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Turkey’s decision to convert the ancient Hagia Sophia monument back into a mosque has sparked a war of words between Athens and Ankara. However, as Greece intensifies its diplomatic scramble to slap sanctions on Turkey, Greek businesses have launched a campaign to boycott goods and services from the neighboring country.Vassilis Korkidis, a leading representative of commerce in Greece, is blunt about the need, as he puts it, to strike back at Turkey.We recognize the ongoing works and efforts of the government to counter the recasting of Hagia Sophia, he said. However, until that materializes into something concrete, Korkidis said, Greek businesses should waste no time in boycotting trade with their Turkish partners.Even on a personal level, he says, consumers should follow suit. They can do so immediately, he said, boycotting Turkish goods, which bear the numbers 868 and 869 on the barcodes of imported products.Despite age-old animosity between the two countries, trade relations have grown substantially in recent years. Greece’s annual exports to Turkey total about $1.6 billion, significantly more than the $1.2 billion in imports from Turkey.Whether Greeks will heed the trade boycott remains unclear, especially as the economy here has been thrown into chaos by the COVID-19 pandemic.However, the anger, sadness and resentment toward the Hagia Sophia recast weighs heavily in this largely Eastern Orthodox country — so much in fact, that experts say any short-lived trade gain is offset by bigger losses.In this Presidential Press Office handout picture, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, July 24, 2020.Korkidis explained, “We may enjoy a generous trade surplus, he says, but when you factor in the resources that Greece has to pull together to fend off continued flows of illegal migration from Turkey, and the huge military costs now racking up to safeguard against Turkish provocations — well all of that wipes out any semblance of a surplus.”The issue of Hagia Sophia is just the latest of a string of crises Greece is facing from its fellow NATO member, Turkey. Relations have been aggravated for years over land and sea rights in the Aegean, as well as thousands of illegal migrants continuing to stream into Greece from Turkey. In recent weeks, also, tensions have soared as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to begin drilling for oil and gas in waters Greece considers its own. Greek business associations say they are already reaching out to partner organizations across Europe to institute build an even broader boycott against Turkey.It is clear that the West is becoming increasingly unnerved by the actions of Turkey, Korkidis said. It is high time, he said, that Erdogan’s government stops using cultural issues to advance its political agenda.The trade boycott is just one of many grassroots movements and protests, swelling in Greece.On Sunday, alone, church bells tolled anew across the nation while tens of thousands of people packed into houses of prayer, singing hymns in honor of the Hagia Sophia, the seat of Eastern Christianity for about a thousand years before Ottoman Turks conquered its host city, then known as Constantinople.Protesters burn a Turkish national flag outside of a church during a gathering in Thessaloniki, July 24, 2020, against turning the historic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to a mosque after serving for more than 80 years as museum.In more worrying signs, though, teams of far-right nationalists fanned out across a city in northern Greece, torching a Turkish flag. The Greek government condemned the move. Still, it stoked nationalist and patriotic passions with a fresh round stinging remarks against the country’s age-old foe by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.He said Turkey is a troublemaker threatening peace and security in the region, he says, but we have shown, that we can defend our borders, the European Union’s frontiers.Greece believes the Hagia Sophia conversion is part of a bigger plan by Turkey to reassert itself as a regional and energy superpower.Turkey says Greece is significantly overreacting. Even so, Greece insists it is not taking any chances, keeping its forces on code-red alert, ready to wage war if further provoked on any front. 
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Britain’s Prince Harry took offence at what he thought was Prince William’s “snobbishness” when he advised his brother to “take as much time as you need to get to know this girl” when he was dating Meghan Markle, a new book says.Harry and his wife, Meghan, have distanced themselves from the book called “Finding Freedom,” saying they were not interviewed for the biography being serialized by The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers and made no contributions to it.The book documents, citing sources, a time when Harry and Meghan were dating and William wanted to make sure the American actress had the right intentions, The Sunday Times said.”Don’t feel you need to rush this,” William told Harry, according to sources cited by the book. “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”The Sunday Times said Harry heard a tone of snobbishness in the last two words, “this girl”, and that Harry no longer felt he needed looking after.The couple and their son, Archie, now live in Los Angeles after they stepped down from their royal roles in March to forge new careers. In January they announced plans to lead a more independent life and to finance it themselves. Harry and Meghan married in May 2018 in a wedding heralded at the time as infusing a blast of Hollywood glamour and modernity into the British monarchy and which made them one of the world’s biggest celebrity couples. 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the Russian Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defence ministry said were in their final phase of testing. Putin, who says he does not want an arms race, has often spoken of a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons that he says are unequalled and can hit almost anywhere in the world. Some Western experts have questioned how advanced they are. The weapons, some of which have yet to be deployed, include the Poseidon underwater nuclear drone, designed to be carried by submarines, and the Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, which can be deployed on surface ships. The combination of speed, manoeuvrability and altitude of hypersonic missiles, capable of travelling at more than five times the speed of sound, makes them difficult to track and intercept. Speaking in St Petersburg at an annual naval parade that showcases Russia’s best ships, nuclear submarines and naval aviation, Putin said the navy’s capabilities were growing and it would get 40 new vessels this year. He did not specify when it would receive new hypersonic weapons, but suggested that day was drawing closer. “The widespread deployment of advanced digital technologies that have no equals in the world, including hypersonic strike systems and underwater drones, will give the fleet unique advantages and increased combat capabilities,” Putin said. In a separate statement released via Russian news agencies, the defence ministry said testing of the Belgorod, the first submarine capable of carrying the Poseidon drones, was underway and testing of the weapons systems was nearing completion. “Work is being successfully completed to create modern weapons systems for the Navy,” it was cited as saying. Putin last year threatened to deploy hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines that could lurk outside U.S. territorial waters if the United States moved to deploy intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe. Washington has not deployed such missiles in Europe, but Moscow is worried it might.  
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The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has expressed its regret over Saturday’s death of Kyrgyz human rights defender Azimjan Askarov in prison.“Today, we grieve together with Azimjan’s family and all who knew him,” the organization said in a statement.Askarov, a long-standing partner of ODIHR, had for many years prior to his arrest, documented “police abuse and brutality in his native Kyrgyzstan,” the statement said.The office had been calling for Askarov’s release since he was first arrested in 2010.ODIHR and many other observers of his trials in 2010 and 2011, had noted serious violations of “fair trial standards and the failure of the authorities to address the intimidation of defense witnesses and lawyers or follow up on visible signs of torture,” the statement said.Just two months ago, ODIHR objected the decision of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court to uphold the life sentence imposed on Askarov in 2010.“It is unfortunate that the Kyrgyz authorities did not use the opportunity open to them to restore justice,” ODIHR said.ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir had said in a statement in May: “I call on the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to implement the UN Human Rights Committee decision and free Mr. Askarov, in line with the country’s international human rights obligations.”    
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Spaniards demonstrated against the monarchy Saturday as allegations of corruption against former King Juan Carlos, King Felipe’s father, continue to mount.Wearing masks and observing social distancing to adhere to coronavirus restrictions, protesters in Madrid waved Republican flags.”Now more than ever, amid a health crisis, a crisis of the system, we have a head of state who is stealing in front of our faces is even more outrageous than ever,” said Mar Hernandez, a teacher. “We had to come here to prove it.”Felipe had already renounced any inheritance from his father when the corruption allegations surfaced in mid-March. He has also ended Juan Carlos’ palace allowance.“I think that corruption has to be something much more serious, we should all be here today in the first place, all representing our people saying how much more they will continue to steal, and nothing will happen,” said Raquel Boca, a retiree.In June, Spain’s Supreme Court initiated an investigation into the former king’s involvement in a high-speed rail contract with Saudi Arabia after Switzerland’s La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported Juan Carlos had received $100 million from the late Saudi king.Juan Carlos has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations. 
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Poland will take steps next week to withdraw from a European treaty on violence against women, which the right-wing cabinet says violates parents’ rights by requiring schools to teach children about gender, the justice minister said on Saturday.Zbigniew Ziobro told a news conference his ministry would submit a request to the labor and families ministry on Monday to begin the process of withdrawing from the treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention.”It contains elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful,” Ziobro said.Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and its coalition partners closely align themselves with the Catholic Church and promote a conservative social agenda.Hostility to gay rights was one of the main issues promoted by President Andrej Duda during a successful reelection campaign this month.On Friday, thousands of people, mostly women, protested in Warsaw and other cities against proposals to reject the treaty.”The aim is to legalize domestic violence,” Marta Lempart, one of the protest organizers said on Friday at a march in Warsaw. Some protesters carried banners saying “PiS is the women’s hell.”PiS has long complained about the Istanbul Convention, which Poland ratified under a previous centrist government in 2015. The government says the treaty is disrespectful towards religion and requires teaching liberal social policies in schools, although in the past it has stopped short of a decision to quit.Ziobro, the justice minister, represents a smaller right-wing party within the ruling coalition. A government spokesman was not available on Saturday for comment on whether Ziobro’s announcement of plans to quit the treaty represented a collective cabinet decision.The World Health Organization says domestic violence has surged this year in Europe during months of lockdown aimed at fighting the coronavirus.  
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Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the streets of Russia’s Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk for a third weekend on Saturday to show their anger over the Kremlin’s replacement of a popular regional governor.The sustained demonstrations represent a growing challenge for President Vladimir Putin, who is viewed as having a role in sparking the regional crisis after he fired Sergei Furgal on Monday.Many called for Putin’s resignation. Others chanted “Disgrace” and denounced the acting governor that Putin appointed in Khabarovsk.Municipal authorities in Khabarovsk estimated about 6,500 demonstrators took part in the Saturday protest. Local media put the number at up to 20,000 people.But protest leaders and independent journalists said there were more than 50,000 people demonstrating in Khabarovsk, which would make it the largest anti-government protest there since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.Protesters in Khabarovsk see criminal charges raised against Furgal before his dismissal as unsubstantiated. They are demanding he stand trial at home instead of Moscow, where he has been transferred.”People are offended,” said Dmitry Kachalin, one of the protesters. “I think people are taking to the streets because their vote in the 2018 election was taken away.”Unlike Moscow, where police quickly disperse unsanctioned opposition protests, Russian authorities have not attempted to break up the unauthorized demonstrations in Khabarovsk — apparently hoping the rallies will dissipate over time.But daily protests, peaking at the weekends, have been going on for more than two weeks.They reflect discontent with Putin’s rule as well as anger against what local residents see as Moscow’s disrespect of their choice to run the region.Warnings by local officials about the coronavirus have failed to discourage people from taking to the streets and join the protests.The protests in Khabarovsk, about 6,100 kilometers and seven time zones east of Moscow, have created headaches for the Kremlin as it tries to prevent unrest over the economic impact of coronavirus restrictions.Furgal was arrested in Khabarovsk on July 9 and transferred to Moscow. He is charged with attempted murder as well as ordering two murders in 2004-05. He denies the charges, saying they are politically motivated.Furgal, a member of Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), was elected as the region’s governor nearly two years ago in an upset victory against the longtime incumbent from Putin’s ruling United Russia party.He was officially dismissed by Putin on Monday and replaced the same day when Putin appointed LDPR member Mikhail Degtyaryov as acting governor.Degtyaryov has said on Instagram that he is following the protests via surveillance cameras.He also has used his Instagram account to call on Khabarovsk’s residents to maintain social-distancing practices during the rallies and has warned that the authorities could tighten coronavirus restrictions there.He has said protesters should spend time “properly” with their relatives at their summer houses on the weekend instead of taking to the streets.He has also charged, without providing evidence, that the ongoing rallies are being organized by unspecified “foreigners,” adding that he will not meet with the demonstrators.On Tuesday, two local lawmakers in Khabarovsk, Pyotr Yemelyanov and Aleksandr Kayan, quit the LDPR in protest against Furgal’s dismissal.With reporting by Current Time, Reuters, and AFP. 
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Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday across Russia’s Far East city of Khabarovsk on the border with China to protest the arrest of the regional governor on murder charges, continuing a two-week wave of protests that has challenged the Kremlin.Sergei Furgal has been in a Moscow jail since his arrest on July 9, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has named an acting successor. Protesters in Khabarovsk see the charges against Furgal as unsubstantiated and demand that he stand trial at home.”People are offended,” said protester Dmitry Kachalin. “I think people take to the streets because their vote in the 2018 election was taken away.”Unlike Moscow, where police usually move quickly to disperse unsanctioned opposition protests, authorities haven’t interfered with the unauthorized demonstrations in Khabarovsk, apparently expecting them to fizzle out in the city 3,800 miles (6,100 kilometers) east of the Russian capital.But daily protests, peaking at weekends, have gone on for two weeks, reflecting anger at what residents see as Moscow’s disrespect of their choice for governor and simmering discontent with Putin’s rule. Local officials’ attempts to discourage people from joining the demonstrations by warning about the risk of coronavirus infection have been unsuccessful.”We had enough,” said protester Anastasia Schegorina. “We elected the governor and we want to be heard and decide ourselves what to do with him. Bring him here, and a fair and open trial will decide whether to convict him or not.”People attend a rally supporting the Khabarovsk region’s governor, Sergei Furgal, who was interrogated and ordered to be held in jail for two months, in Khabarovsk, Russia, July 25, 2020.Protesters chanted “Freedom!” and “Russia, wake up!” and carried placards voicing support for Furgal and denouncing Putin.Demonstrations were also held in other cities of the Far East, and police didn’t intervene. But in Moscow, police briefly detained several dozen activists who attempted to stage pickets in support of Furgal.Authorities suspect Furgal of involvement in several killings of businessmen in 2004 and 2005. He has denied the charges, which date to his time as a businessman with interests focusing on timber and metals.A lawmaker on the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party ticket, Furgal won the 2018 gubernatorial election even though he had refrained from campaigning and publicly supported his Kremlin-backed rival.His victory was a humiliating setback to the main Kremlin party, United Russia, which also lost its control over the regional legislature. During his time in office, Furgal earned a reputation as a “people’s governor,” cutting his own salary, ordering the sale of an expensive yacht that the previous administration had bought and offering new benefits to residents.”We want to protect Furgal,” said Evgenia Selina, who joined Saturday’s protest. “If we hadn’t elected him, he would have been living quietly with his family and working at the State Duma. He would have had a normal life.”Mikhail Degtyaryov, a federal lawmaker whom Putin named Monday to succeed Furgal, is also a member of the Liberal-Democratic Party — a choice that was apparently intended to assuage local anger. If that was the plan, it hasn’t worked.Degtyaryov, who has refrained from facing the protesters, left the city on Saturday for an inspection trip across the region.
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