International
Russian court orders Navalny brother jailed in absentia
AFP
A Russian court on Friday sentenced in absentia the brother of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Oleg, to one year in prison for violating the terms of a suspended sentence.
A district court in Moscow “replaced Oleg Navalny’s suspended sentence… with jail time,” his lawyer Nikos Paraskevov wrote on Twitter.
Last August, Oleg Navalny, 38, was handed a one-year suspended sentence for breaking pandemic restrictions.
He was accused of calling for Russians to attend an unsanctioned rally in January 2021 in support of his older brother, who had returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a near-fatal poisoning attack.
Oleg Navalny was not present at the trial.
According to court documents cited by news agencies, he travelled to Cyprus in September last year and did not return to Russia.
In January, Russia’s prison authorities lodged a request to convert his sentence to jail time after he did not report for police inspections. The same month, Russia’s interior ministry issued an arrest warrant.
The judge granted the request, adding that “aggravating circumstances have been established”, referring to Navalny’s previous convictions, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Oleg has already served time after he and Alexei were convicted in a fraud trial in 2014, which Kremlin critics say was politically motivated.
Oleg served three-and-a-half years in prison, while Alexei received a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence.
After returning to Russia last year, Alexei had his suspended sentence converted to jail time, which he is serving in a penal colony outside Moscow.
Almost all of Alexei Navalny’s most prominent allies have fled Russia after he was jailed and his organisations were outlawed.
Central America
Mexico and Guatemala launch joint security operation after Agua Zarca border attack
The Government of Mexico announced on Tuesday that it has strengthened coordination with Guatemala following an armed confrontation in the community of Agua Zarca, in Guatemala’s Huehuetenango department, where a soldier was wounded in an attack attributed to organized-crime groups operating on both sides of the border.
The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed that Mexico is exchanging information with Guatemalan authorities and that Mexican Army units have been deployed along the border to reinforce surveillance and assist in reconnaissance operations.
The attack, Guatemala’s Defense Ministry stated, reflects the “criminal dynamics” dominating that border region, where different groups compete for drug and arms trafficking routes.
According to Guatemala’s Defense Ministry, the clash left a soldier wounded in the leg after suspected criminals crossed from Mexico and opened fire. The wounded soldier is reportedly in stable condition. Authorities also seized high-caliber weapons, explosives, tactical gear and drones, which were handed over for forensic analysis.
Mexican Defense Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo announced that a coordinated plan of operations will be launched involving both Mexican and Guatemalan forces along the border to counter these criminal networks.
Harfuch emphasized that the violence is not isolated but symptomatic of the ongoing struggle between criminal organizations for territorial control, and reiterated Mexico’s commitment to bilateral security cooperation and its intention to strengthen institutional presence in vulnerable border zones.
International
Zelensky meets Pope Leo XIV as review of U.S. peace plan continues
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV in Italy, after pledging to deliver a response to the United States regarding the proposed peace plan aimed at ending the war with Russia.
The meeting with the pontiff took place at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, where Leo XIV “reiterated the need to continue dialogue and renewed his urgent hope that the ongoing diplomatic initiatives may lead to a just and lasting peace,” the Vatican said in a statement.
His visit to Italy follows Monday’s meetings with European leaders in London and Brussels, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to agree to a peace plan that Zelensky said he is still reviewing.
According to Zelensky, the plan presented by Washington—originally consisting of 28 points—was reduced to 20 after discussions between Ukrainian and U.S. representatives over the weekend. “We are going to work on those 20 points. We are not completely satisfied with the proposals from our partners,” Zelensky said during an online press conference on Monday.
International
Japan lifts tsunami alert after strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits northern coast
A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s northern coast on Monday, triggering several tsunami waves of up to 70 centimeters, authorities said. The tsunami alert was lifted in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time (14:15 GMT) off the coast of Misawa, at a depth of 53 kilometers. Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) immediately issued a tsunami warning. The first wave reached a port in Aomori Prefecture at 11:43 p.m. (14:43 GMT), followed by others measuring up to 70 centimeters.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that an employee at a hotel in the city of Hachinohe confirmed that several people were injured. Live footage showed shattered glass scattered across roads, while many residents evacuated to the city hall seeking shelter.
The strong tremor was also felt in Sapporo, where emergency alerts were sent to residents’ mobile phones. A reporter in Hokkaido described a horizontal shaking that lasted around 30 seconds, making it difficult to stay standing.
Before the alert was lifted, the JMA had warned of the possibility of tsunami waves up to three meters high along Japan’s Pacific coast. Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara urged residents to remain in safe areas until the warning was officially lifted.
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