LONDON (AP) — President Vladimir Putin turned 70 on Friday amid sycophantic congratulations from his subordinates and a plea from Patriarch Kirill for all laymen and clerics to pray for the health of Russia’s longest-serving supreme leader. Joseph Stalin.
Putin, who ascended to the highest post in the Kremlin on the last day of 1999, faces the biggest challenge of his tenure after the invasion of Ukraine triggered the most serious confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In his birthday, putin he is scheduled to attend an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg, the former imperial capital founded by Peter the Great that is his hometown.
Obsequious officials hailed Putin as the savior of modern Russia, while the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia implored the country to hold two days of special prayers for God to grant Putin “health and longevity.”
“We pray to you, our Lord God, for the head of the Russian State, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and ask you to give him your rich mercy and generosity, grant him health and longevity, and free him from all resistance from visible and invisible enemies. , confirm him in wisdom and spiritual strength, for all, Lord, hear him and have mercy,” Kirill said.

Putin, who has vowed to end the chaos that gripped Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, is facing the most serious war crisis a Kremlin chief has faced in at least a generation since Afghanistan’s war in 1979-1989.
Opponents like jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny say Putin has led Russia down a dead-end road to ruin, building a fragile system of incompetent sycophants that will eventually collapse and throw Russia into chaos.
Supporters say that Putin saved Russia from destruction by an arrogant and aggressive West. They say that he has regained his influence after the humiliations suffered by the Russian elite when the Cold War ended.
Live updates of the Russian-Ukrainian war
But Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has so far failed.
After more than seven months of war, Russia has suffered huge losses in men and equipment and been defeated on several fronts in the past month, as Putin’s army lurched from one humiliation to another.
Putin has resorted to proclaiming the annexation of territories only partly under Russian control – and whose borders, according to the Kremlin, have not yet been defined – and threatens to defend them with nuclear weapons.

A partial mobilization declared by the president on September 21 has unfolded so chaotically that even Putin has been forced to admit mistakes and order changes. Hundreds of thousands of men have fled abroad to avoid being summoned.
Even the Kremlin’s normally loyal allies have denounced the failings of the military, though so far they have stopped short of criticizing the president himself.
Reflecting on Putin’s birthday, former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov said: “On an anniversary, it is customary to summarize the results, but the results are so deplorable that it would be better not to draw too much attention to the anniversary.”

MEXICO CITY: A drug gang gunned down 20 people, including a mayor and his father, in the mountains of southern Mexico, authorities said Thursday. A video posted on social media showed men who identified themselves as the Tequileros gang claiming responsibility for the mass shooting in the state of Guerrero.
The Guerrero state security council said gunmen stormed the town hall of the town of San Miguel Totolapan on Wednesday and opened fire on a meeting the mayor was holding with other officials.
Among the dead were Mayor Conrado Mendoza and his father, Juan Mendoza Acosta, a former mayor of the town. Most of the other victims were believed to be local officials.
The walls of the town hall, which at the time were surrounded by children’s games, were riddled with bullets.
Totolapan is a geographically large but sparsely populated mountainous municipality in a region known as Tierra Caliente, one of the most troubled areas in Mexico.
Ricardo Mejía, Mexico’s undersecretary for public security, said that the Tequileros are fighting the Familia Michoacana gang in the region and that the authenticity of the video was being verified.
“This event occurred in the context of a dispute between criminal gangs,” said Mejía. “A group known as the Tequileros dominated the region for some time; it was a group that primarily trafficked and distributed opium, but also engaged in kidnapping, extortion, and various murders in the region.”
Totolapan was controlled for years by drug the boss of the Raybel gang Jacobo de Almonte, known by his nickname as “El Tequilero”, “The Tequila Drinker”.
In his only known public appearance, de Alamonte was caught on video drinking with the elder Mendoza, who was then the city’s elected mayor, in 2015. It was unclear whether the elder Mendoza was there of his own free will or had been forced to. attend the meeting.
In that video, de Alamonte seemed so drunk that he muttered inaudibly and one of his henchmen had to hold him in a sitting position.
In 2016, the locals of Totolapan were so fed up with the tequila kidnappings that they kidnapped the mother of the gang leader to take advantage of the release of others.
While the Tequileros had long relied on opium paste trafficking from local poppy growers, increasing use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl had reduced the demand for opium paste and the level of violence in Guerrero.
Also on Wednesday, in the neighboring state of Morelos, a state deputy was shot dead in the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City.
Two armed men traveling on a motorcycle shot and killed state deputy Gabriela Marín as she was getting out of a vehicle in front of a pharmacy. One person with Marin was reportedly injured in the attack.
“Based on the information we have, we cannot rule out a politically related motive,” Mejia said of the murder.
“The deceased, Gabriela Marín, had just taken office as a legislator in July, after another legislator died, and there were several legal disputes over the seat.”
The Mendoza massacre raised the number of mayors killed during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to 18, and the number of state deputies to eight, according to data from Etellekt Consultores.
Mexico’s Congress is this week debating the president’s proposal to extend the military’s policing functions until 2028. Last month, lawmakers approved López Obrador’s push to transfer the ostensibly civilian National Guard to military control.
While attacks on public officials are not uncommon in Mexico, they come at a time when López Obrador’s security strategy is being hotly debated.
The president has placed a tremendous responsibility on the armed forces rather than the civilian police to control the persistently high levels of violence in Mexico. He promised to continue and said that “we have to keep doing the same things, because he has given results.”
López Obrador sought to blame previous administrations for Mexico’s persistent problem of violence.
“These are (criminal) organizations that have been there for a long time, that did not emerge in this administration,” López Obrador said. He also blamed locals in the Tierra Caliente region for supporting the gangs and sometimes even electing them to office.
“There are still communities that protect these groups and even vote them as authorities,” the president said.

KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that his country must defend itself against Moscow’s invasion “so that Russian tanks do not advance on Warsaw or Prague again.”
Addressing a meeting in Prague of European heads of state called by the French president immanuel macronZelenskyy also called on Western capitals to supply his army with more weapons “to punish the aggressor.”

BRUSSELS: The EU on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia, expanding import/export bans and blacklisting people over Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
The measures, which came into force with their publication in the bloc’s official administrative journal, also pointed the way to a cap on the price of Russian crude shipped around the world, but only after details are worked out within the group of G7 nations.
The EU regulation said the sanctions were in response to “further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the organization of illegal sham ‘referendums’ in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhia regions that are currently illegally occupied… the illegal annexation of those Ukrainian regions… as well as the mobilization in the Russian Federation and its repeated threat to use weapons of mass destruction.”
Thirty people and seven entities were added to the EU blacklist, including singers Yulia Chicherina and Nikolay Rastorguev, among others considered pro-war “propaganda” artists.
Other listings included Russia’s electoral commission and its head, proxy Russian officials in the annexed regions, and Russian defense officials and defense-affiliated companies.
The regulation also introduced a “circumvention” list on which individuals or companies that assist banned Russian entities in circumventing EU sanctions would be placed.
It was the eighth package of sanctions that the European Union has imposed on Russia since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February.
The last two sanctions packages have been losing steam compared to the previous ones, as Russia’s main business, energy, banking, military and political sectors have already been hit.
service ban
The main measure in the latest sanctions was intended to be a cap on the price of Russian crude transported around the world.
But the legal text published on Thursday does not set out how it would work, leaving it to future deliberations by the European Commission and EU member states in consultation with the G7.
“Although all the main elements of the price cap are in the text at the moment, discussions about what level the price cap will be and some details are still ongoing in the context of the G7,” an EU official said on condition of anonymity. to explain better. the sanctions
“Obviously what is important is that we have a level playing field across the G7 and if possible also have third countries on board.”
The sanctions include expanding a ban on all Russian cryptocurrency transactions, regardless of amount, and expanding an existing ban on Russian imports, and expanding a ban on arms sales to include personal weapons.
In addition, the sale to Russia of electronic components that may be part of Russian weapons, such as transistors, integrated electronic circuits, controllers and aerial surveillance cameras, is prohibited.
In addition, the EU is prohibiting service providers in various sectors from exporting to Russia, including in the fields of legal advice, architecture, engineering, and IT consulting.
Compared to before the war, the EU has now “decoupled” about a third of its exports to Russia and more than half of its imports from the country, an EU official said.
One controversial measure left off the sanctions list was diamonds, a key sector for Belgium because trade with Russia had already shrunk and it was a globalized industry that could easily circumvent European restrictions, an official explained.

KYIV: Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Raphael Grossi said Thursday that the UN nuclear watchdog considered the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is a Ukrainian facility.
Russia captured the plant in southern Ukraine in March, shortly after invading Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government on Wednesday to take control of it.
The plant is the largest in Europe and Ukrainian staff have continued to operate it.
“This is an issue that has to do with international law… we want the war to end immediately, and of course the IAEA’s position is that this facility is a Ukrainian facility.” Grossi told reporters in Kyiv.
He was due to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian officials after his talks in the Ukrainian capital.

UNITED NATIONS: Russia has called for a secret vote next week on a Western-backed resolution that would condemn its “illegal annexation attempt” of four Ukrainian regions and demand that Moscow immediately reverse its actions.
Russia apparently hopes to get more support from the 193 nations in the General Assembly if their votes are not public.
Russia vetoed what would have been a legally binding Security Council resolution on September 30 to condemn the annexation referendums in the four Ukrainian regions as illegal, declare them invalid, and urge all countries not to recognize any annexation of territory claimed by Moscow. .
The United States and Albania, which sponsored the resolution, have promised to take the issue to all UN members in the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes but resolutions are not legally binding.
“Unless the international community reacts,” European Union Ambassador to the UN Olof Skoog said on Wednesday, “there may be claims that no one is paying attention and this is now carte blanche for other countries to do the same or acknowledge what Russia has done.”
The General Assembly has announced that its emergency special session on Ukraine will resume on Monday afternoon, when the draft resolution will be introduced. Diplomats said they expect speeches from member nations to continue on Tuesday, with a vote on the resolution likely on Wednesday.
Votes on resolutions at the world body are traditionally public and are illuminated by different colored lights on a large board bearing the name of each country.
But Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said in a six-page letter to all other UN ambassadors obtained by The Associated Press that the UN’s legal adviser has confirmed that the General Assembly can use a secret ballot. “in making decisions”.
In addition to demanding that Russia withdraw its annexation of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson Y Zaporizhiathe draft resolution would declare that Moscow’s actions violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and are “inconsistent” with the principles of the UN Charter.
The proposed resolution says that the annexations also “have no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine.”
It demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders…to allow for the peaceful resolution of the conflict…through political dialogue, negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means.
Russia’s call for a secret vote on the resolution is the latest step in the escalating confrontation between Moscow and the United States and its European allies over the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s veto in the Security Council last Friday came hours after a lavish Kremlin ceremony in which President Vladimir Putin signed treaties to annex Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions, saying they were now part of Russia and would be defended by Moscow.
Putin signed the final documents on Wednesday to annex the four regions, and in a defiant move, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept the door open for more land grabs in Ukraine, saying “certain territories will be reclaimed and we will continue to consult residents who would be anxious.” embrace Russia.
ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded to the annexation by announcing Ukraine’s accelerated application to join NATO.
In a decree published Tuesday, he also ruled out negotiations with Russia, stating that Putin’s actions made it impossible to speak with the Russian leader.
In her letter to UN member states, Russia’s Nebenzia called the attempt by the US and its allies to have the General Assembly condemn the referendums as “a clearly politicized and provocative event aimed at deepening the divide” between the countries. UN members.
He stated that Western actions have nothing to do with the protection of international law and the UN Charter, and are only to “pursue their own geopolitical goals”, citing Western “double standards” in backing Kosovo’s declaration of independence. of Serbia in 2008 without a referendum. .
Unlike Kosovo, Nebenzia said, the four Ukrainian regions “are now exposed to a real existential threat from Ukraine.”
The Russian ambassador said that Moscow understands the “enormous pressure” that the United States and its allies will exert on other countries to support the resolution, and “we also understand that in such circumstances it can be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly.”
Therefore, he said, Russia proposes a secret ballot and asks member states to support the initiative.
When asked for her reaction to the Russian move, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield replied: “No comment.”
While the Security Council has been hampered from taking action on Ukraine due to Russia’s veto power, the General Assembly has passed three resolutions.
It voted 141-5 with 35 abstentions on March 2 to demand an immediate Russian ceasefire, the withdrawal of all its forces, and the protection of all civilians. On March 24, he voted 140-5 with 38 abstentions on a resolution that blames Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and calls for an immediate ceasefire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival. .
But the assembly voted by a much narrower margin on April 7 to suspend Russia from the world organization’s top human rights body, the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, over allegations that Russian soldiers in Ukraine committed human rights violations. rights that the United States and Ukraine have. called war crimes. The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions.

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Thursday took executive action to change US policy on marijuana, pardoning all previous federal crimes simple marijuana possession.
“There are thousands of people who have prior federal marijuana possession convictions who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,” Biden said in a statement. “My action will help alleviate the collateral consequences stemming from these convictions.”
Biden’s actions deliver on a campaign promise and are likely to please members of his left-leaning political base ahead of the November midterm elections in which Biden’s fellow Democrats defend their control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Biden said he had ordered the Attorney General merrick garland develop an “administrative process” to issue certificates of pardon to those who are eligible.
The president also said he was urging state governors to do the same.
“Just as no one should be in federal prison solely for possession of marijuana, no one should be in state or local jail for that reason either,” he said.
Biden said he was asking federal officials to start a process of reviewing how marijuana is “scheduled” or classified under federal law. It currently falls under the same classification as heroin and LSD and in a higher classification than fentanyl and methamphetamine, he said.
“Ultimately, even as federal and state regulation of marijuana changes, important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and sales to minors must remain in place,” Biden said.
“Too many lives have been changed because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time we right these wrongs.”