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Georgia reacts angrily to EU suspension of visa-free travel

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Georgia reacts angrily to EU suspension of visa-free travel

The European Commission had proposed to suspend the visa-free travel regime for Georgian diplomats and officials in response to the violent crackdown on protesters, who took to the streets for weeks to denounce the ruling party’s gradual pivot away from Europe and towards Russia.

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Georgia has reacted angrily to the suspension of a mutual visa-free travel agreement by the European Union. 

The development may lead to Georgian diplomats and officials having to apply for visas when travelling to an EU member state. 

Speaking to Euronews a day after the announcement of the suspension, Georgian foreign minister Maka Botochorishvili called the decision “politically wrong.” 

“Legally, it is absolutely groundless and nonsense. There is no proof or explanation how Georgian diplomats are creating threats or threatening public order in the European Union or EU member states,” she said.  

“I just think that it is absolutely against European values or something that we refer to very often, and that is very unfortunate.”  

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‘Intention to be part of the EU’ still there

The decision by the European Council came in response to controversial laws that the Georgian parliament passed last year that undermine basic democratic rights, according to Brussels. 

It was described as a reaction to the adoption of controversial Georgian laws on foreign influence and family values

Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration Tomasz Siemoniak said “fundamental rights and democratic values are core principle of EU integration,” adding that officials from a country “which trample down these values should not benefit from easier access to the EU.” 

Botchorishvili rejected this notion – stressing Georgia’s willingness to pursue its path to EU membership. 

“Georgia has been a dedicated partner for the European Union and that is not just empty words,” she said, adding that her country “is there with this intention to be part of the European Union. And we are very serious about that.” 

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Following a decision of the Georgian government in November 2024, the opening of negotiations with the EU about membership is suspended until 2028. 

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Kennedy, fresh off grilling, heads back to US Senate for a second hearing

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Kennedy, fresh off grilling, heads back to US Senate for a second hearing
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, President Donald Trump’s pick to run the top U.S. health agency, heads to the Senate Health committee on Thursday after being grilled by Democrats on a different committee over his past comments on vaccines and shifting stance on abortion rights.
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An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting

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An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting

An Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden has been killed in a shooting near Stockholm, authorities said Thursday.

Salwan Momika, 38, staged several burnings and desecrations of Islam’s holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Quran burnings got worldwide publicity and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and unrest in many places.

THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS RALLY ACROSS IRAQ FOR A 2ND DAY TO CONDEMN THE BURNING OF A QURAN IN SWEDEN

The Stockholm District Court said a verdict scheduled Thursday in a trial in which Momika was a defendant was postponed because one of the defendants had died. A judge at the court, Göran Lundahl, confirmed that the deceased was Momika. He said he didn’t have any information on when or how Momika died.

Salwan Momika speaks in Malmö, Sweden, Sept. 30, 2023.  (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

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Police said they were alerted to a shooting Wednesday night at an apartment building in Sodertalje, near Stockholm, and found a man with gunshot wounds who later died.

Broadcaster SVT reported that the victim was Momika.

Prosecutors said five people were arrested overnight on suspicion of murder. They said all were adults but gave no further details.

Prosecutor Rasmus Öman said the investigation is still in its early stages and that the suspects and others still have to be questioned.

Momika came to Sweden from Iraq in 2018 and was granted a three-year residence permit in 2021, according to SVT.

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Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden’s security service was involved because “there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power,” Swedish news agency TT reported.

Momika argued that his protests targeted the religion of Islam, not Muslim people. He said he wanted to protect Sweden’s population from the messages of the Quran. Swedish police allowed his demonstrations, citing freedom of speech, while filing charges against him.

 

Last March, he was arrested in neighboring Norway after stating that he would seek asylum there, and was sent back to Sweden, TT reported.

Momika and a co-defendant were charged in August with incitement to hatred because of statements they made in connection with the Quran burnings. A verdict was supposed to be handed down on Thursday morning.

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The Take: How did China’s DeepSeek outsmart ChatGPT?

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The Take: How did China’s DeepSeek outsmart ChatGPT?

Podcast,

Chipmaker Nvidia lost nearly $600bn in market value as China’s AI model DeepSeek shook confidence in US tech dominance.

A new AI rival from China is shaking up Silicon Valley. DeepSeek matches ChatGPT’s power but was built faster and for a fraction of the cost. How did they do it, and what comes next?

In this episode:

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  • Caiwei Chen (@CaiweiC), reporter, MIT Technology Review

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Sarí el-Khalili, Sonia Bhagat and Amy Walters, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Hagir Saleh, Hanah Shokeir and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz.  

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

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