Управління Слідчого комітету Росії по Санкт-Петербургу повідомляє про затримання нового підозрюваного у вбивстві ЛГБТ-активістки, правозахисниці Олени Григор’євої.
Попередній підозрюваний, уродженець Киргизстану, був затриманий менше тижня тому, 25 липня. Тоді слідчі офіційно заявили, що вбивство було побутовим, і що Григор’єва нібито «вела асоціальний спосіб життя і зловживала спиртним, в тому числі разом із затриманим».
Рідні та знайомі Григор’євої неодноразово заявляли, що не вірять в побутову версію злочину, і вважали, що перший затриманий був непричетний до її вбивства. У підсумку через кілька днів на сайті Слідчого комітету з’явилося повідомлення про те, що перший арештований «дав свідчення, що викривають особу, яка реально вчинила вбивство вищевказаної жінки».
Другим підозрюваним слідчі назвали жителя Санкт-Петербурга 1990 року народження, раніше також судимого – за незаконний обіг наркотичних засобів. За новою версією Слідчого комітету, з ним Григор’єва в ніч убивства з 20 по 21 липня 2019 року також «розпивала спиртні напої». А далі, за версією слідчих, чоловік її побив і завдав жінці «не менше ніж вісім ударів ножем в область спини й обличчя».
Тіло Григор’євої з численними ножовими пораненями через півтора дня знайшли недалеко від її будинку в Санкт-Петербурзі.
Друзі активістки наполягали на тому, що вбивство не було побутовим: жінці неодноразово погрожували через її участі в акціях протесту і привернення уваги до проблем ЛГБТ у Росії. Кілька місяців тому вона написала заяву в правоохоронні органи за фактом погроз, але, за словами знайомих Григор’євої, поліція на них не відреагувала.
Крім підтримки ЛГБТ-спільноти, Григор’єва була відома, зокрема, виступами на підтримку кримських татар, українського суверенітету. …
На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 1 серпня відбувається падіння гривні щодо долара США, станом на 13:00 котирування встановилися на рівні 25 гривень 33–37 копійок за долар, інформує сайт «Мінфін».
Національний банк України опівдні відбив ці тенденції, встановивши довідкове значення курсу 25 гривень 34 копійки за долар. Це на 32 копійки більше за офіційний курс на 1 серпня і на 36 копійок більше за довідкове значення, встановлене на 12:00 31 липня.
Голова Національного банку України Яків Смолій заявив 31 липня, відповідаючи на запитання Радіо Свобода, що зміцнення гривні щодо долара США не є надмірними.
«Ми діємо згідно з нашими правилами, відповідно до наших документів, якими керується Департамент відкритих ринків, і те, що відбувається сьогодні на ринку щодо національної валюти, жодним чином не є чимось критичним, щоб реагувати на коментарі публічних менеджерів», – сказав керівник НБУ, реагуючи на запитання про критику дій регулятора з боку міністра фінансів України Оксани Маркарової.
Зранку 31 липня Маркарова залишила в мережі Facebook свій коментар під текстом фінансиста Романа Сульжика. Фахівець, який працював у JP Morgan та Deutsche Bank, написав, що «зміцнення гривні мало бути зупинене ще на рівні 26–27 за долар, і те, що зараз відбувається, межує зі злочинною халатністю на посаді».
«Мінфін говорить про курс вже пару місяців у контексті виконання бюджету. Але ми на політику НБУ не впливаємо», – вказала Оксана Маркарова під постом Сульжика.
Надмірне посилення національної валюти може ускладнити виконання дохідної частини державного бюджету. У державному бюджеті-2019 розрахунки про стан державного боргу зроблені з використанням прогнозного курсу на кінець року 29 гривень 40 копійок за долар. …
A U.S. delegation led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner held talks Wednesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about ways to revive the Mideast peace process.
The Americans are seeking to finalize details of a proposed $50 billion economic development plan for the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran and senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of state, are part of the delegation, which will also visit Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In Amman, Abdullah reaffirmed his position that the establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel is the only way to resolve the long-simmering crisis, a statement from Jordan’s royal court said.
The king also said that any peace plan needed to be implemented in accordance with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which called on Israel to pull back from all land it occupied in 1967 in exchange for normalized Israeli-Arab relations.
Presidential advisers Jared Kushner, center left, and Jason Greenblatt, third left, meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, center right, and his advisers, in Amman, Jordan, May 29, 2019.
Jordanian political analyst Osama al-Sharif said that while Jordan’s position is clear, it isn’t yet known what Kushner is offering on the political front.
“We only know the Jordanian position. We don’t know what Kushner has proposed with the king,” al-Sharif said. “Jordan’s position as reiterated by the king is very clear. It is the same position as the rest of the world — Russia, China, EU and Arab countries — in their latest Arab summit resolution. They reaffirmed their Arab Peace Initiative as the benchmark, as well as the U.N. resolutions. We know what the Jordanian position is all about.
“We don’t know the political component of what Kushner has to offer. We know bits and pieces from the unilateral decisions that [U.S. President Donald] Trump had taken from two years with regard to Jerusalem, attempts to defund UNRWA [the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], the right of Palestinians return to Palestine. These unilateral positions have preempted the political component because they are final-status issues that need to be negotiated between the Palestinians and the Israelis. If these issues are no longer on the table … then what is there to be discussed?”
Arab observers have viewed the U.S. economic plan proposed by Kushner with suspicion, possibly signaling trouble for Jordan because it fails to address key issues, such as an independent Palestinian state, Israeli occupation and the Palestinians’ right to return to homes from which they fled or were expelled after Israel’s creation in 1948.
Jordan hosts millions of Palestinians who poured into the country in two waves, after Israel’s creation and following the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
The largely desert country which has few resources and relies heavily on international donors, including $1 billion a year from Washington, is home to 9.5 million people, more than half of them of Palestinian origin.
Abdullah also has repeatedly ruled out a confederation with the Palestinians, or giving up custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites, calling them “red lines.”
FILE – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi listens to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, left, during a group picture ahead of the Islamic Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 1, 2019.
Al-Sharif said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi will present Kushner with similar concerns when they meet in Cairo. Abdullah visited el-Sissi recently to make sure both Arab leaders are in agreement.
“The joint statement after the king met with Sissi in Cairo two days ago: Jordan and Egypt are on the same page with regard to the Palestinian issue,” al-Sarif said. “At least for the time being, Egypt has sent a couple of messages that it does not want to be involved in the Trump peace plan at this stage and reiterates the common Arab position that there has to be a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital. Kushner will meet with Sissi and we don’t know what kind of message will come out from the Egyptian side.”
Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries that have signed a peace treaty with Israel. In Amman, recent protests have been staged against what has been dubbed Kushner’s “deal of the century.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could see his working majority in parliament reduced to one when voters in a rural Welsh parliamentary seat go to the polls Thursday in his first electoral test as leader.
The pro-European Union Liberal Democrats are the bookmakers’ favorites to win the vote in Brecon and Radnorshire, triggered when Conservative lawmaker Chris Davies was ousted by a petition of constituents after being convicted of falsifying expenses.
Brecon is a region where sheep outnumber people many times over and where the prospect of steep EU tariffs being slapped on its Welsh lamb exports in a no-deal Brexit have prompted widespread concern among farmers.
Wafer-thin majority
Johnson’s government already relies on the support of a small Northern Irish party for its wafer-thin majority, with just a handful of rebels in his own Conservatives needed to lose key votes, as his predecessor Theresa May repeatedly found.
May stepped down after her Brexit deal with the EU was rejected three times by parliament.
Johnson has said he plans to renegotiate that deal but that Britain will leave the bloc Oct. 31 with or without an agreement, potentially setting himself up for a fight with parliament, which has pledged to try to block a no-deal exit.
The Liberal Democrats held the seat of Brecon from 1997 until 2015 when it was won by Davies. In the 2017 snap election he held the seat with a majority of just more than 8,000 votes and is running again for the Conservatives Thursday.
Splitting the pro-Brexit vote
Wales, and the Brecon area, voted to leave the EU at the 2016 Brexit referendum but the pro-Brexit vote is likely to be split between the Conservatives and the Brexit Party, which won the United Kingdom’s European Parliament election in May by riding a wave of anger over the failure to deliver Brexit.
In contrast, in a bid to boost the Liberal Democrats’ chances by concentrating the support of ‘Remain’ voters, other pro-EU parties including the Greens and Plaid Cymru are not standing in the election.
Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds has also sought to focus her campaign on local issues.
“I believe we deserve better from our politicians and the Westminster government. I’ll be a strong voice for everyone who feels let down by those in power,” Dodds, who is also the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, said on her website.
The Conservatives, who have seen their national poll ratings jump since Johnson took over in what has been dubbed a Boris bounce, will be hoping for a last-minute boost from their new leader, who visited the area Tuesday.
But the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) in Wales has warned Johnson of the potential consequences for lamb producers of leaving the EU without a deal.
“The prime minister must prioritize the protection of this core market through securing continued, unfettered access,” its president John Davies said. “The EU is our nearest and largest export market and any interruption to this trade will have catastrophic impacts for Welsh farming.”
The result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning.
U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky is expected to give testimony in a Swedish court Thursday on the second day of his assault trial after he and two of his entourage were accused of punching and kicking a teenager.
The 30-year-old performer, producer and model, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm on the first day of the trial Tuesday. His lawyer told the court he acted in self-defense.
Mayers was detained July 3 in connection with a brawl outside a hamburger restaurant in Stockholm June 30 and later charged with assault.
On Tuesday, prosecutor Daniel Suneson showed video from security cameras and witnesses’ mobile phones and said following an altercation Mayers threw 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari to the ground, after which he and two of his entourage kicked and punched him.
The prosecutor said a bottle was used to hit Jafari, who suffered cuts and bruises.
Jafari told the court he was pushed and grabbed by the neck by Mayers’ bodyguard outside the restaurant and followed the rapper’s group to get back his headphones. He said he was then hit on the head with a bottle and kicked and punched while on the ground.
If convicted, the accused could face up to two years in jail.
FILE – Posters asking for A$AP Rocky to be freed line the wall across from the jail where the American rapper is being held on charges of assault in Stockholm, Sweden, July 25, 2019.
The case has drawn huge media attention, forcing the trial to be moved to a secure courtroom.
Celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Rod Stewart, have leaped to Mayers’ defense and U.S. President Donald Trump asked Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to help free Mayers.
Sweden’s judiciary is independent of the political system, and Lofven has said he will not influence the rapper’s case.
Mayers, best known for his song “Praise the Lord,” was in Stockholm for a concert. He has canceled several shows across Europe because of his detention.
The trial could run into a third day Friday. The verdict is expected at a later date.
