International
Putin urges dialogue between Lukashenko and opposition
AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for dialogue between his Belarus ally Alexander Lukashenko and the country’s opposition, exiled since Minsk suppressed mass anti-government protests last year.
Putin has continued to back Lukashenko, increasingly isolated since crushing unprecedented demonstrations against his rule after he claimed to win an election last summer that the West says was rigged.
Lukashenko’s regime imprisoned hundreds, forcing most of the opposition — which believes it won the election — to flee.
In an address to Russia’s foreign ministry, Putin said Belarus’s internal situation has “calmed down”.
“Nonetheless, there are problems. We are all well aware of this and of course call for a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition,” said the Russian leader, who regularly hosts Lukashenko.
The Kremlin chief is known for not tolerating street protests and raising suspicions they are instigated by the West, while the Belarusian opposition has been actively courting Western leaders.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the opposition believe was the real winner of last summer’s presidential election and has since fled to neighbouring Lithuania, said she had no contact with Moscow but welcomed the call.
“Personally, I did not have contact with the Kremlin. But I welcome calls for dialogue,” she told the Belarusian-run news outlet Zerkalo.io.
She added, however, that he her conditions for talking to the regime remain the release of political prisoners.
“No dialogue can start in prison. All political prisoners should be freed and violence stopped. Our conditions are the same,” she said.
There are 873 political prisoners in Belarus, according to rights group Viasna.
Putin, Lukashenko’s main political and financial backer, has been calling for dialogue between Minsk and Brussels in a migrant crisis on the Polish border.
The EU accuses Lukashenko of luring thousands of migrants — mostly from the Middle-East — to the Polish border as revenge for Western sanctions on his regime.
The Kremlin this week welcomed “direct contact” between Minsk and Brussels, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Lukashenko.
It was the Belarus strongman’s first phone call with a Western leader since he dispersed the protests.
Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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