A statue of Stalin is unveiled in the Moscow subway as Russia tries to revive the dictator’s legacy.

A monument to Josef Stalin has been unveiled at one of Moscow’s busiest subway stations, the latest attempt by Russian authorities to revive the legacy of the brutal Soviet dictator.

The sculpture shows Stalin surrounded by beaming workers and children with flowers. It was installed at the Taganskaya station to mark the 90th anniversary of the Moscow Metro, the sprawling subway known for its mosaics, chandeliers and other ornate decorations that was built under Stalin.

It replaces an earlier tribute that was removed in the decade following Stalin’s 1953 death in a drive to root out his “cult of personality” and reckon with decades of repression marked by show trials, nighttime arrests and millions killed or thrown into prison camps as “enemies of the people.”

Muscovites have given differing responses to the unveiling earlier this month. Many commuters took photos of the monument and some laid flowers beneath it.

Aleksei Zavatsin, 22, told The Associated Press that Stalin was a “great man” who had “made a poor country into a superpower.”

“He raised the country from its knees,” he said.

But another resident who identified herself only as Marina recalled her grandmother saying “the whole country was living in fear” under Stalin.

Activists from Society.Future, a Russian political movement that voices pro-democratic and nationalist views, protested by placing posters at the foot of the monument that quoted top politicians condemning the dictator.

One poster, featuring President Vladimir Putin, cited him as bemoaning Stalin’s “mass crimes against the people,” and saying his modernization of the USSR came at the price of “unacceptable” repression.

The unveiling came weeks after Putin signed a decree renaming the airport in Volgograd as Stalingrad — as the city was called when the Soviet Red Army defeated Nazi German forces there in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

Volgograd itself briefly reverted to its former name on May 8-9 for Victory Day celebrations and will be temporarily renamed five more times this year to mark related wartime anniversaries.

Putin has invoked the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted five months and saw up to two million soldiers and civilians killed, as justification for Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

Russian political analyst Pyotr Miloserdov said the Kremlin has used a broader drive to embrace Stalin’s legacy to justify both the conflict in Ukraine and crackdown on dissent at home.

“Stalin was a tyrant, a despot, and that’s what we need,” he told AP. Authorities want to revive Stalin’s image to popularize the idea of strongman rule, he added, and paint violence and repression as justified under extraordinary circumstances.

“This can lead to justifying any senseless, forceful actions. Under Stalin, this was allowed, there was a war. ... So, here is our special military operation, and now this is allowed too. This is simply an attempt to justify the use of force on people,” Miloserdov said.

Moscow, The Associated Press

#UN warns of #Gaza famine risk, as Israel vows to build ‘Jewish state’ in West Bank.

The U.N. warned on Friday that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine, as Israel vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank.

Israel has faced mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the U.N. says only a trickle of aid has been allowed in after a more than two-month blockade.

Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war in Gaza have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in March following a short-lived truce.

Israel has meanwhile doubled down on its settlement expansion in the West Bank, while defying calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders for a two-state solution.

Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, on Friday called Gaza “the hungriest place on earth”.

“It’s the only defined area -- a country or defined territory within a country -- where you have the entire population at risk of famine. One hundred percent of the population at risk of famine,” he said.

Recent AFPTV footage has shown chaotic scenes as large crowds of Palestinians desperate for food rushed to a limited number of aid distribution centres to pick up supplies.

Israel recently intensified its Gaza offensive in what it says is a renewed push to destroy Hamas, drawing sharp international criticism, including from allies such as Britain and Germany.
‘Crusade’ against Israel

This week Israel announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank.

London called the move a “deliberate obstacle” to Palestinian statehood, and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesman said it pushed efforts towards a two-state solution “in the wrong direction”.

On Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the Palestinian territory which Israel has occupied since 1967.

“This is a decisive response to the terrorist organisations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land,” Katz said in a video published by his office.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank -- considered illegal under international law -- are seen as a major obstacle to a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Katz framed the move as a direct rebuke to Macron and others pushing for recognition of a Palestinian state.

Macron has recently stepped up his statements in support of the Palestinians, asserting on Friday that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity”.

Macron confirmed he would personally attend a conference France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia at the U.N. in June aimed at reviving the two-state solution.

Israel on Friday accused the French president of undertaking a “crusade against the Jewish state”.

The foreign ministry said that “instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state”.
‘Go in with full force’

Negotiations aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza have continued, meanwhile, with the White House announcing Thursday that Israel had “signed off” on a new ceasefire proposal submitted to Hamas.

The Palestinian militant group, however, said the deal failed to satisfy its demands, stopping short of rejecting it outright.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Telegram that “after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again -- there are no more excuses”.

“It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy, and kill Hamas to the last one,” he said.

Israel has not confirmed that it approved the new proposal.

Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP that at least 45 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on Friday, including seven in a strike targeting a family home in Jabalia in the north.

Palestinians sobbed over the bodies of their loved ones at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital following the strike, AFPTV footage showed.

“These were civilians and were sleeping at their homes,” said neighbour Mahmud al-Ghaf, describing “children in pieces”.

“Stop the war!” said Mahmud Nasr, who lost relatives. “We do not want anything from you, just stop the war.”

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Jabalia strike, but said separately that the air force had hit “dozens of targets” across Gaza over the past day.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that at least 4,058 people had been killed since Israel resumed major operations on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,321, mostly civilians.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Officials say at least 10 people are dead and 6 are missing after stone quarry collapse in Indonesia

Wildfire smoke has led to air quality alerts in six provinces and territories.

The Environment Canada air quality alerts cover a huge swath of central Canada, including much of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Parts of the Northwest Territories, western Ontario and Labrador are also affected.

In Alberta, air quality alerts stretch from near Red Deer in the south to the boundary with Northwest Territories. The most severe air quality warnings are in effect in the northwestern part of the province, including areas in and around High Level. At least four northern Alberta communities have been evacuated so far. Conditions are expected to improve later Friday.

“Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility,” Environment Canada warned. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase. Limit time outdoors. Consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events.”

Environment Canada also urges those in affected areas to keep windows and doors closed, use an air filter inside, and to wear a mask when outdoors.

“You may experience mild and common symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough,” Environment Canada said. “More serious but less common symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. If you think you are having a medical emergency, seek immediate medical assistance.”

Russian captain denies manslaughter in North Sea collision. The Russian captain of a cargo ship that collided with a U.S. tanker in the North Sea pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of one of his crew at a U.K. court hearing on Friday.

Vladimir Motin, 59, from St. Petersburg, appeared by video link from prison for the pretrial hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court. Assisted by a Russian interpreter, he denied a charge of gross manslaughter over the death of 38-year-old Mark Angelo Pernia.

Motin was ordered detained until his next hearing, and his trial was set for Jan. 12.

The Portugal-flagged cargo ship Solong was traveling at about 15 knots (17 mph or 28 km/h) when it hit the anchored tanker MV Stena Immaculate about 12 miles (19 kilometres) off the coast of northeast England on March 10, sparking a fire that lasted nearly a week. The tanker was transporting jet fuel for the U.S. military.

Rescuers saved 36 people from both ships. Pernia, from the Philippines, is missing and presumed dead.

U.K. authorities have said that there’s nothing to indicate that the collision was connected to national security.

Environmental damage from the collision was far less than initially feared, though thousands of pellets used in plastics production, known as nurdles, from the ruptured containers on the Solong have since washed up along England’s east coast.

Conservationists say the nurdles aren’t toxic, but can harm animals if ingested.

U.S. and allies accuse North Korea and Russia of flagrantly violating UN sanctions in military deals.

The U.S. and 10 allies on Thursday said the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea flagrantly violates UN sanctions and has helped Moscow increase its missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a UN Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang’s sanctions violations since 2010.

The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in “myriad unlawful activities” explicitly prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions.

It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia’s use in the war in Ukraine.

Russia has transferred air defense systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North’s troops deployed to support Russia’s war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under UN sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions.

The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has “contributed to Moscow’s ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.”

The cooperation also has provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programs., and it allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said.

There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report.

The report covers the period between Jan. 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future.

It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024.

The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia.

Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine “to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.” It also transferred “elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,” the report said.

It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile it said were found in Ukraine.

The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of UN resolutions “and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions.” It urged North Korea “to engage in meaningful diplomacy.”

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other UN action against North Korea.

#UN nuclear watchdog chief says ‘jury is still out’ on Iran-U.S. talks, but calls them a good sign.

The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Wednesday that “the jury is still out” on negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, but described the continuing negotiations a good sign.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described himself as being in near-daily conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as talking to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Middle East envoy.

Grossi acknowledged one of his deputies was in Tehran on Wednesday. Iranian officials identified the official as Massimo Aparo, the head of the IAEA’s safeguards arm. That’s the division that sends inspectors into Iran to monitor its program, which now enriches uranium up to 60 per cent purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

“For the moment, the jury is still out. We don’t know whether there’s going to be an agreement or not,” Grossi told journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna.

However, he described the ongoing meetings as a good sign.

“I think that is an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement. And I think that, in and by itself, is something possible.”

Iran and the U.S. so far have held five rounds of talks in both Muscat, Oman, and Rome, mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. A sixth round has yet to be set.
Talks focused on Iranian enrichment

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, closing in on a half-century of enmity.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program, if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium.

Trump has described Iran as having an American proposal to reach a deal. However, Iran repeatedly has denied receiving such a proposal, including on Wednesday with Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

However, if a deal is reached, Iran might allow the IAEA to have American inspectors on their teams during inspections, Eslami said. Americans represent the largest single nationality of IAEA employees, a 2023 agency report showed.
Iran maintains its own pressure

Before Grossi’s comments to journalists in Vienna, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a new warning to the U.S. as the negotiations go on.

“Our fingers on the trigger, we are in ambush and we are waiting,” Gen. Hossein Salami warned. “If they make a mistake, they will immediately receive responses that will make them completely forget their past.”

Despite the tensions, Grossi said that he believed “there’s always a way” to reach a deal between the Americans and the Iranians — even with the disagreement over enrichment. He added the IAEA had been making some “suggestions” to both the Iranians and the Americans, without elaborating.

However, he added that any possible deal likely would require a “solid, very robust” IAEA investigation of Iran’s program to understand where it stood after years of Tehran restricting inspectors’ ability to assess it.

“My conversations with my Iranian colleagues and counterparts, I always invite them to be absolutely transparent,” Grossi said. “And they tell me that a nuclear weapon is un-Islamic. I tell them, ‘Well, yeah. You know, that is perfect. It’s a statement that I respect. But in this business, you have to show it. You have to be verified in this.’”

And asked about his own political future, Grossi acknowledged his interest in pursuing the post of UN secretary-general, which is now held by António Guterres, whose current five-year term expires in 2027.

“What I have said to colleagues in other parts of the world is that, seriously considering that, yes, but for the moment, I’m here and I have, as you can see from this discussion, I have a lot on my plate,” he said.

Fire halts production at Ecuador’s biggest oil refinery. A fuel tank fire on Monday halted production at Ecuador’s largest oil refinery, sparking the evacuation of nearby residents as a giant plume of smoke billowed from the facility.

Operations at the plant in Esmeraldas province, which can refine 110,000 barrels per day (bpd), were suspended “to safeguard the security of the facilities and personnel,” state oil company Petroecuador said.

It said no one was injured in the blaze, and five people received medical attention for minor effects of smoke inhalation.

Workers were evacuated from the site that was cordoned off by soldiers and refinery staff, an AFP journalist observed.

Ecuadoran police said it was evacuating residents of the area, without specifying how many.

The cause of the fire at the refinery near Ecuador’s border with Colombia was not yet known.

Writing on X, Energy Minister Ines Manzano said the situation was “under control,” but the assurance did little to quell the concerns of residents.

Ramiro Medina, a plant worker, said “a loud noise” was heard, “and we all started running.”

“What is happening now is quite worrying,” added community representative Edgar Romero.

“We smelled something and thought it was coming from the Jaime Hurtado school, which was being fumigated today.... (but then) we smelled gasoline... We hope that the authorities will take action.”
Fuel supply ‘guaranteed’

Petroecuador, which operates the facility, did not specify the amount of fuel that was in the tank when the fire broke out.

Ecuador is one of South America’s top oil producers and is heavily reliant on its petroleum exports for revenue.

In 2024, the country produced about 475,000 barrels of crude per day, of which it sold nearly three-quarters, earning $8.6 billion in oil exports.

But production last year was disrupted by recurring power cuts linked to the worst drought in 60 years, which reduced the level of hydroelectric reservoirs to historic lows.

In March this year, a massive fuel pipeline leak saw more than 25,000 barrels of crude spill into three rivers, in an incident that also forced a suspension of oil exports.

Ecuador has two other refineries, with respective capacity for 45,000 and 20,000 barrels per day.

The government said in a statement Monday that “the supply of fuel is completely guaranteed throughout the country” despite the fire.

US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “crazy” on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine, even as the warring countries completed a large-scale prisoner exchange.

France’s first lady seems to push her husband as they land in Vietnam. He says they were joking.

That was French President Emmanuel Macron ‘s explanation Monday for video images that showed show his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of Southeast Asia this weekend.

The moment quickly made headlines in France, with media trying to decipher the interaction that cameras spotted through the just-opened door of the plane. The headline of a story on the website of the daily Le Parisien newspaper asked: “Slap or `squabble’? The images of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron disembarking in Vietnam trigger a lot of comment.”

Macron later told reporters that the couple -- married since 2007 after meeting at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher -- were simply joking around.

“We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,” he said, adding that the incident was being overblown into “a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe.”

In video taken by The Associated Press as the Macrons arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, a uniformed man can be seen pulling open the plane door and revealing the president standing inside, dressed in a suit and talking to someone who wasn’t visible.

Brigitte Macron’s arms -- in red -- were seen reaching out and pushing Macron away, with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose while the other was on his jaw. The French leader recoiled, turning his head away. Then, apparently realizing that he was on camera, he broke into a smile and gave a little wave.

In subsequent images, Macron and his wife, wearing a red jacket, appeared at the top of the stairs. He offered an arm but she didn’t take it. They walked down the carpeted stairs side by side.

The French leader argued that the images and reaction to them offered a cautionary tale about disinformation in the social media age, noting that in recent weeks, other videos had been used to circulate made-up stories about him.

“Everyone needs to calm down,” he said.

His office also downplayed the interaction.

“It was a moment where the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around. It’s a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists,” his office said.

Brigitte Macron was Brigitte Auziere, a married mother of three children, when they met at his high school. A teacher, she supervised the drama club where Emmanuel Macron, a literature lover, was a member.

He moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to join him and divorced before they finally married.