Foreign News
Little chance of change as Vladimir Putin is sworn in again
For the fifth time Vladimir Putin will be taking the long walk through the Grand Kremlin Palace to the St Andrew’s Throne Hall. There he will take the oath of office and be sworn in as Russia’s president for a new six-year term
The route may be familiar, but much has changed since Putin’s first inauguration ceremony in May 2000. Back then, President Putin pledged to “preserve and develop democracy” and to “take care of Russia.”
Twenty-four years on, the Kremlin leader is waging war against Ukraine; a war in which Russia has suffered heavy losses. At home, instead of developing democracy, President Putin has been curtailing it: jailing critics, removing all checks and balances on his power.
“Putin thinks of himself now as Vladimir the Great, as a Russian tsar,” believes Fiona Hill, a former White House national security advisor. “If we took ourselves back to his first two presidential terms, I think we’d have a fairly favourable assessment of Putin. He stabilised the country politically and made it solvent again. The Russian economy and system were performing better than at any other previous time in its history. “The war in Ukraine, going back to the annexation of Crimea 10 years ago, has dramatically changed that trajectory. He’s turned himself into an imperialist instead of a pragmatist.”
It’s remarkable to think that since Vladimir Putin first came to power, America has been through five different presidents and Britain has had seven prime ministers.
After nearly a quarter of a century running Russia, Mr Putin has certainly made his mark. In the past, people rarely spoke of “Brezhnevism”, “Gorbachevisim” or “Yeltsinism”. But Putinism: that’s a thing.
Most people have grown used to one man running Russia and no imminent prospect of change in the Kremlin (BBC)
“We have one more -ism in our history: Stalinism,” says Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Eurasia Russia Centre.
“I would say that Putinism is one more incarnation of Stalinism. He behaves like [former Soviet dictator] Stalin. His power is personalised like in Stalin’s time. He prefers to use a lot of political repressions. And like Stalin he is ready to keep himself in power until the physical end.”
The challenge, for the West, is how to deal with an increasingly authoritarian Russian leader determined to restore what he sees as Russia’s greatness; a modern-day tsar… with nuclear weapons.
“On the issue of nuclear weapons, there’s an awful lot that we can do,” believes Fiona Hill. “Some countries, like China, India, Japan, have been extraordinarily nervous when Putin has engaged in nuclear sabre-rattling in Ukraine and have pushed back against that. We can enforce restraint on Russia by creating an international framework for pushing back on this wild and speculative talk about using nuclear weapons.
“Perhaps that is something of a model for how we can deal with Vladimir Putin, who in many respects is something of a rogue leader. We need to create a more constraining environment, less permissive for the kinds of actions that he wants to undertake.”
Officially Vladimir Putin won more than 87% of the vote in the March presidential election. However, he’d faced no serious challenger in a contest widely seen as neither free not fair.
So how do Russians view the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin?
“We don’t know who would come next if Putin goes,” says Valentina
To find out I drive to the town of Kashira, 70 miles from Moscow. Here a gigantic Putin portrait, a massive mural, takes up one whole side of an apartment block.
In Kashira Big Vladimir is watching you. “I like him,” says pensioner Valentina who is selling flowers by the roadside. “Putin has good ideas and does a lot for people. True, our pensions aren’t big. But he can’t fix everything in one go.”
“He’s had nearly 25 years,” I point out.
“But we don’t know who’d come next [if Putin goes],” Valentina replies.
“In Russia we’re all expected to think the same way,” says Victoria, who is walking past the Putin mural. “If I say anything against Putin my husband says: ‘You criticise Putin again and I’ll divorce you!’ He’s mad about him. He says that if it wasn’t for Putin life here would be as tough as in the 1990s.”
When I ask another passer-by, Alexander, what he thinks of the president, he replies: “It can be dangerous now to express an opinion. No comment.”
Most of the people I talk to say that they walk past Putin’s portrait without even noticing it now. They’re used to it.
Just like they’ve grown used to one man running Russia and no imminent prospect of change in the Kremlin.
(BBC)
A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 (£127,000) for using inside information to bet on US President Donald Trump’s speeches.
Gabriel Perez was found to have made trades on what the president would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi – a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events.
Its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Perez would have to surrender profits of $107,539.02 (£79,452) and pay a civil penalty of $65,000 (£48,000).
The White House has not yet commented. In July then press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his post.
Announcing the settlement on Friday, the CFTC said Perez had “misappropriated” his prior knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence”.
It said his civil penalty had been reduced due to his “exemplary co-operation” with the investigation.
Perez has also been banned from trading for three years.
Writing on X, Kalshi’s lead lawyer Bobby DeNault welcomed the decision: “It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences.”
(BBC)
Qatar’s prime minister has held meetings in the Iranian capital, discussing key issues including the future of the Strait of Hormuz, amid international hopes that dialogue between the United States and Iran on ending the war will resume.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Thursday discussed a proposed framework that includes the creation of a temporary shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a possible “joint project” to clear the strait of mines, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Iran says the mines were laid during the war.
The two officials also reviewed “the latest developments in the regional situation … along with the efforts being made to reduce escalation and create appropriate conditions for dialogue, contributing to the enhancement of regional security and stability”, the statement added.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is both prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, later met separately with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliament speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Ghalibaf emphasised the need to de-escalate regional tensions, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. He and Sheikh Mohammed also exchanged views on the current developments in the region and efforts to create suitable conditions for resuming dialogue, the report added.
“Qatar believes that dialogue and diplomatic solutions remain the optimal path for addressing disputes and overcoming crises,” Sheikh Mohammed said in a post on X, adding that his discussions in Tehran serve as “confirmation of our continued efforts to de-escalate tensions … while opening the door to peaceful solutions – including underscoring the importance of respecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law.”
Sheikh Mohammed also met with Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezai.
Rezai told him the “US must first take practical steps to fulfil Iran’s conditions and then Iran will proceed to open the Strait of Hormuz”, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Rezai also reiterated previous pledges by Tehran that if Washington “starts any evil”, Iran would “bring disaster to its military and economic interests”.
Sheikh Mohamed’s visit follows a week of intense diplomacy in Iran involving separate meetings with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and senior Pakistani officials seeking ways to end the US-Israel war on Iran and reopen the strategic waterway through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
[Aljazeera]
Nepal sent helicopters to the rescue after a huge flash flood swept away villages, killing at least eight people and damaging roads, bridges and power projects in areas near Tibet, authorities said.
Officials said 384 tourists, including 291 from countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, India and Malaysia were reported missing as a result of the flash flood on Wednesday.
The waters were too high for helicopters to land in Nepal’s affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous district of Rasuwa, with a population of about 50,000, officials said.
“There could be heavy casualties or loss of property,” district administrator Narendra Pariyar told the Reuters news agency. “But I cannot say for sure now.”
Pariyar urged those living on the banks of the Bhote Koshi River in the area to seek higher ground, pointing to reports that nearby villages and infrastructure project sites were washed away.
Across the border, Tibet reported “major casualties” with people missing in the neighbouring county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a land crossing between China and Nepal, the Xinhua official news agency said.
The mudslide hit China’s Gyirong port, cutting off roads, communications and power in the Shigatse region, Xinhua added, without giving details.
President Xi Jinping urged “all-out” efforts to search for the missing, and called for strengthening monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.
Prayash Adhikari, a climate justice activist in Nepal, said the “devastating” flood has wiped out “whole villages”
“Hundreds of people are missing,” Adhikari told Al Jazeera from Kathmandu, stating it wiped out buildings, schools, bridges and highways.
Videos shared by Nepal Police and others on social media showed torrents of muddy water crashing through mountain valleys.
Many people were caught off guard when the flash flood hit, as there was no heavy rainfall, said Kosh Raj Koirala, an editor of Republica Daily, an English newspaper in Nepal’s capital.
“People were at home … several houses have been washed away, swept away by the river,” Koirala told Al Jazeera.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah convened an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to take stock of the situation.
“Work has started to take necessary steps in coordination with the medical team, scouts, and Red Cross,” Shah said in a social media post.
The Nepal Army said it had deployed helicopters and disaster response personnel to the affected area.
“The work of collecting details of the damage is under way,” it said in a statement.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said about 430 megawatts of production capacity, including from hydropower and solar facilities, have been damaged.
“The disaster has damaged the production, transmission and distribution facilities of the Authority … resulting in disruption of electricity supply,” it said.
Several highways were also closed, according to the authorities.
‘Glacial lake outburst’ could be underlying cause
Climate experts at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal say an avalanche from a glacier likely caused the flash flood.
The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River, witnessed maximum flooding on Wednesday, they said.
“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.
Adhikari, the climate activist, told Al Jazeera that early warning systems are crucial to protect communities.
“This can’t be completely turned around because we are on the verge of climate catastrophe, but still we can protect our communities,” he said.
The Bhote Koshi River originates in Tibet and empties into Nepal’s Trishuli River, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak River.
A flood last year in the Bhote Koshi River killed nine people, with 24 missing, and washed away the “Friendship Bridge” linking Nepal and China, disrupting transport and trade for several months. That flood was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in Tibet, a regional climate monitor said.
Monsoon rains from June to September regularly trigger deadly floods and landslides across South Asia.
Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.
Damaged houses stand precariously near the swollen, debris-choked banks of the Trishuli river after flash floods in Nepal’s Nuwakot district [Aljazeera]
[Aljazeera]
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Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Trump speech bets
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