As US President George W. Bush seeks to promote democracy around the globe, he paused to pay tribute yesterday to the sacrifice made by World War II soldiers who never came home from their fight against tyranny.
Bush was to spend yesterday, the 60th anniversary of the May 1945 signing of the Berlin armistice that ended the war in Europe, at the continent's third-largest cemetery for US veterans near here in Margraten.
"The alliance that won the war is remembered today in carefully tended cemeteries in Normandy, Margraten, St. Petersburg, and other places across Europe, where we recall brief lives of great honor," Bush said Saturday in Riga, Latvia. "We offer this pledge: We will always be grateful."
Bush was to finish the day in Moscow, where he and dozens of other world leaders are attending today's Red Square victory celebration that Russian President Vladimir Putin is staging on the day Russians regard as the V-E Day anniversary.
Bush and Putin were to meet last night, a day after the US president used a speech in the Baltic nation of Latvia to not-so-subtly nudge Russia to own up to its wartime past. In Russia, victory in the "Great Patriot War" is treasured as an unvarnished triumph, while many of Russia's neighbors see the Red Army's success as only the start of 50 years of brutal Soviet oppression.
Anger over that unacknowledged history remains potent in the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithunia and Estonia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and given independence 14 years ago. With his stop in Latvia on the way to Moscow, including a meeting there with the leaders of all three Baltic states, Bush underscored their continuing grievances against Russia and offered a US model of acknowledging past mistakes as an example for Putin to follow.
"No good purpose is served by stirring up fears and exploiting old rivalries in this region," Bush said of Russia. "The interests of Russia and all nations are served by the growth of freedom that leads to prosperity and peace."
Bush has promised that such matters, part of Washington's broader concerns about Putin's commitment to democracy, will come up when the two meet -- first formally, then over dinner with their wives -- at the Russian leader's dacha.
There are a host of other items on the agenda for the leaders whose cooperation is crucial, such as stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons materials.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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