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US citizen convicted of drug-related charges by Moscow court, sentenced to 12.5 years

US citizen convicted of drug-related charges by Moscow court, sentenced to 12.5 years
US citizen Robert Woodland is escorted to a court room prior to a court session on drug-related charges in Moscow on Jul. 4, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 04 July 2024
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US citizen convicted of drug-related charges by Moscow court, sentenced to 12.5 years

US citizen convicted of drug-related charges by Moscow court, sentenced to 12.5 years
  • He was found guilty of attempted trafficking of large amounts of illegal drugs as part of an organized group
  • Lawyer Stanislav Kshevitsky also said that Woodland has been suffering from unspecified mental health issues
Updated 04 July 2024
AP
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MOSCOW: Robert Woodland, a Russia-born US citizen, was convicted of drug-related charges by a Moscow court and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison on Thursday, court officials and his lawyers said.
He was found guilty of attempted trafficking of large amounts of illegal drugs as part of an organized group, according to an online statement released by court officials, and sentenced to 12 1/2 years in a maxim security penal colony. His lawyers told reporters after the verdict was delivered Thursday that they will appeal the ruling because Woodland’s guilt hasn’t been proven.
Lawyer Stanislav Kshevitsky also said that Woodland has been suffering from unspecified mental health issues. He didn’t provide any details, but said that the court didn’t take those issues into account.
Russian media reported that his name matches a US citizen interviewed in 2020 who said he was born in the Perm region in 1991 and adopted by an American couple at age 2. He was arrested in January.
He said he traveled to Russia to find his mother and eventually met her on a TV show before deciding to move to Russia. Russian news agency Interfax has cited court officials as saying that Woodland also holds Russian citizenship.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington sink to Cold War lows. Washington accuses Moscow of targeting its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all broke the law.
Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the US, while for others, the prospects of being released in a swap are less clear.
The US State Department said Thursday it was aware that a US citizen was sentenced by a Russian court and that the embassy in Moscow was closely monitoring the case. The department, citing privacy issues, said it would have no further comment.

Topics: Russia US drugs Moscow court Robert Woodland

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Netherlands to impose land border controls from Dec 9, says migration ministry

Netherlands to impose land border controls from Dec 9, says migration ministry
Updated 8 sec ago
Reuters
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Netherlands to impose land border controls from Dec 9, says migration ministry

Netherlands to impose land border controls from Dec 9, says migration ministry
Updated 8 sec ago
Reuters
AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands will impose controls on its land borders from Dec. 9, a spokesperson for Migration Minister Marjolein Faber said on Monday, confirming an earlier report by Dutch news agency ANP.
The controls on borders, all of which are with fellow countries in the EU's Schengen border-free zone, are set to last six months, part of a wider crackdown on migration proposed by the right-wing coalition led by the anti-Muslim nationalist PVV party of Geert Wilders. They follow a similar move by neighbouring Germany.

Trial starts over rape, murder of junior doctor in India’s Kolkata

Trial starts over rape, murder of junior doctor in India’s Kolkata
Updated 46 min 33 sec ago
Reuters
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Trial starts over rape, murder of junior doctor in India’s Kolkata

Trial starts over rape, murder of junior doctor in India’s Kolkata
  • The woman’s body was found in a classroom at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9
  • The case has reignited criticism of lack of safety for women in India, despite introducing tougher laws
Updated 46 min 33 sec ago
Reuters

KOLKATA: A court in the eastern state of West Bengal began the trial on Monday of a police volunteer accused of raping and murdering a doctor at a government hospital in August, a case that has sparked outrage over the lack of safety for women in India.
The woman’s body was found in a classroom at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in the state capital Kolkata on Aug. 9, federal police said. They also said they had arrested a police volunteer, Sanjay Roy, for the crime.
Charges were drawn up last week, while Roy said he was “completely innocent” and was being framed, local media reported.
The legal case has reignited criticism of India’s poor record on women’s safety despite the introduction of tougher laws following the 2012 gang rape and murder of a woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.
It also shines a light on the poor infrastructure and security at government hospitals in India, many of which lack basic facilities including CCTV cameras and security personnel.
Around 128 witnesses will be examined during the trial, court sources told Reuters, with hearings taking place on a daily basis as authorities look to fast-track the high-profile case. They will not be open to the public.
One source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the father of the woman doctor, the alleged victim, gave evidence on Monday.
In addition to the defendant Roy, India’s federal police said they arrested the officer in charge of the local police station and the superintendent of the hospital for allegedly tampering with evidence and financial irregularities.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met protesters last month and accepted most of their demands, doctors seeking reforms said, but they added they would track progress on her assurances and maintain pressure for change.

Topics: India Kolkata rape West Bengal

10 killed in northeast India police station attack — government

10 killed in northeast India police station attack — government
Updated 11 November 2024
AFP
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10 killed in northeast India police station attack — government

10 killed in northeast India police station attack — government
  • Violence occurred after burnt corpse of Kuki community woman was found last week
  • Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain
Updated 11 November 2024
AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police in troubled northeastern Manipur state on Monday battled with Kuki minority forces and killed at least 10 people after their station was attacked, a district official said Monday.
One officer was wounded as they “repulsed an attack on a police station,” Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of the state’s Jiribam district told AFP, adding that “10 bodies of miscreants have been recovered so far.”
The violence is the latest in a simmering conflict that broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community.
Those killed come from the Hmar people, a smaller group within the Kuki.
The violence comes after the burned corpse of a Kuki woman was found in the district last week, sparking fury.
At least 200 people have since been killed in the violence, and communities have splintered into rival groups across swaths of the state, which borders war-torn Myanmar.
After months of relative calm, an uptick in violence in September killed at least 11 people, including by insurgents reportedly firing rockets and dropping bombs with drones.
Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
 

Topics: Manipur India

EU may launch new sanctions against Israeli settlers ‘soon’: France

EU may launch new sanctions against Israeli settlers ‘soon’: France
Updated 11 November 2024
AFP
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EU may launch new sanctions against Israeli settlers ‘soon’: France

EU may launch new sanctions against Israeli settlers ‘soon’: France
  • During a visit to the West Bank on Thursday, Barrot had already threatened a new round of sanctions
Updated 11 November 2024
AFP

Paris: France’s foreign minister said on Monday that the European Union could soon launch a new round of sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of fueling violence in Palestinian territories.
France had already imposed sanctions against “28 violent settlers” and been instrumental in deciding sanctions at the European Union level, Jean-Noel Barrot told the Paris Peace Forum, an annual gathering dedicated to international dialogue.
The EU’s sanctions regime had already been activated twice, and “might be activated a third time soon,” he said.
“We are deeply attached to the security of Israel,” Barrot said, but “in the interest of Israel, of Israeli security, international law needs to be respected and justice needs to be reached.”
During a visit to the West Bank on Thursday, Barrot had already threatened a new round of sanctions, and renewed France’s commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Settlement activities “threaten the political perspective that can ensure durable peace for Israel and Palestine,” he said after talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.
The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia have also imposed sanctions against extremist settlers.
The EU’s foreign affairs commissioner, Josep Borrell, said in August that Israeli settlers were endangering “any chance of peace” and called on the Israeli government to “stop these unacceptable actions immediately.”
Sanctions would also be aimed at the “enablers” of violent settler actions, “including some Israeli government members,” Borrell said.
Over 700 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the last year, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.

Topics: France EU Israel Israeli settlers West Bank Palestine

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Bangladesh seeks crucial funding for 50 million climate-vulnerable citizens at COP29

Bangladesh seeks crucial funding for 50 million climate-vulnerable citizens at COP29
Updated 11 November 2024
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Bangladesh seeks crucial funding for 50 million climate-vulnerable citizens at COP29

Bangladesh seeks crucial funding for 50 million climate-vulnerable citizens at COP29
  • Dhaka needs at least $1 billion annually to implement climate change adaptation plan
  • Bangladesh already spends around $3 billion every year to address climate change impacts
Updated 11 November 2024
SHEHAB SUMON

Dhaka: Bangladesh will focus its negotiations at the COP29 climate conference on boosting crucial funding for a plan that will benefit over 50 million people living in areas most at-risk to climate hazards, authorities said, as the summit began on Monday.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, ranking seventh globally in the 2021 World Climate Risk Index.

The South Asian nation faces frequent natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, droughts and deadly heat waves. By 2050, the government estimates that one in every seven Bangladeshis — or 13.3 million people — will be displaced due to climate change.

As world political and business leaders from nearly 200 countries gather in Baku, Azerbaijan this week for the UN’s annual meeting, Bangladeshi officials have set their goals on securing more climate financing.

“If we receive at least $1 billion as an annual grant to implement the climate change adaptation plan, it will create a significant change in dealing with climate change impacts,” Shawkat Ali Mirza, director of climate change and international convention at the Department of Environment, told Arab News.

“We don’t have this fund, and we are continuously working to bring this fund from developed countries. This is the main focus of our negotiations at the COP29.”

COP29 has been dubbed the “climate finance COP” due to its central goal: to agree on how much money should go every year to help developing countries cope with climate-related costs.

Annually, Bangladesh already spends between $3 to $3.5 billion to deal with climate change impacts, said Mirza, who is part of Dhaka’s delegation at COP29.

For decades, the government has made systematic investments in climate resilience and disaster preparedness, including reducing cyclone-related deaths by 100-fold since 1970. International institutions, such as the World Bank, have recognized Bangladesh as a “global leader in climate change adaptation.”

Under the National Adaptation Plan, authorities have identified at least 14 climate hazards in 11 locations — including along the Bay of Bengal — where almost a third of Bangladesh’s 170 million population currently live.

“The main objective of our national adaptation plan is to improve people’s quality of life by increasing climate tolerance … We need $230 billion by the year 2050 to implement it,” Mirza said.

“More than 50 million people living in these (climate) stress areas will benefit from this National Adaptation Plan in the next 27 years.”

Dhaka’s plan will cover eight sectors, including water resources, agriculture and biodiversity, where authorities will implement mechanisms for climate adaptation.

The government is building on its own success stories, such as the invention of rice varieties and production methods that are adaptable to climate change impacts as well as the distribution of around 6.5 million solar home systems across the country.

In its coastal areas, where over 43 million people live, authorities have already introduced rainwater harvesting systems and use reverse osmosis technology to provide safe drinking water.

“But we need to do more, as there are millions of people who are affected by climate change issues,” Mirza said.

Around 77 percent of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere can be traced back to G20 member states, while the 47 least developed countries — including Bangladesh — create less than 3 percent of global emissions, according to the UN Environment Programme’s 2024 Emissions Gap Report.

“We have to keep in mind that through adaptation, we will not be able to solve all the issues. For instance, if we want to get rid of heat stress, the whole world should work together on reducing emissions,” he said.

“Otherwise, there is no solution to the climate crisis.”

Topics: Bangladesh COP29

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