List of All Articles with Tag 'rl'

A Belarusian “hit man” who served with the country’s special forces and is accused of the forced disappearance of three high-profile opposition figures will finally stand trial in Switzerland – 24 years after the three vanished. Yury Garavsky, 44, was arrested following a confession in which he said he was involved with a group linked to the kidnapping and presumed killings of adversaries of Belarus’s current president Alexander Lukashenko. In 2019, Garavsky gave testimony to German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle about his part in the 1999 killings of three of president Lukashenko’s political opponents. He was working for the interior ministry’s SOBR special forces unit then. He even claimed he was present during the executions of former interior minister Yury Zakharenko, opposition politician Viktor Gonchar and pro-opposition businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. Now a Swiss court will determine the veracity of his claims. Zakharenko had vanished in May 1999. In September that year, Gonchar and his friend Krasovsky were abducted. Families of the three have been waiting for the trial to start to begin. Garavsky, who sought asylum in Switzerland in 2018 after fleeing Belarus capital Minsk, pointed out in his interview earlier that his superior Dmitry Pavlichenko shot the three victims in the chest. Mr Pavlichenko, however, has denied the allegations. The BBC reported that daughters of the two abducted men, both of whom left Belarus shortly after their fathers’ kidnappings, are set to appear in court this week. Both said the trial in the city of St Gallen will provide them with some solace. Garavsky is facing trial in Switzerland, where he was arrested, due to the country’s adherence to a UN convention against forced disappearance. He had said during the 2019 interview with DW that the actual orders to abduct the politicians were not written. “There was never anything written or any video confirmation. Everything was ordered verbally – I guess based on the wishes of President Lukashenko.” “I feel repentant and guilty. I feel that if these people remained alive, things would be different in Belarus,” he said. “Their bodies have probably decomposed, but the bones should be there.” Read More Poland imposes EU ban on all Russian-registered passenger cars Kim Jong-un shown Russia’s nuclear capable bombers and hypersonic missiles Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? North Korean leader to visit Russia's Pacific fleet as he continues trip focused on arms cooperation Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia's move to boost ties with North Korea Lithuania to issue special passports to Belarus citizens staying legally in the Baltic country

Blasts rocked Ukraine’s western city of Lviv in the early hours of Tuesday as Russia launched large-scale air attacks that struck an industrial warehouse, officials said. Local officials said air defence systems were engaged in repelling a Russian air attack that started in the early hours. From around 1am BST the entire western half of Ukraine was covered by air raid alerts. The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, and regional governor Maxim Kozitsky asked people to stay indoors due to the threat of continuing attacks in the region. “As a result of the strike on the territory of Lviv, we recorded a fire at an industrial warehouse,” he said. Follow latest live updates on coverage of Ukraine war here One injured person in the air attack was found under the wreckage, the mayor said. “There is a threat of a second attack. Air defence works in our region. Do not leave shelters, please!” the mayor said on his Telegram channel, starting the alert messages around 7am local time. “These are the sounds of air defence!!” he said. It is not immediately known if the attacks were caused using missiles and drones. The heavy aerial attacks from Russia on Ukraine commenced as the war neared 600 days of conflict and coincided with the start of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US on Monday. The war-time president is making his second visit to the country after his last trip in December. He is likely to deliver a powerful address at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday. He will also address world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Mr Zelensky will come face-to-face with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in a first since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February last year. The Russian leader is also expected to make remarks at the meeting. Moscow is a veto-wielding member of the security council. Mr Zelensky is scheduled to spend some time Thursday on Capitol Hill and meet with president Joe Biden at the White House. Read More Heading for UN, Ukraine's president questions why Russia still has a place there 'Stop it!' UN's nuclear chief pushes Iran to end block on international inspectors Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv commander says Russian defensive line breached near villages of Bakhmut How Ukraine’s battle for the Black Sea is inflicting serious pain on Putin’s forces Russian defensive lines breached in capture of villages near Bakhmut, Ukraine commander says

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New explosions struck Sevastopol and smoke was seen rising from a prominent landmark just kilometres away from the Crimean city as Ukrainian forces announced they were carrying out a joint intelligence operation in the region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine has recaptured the eastern village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut after heavy fighting. It follows the recapture of Andriivka, another village in the region, Kyiv forces are said to be gaining ground. On Sunday they sent drones to disrupt air traffic in Moscow and caused a fire at an oil depot, according to Russian reports. "Klishchiivka was cleared of the Russians and liberated," Alexander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky spoke out in an interview with CBS saying the conflict is ‘World War I with drones’. He explained the war is fought on a 700-mile front and the red area is the 20% of Ukraine still occupied by Russia where donated tanks should have advanced but they were stopped by Russian trenches, minefields and artillery. Read More Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims eastern village Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? First cargo grain ships arrive in Ukraine through Black Sea using new route North Korea’s Kim Jong-un heads home after six-day Russian state visit

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Yury Garavsky is charged with the forced disappearance of three Belarusian opposition figures.

The owner of a New York day care where a one-year-old boy died of fentanyl exposure was dubbed “depraved” during a court hearing. Youngster Nicholas Dominici died after he was exposed to the opioid at a Bronx facility on Friday, while three other young children were hospitalised. Daycare owner Grei Mendez, 36, and tenant Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, were arrested on charges including murder, manslaughter and assault. A kilo of fentanyl was found in a hallway closet outside Mr Brito’s room, which he rented from Ms Mendez for $200 a week, according to investigators. Prosecutors told a judge during a Sunday night arraignment hearing that Ms Mendez had taken part in the “reckless depraved act” by renting Mr Brito, her husband’s cousin, the room, reported ABC News. Her lawyer told the court that his client, who faces a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted, had no idea that drugs were being stored at the daycare. “Her only crime was renting her room to someone who had a kilo,” attorney Andres Aranda said. “There is no evidence that she did anything but care properly for these children.” Police say that drug production equipment was also found inside the daycare. Investigators believe that the children inhaled fentanyl particles during their daylong exposure to the drug before they were found unconscious and the alarm was raised. The judge said that Mr Brito, a national of the Dominican Republic in the country illegally, was a flight risk. He also said that Ms Mendez, who is not a US citizen and also has ties to the Dominican Republic, was a flight risk. Authorities are also looking to question Ms Mendez’s husband, who they say was captured on video fleeing the daycare with bags after the incident. “I love him, I miss him, I want him back – but there’s nothing that will give me back my son – when I came home from work and walked through the door, he’d say ‘daddy, daddy!’” Nicholas’s father, Otoniel Feliz, told ABC7. “My wife was on her way to the day care. She was going to pick him up early. Shortly before she arrives, she receives the call and also sees the ambulance.” Read More One-year-old child dead and three others hospitalised after daycare incident

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and Morocco on Monday announced the

The new NBA CBA and rising cap ceiling will lead to several record-breaking contracts in the near future. Here are the players to watch.

After getting swept by the Marlins, the Atlanta Braves are starting to show some warning signs they might not make it as far in the postseason as expected.