Russia has a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in Nordic waters as part of a program for the potential sabotage of underwater cables and wind farms in the region, according to a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

The broadcasters used data analysis, intercepted radio communications and intelligence sources to show how around 50 boats had been gathering intelligence for the past 10 years, using underwater surveillance equipment to map key sites for potential sabotage, Norway’s NRK and Sweden’s SVT reported.

The Russian vessels have been sailing past military training areas, important oil and gas fields, small airports, deep-water quays, and strategically important hubs for the Norwegian Armed Forces, according to NRK. The investigation also said Russian ships appear suddenly following NATO exercises. Norway and Denmark are founding members of NATO, while Finland joined earlier this month – to Moscow’s displeasure – and Sweden is seeking to follow suit.

One ship at the center of the investigation, the Admiral Vladimirsky, is officially used for underwater research expeditions, but is, according to the report, a Russian spy ship. The broadcasters tracked the boat’s movements and found it had traveled for a month through Nordic waters with its transmitter turned off to remain hidden, sailing close to wind farms, as well as through naval training areas of the Swedish Armed Forces, SVT reported.

When a TV crew from Danish public broadcaster DR approached the ship on the sea between Sweden and Denmark, a masked man emerged on deck who appeared to be wearing body armor and armed with an assault rifle, with the incident caught on camera.

The investigation also said that the Russian fishing vessel Taurus, which delivered fish to Norway between 2015 and 2022, has appeared in unusual places, heading straight towards military firing ranges and close to military bases where all naval traffic is prohibited. In one case, it appears Taurus had stopped fishing and gone directly to the city of Ålesund, passing by a major NATO exercise in the region of Trøndelag, NRK reported.

“We see it very clearly now. Russia says cooperation with the West is over, now it is confrontation,” the head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, Nils Andreas Stensønes, told NRK in response to the report.

The investigation comes after Dutch intelligence officials warned Russia had tried to gain intelligence to prepare for the potential sabotage of critical infrastructure in their patch of the North sea.

“We saw a couple of months ago that Russian ships, a Russian ship, wanted to enter the area where Dutch windmill parks in the North Sea are located with the intention to see how the command and control structure of these windmill farms, how it is operated,” Jan Swillens, head of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), told reporters. “So that was a threat … It was the first time that we saw a Russian vessel enter the area of the windmill farms to do their reconnaissance.”

Royal Norwegian Naval Academy researcher Ståle Ulriksen, who has been assisting with the investigation, told NRK he believes there could be more than 50 Russian spy ships in Nordic waters. “We are talking about a very large system. Quite a large fleet. Altogether, we are talking several hundred,” he was quoted as saying.

The first of several reports will be broadcast Wednesday on DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland.

Diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Helsinki have been heightened following Finland’s accession to the alliance. The country scrapped its longstanding position of neutrality to become a NATO member as domestic support for joining the alliance surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The accession marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe, adding some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

At the time, Moscow warned that further NATO expansion would not bring more stability to Europe, and said it would scale up forces near Finland if the alliance sent any troops or equipment to the new member country.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” in his strongest remarks reaffirming ties with Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In his first visit to Ukraine since the invasion began, Stoltenberg said he discussed a “multiyear support initiative” with President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that it would help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era equipment and doctrines to “NATO standards.”

This would “ensure full interoperability with the alliance,” Stoltenberg remarked.

Even though Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, and NATO has insisted that it is not a party to the conflict, the bloc has played a critical role in supporting Kyiv, donating billions in military aid and other support.

The NATO chief said that since last February, the alliance’s allies have delivered more than 150 billion euros ($165 billion) of support, including 65 billion euros of military aid.

“Allies are now delivering more jets, tanks and armored vehicles,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO stands with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”

Part of Russia’s premise for its invasion of Ukraine was to fend off NATO from expanding close to its borders.

Finland’s accession to the alliance earlier this month marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe, more than doubling NATO’s frontier with Russia.

Finnish public support for accession snowballed following the invasion of Ukraine, and also reignited calls from Kyiv to join.

Speaking at a joint conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said he valued the support from the alliance but pressed Stoltenberg on when Ukraine would be invited to join NATO.

“We need something more than the kind of relationship we are having now,” Zelensky said on Thursday. “We will be in their alliance, we believe that is a guarantee of Ukraine’s security and a concrete guarantee.”

“But while we await the membership and are not a member, we want to have very specific guarantees of security approved in Vilnius, if there is an opportunity to do that then we will be ready on our side.”

NATO has an open-door policy, meaning that any country can be invited to join if it expresses an interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the alliance’s founding treaty.

However, under the accession rules, any member state can veto a country from joining if they deem that the country doesn’t meet the standards required to join the alliance. These standards include being able to demonstrate a “functioning democratic political system based on a market economy” and “the fair treatment of minority populations,” according to NATO’s website, along with other things that are more difficult to demonstrate during wartime.

Ukraine’s membership would also raise questions about the most important aspect of NATO: the alliance’s security guarantee. Under Article 5 of its treaty, NATO members accept the premise that an attack on one is an attack on all. The nation under attack can invoke Article 5, in theory compelling the rest of the alliance to come to their aid. Given Ukraine is currently at war, this would likely mean an almost certain immediate invocation of Article 5, putting NATO at war with Russia.

No one in the alliance wants this to happen – some because they fear what an escalation would mean in terms of starting an effective world war, others because they still have certain ties with Russia.

In December, nine Central and Eastern European countries from the alliance signaled their support for Ukraine’s membership, while other members have so far refrained from backing Kyiv’s bid.

Stoltenberg said the topic of Ukraine’s NATO membership and security guarantees will be “high on the agenda” at July’s NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, but he stopped short of confirming the country’s accession.

“Ukraine’s future is in NATO. All allies agree on that,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the main focus of the alliance now is “to ensure that Ukraine prevails.”

NATO’s expansion in northern Europe has dealt a major blow to President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign, with the Kremlin reiterating on Thursday that preventing Kyiv from joining NATO is one of its key goals.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday Ukraine’s accession would “pose a serious and significant danger to our country, to the security of our country.”

Earlier this month, the Kremlin said it would scale up forces near Finland after the Nordic nation joined the alliance, warning that it will not bring more stability to Europe.

Before Finland’s accession, Russia shared about 1,215 kilometers (755 miles) of land border with five NATO members. But the expansion added some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

When the referee blew the full-time whistle confirming Wrexham’s promotion from the National League for the first time in 15 years, the club’s Hollywood owners could scarcely believe it.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who had promised to transform the club after their takeover in 2021, looked temporarily winded and almost sunk to their knees as thousands of fans celebrated inside the Racecourse Ground.

It was an emotional moment captured by fellow Hollywood stalwart Paul Rudd, who filmed the pair in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s 3-1 win over Boreham Wood.

After a moment to themselves, Reynolds and McElhenney then shared a long hug before the latter appeared to wipe away tears from his eyes.

The pair then turned to celebrate with the sea of fans who had run onto the pitch.

Rob and I kinda blacked out during this moment, but somehow we’ll never forget it.

: Paul Rudd

cc: @wrexham_afc – @RMcElhenney pic.twitter.com/pVCYOHyKoC

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 23, 2023

“Rob and I kinda blacked out during this moment, but somehow we’ll never forget it,” Reynolds wrote on Twitter, sharing the video taken by Rudd.

It was an emotional moment that the team’s supporters had been longing for and, such is the way at Wrexham these days, they were joined in celebration by a long list of famous faces.

‘Ant-Man’ star Rudd has been one of many Hollywood A-listers to visit Wrexham in recent months and the 54-year-old appeared to enjoy his time in Wales.

Footage and photographs on social media showed Rudd drinking in the local pub and meeting excited Wrexham fans ahead of Saturday’s match.

Many other celebrities took to social media to congratulate Wrexham after its promotion into the Football League.

Oscar-winning Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins replied to a tweet from Reynolds branding him an “honorary Welsh boyo,” while former England player Gary Lineker congratulated the club on its achievement.

“I fancy the next series might be a decent watch,” Lineker tweeted, in reference to the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ TV series released last year which documented the club’s fortunes since the takeover.

As well as acting royalty, the Prince of Wales also tweeted after Wrexham secured promotion.

“A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud,” Prince William wrote.

For the community

While the club’s new high profile fans sprinkle a touch of stardust to proceedings, Saturday’s win was for the lifelong fans who have endured a difficult ride of late.

]The historic small town club, which was once in the higher echelons of English football, had been on the brink of extinction in 2011 and had struggled to compete on the pitch.

But since the takeover, the club has been transformed and will play in League Two next season, the fourth-tier of English football.

Three further promotions and Wrexham would be in the English Premier League. Such a notion may appear farfetched, but the surreal has become all too normal for Wrexham supporters of late.

“I think we can hear how it feels to the town and that’s what’s most important for us – I think this is a moment of catharsis for them,” co-owner McElhenney told reporters after Saturday’s game.

“For us to be welcomed into their community and to be welcomed into this experience has been the moment of my life.”

Running is a simple sport, the art of putting one foot in front of the other faster than your other competitors. That’s precisely what Sifan Hassan did in the London Marathon on Sunday, though her stunning, chaotic victory in the women’s race was anything but straightforward.

“There were so many dramas,” Hassan told reporters after the race, “so many dramas – but it’s beautiful.”

A three-time Olympic medalist and two-time world champion on the track, the win in London, one of the world’s six marathon majors, is the latest addition to the Dutch athlete’s remarkable running CV.

Hassan spent much of her debut marathon wondering when she would drop out having stopped to stretch an injured hip just after the hour mark. She later said she had forgotten to tape up her leg before taking to the start line.

Incredibly, Hassan appeared to shake off the injury and even picked up her pace as she gained on the lead group.

She had made up the lost ground by the closing stages, narrowly avoiding further disaster when she swerved towards a motorbike to collect her bottle from a drinks station.

Apparently unshaken by the near miss, Hassan recovered and had enough energy to outsprint Ethiopia’s Alemu Megertu and Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, the Olympic marathon champion, in the shadow of Buckingham Palace, breaking the finish tape in two hours, 18 minutes, and 34 seconds.

Not many athletes are able to replicate their success on the track over the 26.2 miles of the marathon, let alone at the first time of asking.

But Hassan, who won 5,000 and 10,000-meter golds at the Tokyo Olympics and a bronze in the 1,500 meters, is no ordinary athlete, such is her talent over a range of distances. She later downplayed the suggestion that she is the greatest female distance runner of all time.

“I’m not the greatest, I’m just okay,” the 30-year-old said. “I don’t need to become the greatest. I’m fine the way I am.”

‘Why have I decided to run the marathon?’

Consider her buildup for Sunday’s race and Hassan’s victory is even less believable. She said she hadn’t done much marathon-specific training as she was fasting for Ramadan and therefore unable to fuel and hydrate sufficiently for long runs.

Rather than making a long-term commitment to the marathon, Hassan thought she would test herself over the longer distance and still race on the track this summer.

It was a decision she started to regret on the morning of the race.

“I was telling myself that I’m stupid that I decided to run the marathon,” said Hassan. “I even cried, [thinking]: why have I decided to run the marathon?

“I was so scared. This morning, I was telling Tim [Rowberry], my coach, ‘Why did I decide to run the marathon? What is wrong with me?”

It wasn’t until she crossed the finish line that she finally believed she would win the race. What kept her going, Hassan said, was finding the “spirit” to fuel herself for her next marathon.

“It was not 100% I’m going to finish – it did not come into my mind,” she added.

The Ethiopian-born Hassan, who moved to Netherlands as a refugee aged 15, ranked her victory in a rain-soaked London on par with her three medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

Prior to that, she broke the 23-year-old mile world record at the start of 2019 and won 1,500 and 10,000-meter golds at the world championships a few months later.

Her marathon debut set the tone for another thrilling performance in the men’s elite race as Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum set a course record of two hours, one minute and 25 seconds – the second-fastest marathon time ever behind Eliud Kipchoge’s world record from last year’s Berlin Marathon.

The 23-year-old Kiptum, who ran the fastest-ever debut marathon in Valencia last year, finished nearly three minutes ahead of compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor in second, while Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola was a further 36 seconds back in third.

“I am so happy with the result,” Kiptum told the BBC, according to Reuters. “I don’t know what to say right now, I am just grateful.”

The Green Bay Packers and New York Jets have agreed to trade longtime Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters Monday.

Gutekunst said the trade has not yet been finalized as the two sides work out the details, but he expects the trade to be completed soon.

The long-awaited trade will reportedly see the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player sent to the Jets along with the Packers’ 15th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, according to reports from ESPN and NFL Network.

The Packers will receive the Jets’ 13th overall pick in this month’s draft, as well as one of the Jets’ second-round picks and their 2024 first-round draft pick if Rodgers plays at least 65% of the Jets’ offensive plays this season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

Rodgers, 39, has spent his entire 18-season NFL career with the Packers, where he led the team to a 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

The NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

During a regular appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” in March, Rodgers said his intention was to continue playing in the NFL, specifically for the Jets.

“(From) my side – love, appreciation and gratitude for everything that Green Bay has done for me. So much love and gratitude and just heart open for Packers fans and what it meant to be their quarterback,” he said in March. “And also the reality of situation – it is what it is – the Packers would like to move on. They’ve let me know that in so many words. … They’ve let other people know that in direct words.

“And because I still have that fire and I want to play and I would like to play in New York, it’s just a matter of getting that done at this point.”

Rodgers won MVP awards in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021 while setting numerous records for his accuracy and deadliness over the years.

Despite all the personal successes, Rodgers and the Packers failed to win more championship rings, wracking up numerous painful playoff losses over the years.

In recent years, Rodgers has voiced a creeping dissatisfaction with events in Green Bay, from the lack of offensive weapons he’s had to work with to the drafting of his apparent heir, Jordan Love, in the first round of the 2020 draft.

Rodgers had hinted that retirement was an option on more than one occasion, and even visited a darkness retreat this offseason as he sought clarity on his future.

Though his ability to avoid on-rushing defenders may have diminished with age, Rodgers has more than made up for it with his precision and canniness before the snap, while he has the knack of maneuvering defenses to his will.

Last season, the Packers started poorly but Rodgers lead the team on a four-game winning streak from a 4-8 record to help set up a Week 18 game with the Detroit Lions for a spot in the playoffs. Green Bay lost 20-16 to end the Packers’ season.

British radio presenter Adele Roberts became the fastest woman to complete the London Marathon with an ileostomy, running the distance in just over three and a half hours on Sunday.

The Guinness World Records awarded Roberts with a framed certificate at the finish line, writing on Twitter: “Adele Roberts completed the fastest marathon with an ileostomy (female) in 3:30:22. Congratulations, Adele!”

Roberts, who is known for working on BBC Radio 1 in the UK, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021 and began using a stoma bag after undergoing surgery 18 months ago.

The 44-year-old only stopped chemotherapy less than 12 months ago but recovered in time to set a new record.

“Thank you to every single person who has helped make today possible,” Roberts wrote on Instagram after the race.

“For those warriors living with cancer, for all the incredible ostomates around the UK and for the heroes of the NHS. That was for you.”

An ileostomy is a procedure to create an opening to bring the end of the small bowel through an opening in the abdomen. The opening can be temporary or permanent.

A disposable bag is then worn over the ileostomy to collect stool, rather than it passing out of the rectum.

“This means I currently have no use of my large colon,” Roberts wrote on her fundraising page.

“Turns out colons are quite handy for hydration and food and running marathons.”

It usually takes six to eight weeks to recover from an ileostomy but people should avoid strenuous activity for three months, according to NHS.

After the race, Roberts posted a video on Instagram of her presenting her ileostomy – which she has named Audrey – with a tiny replicable finishers medal.

Roberts was one of thousands of runners to complete the London Marathon on Sunday which raised millions for charitable causes.

Dutch runner Sifan Hassan and Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum won the women’s and men’s elite races respectively.

If you follow seasons by the meteorological calendar, we are halfway through spring, but if you look at the forecast this week, it seems like anything but. A huge spring chill will impact a large chunk of the country this week, dropping temperatures well below normal and even bringing the potential for a handful of record lows.

“After 4 consecutive days with temperature departures of +20 to +30F mid-month, the stagnant cool pattern of late should mean April ends below normal for most,” the National Weather Service office in the Twin Cities said, speaking about the Upper Midwest.

Monday morning, Indianapolis tied a record low temperature after a morning start of just 28 degrees. Just four days ago, Indianapolis nearly tied a record high temperature, missing it by only 1 degree.

Many cities are bracing for a similar swing in temperature extremes in the coming days.

The cold will spread south and east this week, where millions could see temperatures well below normal from the Upper Midwest to the South. Temperatures will be running 10 to 20 degrees below normal, potentially breaking a few low temperature records the first half of the week.

The cold will spill pretty far south, affecting places from Texas to the East Coast. Asheville, North Carolina, could break a record low Tuesday morning if they get below freezing. The Tri-Cities area of Tennessee could also break a record low Tuesday morning.

Temperatures will dip well below freezing across the Ohio Valley, which could kill crops and other vegetation.

“It appears Wednesday night has the best shot for rather cold temperatures to occur. Lows could be quite damaging to tender vegetation in the middle 20s in the extreme east and lower 30s elsewhere,” the weather service office in Cleveland warned.

Even parts of Georgia and the Gulf Coast states will dip close to freezing, as the big chill stretches as far south as the Gulf Coast.

For parts of the northern tier and Midwest tired of the cold, and ready for the warmth of spring and summer, the cooler temps are having a beneficial impact on the region by slowing the inevitable flooding from snowmelt.

Major river flooding expands across the Midwest

The spring snowmelt is well underway, leading to major flooding across the Upper Midwest and along the Mississippi River. We talked about this occurring back in March, and now it is actually happening.

This week, cities along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to Burlington, Iowa, could experience flooding as more than 30 river gauges reach major flood stage. Unlike flash flooding, which occurs very rapidly, this is seasonal, spring river flooding, which is occurring rather gradually as record to near record snowpack across the Upper Midwest melts.

This winter several cities in the Upper Midwest saw exceptional snowfall:

Additional snowmelt across the Upper Midwest is expected to add more water to the rivers and streams this week. With forecast temperatures at or below average and minimal rainfall where snow is still on the ground, melting is expected to remain gradual.

Cities experiencing flood effects this week and into the weekend include Minneapolis-St. Paul; Winona, Minnesota; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and McGregor, Dubuque and Davenport in Iowa. Riverside parks and city streets are expected to become submerged in floodwater.

The river flooding will continue to move downstream along the Mississippi River as we move into May.

Severe storms and flooding set to impact millions across the South

Severe weather will start ramping up Tuesday and Wednesday across the South. While damaging winds and hail will be the main threats, tornadoes can’t be ruled out.

On Tuesday, the Storm Prediction Center highlighted an area encompassing nearly 10 million people in Texas. Places like Dallas-Fort Worth are included in what the storm center has labeled as having a Level 2 of 5 “slight risk” of severe weather.

“At this juncture, it appears Tuesday could end up being more of a low-coverage but high-impact day,

perhaps with only a few storms but a higher-end threat potential,” the weather service office in Fort Worth said.

There is a broader risk of severe weather stretching into Oklahoma, along with portions of southern Colorado and New Mexico. The Level 1 risk area includes San Antonio, Houston and Oklahoma City. Areas hit hard last week in Oklahoma from tornadoes, could experience strong storms once again.

Despite the uncertainty in how the severe weather will unfold, “all severe hazards are possible,” the weather service office in Norman, Oklahoma, warned.

By Wednesday, the severe threat broadens, still including many of the same areas from Tuesday. More than 10 million people are covered by Wednesday’s Level 2 risk for severe weather, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. A Level 1 risk extends to the north and south including places like San Antonio, Austin and Oklahoma City.

The threat of flash flooding will also be a concern. The Weather Prediction Center has issued a Level 2 of 4 “slight risk” of excessive rainfall for Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly overlapping the areas with severe potential.

“Multiple rounds of heavier rain are expected Tuesday into Wednesday which will bring a slight risk for flooding,” the weather service office in Norman, Oklahoma, warned in a tweet.

The area could see up to four inches of rain through Wednesday.

By the second half of the week, the severe weather and flash flood threat should be winding down across the midsection of the country.

Disney will pull certain fire effects from shows at their resorts worldwide after an animatronic dragon caught fire at Disneyland in Southern California on Saturday, company officials say.

“We are temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park’s Fantasmic at select shows and entertainment experiences globally out of an abundance of caution,” Disneyland officials said in a statement on Monday.

Pyrotechnics are among the special effects featured in the long-running “Fantasmic” show at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida, according to the parks’ websites.

Fantasmic is an outdoor show in which Mickey Mouse imagines battling classic Disney villains and features water effects, lasers and projections before the climatic pyrotechnics at the end.

Impact at US parks

The dragon prop in the nighttime Fantasmic show at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park uses a system that operates differently from the one used at Disneyland, so that show in Florida will continue as usual, Disney officials say.

As of Monday afternoon, according to Disney World’s website, a Fantasmic show is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET Monday. The show typically runs nightly. The site lists a closure set for May 1 and May 2 for “routine maintenance.”

At Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park, the daytime Festival of Fantasy parade also features a fire-breathing dragon. Disney officials say the parade will continue with the dragon float, but its fire effect has been temporarily suspended.

They suggested people check their entertainment schedule or Disneyland app. As of late Monday afternoon, Fantasmic shows were scheduled for regular weekend times, including this Friday-Sunday (April 28-30).

What happened over the weekend

Maleficent, the show-stopping, 45-foot fire-breathing dragon, caught fire on Saturday.

That prompted evacuations of the Tom Sawyer Island section of the park, the company said in a statement. Because of smoke and wind, attractions near the island were also evacuated.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of Saturday’s fire remains under investigation.

This is not the first time a Disney dragon has caught fire. Back in 2018, the dragon float in the Festival of Fantasy parade at Disney World also went ablaze. No injuries were reported in that incident, either.

Iran executed at least 582 people last year, a 75% increase on the previous year, according to human rights groups who say the rise reflects an effort by Tehran to “instill fear” among anti-regime protesters.

It was the highest number of executions in the Islamic republic since 2015, according to a report released Thursday by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the France-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) groups.

The vast majority of the executions – at least 544 – were of people accused of murder and drug-related offenses, said the report. It added that almost 90% of the executions it recorded were not announced by Iranian authorities and some had been carried out in secret.

The two rights groups said the increase was Tehran’s way of trying to frighten protesters and prevent dissent, following a nationwide uprising sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.

“Iran’s authorities demonstrated how crucial the death penalty is to instill societal fear in order to hold onto power,” the report said.

Iranian authorities have responded to the protests with brute force, mass arrests and hasty sham trials, drawing sharp global condemnation and sanctions from the United States.

The report documented 15 executions carried out on the vaguely defined charges of “enmity against God” and “corruption on Earth.”

Mohsen Shekari – reportedly the first person to be executed in connection with the protests – was hanged on December 8 after he was convicted of “waging war against God” for allegedly stabbing a member of the Basij paramilitary force, a wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, at a protest in Tehran on September 23. Less than a week later, Majidreza Rahnavard was also convicted for reportedly killing two members of the same paramilitary force and injuring four others on November 17.

Two other Iranian young men – Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a karate champion; and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, a volunteer children’s coach – were hanged on January 7 this year in connection with the protests, according to Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan. They were convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary force in Karaj on November 3, Mizan reported. The human rights report said they were charged with “corruption on Earth.”

Dozens of other protesters have received death sentences in recent months.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has openly praised the Basij for its role in the crackdown, describing the protesters as “rioters” and “thugs” backed by foreign forces.

But United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has criticized the crackdown as pushing Iran into a “full-fledged human rights crisis.”

An ‘execution machine’

More than half of the executions last year took place after the protests erupted in September. Some 44% of all those sentenced to death were accused of drug-related offenses, despite no evidence of a marked rise in drug use or trafficking reported by international agencies, the report said.

IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam suggested Iran would have executed even more people had it not been for “international reactions to the death sentences against protesters” which had “made it difficult for the Islamic republic to proceed” with the killings.

“To compensate, and in order to spread fear among people, the authorities have intensified executions for non-political charges. These are the low-cost victims of the Islamic republic’s execution machine,” Amiry-Moghaddam said.

“In order to stop this machine, the international community and civil society inside and outside Iran must show the same reaction to each and every execution,” he added.

In the report, the two rights groups urged the international community “to increase efforts to support the demands of the Iranian people for respect of their fundamental human rights and the abolition of the death penalty.”

Calling for peace in Ukraine from thousands of miles away, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been trying to position himself as a possible mediating force in the conflict for months now.

Without offering much detail on the plan, Lula, as he is known, seems to be fully embodying his government’s line that “Brazil is back” — that is, back to claim a role in global politics. He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers.

Lula’s proposal is to create “a G20 for peace” – a group of countries strong enough to be respected at the negotiating table, but that are still considered by some as neutral in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Indonesia, India, and China would play a crucial role in his vision, but Latin American countries are also invited to join the apparent initiative.

When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Once in office, he insisted that Brazil would not take a side.

But when German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz recently encouraged Brazil to contribute weapons to Ukraine’s defense, Lula felt compelled to do something, explains Guilherme Casarões, political scientist and professor at Fundação Getúlio Vargas’ Public Administration School.

“He was sitting on the fence, he was very comfortable where he was, and now he had to get off the fence,” Casarões said.

Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst.

“No Brazilian administration, not even Bolsonaro’s, I’d say, would send weapons to Ukraine. Brazil doesn’t engage in wars we have nothing to do with, Brazil doesn’t participate unless it’s a world war of sorts,” Casarões said.

But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

“He could have just said ‘no’, but he did not,” says Casarões. “Instead he said, ‘Ok I’m not sending weapons to Ukraine but let’s try to broker peace, let’s use Brazil’s reputation and my own skills as a mediator to allow for a peace summit to take place, let’s try to work it out. If I am to take sides, let me take the side of dialogue’.”

A hard sell

The United States, France, and Germany have heard Lula’s pitch to create a team of peacemakers. Lula has also broached the idea with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but left Beijing earlier this month without any formal commitment.

Lula has struggled to make his proposal widely persuasive. One controversial idea that he has floated for a possible resolution would see Ukraine cede Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 – a concession that Kyiv has ruled out and which the White House has described as “simply misguided.”

Lula’s shoot-from-the-hip approach to consensus-building has also been rocky. Until recently, the US – a close ally to Kyiv – had largely kept quiet about Lula’s comments on Ukraine. But while still in Beijing last week, Lula took aim directly at Washington, who along with the EU have been major suppliers of defensive arms and aid to Ukraine.

Lula told reporters the US should stop “encouraging” the war “and start talking about peace” – a comment that drew praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and anger from Washington.

Two days later, US National Security spokesman John Kirby accused Brazil of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.”

It is “deeply problematic how Brazil has substantively and rhetorically approached this issue by suggesting that the United States and Europe are somehow not interested in peace, or that we share responsibility for the war,” Kirby said. “Quite frankly, in this case, Brazil was parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts.”

Chastised, Lula later seemed to soften his tone; during a speech at the occasion of the visit of the president of Romania the very next day, the Brazilian leader emphasized that his government “condemns the violation of territorial integrity of Ukraine” and at the same time “defend[s] a negotiated political solution.”

“Where we start having some difficulty understanding the ideas of the Brazilian government is precisely when they place the attacker and the attacked on the same level,” he said.

Lula needs to hone his message and show his willingness to engage with Ukraine now if he hopes to maintain credibility in Europe and the US, and to ultimately claim any credit for peacemaking, says Casarões. “Lula hasn’t really thought about what kinds of things he was going to say, in this effort of building this unaligned position,” he said.

“If Lula keeps on reaffirming that Russia and Ukraine are equally responsible for the war, I think that his capital is going to wane at some point, so it’s important for Lula to take a step back, maybe reconsider some of the things that he has said on the war, and maybe change the way he puts it, even if slightly. I think that will be enough for people to understand where Brazil really stands.”

He suggests that Lula could invite a Ukrainian delegation to Brasilia, to match Lavrov’s visit last week.

“Let’s show them that we are really willing, really committed to talking to both sides,” Casarões says.

As of Friday, Lula had asked foreign policy adviser and former foreign minister Celso Amorim to travel to Ukraine, although no date has been set for the trip. Amorim also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month in Moscow.

But Lula’s position will remain complicated as he attempts to protect Brazil’s economic interest while catapulting himself into a fraught geopolitical arena.

China is Brazil’s biggest trading partner and a major buyer of Brazilian soy and beef. For both of these commodities, Brazilian farmers also depend on Russian fertilizers. The economic and diplomatic agendas could come crashing down, if he slips.

Andre Pagliarini, assistant professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College and a non-resident fellow at the Washington Brazil Office and Quincy Institute, says China is ultimately part of the reason why a Lula-brokered peace deal is unlikely to take shape.

“China, like Brazil, has an interest in getting Russia to end the war. Unlike Brazil, however, it has the ability to force Putin’s hand and unlike Brazil has no interest in sharing credit for peace,” Pagliarini said.

As Lula continues his world tour of “Brazil is back”, he also faces a variety of challenges at home — from the firing of his chief of security over leaked video of the January 8 riots in Brasilia, to the growing political threat of Brazil’s radical right. His country’s economy is shrinking and inflation is rising; indigenous communities in the Amazon are in crisis; and food security haunts the nation.

A strategy of maintaining Brazil’s tradition of nonalignment and charting an independent path from the great global powers could be good for both him and for Brazilians. The government’s view is that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, Japan, and EU countries have severely disrupted global commerce and agriculture, and this impact is outsized for developing countries whose economies are still reeling from a pandemic – Brazil included.

There is a chance Brazil can look good brokering peace while still doing what is best for its own economic growth – but the stakes are high.

“If it can deliver real material gains for Brazilians, I think it’ll be considered a success,” Pagliarini says. “If living standards don’t improve for Brazilians, however, Lula’s foreign policy will likely play into a narrative that he is too old and backward to lead Brazil into the next decade.”