Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade

Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade
Famed Russian chef Alexei Zimin who has been highly critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine has been found dead while on a visit to Serbia’s capital, according to several sources on Wednesday. (X/@oldLentach)
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Updated 13 November 2024
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Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade

Russian chef and war critic found dead in Belgrade
  • The death of Alexei Zimin, who has been based in London for years, marks the latest passing of a Russian expatriate critical of the Kremlin’s war
  • His body was found late on Tuesday in a flat that he was renting in Belgrade while on a visit to promote his latest book, “Anglomania“

BELGRADE: A famed Russian chef who has been highly critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine has been found dead while on a visit to Serbia’s capital, according to several sources on Wednesday.
The death of Alexei Zimin, who has been based in London for years, marks the latest passing of a Russian expatriate critical of the Kremlin’s war.
Zimin co-founded the ZIMA restaurant in London, served as senior contributor in numerous magazines and has co-authored several books, according to a ZIMA Instagram post.
His body was found late on Tuesday in a flat that he was renting in Belgrade while on a visit to promote his latest book, “Anglomania,” a source close to the investigation told AFP.
Prosecutors told the BBC that the flat was locked from the inside and the death did not appear to be suspicious, but that an autopsy was due to take place.
Born in Russia in 1971, Zimin had opened several restaurants in Moscow before leaving after Russia occupied Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he posted anti-war messages and stopped his Saturday cooking show on a pro-Kremlin television station.
“Throughout his remarkable life, Alexei accomplished a lot — he served as deputy editor-in-chief of Afisha magazine, founded Afisha.Food, also worked as editor-in-chief of Afisha World, GQ, and Gourmet,” his London restaurant ZIMA said in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“He hosted several culinary shows, authored numerous books, and launched multiple successful restaurants,” it said.
“To us, Alexei was not only a colleague but also a friend, a close companion with whom we shared many experiences — good, kind, and at times sorrowful.”


Russian freedom depends on Ukraine winning war: Kasparov

Russian freedom depends on Ukraine winning war: Kasparov
Updated 6 sec ago
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Russian freedom depends on Ukraine winning war: Kasparov

Russian freedom depends on Ukraine winning war: Kasparov
  • “There is no freedom of Russia, no end of the Putin regime, without Ukrainian victory,” the chess grandmaster told a press conference

GENEVA: Freedom in Russia and the end of President Vladimir Putin’s rule depends on Ukraine winning the war, Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov said Tuesday as Moscow and Washington held talks.
As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Saudi Arabia, former chess world champion Kasparov said any outcome that Putin could present as a victory would only extend his grip on power.
“There is no freedom of Russia, no end of the Putin regime, without Ukrainian victory,” the chess grandmaster told a press conference after addressing the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy conference.
“Even a partial victory; inflicting defeat on Putin will lead to a change in Russia.
“If Putin wins, or presents the outcome as victory,” which could involve “keeping territories and lifting sanctions... he’ll stay there. A dictator is never in danger if he is still on the rise.”
Kasparov, 61, retired from chess in 2005 to focus on political activism and has lived in exile in New York for the past decade. The longtime Putin opponent was added to Russia’s list of “extremists” in March 2024.
Kasparov spoke as many in Europe fear that US President Donald Trump’s overhaul of US policy on Russia will upend Europe’s decades-long security structure.
Kasparov said Trump did “absolutely not” understand the complexity of the conflict, and those around him were too scared to tell him that his geopolitical knowledge was insufficient.
He expected Trump would have to make “massive concessions” to secure his objective of ending the war.
Kasparov said Rubio was “not an idiot — he’s spineless, but he still has brains,” and therefore understands that he can’t deliver “unless they have to give up everything to Putin.”
He said Putin was pretending he was in a strong position but the Russian economy “will probably collapse within the next 12 to 18 months.”
Meanwhile Ukraine could keep fighting if Europe provided the money to buy US weaponry — and “as long as money is being paid, I don’t think he (Trump) cares.”
“If Trump wants to end the war, it’s not difficult: just cut Russian oil exports,” Kasparov added.
The chess great said the West had sorely lacked a collective strategy since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
Meanwhile “Putin has a very simple idea: stay in power. That’s it. There’s no other idea,” said Kasparov.
“The cause of the war is Putin and his imperial ambitions that will never disappear, because there’s nothing else that can justify him staying in power for life.”
Kasparov said Russia’s biggest problem was not what happens in Putin’s inner circle but that many average citizens still “live in imperial dreams.”
“The Russian empire must go, and the future of Russia may not be in the current borders of Russia. The way I see the future, Russia must return all the occupied territories — Crimea included.”


Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were ‘Palestinians’

Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were ‘Palestinians’
Updated 25 min 3 sec ago
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Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were ‘Palestinians’

Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting two men he thought were ‘Palestinians’
  • Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show

TALLAHASSEE, Florida: A Florida man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on two men in Miami Beach who he thought were Palestinians.
According to an arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot at the men 17 times in the “unprovoked” attack, telling officers that while driving his truck, he “saw two Palestinians” and opened fire on their car, thinking he had killed the pair. But the men survived, one suffering a shot to the shoulder and the other grazed by a bullet.
Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show. He’s also been ordered to stay away from the victims, an Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida, according to the Miami Herald.
Brafman’s attorney Dustin Tischler has said his client was experiencing a “severe mental health crisis” at the time of the shooting, which caused him to “fear for his life.”
“It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised,” Tischler said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that Brafman is seeking “necessary treatment” while cooperating with law enforcement.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called for federal hate crime charges against Brafman, saying his alleged bias against Palestinians should warrant the charges regardless of the victims’ ethnicity.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

 


White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
Updated 18 February 2025
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White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president
  • Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data
  • The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee

WASHINGTON: The White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not technically part of the Department of Government Efficiency team that is sweeping through federal agencies, but is rather a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.
Musk’s exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE’s access to government data as the Trump administration moves to lay off thousands of federal workers. Defining him as an adviser rather than the administrator in charge of day-to-day operations at DOGE could help the administration push back against a lawsuit arguing Musk has too much power for someone who isn’t elected or Senate-confirmed.
The declaration was filed Monday as the Trump administration fends off the lawsuit from several Democratic states that want to block Musk and the DOGE team from accessing government systems. The litigants say Musk is wielding “virtually unchecked power” in violation of the Constitution.
The Trump administration, on the other hand, says Musk is not a DOGE employee and has “no actual authority to make government decisions himself,” Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, said in court papers. The documents do not name the administrator of DOGE, whose work Musk has championed in posts on his social-media platform X and in a public appearance at the White House.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined Tuesday to say who is leading DOGE. Layoffs are up to individual agency heads rather than DOGE, she said.
The DOGE team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming Trump and DOGE are violating the law. At least two are targeting Musk himself.
Last week, Musk called for the US to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of the push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan seemed skeptical in a hearing Monday when Justice Department lawyers asserted that Musk has no formal authority.
“I think you stretch too far. I disagree with you there,” Chutkan said.


Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
Updated 18 February 2025
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Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute

Ethiopia and Somalia hold a first round of technical talks in Turkiye toward resolving their dispute
  • Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline
  • Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state

ANKARA, Turkiye: Top diplomats from Ethiopia and Somalia on Tuesday held a first round of technical talks aimed at resolving a dispute sparked by a deal between Ethiopia and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry said.
Turkiye has been mediating between the Horn of Africa countries after concerns about potential conflict in an already volatile region. Tensions have simmered since landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland last year to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base.
In return, Ethiopia would become the first country to formally recognize Somaliland’s independence. Somalia says the deal infringes on its sovereignty and territory.
In December, the leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia met in Turkiye and agreed to initiate technical talks aimed at reaching a potential agreement that upholds Somalia’s territorial integrity while allowing Ethiopia access to the sea.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said delegations led by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, Ali Mohamed Omar, held a first round of technical negotiations in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“Both delegations demonstrated their commitment to the letter and spirit of the Ankara Declaration,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in reference to their statement issued in December. “The delegations began the concrete work to transform this vision into reality.”
The next round of talks is in March, the ministry statement said.
Turkiye has significant investment in Somalia, including its largest overseas military base.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory.
With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.


Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican

Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican
Updated 18 February 2025
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Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican

Pope suffering from double pneumonia: Vatican
  • Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday with bronchitis
  • “The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, is suffering from pneumonia in both lungs and the 88-year-old’s clinical situation remains “complex,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday with bronchitis after suffering breathing difficulties and the Holy See has canceled his events until the end of the weekend.
“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said in a statement.
It said a “polymicrobial infection” which has come on top of “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex.”
“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” it said.
“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” it added.
Francis spent his fifth day in hospital alternating rest with prayer and reading texts, the Vatican said.
“He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him,” it added.
The head of the Catholic Church since 2013, Argentine Francis was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.
It is latest of a series of health issues for the Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021 and uses a wheelchair due to pain in his knee.