Putin Plays Down Israel’s Role in Downing of Warplane by Syria
Syrian forces accidentally shot down a Russian military plane after an Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory, Kremlin officials said Tuesday. The accident on Monday night briefly caused a crisis in Russia-Israel relations as the Kremlin blamed the Israelis. All 15 Russian service members aboard were killed in the anti-aircraft barrage that downed the plane, which had apparently been misidentified by Syrian gunners as Israeli. Fears of a Russia-Israel confrontation were dampened by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. He blamed “a chain of tragic accidental circumstances,” and not just Israel, for the downing of the plane, an Ilyushin Il-20 surveillance aircraft.
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Merkel Removes Germany’s Spy Chief, Favorite of the Far Right
Germany’s chief of domestic intelligence was removed from his post Tuesday after a public rift with Chancellor Angela Merkel raised questions about whether Germany’s security apparatus was too sympathetic to the far right to effectively monitor its links to neo-Nazi groups. Last week, Hans-Georg Maassen, the spy chief, questioned the authenticity of a video showing an immigrant being chased by far-right protesters, contradicting the chancellor. Since then, calls for his resignation have increased. But on forums and rallies of the far right, Maassen has been celebrated as a defender of “truth.” The standoff had become the latest important test for an ever-weaker and embattled chancellor.
Moon’s Visit to North Korea May Persuade Kim to Denuclearize
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea was greeted by throngs of North Koreans shouting “Reunification of the fatherland!” as he arrived in the North on Tuesday on a mission to persuade its leader, Kim Jong Un, to commit to start dismantling his nuclear weapons program. The two will discuss improving inter-Korean ties and easing tensions along their countries’ border during Moon's three-day visit. The big question hovering over the talks is whether Kim will agree to take steps to convince Washington that he is willing to denuclearize. U.S. officials want to see concrete steps from the North. Kim expressed optimism on Tuesday about the future of the negotiations.
With Submarine, Japan Sends Message in South China Sea
A Japanese submarine participated in war games in the South China Sea last week and is now visiting Vietnam, signaling a more assertive pushback by Japan against China’s territorial claims in the region. Japan took the unusual step on Monday of announcing that it had carried out the drills, which also involved two destroyers and a helicopter carrier. The Ministry of Defense said the exercises were not targeting a particular nation, but analysts said they were an unequivocal message to China. The drills were the first involving a submarine that Japan is known to have conducted in the South China Sea.
U.N. Assails Myanmar for ‘Gravest Crimes’ Against Rohingya
Catching up with villagers from Min Gyi who had escaped the Myanmar army’s assault on their homes, the soldiers first killed all the men. Then they turned on the women and children. The report of a U.N. fact-finding mission, issued Tuesday, cited the slaughter in Min Gyi, in Rakhine, a western state of Myanmar, as evidence that the army had committed “the gravest crimes under international law” in clearance operations a year ago targeting the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. The panel’s 444-page report, presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, chronicles the atrocities that drove more than 750,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.
Return to Arms Threatens 2016 Peace Deal in Colombia
Under a torn Colombian flag on a windy hilltop, a ragtag guerrilla militia gathers. A commander who goes by the alias “the Poet” tells of a recent firefight with a paramilitary squad in the hills nearby. It might be just another scene from Colombia’s decades of guerrilla warfare were it not for a puzzling fact: The fighters say they belong to, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which laid down its arms after it signed a peace deal in 2016. Behind the agreement, though, loomed a fear: that many of the thousands of fighters granted amnesty might sour on civilian life and pick up arms again.
11th Allegation in British Case on Weinstein
The police in Britain are investigating a new allegation of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein, the 11th case in the country against the U.S. movie producer, who was disgraced when dozens of women came forward last year to accuse him of sexual misconduct. The Metropolitan Police on Tuesday said that it had received an allegation of sexual assault in the early 1990s, in a case connected to what the police call “Operation Kaguyak.” The statement did not identify the accused person as Weinstein, following the usual procedure of withholding personal details until a person is charged. But news reports have widely linked the operation to Weinstein.