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A court in Russia has ordered the shutdown of the country’s oldest human rights organisation, the Moscow Helsinki Group, amid a relentless crackdown on voices critical of the Kremlin.
The NGO was established in 1976 by Soviet dissidents and produced regular reports on human rights abuses across the country.
A judge reportedly took less than 20 minutes to rule in favour of a motion by the Justice Ministry to dissolve the group, which was one of the last independent human rights organisations in Russia.
The ministry has accused the NGO of violating its legal registration in Moscow by working on human rights cases outside of the Russian capital.
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The organisation has described the accusations as ‘minute and absurd’ saying the court decision was a serious blow to the human rights movement, not only in Russia but also the world.
Since its invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, the Kremlin has cracked down on rights groups, independent media outlets, and opposition activists that show any sign of dissent.
The forced closure of the Moscow Helsinki Group comes just 13 months after the same Moscow court shut down another veteran human rights organisation, the Memorial Human Rights Centre, also at the ministry’s request.
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Pope Francis has discussed gun violence, discrimination and death in a new interview.
Speaking to the Associated Press news agency, the Pontiff upped his criticism of unjust treatment towards the LGBT+ community, though maintained homosexuality was still sinful.
"Being homosexual is not a crime. It's not a crime. Yes, it's a sin," said Francis. "but let's make the distinction first between sin and crime."
The Catholic Church remains opposed to same-sex relationships on moral grounds, despite their increasing social and legal acceptance in many parts of the world.
In 2021, Francis signed off on a message saying that the Church could not accept same-sex marriages, no matter how stable or positive the couple's relationship was.
The Pontiff, a frequent critic of the arms industry, also railed against the use of guns by civilians to defend themselves, saying it was becoming a "habit".
"Instead of making the effort to help us live, we make the effort to help us kill," he said, denouncing the weapons industry for peddling death.
"Please, let’s say something that will stop this."
Francis's comments come days after near back-to-back mass shootings in California, which claimed scores of lives and wounded many others.
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Figures from the Gun Violence Archive -- a non-profit research database -- reveal that the number of mass shootings has gone up significantly in the US in recent years.
There are more than 120 firearms per 100 residents in the US, more than anywhere else in the world. In England and Wales for comparison, there are just under 5 guns for every 100 people.
Reporters at AP then asked the 86-year-old Pope about his own health.
“I’m in good health. For my age, I’m normal. I might die tomorrow, but I am under control. I always ask for the grace the Lord will give me a sense of humour,” he said.
His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, died in December, after becoming the first pontiff in 600 years to resign a decade before.
This created an extraordinary situation in which there was effectively two popes, breaking with protocol as one usually passes power to the other in their death.
Francis was asked about the need for rules for any future retirement, following Benedict's death.
"After some more experience ... then it could be more regularised or regulated,” he said. “But for the moment it hasn't occurred to me."
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Cross-Channel train operator Eurostar complained Tuesday that slower post-Brexit passport checks for travellers are forcing it to run some services almost one-third empty.
The company said that its cross-Channel routes from Paris and Amsterdam to London were being held back by longer passport checks, brought as part of the Brexit vote.
For instance, British visitors using Eurostar must now have their documents stamped as they arrive and leave the EU, slowing their passage even with UK border points in European stations. EU citizens, meanwhile, have to show they comply with British migration rules.
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According to Eurostar, the extra time required to check all this information, along with the bottlenecked queues formed, means the rail company can’t offer enough seats.
"We haven't been able to return to 2019 levels of service because the border crossing is too slow," Cazenave said.
In 2022, passengers returned but the numbers were still lower. The Eurostar cross-Channel service carried 8.3 million passengers.
Today there are 14 return trips per day, only partly full, between Paris and London. In 2019 there were between 17 and 18 full trips.
Cazenave also added that there were not enough border staff to check passports and that she was concerned about the future introduction of a new digital Entry/Exit System (EES) for the Schengen travel area, expected to start this year.
"We used to ask clients to arrive half an hour before the train, now it's an hour," she said.
Eurostar merges with Thalys
The Eurostar Group now includes the Eurostar service from France and Belgium to London and the French-Belgian high-speed train operator Thalys, linking Cologne, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
On Tuesday, the group unveiled a new joint logo that will adorn trains on both route networks, along with an ambitious plan to grow to 30 million passengers a year by 2030.
Eurostar almost went bankrupt in 2021 and Thalys also sought help from its shareholders.
The new combined group has a debt of €960 million, according to Cazenave.
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