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US Refuses to Include Israel in 'Visa Waiver Program'

Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
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US Refuses to Include Israel in 'Visa Waiver Program'

Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)

The US Department of Homeland Security informed Israel that it has failed to meet the requirements to enter the visa waiver program.

Earlier, the Israeli government informed its citizens that it had reached the final arrangements to obtain an official US decision to cancel the entry visa.

On Wednesday, Haaretz reported that the matter remained confidential until the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Land Security, Alice Lugo, announced it in a letter sent last month to the Democratic Representative, Don Beyer.

In the letter to Beyer, Lugo stressed that "Israel does not currently meet all [visa waiver program] designation requirements, including extending reciprocal visa-free travel privileges to all US citizens and nationals."

In response, Beyer sent a letter to members of the US House of Representatives, calling on them to support pressuring Israel to withdraw the new "discriminatory restrictions" imposed by the Israeli military for entry into the West Bank to assure reciprocity for all US citizens.

Beyer prepared a petition for which he collects signatures from other US representatives, which will be directed to the several US and Israeli agencies.

In the petition, the representatives put forward a request to open a hotline to publish monthly reports for future visa waiver program evaluations.

He sent a letter to the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, saying that it is clear that "Israel cannot and should not be admitted into the visa waiver program under the status quo."

"It is incumbent upon Israel as a key US ally and beneficiary of significant aid to treat US citizens with dignity and respect regardless of race, religion, and ethnicity, and it is especially pertinent at this time because Israel is currently being evaluated for entry into the United States Visa Waiver Program," said Beyer.

He highlighted the "onerous and discriminatory" new restrictions issued by the Israeli army's Coordinating Office for Government Affairs in the Territories.

The Representative added that Israel "consistently refused to extend fair treatment to US visitors attempting to travel through Israeli controlled entry points," despite the visa waiver program's prerequisite of reciprocity.

"The State Department itself acknowledges in its travel advisory that US citizens traveling to Israel have been unfairly denied entry."

It is known that Israel has been in deliberations with the US authorities for several years to include it in the visa waiver program, which would allow Israelis to stay in the United States for 90 days for tourism or business, and would be a catalyst for economic cooperation.

Diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv noted that the only clause restricting the exemption is the "reciprocity" clause that obligates Israel to treat all US citizens equally upon their entry to Israel.

They indicated that travelers who are not white and Jewish have long complained about racial profiling at Ben Gurion Airport. Palestinians with US citizenship, meanwhile, travel via the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan.

In response to Israeli journalists, the US embassy spokesman said Israel "must extend reciprocal privileges to all US citizens and nationals, including Palestinian-Americans, as those the United States would extend to Israeli citizens."

"We seek equal treatment and freedom to travel for all such US travelers to Israel regardless of national origin or ethnicity."

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World

Top European Diplomats Meet in Kyiv to Support Ukraine as Signs of Strain Show Among Allies 

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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Top European Diplomats Meet in Kyiv to Support Ukraine as Signs of Strain Show Among Allies 

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)

Some of Europe’s top diplomats gathered Monday in Kyiv in a display of support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion as signs emerge of political strain in Europe and the United States about the war.

The foreign ministers from the European Union’s 27 member countries converged on the Ukrainian capital for an unannounced informal meeting that officials said would review the bloc’s support for Ukraine and discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposed peace formula.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the foreign ministers’ first joint meeting outside EU borders sent a signal that EU support is “unwavering” and underscored the EU’s commitment to Ukraine.

The United States, the EU and the United Kingdom have provided massive military and financial support to Ukraine, enabling it to stand up to the Kremlin’s attack. The assistance is crucial for Ukraine’s weakened economy and has so far been open-ended.

But uncertainty has set in over how long Kyiv’s allies will keep sending it billions of dollars (euros).

US President Joe Biden on Sunday reassured allies of continued US financial support for the war effort, after Congress averted a government shutdown by adopting a short-term funding package that dropped assistance for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.

Many US lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war grinds on.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters that Ukraine held discussions with representatives of both parties in the US Congress to ensure more help will arrive.

“The decision was taken as it was, but we are now working with both sides of the Congress to make sure that it does not repeat again under any circumstances,” Kuleba said.

“The question is whether what happens in the US Congress last weekend is an incident or a system. I think it was an incident,” he added.

The EU meeting in Kyiv took place after the weekend election victory in EU member Slovakia of Robert Fico, whose pro-Russian agenda has increased the question marks about the EU’s continued support for Kyiv.

The small eastern European country could bring more tension to the EU’s discussions on Ukraine, as has happened with Hungary’s at-times cool attitude toward Kyiv. Budapest has maintained close relations with Moscow and argued against supplying arms to Ukraine or providing it with economic assistance.

The foreign ministers of Hungary and Poland were not at the Kyiv gathering.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Europe must be ready to provide further help “for many good reasons.”

“First of all, in order to support Ukraine, but also to send a strong trans-Atlantic signal that what’s going on our own soil is something we have to take on a great responsibility for,” Løkke Rasmussen said.

World

Iranian Authorities Arrest Tens of Protesters in Baluchistan

A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
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Iranian Authorities Arrest Tens of Protesters in Baluchistan

A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)

Iranian security forces made dozens of arrests Saturday as protesters in the southeast commemorated the killing of dozens of demonstrators in the region one year ago, human rights groups said.

At least 104 people were killed, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO, in what is known as “Bloody Friday,” when security forces fired on a protest in Zahedan, the main city of Sistan-Baluchistan province, on September 30 last year.

Baluch officials demand an investigation into the events that marked the deadliest day on record since protests started in the southeastern province last year. The Revolutionary Guard faces charges of shooting at protesters.

The Zahedan protests were sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s dress code.

Activists have long complained that the ethnic Baluch population in Sistan-Baluchistan, who adhere to Sunni Islam instead of the Shiite branch of the faith dominant in Iran, suffer from discrimination.

Security forces fired tear gas and live rounds for a second straight day to disperse protesters who turned out in Zahedan to mark the anniversary, the Baluch-focused rights group Haalvsh said, according to AFP.

The group posted on its website that authorities arrested at least 128 protesters in the cities of Zahedan, Khash, and Mirjavah, noting that the identity of 31 people had been confirmed as of Sunday.

Throughout Saturday, businesses in Zahedan and other towns observed a general strike, it said, adding that “dozens” of people had been arrested.

The group also posted footage with the sound of gunfire clearly audible amid a heavy security presence in the city.

Security forces had already used live fire to disperse those protesting on Friday, wounding at least 25 people, including children, the Baloch Activists Campaign group said.

There was no immediate word on any casualties in Saturday’s unrest.

Meanwhile, seven prominent female political prisoners delivered a letter from Iran’s Evin Prison, commemorating the shooting of dozens of protesters in Zahedan.

Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, said in a message on her Instagram account from Evin prison, “Bloody Friday is an important and influential turning point in Women, Life, and Freedom,” in reference to the slogan of last year’s protests.

She added, “On the anniversary of that bloody crime, it is the duty of every Iranian to stand in solidarity and participate in the defense of Baluchistan.”

On the eve of the protests, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said that Iranian operatives have neutralized a chain of imminent assassination plots.

“The planned attacks were meant to target Sunni clerics, judges and officers within the ranks of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the minister said, in an indirect attempt to justify the tight security measures imposed in Zahedan.

He then warned that the adversaries were aiming to create unrest along the eastern borders and urged authorities, both Shia and Sunni, to exercise caution, according to Fars, the IRGC-linked website.

Residents of Zahedan have held regular Friday protests throughout the past year, even as the protest movement dwindled elsewhere in Iran.

The city’s Friday prayer leader, Molavi Abdolhamid, who has been outspoken in his support of the protests over the past year, issued a new call for justice over “Bloody Friday,” telling the faithful to “know your rights.”

Footage posted on social media on Friday showed chaotic scenes as hospitals filled with injured, including children, while people on the streets sought to escape to safety amid the sound of heavy gunfire.

IHR said that the protests in Zahedan and other cities were again “brutally crushed” with authorities using “live ammunition, pellet bullets and tear gas against unarmed protesters.”

World

Donald Trump's Business Empire in Peril as Civil Fraud Trial Opens in New York

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
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Donald Trump's Business Empire in Peril as Civil Fraud Trial Opens in New York

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan

Donald Trump and his family business are set to stand trial in New York on Monday in a civil fraud case that could deal a major blow to the former US president’s real estate empire.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms.
Trump plans to attend the first week of trial in state court in Manhattan, according to a court filing in an unrelated case.
The trial comes a week after the judge presiding over the case found Trump liable for fraud and will largely concern the penalties he must face, Reuters said.
James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year restriction on commercial real estate activities by Trump and his flagship Trump Organization.
Trump has said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
Justice Arthur Engoron ruled last week that James had proven her fraud case against Trump, his two adult sons and 10 of his companies.
Engoron described in scathing terms how they made up valuations. That included Trump calculating the value of his apartment in Trump Tower as if it were three times its actual size.
"A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space for decades, can only be considered fraud," he said.
Engoron canceled business certificates for companies controlling pillars of Trump’s empire -- including Trump Tower and his golf clubs in New York -- and said he would appoint receivers to oversee their dissolution.
The ruling covers only a handful of the roughly 500 entities in Trump's portfolio but includes some of his most valuable properties. The specifics of how that order will be implemented have not been decided, but the loss of those prized assets would be a major blow to Trump's finances. If Engoron tacks on fines and business restrictions, that damage would compound.
The trial is scheduled to run through early December. More than 150 people including Trump are listed as potential witnesses, but much of the trial will likely be a battle of experts opining on financial documents.
James alleges Trump reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings by "grossly" inflating the values of his assets to get better deals from lenders and insurers.
That included listing his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida as being worth up to $739 million even though deed restrictions capped it at $28 million, James said.
The case is one of several legal headaches Trump faces as he campaigns to retake the White House in the 2024 election. None have dented his commanding lead over rivals for the Republican nomination, though they have been a financial drain.
Trump, the first sitting or former US president to be criminally charged, is under indictment in four separate cases.
He has been charged in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, in Washington D.C. in his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 presidential election, in Georgia over moves to reverse the election results in that state and in New York in hush money payments he made to a porn star.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four cases.

World

Türkiye Strikes Suspected PKK Targets in Northern Iraq after Suicide Attack in Ankara

Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
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Türkiye Strikes Suspected PKK Targets in Northern Iraq after Suicide Attack in Ankara

Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS

Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital, Türkiye’s defense ministry announced.
Some 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were “destroyed” in the latest aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots, the ministry said, adding that a large number of PKK operatives were “neutralized” in the strikes.
Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the Interior Ministry, wounding two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police, The Associated Press said.
The PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, according to a news agency close to the rebel group. Türkiye’s Interior Ministry also identified one of the assailants as a member of the outlawed group. It said efforts were still underway to identify the second attacker.
The attack happened hours before Türkiye’s Parliament reopened after its three-month summer recess with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two assailants arrived at the scene inside a light commercial vehicle, which they seized from a veterinarian in the central province of Kayseri, according to the Interior Ministry. The pro-government daily Sabah reported that they shot the man in the head and threw his body into a ditch by the side of the road. They then drove the vehicle to Ankara, roughly 300 kilometers (200 miles) away.
“Our heroic police officers, through their intuition, resisted the terrorists as soon as they got out of the vehicle,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters. “One of them blew himself up, while the other one was shot in the head before he had a chance to blow himself up.”
“Our fight against terrorism, their collaborators, the (drug) dealers, gangs and organized crime organizations will continue with determination,” he said.
Police found plastic explosives, hand grenades and a rocket launcher at the scene, a ministry statement said.
Erdogan gave his speech in Parliament as planned and called the attack “the last stand of terrorism.”
“The scoundrels who targeted the peace and security of the citizens could not achieve their goals and they never will," he said.
The president reiterated his government's aim to create a 30-kilometer (20 mile) safe zone along Türkiye’s border with Syria to secure its southern border from attacks.
Türkiye has conducted numerous cross-border offensives against the PKK in northern Iraq. It has also launched incursions into northern Syria since 2016 to drive away the ISIS group and a Kurdish militia group, known by the initials YPG, and controls swaths of territory in the area.
Türkiye views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terror group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. The PKK has waged an insurgency against Türkiye since 1984. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict.
Last year, a bomb blast in a bustling pedestrian street in Istanbul left six people dead, including two children. More than 80 others were wounded. Türkiye blamed the attack on the PKK and the YPG.
Security camera footage on Sunday showed the vehicle stopping in front of the Interior Ministry, with a man exiting it and rushing toward the entrance of the building before blowing himself up. A second man is seen following him.
Earlier, television footage showed bomb squads working near a vehicle in the area, which is located near the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other government buildings. A rocket launcher could be seen lying near the vehicle.
Turkish authorities later imposed a temporary blackout on images from the scene.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation has been launched into the “terror attack.”
“These attacks will in no way hinder Türkiye’s fight against terrorism,” he wrote on X. “Our fight against terrorism will continue with more determination.”
Police cordoned off access to the city center and increased security measures, warning citizens that they would be conducting controlled explosions of suspicious packages.
The two police officers were being treated in a hospital and were not in serious condition, Yerlikaya said.
Egypt, which has normalized ties with Türkiye after a decade of tensions, condemned the attack. A terse statement from the Foreign Ministry offered Egypt’s solidarity with Türkiye.
The US Embassy in Ankara and other foreign missions also issued messages condemning the attack.
Erdogan in his speech did not provide any indication as to when Türkiye’s parliament may ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO.
Stockholm applied for NATO membership alongside Finland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. While Finland has since joined, Türkiye blocked Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, accusing it of not doing enough to tackle groups like PKK from operating on its soil. In a posting on X, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Stockholm “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack in Ankara."
"We reaffirm our commitment to long-term cooperation with Türkiye in combating terrorism and wish for quick and full recovery of the ones injured,” he wrote, using the Turkish government's preferred spelling for the country.

World

Azerbaijan Issues Warrant for Former Separatist Leader as UN Mission Arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh

This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
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Azerbaijan Issues Warrant for Former Separatist Leader as UN Mission Arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh

This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)

Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general issued an arrest warrant for ex-Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan Sunday as the first United Nations mission to visit the region in three decades arrived in the former breakaway state.

Harutyunyan led the breakaway region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was largely populated by ethnic Armenians, between May 2020 and last month, when the separatist government said it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.

Azerbaijani police arrested one of Harutyunyan’s former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Armenia along with tens of thousands of others who have fled following Baku’s 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Harutyunyan and the enclave's former military commander, Jalal Harutyunyan, are accused of firing missiles on Azerbaijan's third-largest city, Ganja, during a 44-day war in late 2020, local media reported. The clash between the Azerbaijani military clash and Nagorno Karabakh forces led to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

The arrest warrant announcement by Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev reflects Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly and forcefully enforce its grip on the region following three decades of conflict with the separatist state.

While Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, many have fled due to fear of reprisals or losing the freedom to use their language and to practice their religion and cultural customs.

In a briefing Sunday, Armenia's presidential press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said that 100,483 people had already arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of about 120,000 before Azerbaijan's offensive.

Some people lined up for days to escape the region because the only route to Armenia — a winding mountain road — became jammed with slow-moving vehicles.

A United Nations delegation arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh Sunday to monitor the situation. The mission is the organization's first to the region for three decades, due to the “very complicated and delicate geopolitical situation” there, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday.

Local officials dismissed the visit as a formality. Hunan Tadevosyan, spokesperson for Nagorno-Karabakh’s emergency services, said the UN representatives had come too late and the number of civilians left in the regional capital of Stepanakert could be “counted on one hand.”

“I did the volunteer work. The people who were left sheltering in the basements, even people who were mentally unwell and did not understand what was happening, I put them on buses with my own hands and we took them out of Stepanakert,” Tadevosyan told Armenian outlet News.am.

“We walked around the whole city but found no one. There is no general population left,” he said.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said some people, including older adults, had died while on the road to Armenia as they were “exhausted due to malnutrition, left without even taking medicine with them, and were on the road for more than 40 hours.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan alleged Thursday that the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Pashinyan’s accusations, saying the departure of Armenians was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”

World

Mourners Hail Dead Russian Mercenary Prigozhin as Hero of the People

People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on October 1, 2023, to mark 40 days since his death as per Orthodox tradition. (AFP)
People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on October 1, 2023, to mark 40 days since his death as per Orthodox tradition. (AFP)
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Mourners Hail Dead Russian Mercenary Prigozhin as Hero of the People

People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on October 1, 2023, to mark 40 days since his death as per Orthodox tradition. (AFP)
People visit a makeshift memorial for Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in central Moscow on October 1, 2023, to mark 40 days since his death as per Orthodox tradition. (AFP)

At memorials to Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in an unexplained plane crash exactly 40 days ago, dozens of mourners hailed the mutinous mercenary chief as a patriotic hero of Russia who had spoken truth to power.

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three.

It is still unclear what caused the plane to crash two months to the day since Prigozhin's failed mutiny. The Kremlin said on Aug. 30 that investigators were considering the possibility that the plane was downed on purpose.

At his grave in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg, his mother, Violetta, and his son, Pavel, laid flowers. Supporters waved the black flags of Wagner which sport a skull and the motto "Blood, Honor, Motherland, Courage".

In eastern Orthodoxy, it is believed that the soul makes its final journey to either heaven or hell on the 40th day after death.

At memorials in Moscow and other Russian cities dozens of Wagner fighters and ordinary Russians paid their respects, though there was no mass outpouring of grief. Russian state television was silent.

"He can be criticized for certain events, but he was a patriot who defended the motherland's interests on different continents," Wagner's recruitment arm said in a statement on Telegram.

"He was charismatic and importantly he was close to the fighters and to the people. And that's why he became popular both in Russia and abroad," it said.

Prigozhin's mutiny posed the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule since the former KGB spy rose to power in 1999. Western diplomats say it exposed the strains on Russia of the war in Ukraine.

'Leader'

After months of insulting Putin's top brass with a variety of crude expletives and prison slang over their perceived failure to fight the Ukraine war properly, Prigozhin took control of the southern city of Rostov in late June.

His fighters shot down a number of Russian aircraft, killing their pilots, and advanced towards Moscow before turning back 200 km (125 miles) from the capital.

Putin initially cast Prigozhin as a traitor whose mutiny could have tipped Russia into civil war, though he later did a deal with him to defuse the crisis.

Mourners spoke of respect for Prigozhin.

"He was a real authority, a leader," Mikhail, a serviceman in Russia's armed forces who refused to give his second name, told Reuters.

Moscow resident Marta, who also refused to give her surname, said the people believed in Prigozhin but that Wagner had been "decapitated" by the deaths of him and co-founder Dmitry Utkin.

"Hope for justice died with him," she said. "People believed in him."

Pro-Wagner groups posted a video of Prigozhin flying to Mali where, after a thunderstorm, he met a senior commander known by his call sign "Lotus" - Anton Yelizarov - who is now reported to be leading the group.

Opponents such as the United States cast Wagner as a brutal crime group which plundered African states and meted out sledgehammer deaths to those who challenged it.

Putin was on Friday shown meeting one of the most senior former commanders of the Wagner mercenary group and discussing how best to use "volunteer units" in the Ukraine war.

World

EU’s Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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EU’s Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell as they visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, during the marking of Defenders of Ukraine Day in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support.

"Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster," he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first in-person meeting with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

"We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," Borrell added.

Umerov, whose appointment by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was approved by parliament on Sept. 6, thanked Borrell in a statement on X for "continuous support" and said the meeting was "a starting point for great cooperation."

He said their discussions of EU military aid to Ukraine covered "artillery & ammunition, air defense, EW & long-term assistance programs, trainings, and defense industry localization" in Ukraine. EW is an acronym for electronic warfare.

This week the European Defense Agency said in response to questions from Reuters that seven EU countries had ordered ammunition under a procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks.

World

Nightclub Fire Kills at Least 13 in Murcia in Spain

This handout photograph taken and released on October 1, 2023 by the 112 Emergency Services of the Murcia Region shows a firefighter walking past the Teatre nightclub as at least thirteen people were killed in a fire, in Murcia. (Handout / Murcia Region 112 Emergency Services / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released on October 1, 2023 by the 112 Emergency Services of the Murcia Region shows a firefighter walking past the Teatre nightclub as at least thirteen people were killed in a fire, in Murcia. (Handout / Murcia Region 112 Emergency Services / AFP)
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Nightclub Fire Kills at Least 13 in Murcia in Spain

This handout photograph taken and released on October 1, 2023 by the 112 Emergency Services of the Murcia Region shows a firefighter walking past the Teatre nightclub as at least thirteen people were killed in a fire, in Murcia. (Handout / Murcia Region 112 Emergency Services / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released on October 1, 2023 by the 112 Emergency Services of the Murcia Region shows a firefighter walking past the Teatre nightclub as at least thirteen people were killed in a fire, in Murcia. (Handout / Murcia Region 112 Emergency Services / AFP)

At least 13 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in Murcia in southeast Spain, emergency services said on Sunday, adding that rescuers were still searching for people unaccounted for after the blaze.

Outside the club, young people hugged, looking shocked as they waited for information after the fire that broke out in the early hours in Atalayas, on the outskirts of the city.

"I think we left 30 seconds to 1 minute before the alarms went off and all the lights went out (and) the screams saying there was a fire," one survivor, who was not identified, said.

"Five family members and two friends are missing."

Spanish media reported that several of the dead were from one group that was celebrating a birthday.

Diego Seral, of Spain's National Police, told reporters the dead were found in the Fonda Milagros nightclub, one of three adjoining clubs, which had sustained the majority of fire damage, including the collapse of its roof, he added.

The collapse was making it difficult to locate victims, and it was difficult to pinpoint yet where exactly the fire started, he said.

Police investigators have not yet been able to access the site due to the high temperatures and danger of collapse.

The identification of the bodies would take time, Seral said. The emergency services gave the death toll, which has risen steadily throughout the day, as 13. The cause of the blaze is being investigated.

Earlier, Murcia's Mayor Jose Ballesta told reporters seven bodies had been found in the same area of the first floor, where the fire broke out.

A spokesperson for the Teatre nightclub, Maria Dolores Albellan, told reporters the fire originated in the neighboring club, Fonda Milagros, before spreading to the two adjoining clubs.

Ballesta declared three days of mourning for those who had died. Flags were lowered to half mast outside Murcia's City Hall.

Footage released by Murcia's fire service showed firefighters working to control flames inside the nightclub. The fire had destroyed part of the roof, the footage showed.

"We are devastated," Ballesta said on Spanish TV channel 24h, adding rescuers were still searching for several people reported missing.

Ballesta told 24h the fire started at around 6 a.m and had now been brought under control.

Four people have been treated in hospital for smoke inhalation. 

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