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Hundreds Attend Moscow Funeral of Pro-war Blogger

Pallbearers carry a picture and the coffin with the body of Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, during a farewell ceremony at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow, Russia, 08 March 2023. (EPA)
Pallbearers carry a picture and the coffin with the body of Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, during a farewell ceremony at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow, Russia, 08 March 2023. (EPA)
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Hundreds Attend Moscow Funeral of Pro-war Blogger

Pallbearers carry a picture and the coffin with the body of Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, during a farewell ceremony at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow, Russia, 08 March 2023. (EPA)
Pallbearers carry a picture and the coffin with the body of Maxim Fomin, known under the pseudonym Vladlen Tatarsky, during a farewell ceremony at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow, Russia, 08 March 2023. (EPA)

Hundreds of mourners, including the leader of Russia's Wagner private militia group, attended the funeral on Saturday of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed on April 2 in a cafe bomb blast that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Russia charged Darya Trepova, 26, on Tuesday with terrorist offenses over the killing of Tatarsky in the St Petersburg cafe where he had been due to talk. She was remanded in custody and could face up to 20 years in jail.

The 40-year-old Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was accorded military honors including a gun salute and an army band at the funeral at Moscow's Troyekurovskoye cemetery due to his past participation in military operations in eastern Ukraine alongside Moscow-backed separatists battling Kyiv's forces.

Tatarsky was among the best-known members of an influential group of bloggers who have provided a running commentary on the fighting in Ukraine. He was often scathing about Russia's defense establishment but strongly backed Moscow's actions in Ukraine and said they should be pursued more aggressively.

"Vladlen has proven that today the front line passes everywhere: in the zone of military action, in the rear, and in cities, hearts and minds," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Telegram messaging app, noting he had died "in the center of peaceful St Petersburg at terrorists' hands".

Tatarsky made extensive reporting trips to the front lines in Ukraine and had ties to Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Saturday thanked the blogger on behalf of his fighters.

"Vladlen Tatarsky did a lot so that we could move towards victory and destroy the enemy," Prigozhin's press service quoted him as saying. "He is a soldier who will stay with us, whose voice will live on forever ..."

Prigozhin is also known for his sharp criticism of Russia's top brass over their performance in Ukraine. The Wagner group has been spearheading efforts in recent months to capture the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the cafe bomb blast and instead blamed "domestic terrorism" in Russia.

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World

Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari arrived in Iran after being released in France, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, after ‌two French ‌nationals facing security ‌charges ⁠were allowed to ⁠leave Iran following three-and-a-half years in detention.

Esfandiari, who was convicted at the end ⁠of February for glorifying ‌terrorism ‌in anti-Israel social ‌media posts, was released ‌after serving almost a year in prison.

"I think it's ‌clear for everyone that there is ⁠no ⁠freedom of speech, at least not in France where I was. The court's ruling was very unjust," Esfandiari told state television.

World

Israeli Rights Group Files ICC Case Against Spanish PM

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
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Israeli Rights Group Files ICC Case Against Spanish PM

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)

An Israeli rights group said Tuesday that it had asked the International Criminal Court to consider legal action against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for allegedly “aiding war crimes” through exports to Iran.

Filed by the Shurat HaDin non-governmental organization, which has taken legal action worldwide against what it calls “Israel’s enemies,” the lawsuit accuses Spain of providing “components required by the regime in Tehran and its proxies for military purposes.”

In a filing submitted under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, it alleges that Spain approved the export of about 1.3 million euros’ worth of so-called dual-use products that could be used in detonators and other explosive-related applications.

“These materials are not innocent industrial products, but critical components that enable explosive devices to function, and they were transferred in circumstances where their use for attacks against civilians was foreseeable and reasonable,” Shurat HaDin said in a statement.

The complaint comes in the midst of an escalating diplomatic spat between the two nations, which began with the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 and worsened after Madrid recognized a Palestinian state a year later.

Spain’s Socialist leader has also opposed the US-Israeli war with Iran, drawing a sharp Israeli reaction.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barred Madrid from joining the work of a US-led center to stabilize post-war Gaza, accusing Spain of waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel.

World

Xi Calls China-Russia Ties ‘Precious’ in Current International Context

This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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Xi Calls China-Russia Ties ‘Precious’ in Current International Context

This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.

During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing, Xi said the strong vitality and exemplary significance of the friendship treaty between the two countries stand out even more under such a backdrop.

He said foreign ministries from both countries would need to fully implement the consensus reached between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for strengthening strategic communication and close diplomatic coordination.

He also urged them to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow to “stand higher, walk more steadily and go further.”

Xi touted the value of the two nations’ ties, but he did not specify what he referred to as chaos and changes in the international context, as uncertainty still lingers about how long the Iran war would last.

In clips from an interview with the Fox Business Network, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the war was “close to over.” Trump has repeatedly declared a US victory in Iran after the war started — even as the reality on the ground has been far more complicated.

Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Trump’s unorthodox approach to the war in Ukraine has added a twist to the relationship but doesn’t appear to have fundamentally changed it.

When Putin visited China in September, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”

Lavrov arrived in China on Tuesday for a two-day trip at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.