Russia sentences another Jehovah’s Witness
A court in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia has sentenced a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) follower to seven years in prison on charges of ‘extremism’. Yevgeny Bushev had been under house arrest for over a year on allegations of continuing ‘the illegal activities of a banned religious organisation’. In 2017 the Supreme Court declared the JW movement to be extremist, banning its estimated 400 branches across the country. Bushev is the 15th JW follower from the region to be prosecuted. The prosecution’s witness was an employee of the National Guard (Rosgvardia) who had ‘shown interest in the Bible’: a linguistic examination concluded that Bushev had ‘tempted’ him to accept the JW faith when responding to questions about religion. International human rights NGOs have condemned Russia’s crackdown on JW followers in the years since the ban, and in June 2022 the European Court of Human Rights said that Russia had violated over 1,400 followers' right to religious freedom.
Ukraine accuses Russia of hitting civilian ship
On 8 November Ukraine said that a Russian missile had struck a civilian ship while it was moored in a port in the Black Sea region of Odessa, killing a pilot and injuring four others. The missile hit the ship’s superstructure, which includes the command cabin. The ship was travelling under the Liberian flag, and the three wounded crew members were citizens of the Philippines. If confirmed, the attack would be the first time that Russian forces have hit a civilian vessel sailing near the Odessa region since Moscow pulled out of a UN-brokered deal in July which allowed Ukraine to export its grain through the Black Sea. In another incident, on 3 November, Russia targeted a military medals ceremony, killing at least a dozen men. The Ukrainian army has been criticised for organising an event involving so many soldiers in such a public and old-fashioned way. See
France: peace forum focuses on global warming and AI
The sixth Paris Peace Forum, on 10 and 11 November, will focus on four different topics. Emmanuel Macron, along with Barbadian PM Mia Mottley and several African leaders, will assess the progress of the ‘Paris Pact for People and the Planet’, launched in June, which aims to provide substantial funding to combat poverty and climate change, in preparation for December’s COP28 in Dubai. An appeal will be launched to address the ‘collapse’ of ‘all ice surfaces on a global scale.’States affected by glacier loss, such as Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, will participate, as will China and India. Although Russia, a major Arctic actor, will not participate due to the conflict in Ukraine, the Elysée asserts that this will not be an obstacle to cooperation between other countries. Macron will also preside over the fifth Christchurch Call Summit, launched with New Zealand after the terrorist attack in Christchurch in 2019, aiming to enhance efforts to ‘combat terrorist and violent extremist content online’. Another top priority for Macron is to regulate digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
Latest news from Gaza
Israel will begin to implement four-hour ’humanitarian pauses’ in northern Gaza each day to allow people to flee, the White House has said. A spokesman called the move a step in the right direction, and said the USA wanted the pauses to continue as long as they are needed. Israel has committed to announcing each window at least three hours in advance. The US still does not support a ceasefire in Gaza at this time, but aims to see at least 150 humanitarian trucks entering the strip each day. Fierce fighting has continued, and the health ministry in Gaza (controlled by Hamas) says that the number of Palestinians killed is now more than 10,000. Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad has released a video of two hostages, and offered to release them if certain conditions were met. The hostages criticised Benjamin Netanyahu; it was not certain if they were reading from a script. A humanitarian conference in Paris today called for a total ceasefire: see
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