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All Ukrainians can now apply for fast-track Russian citizenship, according to a decree signed Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Previously, this option had been open only to residents of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as residents of the southern Zaporizhzhia and the Kherson regions, which are largely under Russian control.

It was unclear how many would apply for Russian citizenship, but between 2019 — when the offer was made available to residents of Donetsk and Luhansk — and 2022, about 18% of the population in rebel-held areas of Ukraine received Russian passports.

In May, the program was expanded to residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on Putin’s decree.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters and The Associated Press.
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Hundreds of people marched in Spain’s capital Madrid Sunday to demand “human rights for Cubans” during a demonstration marking the first anniversary of the protests in Cuba.

Police reported that some 250 people participated in the march. They also asked for freedom for political prisoners.

“The tentacles of the Cuban regime are very wide,” said Cuban émigré Yadira Dobarganes, who criticized what she called the “false and lying leftists.” Among her demands was that Cubans have the right to return to the island, alluding to the complaints about the restrictions imposed by Havana on some people who are prevented from returning to the country for political reasons.

VOA found emigrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua among the protesters who chanted slogans. “No more dictatorship,” “Democracy for Cuba now,” and “SOS Cuba,” read some of the posters.

Some politicians also attended, such as Rocío Monasterio, a VOX party member of the Assembly of Madrid.

The demonstration took place almost a year after July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets, from Havana to Santiago de Cuba, frustrated by months of crisis, restrictions, a lack of medicine, and other resources to put a stop to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their demands called for vaccines and “freedom.”

It was the first massive demonstration in decades on the island with a one-party political system and communist government, where dissenters are usually sentenced to long prison sentences. To date, human rights organizations inside and outside the country have reported that more than 1,000 protesters have been arrested or imprisoned. The government reported that it had criminally prosecuted 380 people for crimes of sedition, sabotage, robbery with force, violence and others.

Those who echoed the protests on social networks were threatened and ordered to delete the publications that showed the discontent and the magnitude of the protests.

Many were arrested, including teenagers, who have been brought to trial and sentenced to prison terms.

The government of Miguel Díaz-Canel then asked his followers to take to the streets to respond to the protesters, claiming that many were “confused” and pointed to the United States government to encourage the protests that shook the island. The island government also said that the goal was to “destabilize” the socialist system that had been in place for decades.

“The combat order is given,” Díaz-Canel said in an intervention on state television a year ago.

Havana blames the U.S. embargo for the economic crisis it has faced for decades and which has worsened in recent years. Some of those who dissent say mismanagement and the Cuban political system has the Caribbean island in crisis.

Law to criminalize protest

In August 2021, the government approved Decree-Law 35, aimed at content or messages that Havana considers to be false, offensive news or that may incite acts “that disturb public order.” Under the law, anyone who tries to “subvert the constitutional order” will be considered a cyberterrorist.

In Madrid, Cuban singer and activist Yotuel Romero led the march that ended in the popular Plaza Cibeles.

“It has been incredible, few people expected because today is Sunday, yesterday was the day of gay pride. … We have to continue ‘positions and connected,'” said Romero, one of the authors of the song “Patria y Vida,” which served as inspiration and motto for the demands for democratic changes in Cuba.

“I have come to protest and ask for the freedom that the Cuban people deserve,” Armando López, who was wearing a hat decorated with a Cuban flag , told VOA.

Other demonstrations are expected to take place on Monday in Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Seville and Saragoza.
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Russia is shutting down the Nord Stream One pipeline for annual maintenance beginning Monday morning.

The pipeline from Russia, which under the Baltic Sea, is Germany’s main source of gas, and is scheduled to be offline until July 21.

German officials have expressed doubts about Russia’s intentions, especially given the fact that Nord Stream operator Gazprom reduced the gas flow by 60% last month.

Gazprom has said the maintenance includes “testing of mechanical elements and automation systems.”

Gazprom also reported technical problems with parts of a turbine that its partner Siemens Energy sent to Canada for repair, but which could not be returned because of western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Canada, however, said over the weekend that it would allow the parts to be returned to Germany, citing the “very significant hardship” the insufficient gas supply will cause to German economy.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has said he suspected that Russia may cite “some little technical detail” as a reason not to resume gas deliveries to Germany after the maintenance is completed.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Thousands of people from Bosnia-Herzegovina and around the world have descended on Srebrenica for the 27th anniversary of Serbian massacre 

Serbian forces summarily executed more than 8,000 Bosnian men and boys. About 100,000 people, including women and children died during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.

Families of 50 recently identified victims will rebury their loved ones after almost three decades of searching through the mass graves scattered around the eastern Bosnian town.

The Srebrenica massacre is Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust and is the only one legally defined as such by many countries and two United Nations courts.

A special U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague found Bosnian Serb wartime president Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica and eventually extended their initial long-term prison sentences to life imprisonment. 

The tribunal and courts in the Balkan countries have sentenced about 50 Bosnian Serb wartime officials to more than 700 years in prison for the Srebrenica killings.

Leaders of Serb Republic of Bosnia, or Republika Srpska, however, continue to downplay or even deny the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and hail Karadzic and Mladic as national heroes.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
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An activist who shouted “Where is Peng Shuai?” and held up a sign with the same message was removed from Center Court during the Wimbledon men’s final on Sunday.

Drew Pavlou, an activist who made a similar protest at the Australian Open this year, said he shouted the message during a stoppage in play and was then forcefully removed from the stadium.

“I didn’t want to disrupt the actual match itself, so I waited to make sure there was a break in the play and then I just basically held up a sign saying, ‘Where is Peng Shuai?'” Pavlou told The Associated Press. “And I just said, ‘Where is Peng Shuai? This Chinese tennis star is being persecuted by the Chinese government. Why won’t Wimbledon say something?'”

Peng is a retired professional tennis player from China who last year accused a former high-ranking member of the country’s ruling Communist Party of sexual assault. She has made very few public appearances since then.

On Monday, four activists wearing “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts were stopped by security at Wimbledon and had their bags searched.

Pavlou said he smuggled the sign onto the grounds of the All England Club by folding it up and hiding it in his shoe. He also had a T-shirt with the message tucked into the waistline of his jeans.

He shouted the protest early in the third set of the match between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios. Djokovic eventually beat Kyrgios, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

“I tried to be as loud as possible,” said Pavlou, who is Australian. “I screamed it because I wanted people to hear it.”

Pavlou said security wrestled him to the ground and then four of them restrained him with his arms behind his back and brought him to a public area outside Center Court. He said he was then told to leave the grounds.

He tried to reenter a short time later, but a security guard told him his tickets had been canceled.

The All England Club said Pavlou was removed “after disrupting play by shouting, running down the stairs and causing a nuisance to their fellow spectators.”

At the Australian Open, a spectator was removed from the grounds for wearing a T-shirt supporting Peng, but the tournament later reversed its decision and allowed people to wear the clothing as long as they didn’t congregate in large groups or cause problems for other spectators.

Peng disappeared from public view last year after accusing former Communist Party official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Her accusation was quickly scrubbed from the internet and discussion of it remains heavily censored.

Peng won two Grand Slam women’s doubles titles in her career, including at Wimbledon in 2013.

The women’s professional tennis tour canceled its tournaments in China because of the situation surrounding Peng.
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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is “deeply disappointed” by a Canadian government decision to return a repaired Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline turbine to Germany after completing maintenance on the equipment.

The decision sets a “dangerous precedent” and will “strengthen Moscow’s sense of impunity,” the ministry said Sunday in a statement.

The statement warns that the transfer of the turbine would allow Russia to continue to use energy as a weapon in war and calls on the Canadian government to reverse its decision.

Canada announced the decision Saturday, saying at the same time that it would expand sanctions against Russia’s energy sector to include industrial manufacturing.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Russia could continue supplying gas to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in full without the turbine.

It said the Nord Stream 1 compressor station where the turbine operated is equipped with several other turbines, including backups.

One turbine is in Canada, three are currently operating, and the rest “have been turned off without explanation,” the ministry said.

It also reiterated its position that Russia could continue uninterrupted gas supplies to the European Union even if Nord Stream 1 were out of operation entirely by using gas-transit routes through Ukraine or Poland.

“Thus, Russia’s demand for the mandatory return of the turbine to continue gas transportation is blackmail that has no technical justification,” the ministry said.

Ukraine also asserted that Canada made its decision despite having said that it understood that Russia’s demand had no technical basis.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement the new sanctions would apply to “land and pipeline transport and the manufacturing of metals and of transport, computer, electronic and electrical equipment, as well as of machinery.”

It said the sanctions would “put further pressure on a pillar of the Russian economy” and further increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime over “his senseless war in Ukraine.”

The German corporation Siemens said Sunday that Canada’s decision was a “necessary and important first step” for the delivery of the turbine.

“The political export decision is a necessary and important first step for the delivery of the turbine. Currently, our experts are working intensively on all further formal approvals and logistics,” Siemens Energy said.

“Among other things, this involves legally required export- and import-control procedures. Our goal is to transport the turbine to its place of operation as quickly as possible,” it added.

Russia’s Gazprom last month cut the capacity along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 40% of normal levels, pointing to the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada.

The turbine will be sent to Germany first and then be delivered to Gazprom so that Canada does not breach any sanctions, a government source told Reuters.

Germany says the return of the turbine would deprive Russia of an excuse to keep supplies significantly below normal levels.

Moscow on July 8 said it would increase gas supplies to Europe if the turbine was returned.

Some information for this article came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Volunteers from Kyiv are providing hundreds of meals each day for the beleaguered residents of the nearly destroyed village of Borodyanka, just outside Ukraine’s capital. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. Camera and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy.
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Spaniards stayed in the shade in parks, headed for the beach or sipped iced drinks to tackle stifling temperatures as high as 43C (110F), as the country experiences its second heatwave this year.

Warm summer sunshine combined with a hot air front from North Africa have sent temperatures soaring, state metereological forecasters AEMET said on Sunday, and the heatwave could last until July 14.

The highest recorded temperature on Sunday was 43C (110F) by the Guadalquivir river near Seville in southern Spain and in Badajoz, towards the west of the country, forecasters said.

For Rasha, 45, a Syrian health executive who lives in Abu Dhabi, the heatwave was an unwelcome surprise on holiday.

“It’s not as enjoyable as we would like it to be on a holiday but it is what it is. But compared to the desert it is not that bad,” she told Reuters.

Lazaro Cun, 37, a builder from Guatemala, stayed in the shade in Madrid’s Casa de Campo Park to escape the heat.

“It is hot but at least with a breeze you feel better,” he said.

AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo told Reuters that temperatures could touch 44C in Corboda or Extremadura in southern Spain.

“They could also reach 42C in parts of [central Spain] like Castille and Leon and Galicia [in central and western Spain] on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Del Campo advised people to avoid excessive physical activity, to take care of elderly people with conditions which meant they were sensitive to high temperatures, and to drink plenty of water.

He said there was also a high risk of forest fires during the heatwave.

In June, Spaniards weathered the earliest heatwave since 1981, according to AEMET, with temperatures surpassing 40F in parts of central and southern Spain.
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Novak Djokovic withstood early brilliance from Australian showman Nick Kyrgios to secure a fourth successive Wimbledon title with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) victory on a sun-drenched Centre Court on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Serb stretched his unbeaten streak at Wimbledon to 28 matches as he calmly seized the initiative after being eclipsed in an opening set dominated by the Kyrgios serve.

In claiming a seventh Wimbledon crown, Djokovic took his Grand Slam singles haul to 21, one behind men’s all-time record holder Rafa Nadal.

Playing in his first Grand Slam final, the 27-year-old Kyrgios played some scintillating tennis in a 31-minute opening set in which Djokovic could get nowhere near his serve.

But Djokovic raised his level to break out of nowhere early in the second set and began to take control as Kyrgios’s volatile temperament started to boil in the afternoon heat.

When Kyrgios dropped serve from 40-0 up at 4-4 in the second set and Djokovic held to move a set from victory the Australian appeared close to losing control as he ranted with his box.

Kyrgios re-focused in a fourth set in which neither player saw a break point but his dream of becoming Australia’s first male Grand slam champion for 20 years evaporated as his game fell apart in the tiebreak.

After a Kyrgios backhand hit the net on Djokovic’s third match point, the top seed raised his arms to the sky and after shaking hands bent down to pluck some grass from the famous old court having become the second-oldest men’s Wimbledon champion in the professional era.
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German police are investigating after several women reported feeling unwell following an event hosted by the parliamentary group of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party.

Berlin police said Saturday that the investigation was triggered by a 21-year-old woman, who felt dizzy and unwell several hours into Wednesday’s summer party for the Social Democrats and then was unable to remember the evening the following day. She went to a hospital for checks, and the police ordered a blood test for an analysis of possible toxic substances.

The woman ate and drank at the event, but didn’t consume any alcohol, police said. By Saturday morning, another four cases in which people reported similar symptoms had emerged. German media reported that they apparently were victims of so-called “knockout drops,” which can be mixed into drinks or food. Police said they were awaiting test results.

Police opened an investigation of unknown persons on suspicion of bodily harm. Both they and the center-left Social Democrats said they weren’t aware of any offenses beyond that.

The Social Democrats’ co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, told Welt television he was “furious that something like this could happen at an event” organized by the party. He said the parliamentary group’s leadership is cooperating with authorities and he hopes “that the perpetrator or perpetrators can be caught and then brought to account.”

About 1,000 people attended the annual party Wednesday, including the chancellor, party lawmakers and their employees. 
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