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The British Museum said Wednesday that a member of its staff has been dismissed after items dating back as far as the 15th century B.C. were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.

The museum said it has also ordered an independent review of security and a “vigorous program to recover the missing items.”

The stolen artifacts include gold jewelry and gems of semiprecious stones and glass dating from the 15th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D. Most were small items kept in a storeroom and none had been on display recently, the museum said.

“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said George Osborne, the museum’s chair.

“This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the museum we have embarked upon,” Osborne said.

The museum said that legal action would be taken against the dismissed staff member and that the matter was under investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

The 264-year-old British Museum is a major London tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the world who come to see a vast collection of artifacts ranging from the Rosetta Stone that unlocked the language of ancient Egypt to scrolls bearing 12th century Chinese poetry and masks created by the indigenous people of Canada.

But the museum has also attracted controversy because it has resisted calls from communities around the world to return items of historical significance that were acquired during the era of the British Empire. The most famous of these disputes include marble carvings from the Parthenon in Greece and the Benin bronzes from West Africa.

Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum, apologized and said the institution was determined to put things right.

“This is a highly unusual incident,” said Fischer said. “I know I speak for all colleagues when I say that we take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously.”
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Russia’s lunar spacecraft entered the moon’s orbit on Wednesday, a major step toward the country’s ambition of being the first to land on the moon’s south pole in the search for frozen water. 

The Luna-25 entered the moon’s orbit at 11:57 a.m. local time (0857 GMT), Russia’s space corporate Roskosmos said. 

Luna-25 will circle the moon, the Earth’s only natural satellite, for about five days, then change course for a soft landing on the lunar south pole planned for August 21. 

India’s Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon’s orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of the moon later this month. 

The Luna-25, which is roughly the size of a small car, will aim to operate for a year on the south pole, where scientists at NASA and other space agencies in recent years have detected traces of frozen water in the craters. 

The presence of water on the moon has implications for major space powers, potentially allowing longer human sojourns on the planet that would enable the mining of lunar resources.  

No Russian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit since Luna-24, the Soviet Union’s 1976 moon mission, according to Anatoly Zak, the creator and publisher of www.RussianSpaceWeb.com which tracks Russian space programs. 

“Entering lunar orbit is absolutely critical for the success of this project,” Zak told Reuters. “This is a first for the post-Soviet period.” 

“Some are calling this the second lunar race so it is very important for Russia to resume this program. Luna-25 is not just one mission — it is part of a much broader Russian strategy that stretches 10 years into the future.” 
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Georgia, a NATO and European Union aspirant, is touting a new strategic partnership with China, prompting concerns the alliance will strain Tbilisi’s long-standing Western partnerships.

Georgia signed a strategic partnership agreement with China following an official visit to Beijing last month by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. 

The partnership carries with it the potential of increased trade and infrastructure development, with possible economic benefits which Tbilisi is touting for its more than 3.5 million citizens. 

“China very rapidly became the third-largest trading partner for Georgia. And today, since you asked about the potential, what else could we achieve? I think easily, if we continue to export more goods, more products, more quality products on the Chinese market and vice versa, I think China can easily become the No. 1 trading partner for Georgia. So, there’s a big potential,” Garibashvili recently told the Chinese CGTN show “Leaders Talk.”

Garibashvili underscored his country’s unique strategic location at the eastern end of the Black Sea as a way to connect East with West by what he termed “the shortest route.”

Path to prosperity or long-term risk?

The agreement has come under scrutiny as Georgia awaits a European Commission decision on its EU candidacy, expected at the end of this year.

As explained by Garibashvili, the strategic partnership aims to enhance trade and logistics cooperation. He says it commits Georgia, among others, to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative as well as a Global Security Initiative, or GSI, part of a proposed security architecture announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year. 

Some view this latest move as a threat to Georgia’s European aspirations, which are backed by an overwhelming majority of the population and enshrined in its constitution. Some experts are particularly concerned about the GSI, which, according to Lily McElwee, a fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “basically is a way to provide Chinese-style solutions to governance issues.”

‘Anti-Western, anti-American initiative?’

Formally announced on April 21, 2022, two months after Russia started its full-scale war in Ukraine, GSI is “an alternative to the support that the West has given to Ukraine,” former Georgian Defense Minister Tina Khidasheli told VOA.

The fundamental premise of GSI as outlined by the Chinese Communist Party is that the “security of one country should not come at the expense of others.”

“The legitimate and reasonable security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously and addressed properly, not persistently ignored or systemically challenged,” states a position paper published by China’s foreign ministry. 

Some observers view it as a challenge to the rules-based international order dominated by Western democracies.

“This is an initiative stemming from China, aiming to reshape the global landscape and the current world order,” said Miro Popkhadze, a fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

He told VOA the Chinese version of global order directly undermines Georgia’s security.

“Russia is not in favor of countries like Georgia or Ukraine joining NATO,” he said. “If one were to heed Russia’s concerns in line with this initiative, Georgia might need to reconsider its European aspirations. Georgia’s stance appears conflicting: Georgia aims to be part of NATO and the European Union, yet the country’s government also is supporting an initiative that might be harmful to Georgia’s interests.”

While the partnership with Georgia expands China’s economic and security interests in the Caucasus and the Black Sea, other observers say Tbilisi itself is not getting much out of the deal.

Tinatin Khidasheli, Georgia’s former defense minister who now heads the Tbilisi-based non-governmental organization Civic Idea, called the partnership “a game changer” and “a huge challenge for the Georgian state.”  

“Not only on the level of everyday life, but even on the level of the constitutional foundation of this country,” she told VOA. “Because the constitution of Georgia specifically says that Georgia’s foreign policy priority is becoming a member of the European Union.”

One of the most meaningful indicators of Georgia not being an equal partner in the relationship is the document’s opening paragraph, which reads, “The two sides reaffirm their respect for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries. Georgia firmly adheres to the one-China principle.”

China understands the one-China principle to legitimize its sovereignty over the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, a position that the United States and most Western countries have not endorsed in the case of Taiwan.

Georgia’s occupied territories

The document also fails to mention Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, which include the two Russian-occupied regions of Georgia — the Tskhinvali Region, also called South Ossetia, and Abkhazia — which Russia invaded in 2008 and then declared as independent states.  

“This omission is likely because China’s close strategic partner is Russia,” said Khidasheli, adding that a balanced statement would have recognized Georgia’s territorial integrity “in relation to the occupied territories.”

Others see Georgia’s budding alignment with China as moving in the opposite direction of the West, said Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO.

“It’s true that lots of countries, including Western countries, have ongoing substantial relationships with China, but the trend has been to pull away from that,” he told VOA. “Whereas what we’ve seen from the Georgian government is going in the opposite direction by just recently signing a new strategic partnership with China.”

Georgia’s foreign affairs ministry did not respond to VOA requests for a response.

Volker thinks some economic deals signed with China “give advantage to China in these foreign markets.”

Citing the 2022 enactment of the U.S. CHIPs and Science Act, Volker points to the United States as just one example of a Western nation weaning itself from Chinese supply chains by “favoring domestic production of semiconductors to ensure system integrity.”

Taiwan currently produces some 60% of the world’s semiconductors, which are used in a wide variety of products including smartphones and electric vehicles, and have military applications. Because Taiwan faces threats from China, which claims the self-ruling island as its own, the U.S. has allocated $52.7 billion to promote semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development on its own soil. 

In this global context, Volker cautions that by favoring short-term deals with China, the Georgian government “may be underestimating Georgia’s own long-term interests and its relationship with the West.” 

Matthew Bryza, a former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, expressed worries about the timing of this partnership and the message it might send to the West.

“The moment chosen to announce this strategic partnership and form it is now against the backdrop of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and Georgia’s refusal to join the sanctions against Russia,” he told VOA.

“[The Georgian government’s] ridiculous lies that the United States wants to use Georgia to open a second front against Russia … all this together cannot be seen as a friendly set of actions by a country that wishes to join the transatlantic community,” he said. “Any country that does that is not fit for joining the transatlantic family.”

The official U.S. government position was subtler.

In a written comment obtained by VOA’s Georgian service, the State Department said, “The United States respects countries’ sovereign decisions about with whom they want to engage with or do business with.”

“However, we emphasize the importance of these activities being done transparently, according to the rule of law, and with trusted vendors,” it said.

The United States has had a strategic partnership with Georgia since 2009. 
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The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia as Washington cracks down on those seeking to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said that Russia has increasingly been forced to turn to North Korea and other allies to sustain its war in Ukraine as it expends munitions and loses heavy equipment on the battlefield.

The action is the latest by Washington, which has imposed rafts of sanctions targeting Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and turned cities to rubble.

“The United States continues to root out illicit financial networks that seek to channel support from North Korea to Russia’s war machine,” Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the statement.

“Alongside our allies and partners, we remain committed to exposing and disrupting the arms trade underpinning Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine.”

The entities targeted in Wednesday’s action are Limited Liability Company Verus, Defense Engineering Limited Liability Partnership and Versor S.R.O.
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s a woman and a journalist, Nafisa Sahar saw no future for herself when the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan. Now in Dusseldorf, Germany, she is picking up the pieces of her life. For Helay Asad in Dusseldorf, Bezhan Hamdard has the story for VOA News.
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Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russia damaged grain infrastructure at a port in the Odesa region in southern Ukraine as part of an overnight drone attack.

Odesa’s Gov. Oleh Kiper said on Telegram the attack damaged warehouses and grain storage facilities at a port on the Danube River.

Kiper said there were no reported casualties from the attack, and that Ukraine’s air force had downed 11 Russian drones over Odesa.

The Ukrainian military said its air defenses destroyed 13 total drones overnight, saying Russia had used Iranian-made Shahed drones to target Odesa and Mykolaiv.

In the eastern part of the country, Ukrainian forces recaptured the settlement of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said.

“Urozhaine liberated,” Maliar said on Telegram. “Our defenders are entrenched on the outskirts.”

Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday its air defense systems destroyed three Ukrainian drones over the Kaluga region.

The Russian ministry said the early morning attack did not cause any injuries or infrastructure damage.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Poland on Tuesday held its largest military parade in 29 years — a display of strength aimed at neighbors Belarus and Russia and a sign that Polish attitudes on defense are changing in the wake of Russian aggression in Ukraine. For VOA, Lesia Bakalets reports from Warsaw.
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Rashmin Joyenda, an Afghan woman who championed women’s freedom and education under the Taliban in Afghanistan, has found asylum in France. After being detained by the Taliban for her protests, she fled her homeland and now speaks out against the regime from Paris. VOA’s Jalal Mirzad has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: VOA Afghan.
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A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Tuesday, admitting that he agreed after leaving the agency to work for a Russian oligarch he had once investigated to seek dirt on the oligarch’s wealthy rival in violation of sanctions on Russia.

Charles McGonigal, 55, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan to a single count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to commit money laundering, saying he was “deeply remorseful for it.”

McGonigal told Judge Jennifer H. Rearden that he carried out his crime in the spring and fall of 2021, accepting over $17,000 to help Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska by collecting derogatory information about a Russian oligarch who was a business competitor of Deripaska.

Sentencing was set for Dec. 14, when McGonigal could face up to five years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Dell told the judge that prosecutors had proof McGonigal was making efforts to remove Deripaska from a U.S. sanctions list.

She also said McGonigal in 2021 was in negotiations along with co-conspirators to receive a fee of $650,000 to $3 million to hunt for electronic files revealing hidden assets of $500 million belonging to Deripaska’s rival.

McGonigal, a resident of Manhattan, is separately charged in federal court in Washington with concealing at least $225,000 in cash he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence official while working for the FBI.

McGonigal was special agent in charge of the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018. McGonigal supervised investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska, who was sanctioned in 2018 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia later affirmed the sanctions against Deripaska, finding that there was evidence that Deripaska had acted as an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

McGonigal, who became choked up at one point as he described his crime, said Deripaska funneled the $17,500 payment he received through a bank in Cypress and a corporation in New Jersey before it was transferred into McGonigal’s bank account.

“This, as you can imagine, has been a painful process not only for me, but for my friends, family and loved ones,” McGonigal said. “I take full responsibility, as my actions were never intended to hurt the United States, the FBI and my family and friends.”

In a release, Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said, “McGonigal, by his own admission, betrayed his oath and actively concealed his illicit work at the bidding of a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

“Today’s plea shows the Department of Justice’s resolve to pursue and dismantle the illegal networks that Russian oligarchs use to try to escape the reach of our sanctions and evade our laws,” he said.
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Lithuania — a NATO member with a population of nearly 3 million — is beefing up its border security because the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus has escalated security concerns. VOA Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from the Lithuania-Belarusian border.
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Brazil forward Neymar has signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain, the clubs announced on Tuesday, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

“I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali,” the 31-year-old Neymar said in a video posted to Al Hilal’s social media accounts.

“It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world,” said PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi in a statement from the French champions.

“I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, and what he has contributed to our club and our project over the last six years. We had a great moment and Neymar will always be a big part of our history,” he added.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of $242 million, a few weeks before they recruited Kylian Mbappe.

The Brazilian scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but his time at PSG was blighted by injuries.

Although he helped the club to the 2020 Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich, he was sidelined for key games.

Neymar underwent surgery on his right ankle in early March, only returning to join PSG on their preseason tour of Asia.

However, he no longer figured in new coach Luis Enrique’s plans and was immediately linked with a move to Al Hilal, where he will earn “100 million euros a season,” according to a source close to the matter.

PSG will not come close to recouping the fee they paid for Neymar but will still pocket close to 100 million euros as well, according to the same source.

Al Hilal have traditionally been one of Saudi Arabia’s top clubs and have been crowned Asian Champions League winners on four occasions.

They are coached by Portugal’s Jorge Jesus, who is in his second spell at the club, while the squad currently boasts four international players recently lured from Europe — Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot Malcom.

Last month Al Hilal made a $328 million bid for Mbappe, though the striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the team.

Neymar’s departure from PSG follows that of Lionel Messi who now plays for Inter Miami in the United States.
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Russia and North Korea on Tuesday advocated closer collaboration including in the defense sector, the latest show of deepening ties between the countries at odds with the United States.

Moscow and Pyongyang — both increasingly isolated from the West and weighted with sanctions — have drawn closer since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine and commenced large-scale hostilities last year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “stressed the need to further develop tactical and strategic cooperation and interaction between the two countries in the fields of defense and security,” the country’s defense minister said in a statement carried by the state-run RIA Novosti agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Tuesday called for deeper ties, in a congratulatory message to Kim marking his country’s National Liberation Day.

“I am sure that we will continue to build up bilateral cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our peoples, in the interests of strengthening stability and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region as a whole,” Putin said in a statement distributed by the Kremlin. 

Putin said it was during Korea’s liberation from Japan and “harsh wartime” that groundwork was laid for close cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The leaders’ statements came after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last month hailed Russia’s partnership with North Korea during a meeting with his counterpart Kang Sun Nam in Pyongyang.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to the visit saying the United States believed Shoigu was in North Korea to secure supplies of weapons to aid Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
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