CIA Sees "Once-In-A-Generation" Spy Recruiting Opportunity In Russia

US CIA Director William Burns said on Saturday that the armed mutiny by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was a challenge to the Russian state that had shown the corrosive effect of President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

Putin this week thanked the army and security forces for averting what he said could have turned into a civil war, and has compared the mutiny to the chaos that plunged Russia into two revolutions in 1917.

For months, Prigozhin had been openly insulting Putin's most senior military men, using a variety of crude expletives and prison slang that shocked top Russian officials but were left unanswered in public by Putin.

"It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin's mendacious rationale for the invasion of Ukraine and of the Russian military leadership's conduct of the war," Burns said in a lecture to Britain's Ditchley Foundation - a non-profit foundation focused on US-British relations - in Oxfordshire, England.

"The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time - a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin's war on his own society and his own regime."

Burns, who served as US ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008 and was appointed CIA director in 2021, cast Prigozhin's mutiny as an "armed challenge to the Russian state".

He said the mutiny was an "internal Russian affair in which the United States has had and will have no part."

Since a deal was struck a week ago to end the mutiny, the Kremlin has sought to project calm, with the 70-year-old Putin discussing tourism development, meeting crowds in Dagestan, and discussing ideas for economic development.

CIA RECRUITMENT

Russia will emerge stronger after the failed mutiny so the West need not worry about stability in the world's biggest nuclear power, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

But Burns said that the war had already been a strategic failure for Russia by laying bare its military weakness and damaging the Russian economy for years to come, while the NATO military alliance was growing bigger and stronger.

Burns said Russia's "future as a junior partner and economic colony of China" was being shaped "by Putin's mistakes."

He said disaffection in Russia with the war in Ukraine was creating a rare opportunity to recruit spies - and the CIA was not letting it pass.

"Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression," Burns said.

"That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at the CIA - at our core a human intelligence service. We're not letting it go to waste."

The Kremlin said in May that its agencies were tracking Western spy activity after the CIA published a video encouraging Russians to make contact via a secure internet channel.

The short video in Russian was accompanied by a text saying the agency wanted to hear from military officers, intelligence specialists, diplomats, scientists and people with information about Russia's economy and its leadership.

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Dutch King Apologises For Netherlands' Historic Role In Slavery

Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologised for the Netherlands' historic involvement in slavery and the effects that it still has today.

The king was speaking at a ceremony marking the 160th anniversary of the legal abolition of slavery in the Netherlands, including its former colonies in the Caribbean.

"On this day that we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity," he said. He said racism in Dutch society remains a problem and not everyone would support his apology.

However "the times have changed and Keti Koti ... the chains have truly been broken," he said to cheers and applause of thousands of onlookers at the national slavery monument in Amsterdam's Oosterpark.

"Keti Koti" are Surinamese words that mean the 'the chain is broken' and it is the title given to July 1 as a day of remembrance of slavery and celebration of freedom.

The apology comes amid a wider reconsideration of the Netherlands' colonial past, including involvement in both the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in its former Asian colonies.

Willem-Alexander apologised in Indonesia in 2020 for "excessive violence" during Dutch colonial rule.

In December Prime Minister Mark Rutte acknowledged the Dutch State bears a responsibility in the Atlantic slave trade and profited from it, and apologised.

Rutte has said the government will not pay reparations, as an advisory panel recommended in 2021.

A government-commissioned study published last month found that the House of Orange profited by around $600 million in modern terms from Dutch colonies in 1675-1770, much of it given as a gift from the Dutch East India Company's spice trade profits.

The Royal House in December commissioned an independent investigation into the Royal Family's role in colonial history, with results expected in 2025.

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Son's Last Goodbye To Parents Who Died In Maharashtra Bus Accident

A 52-year-old teacher, who was returning after dropping off his son who had enrolled in a law course in Nagpur, was killed along with his wife and daughter in Saturday's Buldhana bus tragedy.

The three Pune residents were among the 25 passengers who were killed when a private bus met with an accident and burst into flames in the early hours of the day on the Samruddhi Expressway in Sindkhedraja, some 400 kiloemtres from Pune, their families said.

Kalias Gangawane, an English teacher in a school, his wife Kanchan and their daughter Rutuja, were returning to their native Nirgudsar village in Ambegaon tehsil here after dropping off their son Aditya, who had got admission in a law course in Nagpur, he said.

"The four had gone to Nagpur on Wednesday. We came to know about the accident at 5:30am. One of our relatives, who is a policeman, informed me that the charred bodies of the three were found embracing each other," said Rupesh Gangawane, a cousin of Kailas.

Kailas said he and his family were in Buldhana for further formalities to claim the bodies.

"The family is originally from Shirur tehsil in Pune. They settled in Nirgudsar after Kailas got a teaching job," he said.

Kanchan Gangawane's brother Amar Kale said the bodies of the bus victims are charred beyond recognition and DNA tests would have to be carried out to identify them.

Arun Gorde, a teacher and Kailas' neighbour, said the latter was teaching in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru School in Nirgudsar since 1996 and had also worked as a moderator with the Maharashtra State Board for Class 12 for a decade.

"We have been neighbours since. It is a horrific tragedy. Kailas was a polite man with very good command over English. Rutuja was in the third year of BHMS in Pune and Aditya had recently passed class 12 and had secured admission for a law course in Nagpur," he said.

Gorde said Kailas was a kind-hearted man who had raised his niece and nephew after their parents died.

"Years ago, he ensured his nephew and niece never felt the pain of losing their parents at such a young age. Unfortunately, his son Aditya has now been orphaned," he said.

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British PM Rishi Sunak 'Sad' Over Cricket Racism And Sexism Report

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was "sad" to read a damning report that claimed racism and sexism are rife within English cricket. The publication of the Independent Commission report into Equity in Cricket came in the wake of a racism scandal centred around the treatment of Pakistan-born bowler Azeem Rafiq at English side Yorkshire.

Rafiq went public with allegations of racism and bullying in 2020, prompting the England and Wales Cricket Board to commission the report. Six former Yorkshire players found guilty of using racist language in the Rafiq case were last month fined by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

Of the more than 4,000 individuals interviewed for the ICEC report, 50 percent described experiencing discrimination in the previous five years, with the figures substantially higher for people from ethnically diverse communities. Women were often treated as "second-class citizens", the report found, also stating that not enough had been done to address class barriers, with private schools dominating the pathway into cricket.

Appearing on BBC Radio during the second Test between England and Australia at Lord's on Saturday, Sunak said: "It was, for people who love cricket, really hard to read and you were just sad."

A total of 44 recommendations were made in the report, including a call for equal pay for male and female international players by 2030. Sunak said the ECB was "absolutely committed" to fixing the problems outlined in the report.

"I have spent a little bit of the morning talking to the team at the ECB and I think they have approached it in exactly the right way," he said.

"They commissioned this report off their own back because they wanted to be proactive so they deserve credit for that."

Sunak hopes the report provides cricket with a chance to reset its moral compass. "They have offered an unreserved apology and are fully committed to implementing change and for this to be a reset moment for cricket," he said.

"We all want it to be open for everybody from all backgrounds and where everyone can feel respect and supported when playing it.

"So that's what we want and I'm confident the whole cricketing family share that ambition."

Sunak, the first British Asian Prime Minister, said he had endured his own problems regarding racism, although he acknowledged the progress made on the issue in the United Kingdom.

"Of course I have experienced racism growing up, in particular, and of course I know it exists," he said. "It stings you in a way that very few other things do. It stings you. It does hurt."

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Union Minister's "Vulture Tourism" Jibe On Rahul Gandhi's Manipur Visit

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Manipur visit to Manipur and said that he engages in what he called "vulture tourism".

Mr Chandrasekhar accused Mr Gandhi of visiting places where people are suffering instead of actively addressing the long-standing issues in those societies

"I find that Rahul Gandhi always has this habit of making these visits almost look like a vulture tourist goes and travels places where suffering is going on. Instead of contributing to decades of tension in some societies that have been ignored by years under the previous government, he goes there for a little vulture tourism visit," Mr Chandrasekhar said.

He expressed his hope that Mr Gandhi finds satisfaction in his photo opportunities during his visit and returns to his usual activities during his holidays in foreign countries.

"I don't want to comment too much about it. I certainly think that all want peace to be restored. The state government does not like violence in Manipur and I hope that Rahul Gandhi is happy with his photo op today and goes back to doing what he does for his foreign holidays," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Gandhi met with Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhavan and said he would do whatever he can to restore peace in the state.

He reiterated that his party will extend full cooperation to bring peace and tranquility in the state so that the immemorial history of co-existence will maintain the status quo ante.

"Manipur needs peace. I want peace to be restored here. I visited some relief camps, and there are deficiencies in these relief camps, the government should work on this. I'm ready to do whatever I can for the peace of the state," he told reporters.

Manipur Police on Thursday said the situation is tense in some places with sporadic incidents of firing in the past 24 hours but it's normal in most districts.

Ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3 after clashes erupted during a rally organised by the All Tribal Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of Meiteis in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).

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Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Barred From Office Until 2030

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's political career was in tatters on Friday as Brazil's federal electoral court (TSE) barred the far-right nationalist from public office until 2030 for his conduct during last year's fraught election.

Five out of seven justices voted to convict the 68-year-old Bolsonaro for abuse of power and misuse of the media when, in July, before the 2022 election, he summoned ambassadors to vent unfounded claims about Brazil's electronic voting system.

Their decision marks a stunning reversal for Mr Bolsonaro, a fiery former army captain who narrowly lost October's election to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Many in Brazil blame him for creating a nationwide movement to overturn the result, which culminated in the Jan. 8 invasion of government buildings in Brasilia by thousands of his supporters.

Jair Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have pledged to appeal to the Supreme Court. On Friday, he described the decision as a "stab in the back," and pledged to keep working to advance right-wing politics in Brazil.

It remains to be seen what Mr Bolsonaro, whose personal brand has become increasingly toxic in Brazil, does next.

His hopes of beating Lula in the 2026 presidential election may be over, but that doesn't mean there won't be a Bolsonaro running in three years' time. Jair Bolsonaro has said he would support his wife, Michelle, as candidate.

An avowed admirer of former US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro was criticized internationally for his lackluster stewardship of the Amazon rainforest, his laissez-faire approach to COVID-19 restrictions, and his evidence-free attacks on Brazil's electoral system.

The TSE trial is part of a broader reckoning in Brazil with the fallout from the country's most painful election in a generation. While the former president faced the electoral court scrutiny, many of his one-time allies are being questioned by lawmakers in a congressional probe into the Jan. 8 riots.

The TSE ruling is also not the end of Bolsonaro's troubles. He separately faces multiple criminal investigations that could still put him behind bars.

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PM Modi's Uniform Civil Code Push Rankles Meghalaya Ally

One of the BJP's key allies in the northeast, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), stating that such a measure contradicts India's inherent diversity and unique cultural characteristics.

PM Modi this week revived a debate around the UCC, a common set of personal laws for all Indian citizens irrespective of religion, sex, gender, or sexual orientation, emphasising the importance of equality as enshrined in the constitution.

The Law Commission has invited public and religious organisations' views on the UCC, setting off speculation that a draft could be introduced in the next parliament session, and enacted before next year's election, giving the BJP a boost for fulfilling one of its longstanding promises.

"The Uniform Civil Code goes against the actual idea of India. India is a diverse nation and our strength lies in diversity," Mr Sangma, who is also the president of the National People's Party (NPP), said.

The comments underline the regional resistance that the BJP may face in implementing a uniform set of personal laws, a contentious issue that has sparked debates about religious rights, gender justice, and national integration.

The NPP, which is a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), leads the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA). The BJP has two MLAs in the state, while Mr Sangma's party has 28 in the 60-seat assembly.

The NPP has a strong political base in Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh besides Meghalaya and the party has several MLAs in the four northeastern states.

"We don't know what kind of bill the government is planning to introduce," Mr Sangma added, highlighting that without seeing the actual content of the draft, it would be difficult to delve into specifics. "We (Meghalaya) are a matrilineal society, and the entire northeast has a unique culture and would want that to remain intact".

The proposed UCC, which would govern matters like marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, has been an idea mooted by the makers of the Constitution and is mentioned in Article 44 of the Constitution's Directive Principles of State Policy, the government says.

However, the potential implementation of the UCC has raised concerns among various communities in India, including those in the northeastern states, which are marked by distinct cultural practices and societal norms, as well as minorities like Muslims, Christians and Sikhs.

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