Abuja, Nigeria — While nationwide protests appeared to have ebbed Tuesday, the Nigerian government said it will not tolerate calls for coups after some protesters in northwest Kano and Kaduna states waved Russian flags while marching in the streets Monday.

Nigeria’s defense chiefs told journalists that hoisting the Russian flags amounts to treason.

“We will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional takeover of government or subversion or those ones that are into vandalism or destruction of lives and property,” Nigerian Defense Chief General Christopher Musa said.

Thousands in Nigeria took to the streets in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere last week to denounce President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies and government. Security officers cracked down hard on protesters, using tear gas and live ammunition. Amnesty International says at least 13 protesters were killed nationwide.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters marched in northern Kaduna and Kano states, waving Russian flags and calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to their aid. Nigeria’s national police said nearly 900 protesters were arrested, including 30 who were carrying Russian flags.

Security analyst Kabiru Adamu criticized the military’s interpretation of the protesters’ intentions.

“There [are] instances where Nigerians do wave the flags of other countries,” he said. “So, one is a bit surprised with this interpretation. We’re in a democratic setting, and the role of security and defense organizations does not go beyond law enforcement or the implementation of security policies. They do not have in any way the role of interpreting or making judicial pronouncements.”

The Russian Embassy in Abuja on Monday distanced itself from protesters using the Russian flag and pledged Moscow’s support for Nigeria’s democracy. But Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa and forming security alliances, especially in the coup-ridden Sahel states.

Adamu, managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence, said the acts of the protesters might be inspired by a growing resentment for Western influence in the region.

“The policies that are being implemented by the Bola Tinubu government have the backing of Western countries, especially the institutions of [the International Monetary Fund] and World Bank,” he said.

“So, when people in an organic manner endear themselves to Russia, it is perhaps an indication that they’re not happy with the policies that were supported by those countries and Russia perhaps may be a better partner or ally.”

Western nations, including the United States, have said Russia’s influence in Africa could set back democratic norms.

But political affairs analyst Ahmed Buhari said good governance from local authorities is all that is needed.

“These people are not oblivious of the fact that there’s a current wave across the Sahel,” he said. “They listen to the news. They can clearly see that Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso [have] presented very young leaders who are coming up with very strong policies that seemingly look like they’re going to benefit the people.

“And what I expect from the government of the day is to prove to the people that they’re better friends to the people than any foreign ally at a time like this,” he said.
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Frankfurt, Germany — German factory orders rose more strongly than expected in June, official data showed Tuesday, boosting hopes that a recovery in Europe’s top economy could be gaining momentum.

Orders in the country’s crucial manufacturing sector rose 3.9% from a month earlier, according to federal statistics agency Destatis, an uptick that followed five consecutive months of falls.

That was higher than an increase of 1% forecast by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.

But the order data, closely watched as an indicator of future business activity, was 11.8% lower from the same month a year earlier, according to Destatis.

June’s month-on-month rise was driven by domestic orders, which rose by 1.2%, while demand from abroad continued to fall and was down by 3.1%.

The uptick comes after a recent run of lackluster data and may boost optimism a rebound is finally taking hold after the German economy shrank last year due in part to an industrial slowdown.

Along with recent positive figures on eurozone bank lending, the orders data “could suggest a recovery in fixed investments in the second half of the year,” said the economy ministry in a statement.

“However a more general revival in industrial activity is unlikely for now given the subdued mood among businesses and continued weak foreign demand,” it added.

Jens-Oliver Niklasch, analyst at LBBW bank, said that while June’s figures “exceeded all expectations,” they were “not enough to break the downward trend.”
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Lyon, France — Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as France advanced to the final of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win over Egypt after extra time on Monday.

France will play Spain in Friday’s final at Parc des Princes in a match that will ensure the first European gold medalist in 32 years.

The host nation came from behind at Stade de Lyon to beat an Egypt team that was closing in on an upset after leading through Mahmoud Saber’s 62nd-minute goal.

France had hit the frame of the goal on three occasions before Mateta equalized in the 83rd and sent the game into extra time.

His second came in the 99th after Egypt’s Omar Fayed was sent off for a second yellow card.

Michael Olise added France’s third in the 108th.

While this will be the first time gold has been won by a European team since Spain’s victory at Barcelona 1992, it also ends the dominance of Latin American nations after the last five editions of the tournament saw victories for Brazil and Argentina — two each — and Mexico.

It also gives France coach Thierry Henry the chance to added to his storied career, having won the World Cup and European Championship with France as a player.

This would be his first major honor in a coaching career that is still early in its development.

France’s only Olympic gold came at Los Angeles 1984 and it also took silver when the Games were held in Paris in 1900.

One of the pre-tournament favorites, France had gone into the semifinal with a perfect winning record, having taken maximum points in the group phase and beaten Argentina in the quarterfinals.

But Egypt had already proved capable of upsetting the odds by beating Spain to top its group. And it came so close to another surprise win when Saber flashed a shot past France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes.

By that point, Loic Bade had already headed against the foot of the post in the first half.

Egypt’s goal sparked a reaction from the French fans, who roared loudly to try to lift their team.

Egypt keeper Alaa Hamza denied Alexandre Lacazette from point blank range. France hit the frame of the goal twice more in the space of seconds when Lacazette headed against the foot of the post and Bade hit the bar with a follow up header.

The equalizer finally came when Olise strode through the middle of the field and slipped a pass into the run of Mateta.

With Hamza advancing to cut down the angle, Mateta got to the ball first and swept home.

France thought it had won a penalty deep into stoppage time when VAR reviewed a handball by Fayed.

Referee Said Martinez spent agonizingly long reviewing the sideline monitor before eventually determining there had been a foul in the buildup.

While that was a reprieve for Egypt and sent the game to extra time, Fayed was sent off in the 92nd, having been booked during heated scenes when the potential penalty was being reviewed.

France took advantage of the extra man and went ahead through Mateta’s second goal of the match.

Once again Olise was at the heart of it — swinging a ball into the box for Kiliann Sildillia head across goal. Mateta rose and headed past Alaa.

Olise then got on the score sheet himself firing low with a first time left-footed shot from inside the box.
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MOSCOW — A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian leaders including the president and top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader. 

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Iran last week and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war. 

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, was shown by Russia’s Zvezda television station meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. 

Shoigu, who was Russia’s defense minister before being moved to the security council in May, also met with President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

“In Tehran, the secretary of the Russian Security Council is scheduled to meet with the president, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the head of the General Staff,” according to Zvezda TV. 

Though Putin has yet to comment in public on the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, senior Russian officials have said that those behind the killing of Haniyeh were seeking to scuttle any hope of peace in the Middle East and to draw the U.S. into military action. 

Iran blames Israel and has said it will “punish” it; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility. Iran backs Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, and the Lebanese group Hezbollah whose senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week. 

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with the Islamic State. 

Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with many powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. The U.S. said in June that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it was using to strike Ukraine, something Moscow denies.  

Russia said last Friday it joined Iran in condemning the assassination of the Hamas leader and pointed out “the extremely dangerous consequences of such actions.” 

Washington said it did not have any expectation that Russia would play a productive role in de-escalating tensions in the region. 

“We haven’t seen them play a productive role in this conflict since October 7. They have, for the most part, been absent. Certainly, we’ve seen them do nothing to urge any party to take de-escalatory steps,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing. 

The U.S. does not know why Shoigu’s trip is taking place now, Miller said, but one possibility might be to further Moscow’s relationship with Tehran to seek support for its invasion of Ukraine. 

“Certainly, we have seen that with the security relationship between Iran and Russia before,” he added.
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London — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday vowed “swift criminal sanctions” following an emergency meeting on the far-right riots that broke out across England last week over the murder of three children.

The prime minister met with ministers and police chiefs, including Scotland Yard boss Mark Rowley, to discuss how to quell the violence that first broke out in Southport, northwest England, on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, several police officers were injured and scores of people were arrested as mobs throwing bricks and flares clashed with officers, burnt and looted shops, and smashed the windows of cars and homes.

As part of a “number of actions” to come out of Monday’s meeting, the government will “ramp up criminal justice” to ensure that “sanctions are swift,” Starmer told the media.

He also said a “standing army” of specially-trained police officers was ready to be deployed to support local forces where any further riots break out.

“My focus is on making sure that we stop this disorder,” he added.

Clashes erupted in Southport a day after three young girls were killed and five more children critically injured during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

False rumors initially spread on social media saying the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, but police said the suspect was a 17-year-old born in Wales, with UK media reporting he has Rwandan parents.

However, that has not stopped mosques from being targeted.

Police have since arrested hundreds of people in towns and cities nationwide, with anti-immigration demonstrators and rioters facing off against police and counter-protestors, including groups of Muslims.

The prime minister on Sunday warned rioters they would “regret” participating in England’s worst disorder in 13 years, while his interior minister Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Monday that “there will be a reckoning.”

Cooper also said that social media put a “rocket booster” under the violence, and Starmer stressed that “criminal law applies online as well as offline.”

Police have blamed the violence on people associated with the English Defense League, an anti-Islam organization founded 15 years ago whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.

Some of the worst scenes on Sunday broke out in Rotherham, northern England, where masked rioters smashed several windows at a hotel that has been used to house asylum seekers.

At least 12 officers were injured, including one who was knocked unconscious, as they battled around 500 protesters with “far-right and anti-immigration views,” South Yorkshire Police’s Lindsey Butterfield told media on Monday.

There were also large scuffles in Bolton, northwest England, and Middlesbrough, northeast England, where mobs smashed windows of houses and cars, leading to 43 arrests.

Protesters there seized a camera from an AFP crew and broke it. The journalists were not injured.

Late on Sunday, Staffordshire police said another hotel known to have sheltered asylum seekers was targeted near Birmingham.

The violence is a major challenge for Starmer, elected only a month ago after leading Labour to a landslide win over the Conservatives.

MPs from all sides have urged Starmer to recall parliament from its summer holiday, including Conservative former interior minister Priti Patel, Labour MPs Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Police have said more than 150 people were arrested over the weekend.

Rioters threw bricks, bottles and flares at police — injuring several officers — and looted and burnt shops, while demonstrators shouted anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.

The violence is the worst England has seen since 2011, when widespread rioting followed the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London.

Authorities have said the initial violence was partly caused by the false rumors about suspect Axel Rudakubana, who is accused of killing a six, seven, and nine-year-old, and injuring another 10 people.

Agitators have targeted at least two mosques, with the government now offering new emergency security to Islamic places of worship.

The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough.”

Participants have waved English and British flags while chanting slogans like “Stop the boats” — a reference to irregular migrants crossing the Channel to Britain from France.

Anti-fascist demonstrators have meanwhile held counter-rallies in many cities.

At last month’s election, the Reform UK party led by Brexit cheerleader Farage captured 14 percent of the vote — one of the largest vote shares for a hard-right British party.
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ISTANBUL — Turkey’s government will hold talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X. 

The move came after a senior Turkish official accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.  

Uraloglu said Turkey had expressed certain sensitivities regarding compliance with Turkish laws in a previous meeting with representatives of Instagram last week. 

Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun on Wednesday criticized Instagram for alleged “censorship, pure and simple,” over what he called its decision to bar condolence posts for Haniyeh after his killing in Iran’s capital Tehran on July 31. 

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Israel has not claimed responsibility. 

Turkey ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with some 57 million users, following India, the U.S., Brazil and Indonesia, according to data platform Statista. 

 
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Geneva — Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival opens on Wednesday with Shah Rukh Khan, Jane Campion, Alfonso Cuaron and Irene Jacob set to be honored with special awards.

Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world’s longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema.

Held on the shores of Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, films are screened in Locarno’s central square, a feature of Swiss national life depicted on the country’s 20-franc banknotes.

The open-air Piazza Grande holds up to 8,000 moviegoers, and films are shown on one of the largest screens in the world.

Bollywood superstar Khan, 58, will on Saturday be given the Pardo alla Carriera award for people whose artistic contributions have redefined cinema.

“The wealth and breadth of his contribution to Indian cinema is unprecedented,” said the festival’s artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro.

“Khan is a king who has never lost touch with the audience that crowned him. This brave and daring artist has always been willing to challenge himself.”

The 77th festival, which runs until August 17, features 225 films, including 104 world premieres and 15 debut movies.

Locarno’s top prize is the Golden Leopard. Previous winning directors include Roberto Rossellini, John Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Milos Forman, Mike Leigh and Jim Jarmusch.

Seventeen films, all world or international premieres, are vying for the award, including movies from Lithuania, France, Austria, Italy and South Korea.

The Golden Leopard comes with a prize fund of $87,400, shared between the director and the producer.

Switzerland’s largest film event will feature a retrospective dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures.

‘Tortured, fascinating characters’

New Zealand’s Campion will be recognized with the Leopard of Honor, given to outstanding personalities of world cinema.

She was the first woman to be nominated twice for the best director Oscar: first for “The Piano” (1993) and then for “The Power of the Dog” (2021), which secured her the Academy Award.

“Her work, peopled with tortured, fascinating characters and marked by an astonishing skill in grappling with the more disturbing side of the human condition, represents one of the undisputed pinnacles of contemporary filmmaking,” Nazzaro said.

Previous recipients include Ennio Morricone, Jean-Luc Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Paul Verhoeven, Terry Gilliam and Werner Herzog.

Mexican filmmaker Cuaron, who won the best director Oscars for “Gravity” (2013) and “Roma” (2018), will receive the lifetime achievement award.

“Cuaron has reinvented himself as an artist with each new film,” said Nazzaro.

French-Swiss actress Jacob, who starred in “The Double Life of Veronique” (1991) and “Three Colours: Red” (1994), will receive the Leopard Club Award, given for film work touching the collective imagination.

Stacey Sher — the U.S. film producer behind “Pulp Fiction,” “Get Shorty,” “Gattaca,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Django Unchained” and “The Hateful Eight” — will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Award for major achievements in international movie production.

Nearly 150,000 people attended last year’s festival.
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Paris — Rarely on the podium and barred from the opening ceremony, the 15 Russians competing at the Paris Olympics have an uneasy status as “Individual Neutral Athletes” following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Some in the Olympic Village opposed them taking part in the Summer Games, and Russian opinion is divided.

In Russia, the Olympics aren’t being shown on TV and some politicians and media figures have even described those willing to compete in Paris as traitors.

It’s a complex environment for the athletes, some of them teenagers, to navigate and they’re wary of talking about politics or the war. 

What do the Russian athletes think?

“My family is proud of me, that’s all that matters,” said tennis player Diana Shnaider. She and Mirra Andreeva became the first Russians to win a medal at the Paris Olympics, taking silver in women’s doubles Sunday.

The 20-year-old former college player for North Carolina State said it was “amazing” to be at her first Olympics.

“There are still a lot of people from my country in the stands and they are still putting in a lot of support. I heard words of encouragement today,” she said after winning in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Tennis players like Shnaider and 2021 U.S. Open winner Daniil Medvedev are used to dealing with the media and playing around the world without a Russian flag. Others seem a little overwhelmed.

Anzhela Bladtceva, a 19-year-old trampolinist, placed fifth in her event Friday and clutched a stuffed animal as she spoke with media afterward.

“There are so many emotions, so many people, everyone is so kind and happy and so helpful,” she said.

Bladtceva said she was spending time in the Olympic Village with a trampolinist friend from Azerbaijan and that she hadn’t been asked about the war. “No one asks at all, they ask if it was hard for us to get here, only positive questions. No one is saying bad things,” she said.

National delegations sailed down the Seine River on a flotilla of boats in the opening ceremony, but the neutral athletes weren’t included.

“It’s upsetting that they didn’t let us, but what can you do?” said Bladtceva, who was still in Russia for the ceremony. “I didn’t really watch it.”

Why are so few Russians competing in Paris?

Of the 32 “neutral” athletes in Paris, 17 previously represented Belarus and just 15 represented Russia. That’s compared to more than 300 Russians at the last Summer Games in Tokyo.

International Olympic Committee restrictions barred Russian athletes who are in the military or publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine. The IOC also blocked Russians from team sports. Track and field enforced its own blanket ban.

In gymnastics and weightlifting, Russia’s teams skipped qualifying events in protest of being forced to compete as neutrals or to undergo vetting, including checks of their social media.

Some athletes even qualified, accepted their IOC invitations, then withdrew weeks before the Olympics began. It wasn’t clear whether they made that decision under pressure at home. The IOC lists 10 Russians and one Belarusian who “initially accepted but subsequently declined.” 

Wrestler Shamil Mamedov briefly seemed to defy a Russian wrestling federation decision not to send athletes. The federation later told Russian state news agency Tass that Mamedov was out of the Olympics because an old injury flared up.

What happens when Russians win medals?

Shnaider and Andreeva’s silver in the tennis on Sunday was the first for Russian athletes.

They stood on the podium in matching green-and-white tracksuits as a green flag with the inscription AIN — the French acronym for Individual Neutral Athlete — was raised alongside the flags of Italy and Spain.

Neutral athletes from Belarus won gold and silver medals in the men’s and women’s trampoline competitions, respectively, on Friday, and Belarusian rower Yauheni Zalaty won a silver Saturday.

When a neutral athlete wins a gold medal, an “anthem” commissioned by the IOC plays. With stirring strings and a prominent drumbeat, it’s more like the soundtrack to an inspirational video than a national anthem. Their medals don’t count in Olympic organizers’ official medal table.

Russian athletes competed at the last Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” and under less onerous restrictions in the aftermath of a doping scandal.

They were allowed to wear national colors and music by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky played for gold medalists.

Are Russians competing for other countries?

At least 82 athletes at the Paris Olympics were born in Russia, including the neutral athletes, according to statistics from Norwegian broadcaster NRK. That leaves more than 60 competing for other nations. 

Some have lived outside Russia for years or moved abroad as children. Others switched their sporting allegiance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova competed for ROC at the Tokyo Olympics. She trained in France for years before making her switch to the French team official last year. Kirpichnikova won a silver medal for France in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle behind Katie Ledecky on Wednesday.

What does Ukraine think?

Ukraine’s government and Olympic committee wanted Russian athletes excluded from all international sports and opposed IOC efforts to include them as neutrals. The limited Russian presence is like “nothing,” the head of Ukraine’s Olympic delegation told The Associated Press this week.

Ukraine briefly had a policy of boycotting Olympic qualifying competitions that allowed Russians to attend but dropped that last year because it risked not being represented at the Olympics at all. 

Ukrainian activists gathered information from Russian athletes’ social media in the months leading up to the Olympics, flagging posts to the IOC that they considered to support the war.

Some Ukrainians view changes of allegiance with suspicion, too. Fencing champion Olga Kharlan said last month that Russian athletes who switched allegiance to other countries’ teams after the invasion “should be checked more.” 
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