, and the nonviolent resolution of political conflicts."
Past laureates include Azerbaijani lawyer Intiqam Aliyev, Belarusian human rights defender Ales Byalyatski, and Iranian activists Abdollah Momeni and Majid Tavakoli.


rferl--2020-03-06--Trial Date Set For Kyrgyz Ex-President Over Deadly Clashes

BISHKEK -- A date has been set for the trial of the former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces at Atambaev 's compound last year in a Bishkek suburb .
Atambaev 's lawyer , Zamir Jooshev , told RFE/RL on March 6 that the Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek ruled after several days of preliminary hearings that the trial will start on March 23 .
Jooshev also said that Judge Marat Sydykov had rejected a defense motion to have the trial open to the public , ruling instead that it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August 2019 , security officials were sent to Atambaev 's compound in the settlement of Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation over his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013 .
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following two days of violent resistance .
The resistance by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer , Usenbek Niyazbekov , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including 79 law enforcement officers .
Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants were charged with murder , attempted murder , threatening or assaulting representatives of authorities , hostage taking , and forced power seizure .
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated .
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately .
The clashes underscored a power struggle between Atambaev and his handpicked successor , Sooronbai Jeenbekov , which raised fears of instability in the Central Asian state .

BISHKEK -- A date has been set for the trial of the former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces at Atambaev's compound last year in a Bishkek suburb.
Atambaev's lawyer, Zamir Jooshev, told RFE/RL on March 6 that the Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek ruled after several days of preliminary hearings that the trial will start on March 23.
Jooshev also said that Judge Marat Sydykov had rejected a defense motion to have the trial open to the public, ruling instead that it will be held behind closed doors.
In August 2019, security officials were sent to Atambaev's compound in the settlement of Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation over his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013.
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following two days of violent resistance.
The resistance by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer, Usenbek Niyazbekov, and injuries to more than 170 others, including 79 law enforcement officers.
Atambaev and his 13 co-defendants were charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of authorities, hostage taking, and forced power seizure.
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated.
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately.
The clashes underscored a power struggle between Atambaev and his handpicked successor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, which raised fears of instability in the Central Asian state.


rferl--2020-03-06--Dozens Killed In Kabul Attack, Abdullah Escapes Unharmed

KABUL -- Gunmen have opened fire at a ceremony in Kabul , killing at least 27 people in the first major attack in the Afghan capital since the United States and Taliban agreed to a troop withdrawal .
The Health Ministry said that 29 people were wounded in the March 6 attack at a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari , which was attended by several high-level officials , including Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah , who escaped unharmed .
Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said sporadic clashes were still occurring between special police forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been commemorating the death of Ali Mazari , an ethnic Hazara leader who was killed in 1995 after being taken prisoner by militants .
The Taliban immediately denied responsibility for the attack .
`` The attack is an inhuman crime against the national unity of Afghanistan , '' President Ashraf Ghani said on Twitter .
`` The security forces will deal decisively with the culprits of this event , '' he added .
Abdullah , runner-up in the last three Afghan presidential elections , has served as chief executive of a coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all three election losses .
Broadcaster Tolo News showed live video of people running for cover as gunfire was heard in an eerily similar attack to one at the same memorial last year that Islamic State ( IS ) militants claimed responsibility for .
In the past the IS group has attacked Afghan Shi ' a , whom the militants see as heretics .
Ali Mazari was Shi'ite .
With reporting by Reuters and Tolo News


rferl--2020-03-06--U.S. Charges Russian Billionaire Tinkov With Tax Fraud

Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov has been formally charged with tax fraud for allegedly filing false tax returns , the U.S. Justice Department says .
An indictment issued on September 26 , 2019 , by a federal grand jury was unsealed on March 5 following Tinkov 's arrest in London .
Tinkov is the founder of TCS Group Holdings , a digital financial-services company operating in Russia .
According to The Sunday Express newspaper in Britain , Tinkov had posted bail of 20 million pounds ( $ 25.6 million ) to remain free in London as he fights the U.S. tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tinkov 's charges relate to an initial public offering ( IPO ) on the London Stock Exchange of TCS shares .
Three days after the IPO , Tinkoff , a Russian national , gave up his U.S. citizenship , the indictment said .
U.S. passport holders must pay an `` exit tax '' to the IRS when they give up their American citizenship .
The tax is based on the profit Tinkov would have made if he sold all of his assets at the time he relinquished his citizenship .
The indictment says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion in assets and income when renouncing U.S .
citizenship . ''
With reporting by The Sunday Express and Vedomosti

Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov has been formally charged with tax fraud for allegedly filing false tax returns, the U.S. Justice Department says.
An indictment issued on September 26, 2019, by a federal grand jury was unsealed on March 5 following Tinkov's arrest in London.
Tinkov is the founder of TCS Group Holdings, a digital financial-services company operating in Russia.
According to The Sunday Express newspaper in Britain, Tinkov had posted bail of 20 million pounds ($25.6 million) to remain free in London as he fights the U.S. tax authorities.
According to the indictment, Tinkov's charges relate to an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange of TCS shares.
Three days after the IPO, Tinkoff, a Russian national, gave up his U.S. citizenship, the indictment said.
U.S. passport holders must pay an "exit tax" to the IRS when they give up their American citizenship. The tax is based on the profit Tinkov would have made if he sold all of his assets at the time he relinquished his citizenship.
The indictment says the Russian "allegedly concealed $1 billion in assets and income when renouncing U.S. citizenship."
With reporting by The Sunday Express and Vedomosti


rferl--2020-03-06--Trump Calls Taliban Fighters 'Warriors,' Says Chief Has Difficult Task

U.S. President Donald Trump has called Taliban fighters `` warriors '' and said the extremist group 's leader has a difficult task in trying to get them to end their violent attacks .
`` They are warriors , fighters , and have been doing this for thousands of years , '' Trump said during a question-and-answer session televised by Fox News on March 5 .
`` It 's not the easiest leadership position , '' Trump said , in an apparent reference to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar , a Taliban co-founder and the militant group 's political chief .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tribes '' in Afghanistan and that the Taliban had trouble maintaining control over them .
Trump on March 3 said he had spoken by phone with the Taliban leader , saying it was a `` very good '' discussion .
`` I spoke to the leader of the Taliban today .
We had a good conversation .
We 've agreed there is no violence , '' Trump told reporters at the White House .
`` We had , actually , a very good talk with the leader of the Taliban , '' he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other U.S. officials voiced frustration with renewed violence in Afghanistan , saying the Afghan parties to the conflict needed to take advantage of a peace deal signed over the weekend .
`` Violence must be reduced immediately for the peace process to move forward , '' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on March 5 .
`` Do not squander this opportunity . ''
Nevertheless , Pompeo said that `` we have seen the senior Taliban leadership working diligently to reduce violence from previous levels . ''
`` So we still have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliver on its commitments .
We 're working to deliver on ours , '' he said .
`` What we have urged the parties to do is stop posturing , '' he said .
The comments came after the Pentagon said U.S. forces conducted a `` defensive '' air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan on March 4 , as attacks by the militants left at least 32 Afghan security force members dead in at least three provinces .
The wave of violence is threatening to unravel a February 29 agreement signed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban and aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan .
The deal would allow allied forces to leave the country within 14 months in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with the Afghan government -- which the militant group so far has refused to do .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has warned he was not committed to a key clause in the deal involving the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners .
The Taliban said it would not take part in intra-Afghan talks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pompeo urged both sides to move forward with prisoner releases .
The United States plans to seek UN Security Council backing for the peace deal , according to AP .
A U.S. draft resolution , seen by the news agency , would welcome the February 28 announcement of the agreement and would encourage `` the sustained support '' of the UN and international partners for the efforts toward peace in Afghanistan .
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told AFP in an interview that `` it is a very difficult situation , and the Taliban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see reduction in violence . ''
With reporting by dpa , Fox , AP , Reuters , AFP , and RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan


rferl--2020-03-06--U.S., Britain Again Accuse Russia Of Cyberattacks On Georgia

The United States , Britain , and Estonia have accused Russian military intelligence of conducting massive cyberattacks against the Georgian government and media websites in a bid `` to sow discord and disrupt the lives of ordinary Georgians . ''
The three countries told the UN Security Council on March 5 that the cyberattacks `` are part of Russia 's long-running campaign of hostile and destabilizing activity against Georgia and are part of a wider pattern of malign activity . ''
The remarks came after Georgia 's ambassador wrote to the Security Council in February about the large-scale attack in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States and Britain publicly joined Georgia in blaming Russia for the coordinated cyberattack , which took thousands of Georgian websites offline and even disrupted TV broadcasts .
More than 2,000 state , private , and media websites as well as two private television stations -- Imedi and Maestro -- were knocked out on October 28 .
The targeted websites included those of the president 's office and local municipality offices .
Washington and London said in separate statements at the time that the attacks were carried out by a unit of Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unit 74455 and Sandworm .
Sandworm is known as a single group of hackers within the GRU and security experts have linked it to such cyber-breaches as the theft of 9 gigabytes of e-mails from the French presidential campaign of Emmanuel Macron , a similar campaign against the Democratic National Committee in the United States in 2016 , as well as the malware that hit Ukraine 's power grid in 2015 and spread globally .
At the UN on March 5 , Estonian Ambassador Sven Jurgenson read a statement while standing with British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet , saying the attacks demonstrate `` a continuing pattern of reckless ... cyberoperations against a number of countries '' by the GRU .
`` These actions clearly contradict Russia 's attempts to claim it is a responsible actor in cyberspace , '' their statement said .
`` Irresponsibility in cyberspace is detrimental to all of us . ''
Russia 's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations as `` unfounded and politically driven . ''
It said the accusations reflect Georgia 's efforts at `` demonization '' of Russia and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries .
Russia has fraught relations with its southern neighbor , which is seeking to join Western organizations such as the European Union and NATO , moves that Moscow opposes .
Russia fought a five-day war with Georgia in 2008 after which Russia recognized the independence claim of two breakaway regions , Abkhazia and South Ossetia , that comprise 20 percent of its territory .
Russia is one of only a few countries that recognizes the two regions ' independence .
With reporting by AP and RFE/RL ’ s Georgian Service

The United States, Britain, and Estonia have accused Russian military intelligence of conducting massive cyberattacks against the Georgian government and media websites in a bid "to sow discord and disrupt the lives of ordinary Georgians."
The three countries told the UN Security Council on March 5 that the cyberattacks "are part of Russia's long-running campaign of hostile and destabilizing activity against Georgia and are part of a wider pattern of malign activity."
The remarks came after Georgia's ambassador wrote to the Security Council in February about the large-scale attack in October.
On February 20, the United States and Britain publicly joined Georgia in blaming Russia for the coordinated cyberattack, which took thousands of Georgian websites offline and even disrupted TV broadcasts.
More than 2,000 state, private, and media websites as well as two private television stations -- Imedi and Maestro -- were knocked out on October 28. The targeted websites included those of the president's office and local municipality offices.
Washington and London said in separate statements at the time that the attacks were carried out by a unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency known as Unit 74455 and Sandworm.
Sandworm is known as a single group of hackers within the GRU and security experts have linked it to such cyber-breaches as the theft of 9 gigabytes of e-mails from the French presidential campaign of Emmanuel Macron, a similar campaign against the Democratic National Committee in the United States in 2016, as well as the malware that hit Ukraine's power grid in 2015 and spread globally.
At the UN on March 5, Estonian Ambassador Sven Jurgenson read a statement while standing with British envoy Karen Pierce and acting U.S. Deputy Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet, saying the attacks demonstrate "a continuing pattern of reckless...cyberoperations against a number of countries" by the GRU.
"These actions clearly contradict Russia's attempts to claim it is a responsible actor in cyberspace," their statement said. "Irresponsibility in cyberspace is detrimental to all of us."
Russia's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations as "unfounded and politically driven."
It said the accusations reflect Georgia's efforts at "demonization" of Russia and that they would further hamper relations between the countries.
Russia has fraught relations with its southern neighbor, which is seeking to join Western organizations such as the European Union and NATO, moves that Moscow opposes.
Russia fought a five-day war with Georgia in 2008 after which Russia recognized the independence claim of two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, that comprise 20 percent of its territory. Russia is one of only a few countries that recognizes the two regions' independence.
With reporting by AP and RFE/RL’s Georgian Service