Iran has renewed threats to target former President Donald Trump and top members of his former Cabinet, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the 2020 killing of its top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.
"God willing, we are looking to kill Trump [and] Pompeo … and military commanders who issued the order should be killed," Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force, told Iranian state television Friday.
The threats are nothing new, though this time they came as Tehran was announcing a new long-range cruise missile capable of flying more than 1,000 miles, which could give it additional striking capabilities to U.S. forces in the Middle East.
US BASE IN SYRIA HIT WITH 2 ROCKETS FOLLOWING 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF SOLEIMANI KILLING
Iran fired back at the 2020 killing of its top Revolutionary Guard commander by launching a series of missiles at U.S. troops stationed at two separate bases in Iraq.
No American soldiers were killed in the attack that Iran at the time described as a "slap in the face" for the U.S., vowing to strike at those responsible for Soleimani’s killing.
Hajizadeh said Iran did not intend to kill "poor soldiers" stationed at the base and that Trump and his top officials were the true target.
"It's obvious that the strike on Qasem Soleimani was a crucial loss for Iran's regime. They have on multiple occasions made public threats of vengeance toward the United States and more specifically toward individuals in the Trump White House, but we have thankfully not seen any action," The Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari told Fox News Digital.
IRAN SAYS NEW LONG-RANGE CRUISE MISSILE CAN STRIKE US SHIPS WITHIN 1,000 MILES
Senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Behnam Ben Taleblu argued that Iran’s comments should not be taken lightly and said, "Make no mistake, Iranian military officials mean what they say here. They still seek to wash blood away with blood."
"Threats by the long arm of the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism against American officials like Trump, Pompeo and McKenzie are not to be taken lightly," he added in reference to the former head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie. "This regime continues to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to global terrorism."
But while Western analysts disagree on the severity of Tehran’s threat against previous administration officials, its expansion of its military arms has been an issue that defense officials have been increasingly concerned over – particularly as Iran looks to back Russia amid its war in Ukraine.
Iran has expanded its missile program in recent years, ramping up what it claims are defensive arms as a show of defiance to the West in the wake of the collapsed nuclear arms treaty.
While Western officials are concerned over Iran’s growing arms programs, it has also urged caution when it comes to the viability of Iran’s capabilities, including in November when the Pentagon said it was skeptical of Hajizadeh’s claims that Iran had added hypersonic ballistic missile to its stockpiles.
Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh walk during the unveiling of "Kheibarshekan" missile at an undisclosed location in Iran
Bangladesh reassesses its Belt and Road Initiative strategy with China as the US offers a new alternative
Bangladesh has scrapped several key BRI projects
Originally published on Global Voices
Bangladesh ranked 54 in the China Index. Screenshot from the China Index 2022 website. Fair use.
In 2015, Bangladesh became part of the Chinese global infrastructure development strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), mainly via one of its special projects known as the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM). Eight years later, much of the initial enthusiasm seems to have vanished as a result of several factors, including the impact of the pandemic, Beijing's own reassessment of its ambitions, Russia's war against Ukraine, and the US government's push for influence in the region, known as its Indo-Pacific strategy, resulting in a slower pace of development seven years after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2016.
As a rapidly growing economy in South Asia with a thriving ready-made garments export industry, a burgeoning local manufacturing industry and a robust inflow of remittances from overseas workers, Bangladesh has pushed for infrastructure development to become an upper-middle-income economy by 2031. This economic ambition has turned China into its largest trading partner of the past decade. Therefore, Xi's October 2016 visit signified a promising opportunity for the country to take China's help in developing various infrastructure projects such as railways, power plants and other initiatives.
In 2016, China put forward proposals to invest a total of approximately USD 40 billion in Bangladesh. Of this amount, USD 24.45 billion was designated for infrastructure projects as assistance, while USD 13.6 billion was allocated for joint venture investments. Additionally, China pledged to provide USD 20 billion in loans for various development projects.
During that same year, Bangladesh signed agreements for eight projects, with a total of more than USD 9.45 billion financed by China. These projects included the Padma Bridge rail link (valued at USD 3.3 billion), the Payra 320 MW coal-powered Thermal Power Plant (worth USD 1.56 billion), an investment in the Development of National ICT Infra-Network for the Bangladesh Government project (with a budget of USD 1 billion), and a power grid network strengthening project (valued at USD 1.32 billion).
The Twitter account of The Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL) explains how the 169 km long Padma Bridge Rail Link Project is a key component of this cooperation as it establishes shorter rail connectivity between the capital Dhaka, and the central and south-western regions of Bangladesh including the port of Payra.
Chinese and Bangladeshi engineers work together for the 172 km #PadmaBridge Rail Link Project in Keraniganj, Bangladesh, one of the most significant Belt and Road Initiative projects under construction by the China Railway Group Limited. #China-#Bangladesh #BRI pic.twitter.com/AVGHCIctmX
— BRISL (@BRI_SL) February 3, 2023
Between 2018 and 2019, China made significant investments in Bangladesh's power sector. During Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China in 2019, nine new investments, including two loan deals, were signed between the two nations.
According to the China Global Investment tracker, China invested a total of USD 7.07 billion from 2018 to 2022 and has been directly involved in construction projects worth around USD 16 billion.
Bangladesh's concerns: from a debt trap to unclean energy
Yet despite this seemingly win-win situation, Dhaka has its own concerns about China's role and requests to align its strategy with BRI's goals. Dhaka has also expressed concerns about the slow disbursement of funds for key BRI projects that may face challenges such as budgetary constraints and extended timelines.
Perhaps the main concern is the risk of falling into China's debt trap. Indeed the economic troubles faced by Pakistan and Sri Lanka have prompted Bangladesh to reassess its involvement in BRI-related infrastructure projects driven by China.
The Finance Minister of Bangladesh voiced his concerns in August 2022, urging developing nations to rethink their decision to take out more loans under China's Belt and Road Initiative.
#ChinaBangladesh
Bangladesh’s Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has warned that developing countries must think twice about taking more loans through China’s Belt and Road Initiative as global (BRI) inflation and slowing growth add to the strains on indebted emerging markets. pic.twitter.com/k6dafFv90U— Global Watch (@GlobalWatch_) August 10, 2022
Reports indicated that Bangladesh owed China approximately USD 4 billion in 2022, which amounted to 6 percent of its total foreign debt at that time. In July 2022, the country requested a bailout package of USD 4.5 million as its dwindling foreign reserves are making it difficult to import the goods necessary to keep its economy rolling. Bangladesh sounded alarms in 2022 about an impending economic crisis caused by a myriad of factors, including widespread loan defaults crippling the banking sector, depleting foreign currency reserves due to capital flights, and more. To mitigate the ongoing economic crisis, Bangladesh has already cancelled or postponed several infrastructure projects, such as highway upgrades and constructing a 5G network for the state-owned telecom provider Teletalk.
Another source of concern is the impact on the environment. More than 15 infrastructure projects in the BRI plan involve the construction of coal-fired power plants, which an environmental study has termed a “carbon catastrophe”. Many of these projects are encountering opposition from locals who object to land acquisition for the construction of the projects and point to environmental concerns. Since 2016, 12 protesters have lost their lives in various incidents, such as those in Gandamara and Banskhali.
Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, a group working for climate justice, has demanded justice for those killed:
On April 17, 2021, a clash between the protesting workers of the Banshkhali Coal Power Plant in Bangladesh and police authorities led to the death of 5 and the injuries of 15. The workers were demanding their due wages from power plant authorities. #JusticeForBanshkhaliWorkers pic.twitter.com/897fwL1kaz
— APMDD (@AsianPeoplesMvt) April 17, 2021
As a result of this push-back, Bangladesh abandoned plans for ten additional coal-fired power plants in 2021 and requested China replace five projects, including three energy projects, in its Belt and Road Initiative portfolio. Beijing has consequently pulled out from the proposed coal-fired power plants.
Still, dependency on China might remain a reality for Dhaka: As Bangladesh transitions towards renewable energy, it will require an estimated USD 80–100 billion to sustain its growth, and may still seek investments from China. As indicated by the Global Coal Finance Tracker, which monitors government-sponsored coal power projects worldwide, more than 70 percent of all coal plants built worldwide have links to Chinese funding.
According to the China Index 2022, which measures China's global influence, Bangladesh has been ranked 54 out of 82 countries, with India following closely at 55th place. Meanwhile, Pakistan ranked number one. The scores of Bangladesh showed that it has a 29 percent vulnerability to Beijing's influence, mostly in its foreign policy, technology and domestic politics spheres.
Balancing Beijing and Washington
Beijing is also reassessing its own BRI strategy because of geostrategic shifts. In 2019, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor was removed from the list of projects included in the BRI as India decided to withdraw from the initiative. Beijing is now focusing on new initiatives in South Asia: the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), the Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network between Nepal and China, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) together with the Gwadar Port Complex.
In Bangladesh, China showed keen interest in investing in the Sonadia deep sea port near Cox's Bazaar as part of its “string of pearls strategy” to encircle India in its maritime neighbourhood, along with investments in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port and Pakistan's Gwadar port. However, Bangladesh ultimately chose not to invest in that port in 2020 as it did not align with its national interests.
China's investment expansions in Bangladesh have indeed raised concerns in India, but also in Washington. The US Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, has warned about the potential dangers of Chinese investments in South Asian ports and the impact of Chinese debt traps on local economies. Washington has offered its own US Indo-Pacific strategy as a way to counter Beijing's influence with the support of ASEAN nations, Japan and India.
This has led to an escalation in Sino-Bangladeshi relations: Li Jiming, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, cautioned in May 2021 that Bangladesh's involvement in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal strategic alliance between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, would harm bilateral relations. Bangladesh's foreign minister then denounced the remark, stating that it was “unfortunate” and that the decision was “for Bangladesh to make, not China.” In June 2022, China voiced its discontent with the Quad once more and criticized the United States. As journalist MAK Jilany tweeted:
Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming has said #Bangladesh‘s relations with #China will “substantially damage” if Bangladesh joins with the #US-led initiative named “#Quad.” @MFA_China pic.twitter.com/GaomOOcmDo
— MAK Jilany (@its_me_j2) May 10, 2021
Today, Bangladesh is trying to balance between the BRI and the Indo-Pacific Strategy with its own principle of “Friendship towards all, malice towards none”.
Written by Rezwan
Fishermen find remains of missing man inside shark in Argentina
The remains of a man who went missing in southern Argentina earlier this month were discovered inside a shark after it was captured by local fishermen.
Law enforcement said the family of 32-year-old Diego Barría were able to identify his remains because of a distinct tattoo that was visible.
Barría had last been seen near the coast in the southern Chubut province riding his all-terrain vehicle late on Feb. 18, according to The Associated Press.
An extensive search began for the father of three after his damaged ATV was found on Feb. 20, but there was no sign of Barría.
DOG VS SHARK STANDOFF THRILLS TOURISTS ON BAHAMAS BOAT TOUR
On Sunday morning, two local fishermen contacted the coast guard and said they caught three school sharks close to where Barría's ATV was found. The said when they were cleaning the sharks they found human remains in one of them.
It's unclear exactly how Barría ended up being eaten by the nearly 5-foot shark.
Daniela Millatruz, the law enforcement officer who was in charge of the search, said they believe Barría had an accident, was dragged, and they are "investigating if there was a vehicle involved."
FLORIDA SEES MOST UNPROVOKED SHARK ATTACKS ON EARTH IN 2022
Cristian Ansaldo, with the Comodoro Rivadavia Police Department, said there was a strong tidal surge the weekend Barría disappeared.
Barría's remains are set to undergo DNA testing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
548dad6f-Lemon Shark
Charity treason: The legal practice of persecuting Russians who donate to Ukraine
For the FSB, there is no bank secrecy
Originally published on Global Voices
Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay. Used under a Pixabay license.
Crime and Punishment
Struck by the shocking news on the day of the invasion, 24 February 2022, many Russians rushed to show their support for Ukraine. In the first months of the war, the number of individual contributions to the Civic Assistance Committee — the most reputable Russian NGO helping Ukrainian refugees — grew multi-fold. The number of individual donations to Ukraine also increased significantly.
One such donor was Max (name changed). He did not want to hide his outrage and compassion behind anonymous tools and openly transferred RUB 60,000 (~USD 600) to the collection account of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) using SWIFT.
While the transaction was pending, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (a part of the Interior Ministry) released a statement. It said that the “financial, material, technical, consulting, and other help to a foreign state, international or foreign organisation or their representatives in actions aimed against the security of the Russian Federation” constitutes treason and that all such financial operations will be scrutinised individually.
The media spread this message widely, alerting that mass arrests could follow. Even though humanitarian aid and helping close relatives are excluded from the definition of treason, many lawyers advised against sending money to Ukraine altogether. Considering the close horizontal ties between the two nations, this was a new reality that many people could not grasp at once.
Max successfully cancelled the transfer, but, two days later, the bank where he also worked asked him to resign. Then he was summoned by the Federal Security Service (FSB), questioned, his apartment searched, and his devices confiscated. “This is treason,” the officer concluded. “Punishable by 12–20 years.” Around midnight, the FSB let Max go asking him to “live his normal life” and wait for the decision. Taking no chances, he fled the country at dawn.
Even though Max says that he made a transfer for “support and restoration of Ukraine,” it seems that the only donation call on the NBU website at the time (February 24–27) was for the needs of the Ukrainian army.
This story was told anonymously to Helpdesk.media in June 2022, at which time no criminal case had yet been instigated against Max. Probably, the FSB did not want any pending proceedings to spoil their internal statistics, but, if Max crossed the border back to Russia, the prosecution would start immediately.
Treason cases are usually confidential, and it is hard to gather a detailed picture of the law enforcement patterns. Department One, a legal defence NGO, reported in May that since the beginning of the war, they have consulted more than 30 people who had to deal with the FSB and 50 who had their bank accounts blocked due to the donations to Ukraine.
Only a handful of the account blocking reports are available in the media, and all of them are from the majority state-owned SberBank, the largest bank in Russia. Only one report includes the receiver's name, and it is Come Back Alive — a prominent Ukrainian fund supporting the army.
In August, the FSB released a video of fully armoured officers entering the apartments of three people and delivering a warning against committing treason. Department One knows of five more similar incidents, eight in total, by August 19, 2022. All the people concerned made bank transfers to Ukraine, at least four of them to Come Back Alive.
Even the Russians who live abroad are on the FSB’s radar. Aleksandra (name changed) donated EUR 25 to Come Back Alive from her SberBank account, and the FSB paid a visit to her mother. An officer is now a regular in the classes she teaches at a university.
For the FSB and police, there is no such thing as bank secrecy. Rosfinmonitoring (Federal Financial Monitoring Service) collects and analyses financial transaction data across the banks to combat financial crimes. Police can inquire about the particular recipient (like Come Back Alive) and get the complete list of donors, even retroactively.
Help came from an unexpected direction. One week into the full-fledged war, the EU started blocking SWIFT for Russian banks, with SberBank being cut off in June 2022. International bank transfers became unreliable, and it's safe to say that most Russians turned to other, less trackable ways of moving their funds internationally.
But it's not only the FSB searching the database. Sometimes, vigilant citizens report on their fellow Russians for supporting Ukraine. This happened to a trendy cafe in the centre of Moscow that advertised a charity auction to benefit a Ukrainian volunteering group Kyiv Angels, on their Instagram page. It attracted the attention of pro-state bloggers, who noticed that the Angels support the army between their humanitarian jobs. The cafe was bullied online, its owners doxed and threatened. A local deputy officially reported them to the police. Eventually, the owners apologised and claimed they were hacked, which convinced no one. After being visited by “people in uniforms,” the cafe had to close for a short while.
Power Fusion
Despite the authorities agreeing that sponsoring the Ukrainian army constitutes treason, in a year, there has not been a single reported criminal case instigated for such donations. It makes one wonder, especially contrasted with the harsh penal action against those donating to the “internal enemy”, such as Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.
It seems common for the number of treason cases to grow during or before a country gets involved in a war — to show it's under threat. Before 2014, there were 2–3 treason convictions a year in Russia; after, 15 a year. In March 2022, several experts claimed that the FSB, which handles treason, is now at capacity and cannot process more cases a year if it wants to: “The system is not ready for mass repression.”
However, this time, it seems that FSB has shared some of its powers and authority with the Interior Ministry, which includes the police. Usually, the FSB secretly cultivates the subject for months before appearing at their door with a fully cooked lawsuit. But now, the Interior Ministry announces the mass investigations beforehand. Probably, the FSB then felt pressured to act and, in the absence of a better plan, did the search-and-warn operation, scaring off the potential defendants (many of them left Russia). By May 2022, Department One knew of seven instances of the FSB officers visiting the relatives of those who fled, threatened with prosecution for their anti-war position. “Convince them to come back to Russia,” they asked.
Another occasion of the treason authorities fusing together is the criminal case against the oppositional politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been in jail since April 2022 for spreading “fakes” about the Russian army. In October, he was charged with treason for giving public talks abroad. This is the first criminal case under the “help to a foreign organisation” section quoted above, and the first treason case led by the Interior Department, not the FSB. Additionally, in July 2022, the state amended the law: now, almost any collaboration with any foreign organisation can be considered treason (art. 275.1 of the Criminal Code).
Despite the evident miscoordination between the two agencies on how to handle the cases, this fusion may mean that the limited capacity of the FSB will receive reinforcement from the police, and, in the future, we will see the rise of convictions. However, the fact that there were no reports of persecutions of Russian citizens for donating to Ukraine since spring 2022, holds out a hope of it not becoming a trend.
Written by Sofia Kovalevskaya
Chinese Media Does An Animation On The Topic Of How The US Blew Up The Nord Stream Pipelines
WNU Editor: A lot of information warfare happening right now.3 out of 4 pipes are destroyed,it will take 500 million USD to be repaired and will take no less than a year,the longer the awit the worse,but the pipes cannot be repaired because of the USA sanctions pic.twitter.com/7WhNIFK2PL
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 27, 2023
Despite US Pressure Brazil Allows Two Iranian Warships To Dock In Rio de Janeiro
Iranian military ship Iris Makran navigates on the coast of Rio de Janeiro as a Brazilian flag flutters in Copacabana Beach, Brazil, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Reuters: Brazil allows two Iranian warships to dock in Rio despite US pressure
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them.
The IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena warships both arrived on Sunday morning, Rio's port authority said in a statement.
Reuters earlier this month reported that Brazil had bowed to U.S. pressure and declined Iran's request for the vessels to dock in Rio in late January, in a gesture from Lula as he flew to Washington to meet U.S. President Joe Biden.
However, with Lula's trip over, the ships have been allowed to dock. Vice Admiral Carlos Eduardo Horta Arentz, the deputy chief of Brazil's Naval Staff, gave his approval for the ships to dock in Rio between Feb. 26 and March 4, according to a Feb. 23 notice in the official gazette.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Iranian media is playing this port of call up .... Two Iranian warships dock in Brazil's Rio in challenge to US (MEHR News Agency).
Russia - Ukraine War: Military Summary And Analysis For 2.27.2023 (Video)
WNU Editor: A lot of updates on the Russia - Ukraine war from the Military Summary channel. Alexander Mercouris gives his update on the war below.
Serbia, Kosovo back EU diplomacy plan
The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have given tacit approval to a European Union-sponsored plan to end months of political crises and help improve their ties longer-term, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday after chairing talks between them.
Speaking alone at a news conference after a series of meetings in Brussels, Borrell told reporters that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti "have today agreed that no further discussions are needed for the European Union proposal."
Both countries want to join the EU, which has told them that they first need to sort out their differences.
KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER ASKS WEST NOT TO PRESSURE NATION ON SERBIAN TERRITORIAL TREATY
Borrell provided few details about the talks — and reporters were not permitted to ask questions — except to say that "more work is needed" and that the two leaders would meet again next month.
Vucic said separately that "I hoped we would be able to agree to some compromises, but Mr. Kurti was not ready for that." Vucic added that there was no talk about how to put the EU plan into action.
Kurti, for his part, said both leaders accepted the text but that the "Serb side was not ready to sign it."
Tensions have simmered between Serbia and its former province since Kosovo unilaterally broke away in 2008; a move recognized by many Western countries but opposed by Serbia, with the backing of Russia and China. EU-brokered talks between them have made little headway in recent years.
Recently, those tensions flared over seemingly trivial matters like vehicle license plate formats, or the arrest of an ethnic Serb police officer, triggering fresh concern among Western leaders that a new Balkan conflict might break out just as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its second year.
But Borrell expressed cautious optimism that the two sides can now move on from the "crisis management" of recent months. "I hope the agreement can also be the basis to build much needed trust and overcome the legacy of the past," he said.
He said the blueprint means "that people can move freely between Serbia and Kosovo using their own passports — mutually recognized — IDs, and license plates. It entails that people can study and work without wondering whether their diplomas, and where they obtained them, may be an issue."
Borrell said it offers new economic opportunities to both sides through increased financial assistance, business cooperation and the prospect of new investment. He said the plan would provide better jobs and improve trade by removing the need for import-export certificates.
Kurti urged all Kosovar people and experts to read the agreement, telling reporters that "we are on a good one-way path of normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia in a good European neighborhood."
Borrell also welcomed a commitment from Vucic and Kurti to ensure that Serbia and Kosovo "refrain from any uncoordinated action that could lead to renewed tensions on the ground and derail these negotiations."
SERBIA DEPLOYS TROOPS FOR 'COMBAT READINESS' ON KOSOVO BORDER
Previous talks between Vucic and Kurti have degenerated into arguments and mutual recrimination.
The EU has mediated negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo since 2011, but few of the 33 agreements that have been signed were put into action. The EU and the U.S. have pressed for faster progress since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Earlier this month, hundreds of Serbian nationalists gathered in Belgrade to demand that Vucic reject the EU plan and pull out of the talks.
Shouting "Treason" and carrying banners reading "No surrender," the right-wing protesters blocked traffic as they gathered near the Serbian presidency building. The protesters are also strongly pro-Russia, and one banner read: "Betrayal of Kosovo is betrayal of Russia!"
In recent months, U.S. and EU envoys have visited Pristina and Belgrade regularly to encourage them to accept the new proposals, and the two leaders met with senior EU representatives on the sidelines of a major security conference in the German city of Munich earlier this month.
serbia_kosovo
Hopes for Libyan unity dashed by electoral disputes
The United Nations’ top diplomat in Libya said Monday that he is launching a new attempt to calm the deeply unsettled nation by pushing for rival factions’ to agree on holding presidential and legislative elections this year, but any optimism was dampened by a lack of details and continued disputes.
Abdoulaye Bathily, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Special Representative for Libya, told the U.N. Security Council in New York that the latest initiative is aimed at presidential and legislative elections within 10 months.
73 MIGRANTS PRESUMED DEAD AFTER INFLATABLE RUBBER VESSEL WRECKS NEAR LIBYA
To date, he said, "the political process remains protracted and falls short of the aspirations of Libyans who seek to elect their leaders and reinvigorate their political institutions."
"In short, Libyans are impatient," he continued. "They question the will and desire of political actors to hold inclusive and transparent elections in 2023."
Bathily and many international actors hope that elections could unify a nation split between governments controlling its eastern and western parts. The division of the nation rich in oil has fueled violence between armed groups, and driven untold numbers of unsafe journeys from Libya across the Mediterranean. Many of the journeys end in drownings.
After the televised meeting, Security Council members held a closed discussion.
DEADLY CLASHES SHAKE LIBYA'S CAPITAL, KILLING 13 CIVILIANS
"We asked questions and now we are looking for the answers. So far everything is very vague," said Dmitry Polansky, First Deputy Representative of Russia to the U.N. "We need to see the details, because the efforts to bring together various Libyan parties were taken before. They failed. So we want to understand what's really different this time."
Libya's reprentative, Taher El-Sonni, one of the few ambassadors at the meetings whose government does not control all of the internationally recognized national territory, echoed the call for more.
"Everbody is waiting to see the details of the mechanism," he said. "Everybody is agreeing on going towards elections ... we're hoping that this political momentum will take place."
abdul_hamid-dbeibah
Tweets On The Russia - Ukraine War
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 27 February 2023
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 27, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence: https://t.co/Cg1AlRQ2SI
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/0cX28D5RdE
NEW: Tonight's abbreviated #Ukraine update focuses on #Putin’s attempt to avoid ordering involuntary mobilization in #Russia by launching a series of irregular volunteer force generation campaigns since late May 2022 and the consequences of that attempt. https://t.co/P91egwVy6o pic.twitter.com/3mOeD3QbKG
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) February 27, 2023
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has triggered “the most massive violations of human rights” in the world today, the head of the United Nations said Monday, as the war pushed into its second year with no end in sight and tens of thousands dead. https://t.co/8QxujyVxnG
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2023
🇺🇸💹💰💸🇺🇦US Treasury Secretary Yellen arrived in Kiev today, where she met with the President of Ukraine
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 27, 2023
"It is necessary to further strengthen sanctions in order to deprive Russia of the opportunity to finance the war," - Zelensky said "wisely" pic.twitter.com/WzN8LY1cyO
🇺🇸🇷🇺(K)Hilary"We came, we saw, he died"Clinton calling out to people of Russia to get rid of Putin. She's calling him "dangerous and erratic".
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 27, 2023
Why didn't she advise the entourage of US presidents to do this when the US attacked Yugoslavia,Iraq, Afghanistan,and other countries? pic.twitter.com/EkEu6nk0AX
Here’s some actual Russian propaganda — but I have to say, great production values and clarity of message. Will appeal to American Boomers.pic.twitter.com/H7FKxISTbT
— Gonzalo Lira (@GonzaloLira1968) February 27, 2023
On board a Ukrainian attack helicopter https://t.co/BSGCnzAhye pic.twitter.com/gDHtEBW8T1
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 27, 2023
Tweets Of The Day
Southern California is bracing for storms that will bring wind and rain, China says it is seeking dialogue and a peaceful solution for Ukraine despite U.S. warnings that Beijing might be considering supplying weapons to Russia, and more. 5⃣ stories you need to know pic.twitter.com/jb9vWeNL79
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2023
• Israeli settlers set cars, homes on fire in West Bank after two Israelis killed by Palestinian gunman
— DW News (@dwnews) February 27, 2023
• Migrant boat breaks up off Italian coast, killing more than 60
• Putin claims Ukraine allies plan to 'dismantle Russia' in TV interview
Today's top stories in 1 minute: pic.twitter.com/DFonUsMCoo
China on Monday accused the U.S. of "outright bullying and double standards" in leveling what it called "illegal" sanctions on Chinese companies as part of U.S. actions against Russia's Wagner Group and related companies and individuals. https://t.co/70Cjurq4cY
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2023
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a new deal on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, risking a clash with members of his Conservative Party in the hope he can secure a better relationship with the European Union https://t.co/R0m66d8gCr pic.twitter.com/JfkhlmKszQ
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2023
Turkey is planning to continue talks with Sweden and Finland on their aspiration to join NATO, in a meeting on March 9 to be held in Brussels. https://t.co/H9GSOWkWKp
— DW News (@dwnews) February 27, 2023
France will not close its military bases in Africa, but instead, they will be 'Africanized', says President Macron. https://t.co/YbTxSKiSLc
— DW News (@dwnews) February 27, 2023
More results arrive in Nigeria election https://t.co/R4zHof8z2T
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 27, 2023
.@Reuters visited police outposts in northwest Pakistan and spoke to senior police officials, many of whom described how the police force is suffering increasing losses as it bears the brunt of insurgent attacks while contending with resource constraints https://t.co/enSSHObOul pic.twitter.com/ZS7Nnl08m4
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 27, 2023
Is The Romanian Army Moving Air Defense Systems To The Borders With Moldova?
The #Romanian army is moving air defense systems to the borders with #Moldova pic.twitter.com/qkJsskUeIg
— Stepan Gronk (@StepanGronk) February 27, 2023
WNU Editor: This is an ominous development. For the past week there have been numerous reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense that Ukraine was positioning forces to seize Transnistria .... Russia Says Ukraine Preparing To Invade The Breakaway Region Of Transnistria In The Coming Days (February 23, 2023). And according to today's Military Summary Channel report (link here), the Russian Ministry of Defense believes Ukraine has already completed its deployment of forces to invade the territory.
If this Ukraine offensive operation does occur, and my gut is now telling me that it will, this Romanian deployment of air defenses will be seen by Russia as an attempt to provide air cover for Ukraine and its forces from any Russia retaliation or marine helicopter operation.
I hope that I am wrong. But we may be on the verge of other countries (Moldova and NATO member Romania) becoming actively involved in this war. Or more to the point. Romanian air defense shooting at Russian aircraft and helicopters.
US Arms Manufacturers Are Ramping Up Weapons Production To Meet Ukraine Demand
The Pentagon is now aiming to boost the production of artillery shells by 500% for both its own needs and to keep supplying the Ukrainian army (Picture source: U.S. Army)
American Military News: US factories ramping up weapons production to meet Ukraine demand
The U.S. is increasing the production of weapons at some locations that were previously shut down to meet the demands of American military commitments to Ukraine.
According to some reports, Ukrainian military forces are consuming up to 7,000 artillery rounds per day, pushing the need for new supplies.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: There is some confusion on how much US factories will be ramping up weapons production.
According to Defense News, the U.S. is hoping to eventually ramp up production to roughly 90,000 shells a month .... With demand high in Ukraine, US Army ramps up artillery production (Defense News)
According to the US Secretary of the Army, there is an expectation that artillery production will increase according to this timetable .... the U.S. will go from making 14,000 155mm shells each month to 20,000 by later this year and 40,000 by 2025 (Politico).
I find this US weapons production to be pathetic.
The US is hoping to produce 40,000 shells by 2025. Russia's military is using anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 shells per day.
As to what is happening on the Russian side for weapons production. The narrative from the Kremlin is that Russia's defense factories are working around the clock to meet demand .... Russia's Medvedev says defence factories meeting demand, denies missile shortage (Reuters).
Steven Seagal receives friendship award from Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday bestowed a state decoration on Steven Seagal, the American action-movie actor who also holds Russian citizenship.
STEVEN SEAGAL SPEAKS OUT AMID RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE: ‘I LOOK AT BOTH AS ONE FAMILY’
The awarding of the Order of Friendship was announced on the Russian government's internet portal. The order recognizes people who Russia considers to have contributed to bettering international relations.
STEVEN SEAGAL PRAISES PUTIN, SLAMS AMERICA'S 'IDIOTIC' UKRAINE POLICY
Seagal was a vocal supporter of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and last year visited the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Olenivka where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were reportedly killed in an attack for which Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other.
Seagal was named in 2018 as a Russian Foreign Ministry humanitarian envoy to the United States and Japan.
steven_seagal
Belarus seeks lengthy prison terms for opposition leaders
Belarusian authorities on Monday demanded lengthy prison terms for the country's exiled opposition leaders, amid a continued crackdown on dissent in the ex-Soviet republic.
Prosecutors demanded 19-year prison sentences for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pavel Latushka, as well as fines of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Tsikhanouskaya, Latushka and three other opposition figures are being tried in absentia in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government, creating and leading an extremist group, inciting hatred and harming national security.
The prosecution also sought 12-year sentences for Maryya Maroz, Volha Kavalkova and Siarhei Dylevski.
"It has nothing to do with justice, it is just personal revenge against me (and) others who are opposing the regime. It will only make us fight even harder," Tsikhanouskaya said in a tweet on Monday.
POLAND EXPELS BELARUSIAN DIPLOMAT OVER PROMINENT JOURNALIST'S IMPRISONMENT
All five left Belarus following the unprecedented mass protests in 2020, after authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko secured his sixth term in office in a disputed election. The opposition and the West have denounced the vote as rigged.
The demonstrations that followed were the largest and the most sustained since Lukashenko assumed office in 1994. He has run the country with an iron fist ever since. His government unleashed a brutal crackdown against the protesters, detaining more than 35,000 and beating thousands.
The country's most prominent human rights advocate and the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ales Bialiatski, was among those arrested. He is facing 12 years in prison if convicted.
Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus under pressure from the authorities shortly after the election, in which she ran against Lukashenko instead of her husband, well-known opposition politician Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Tsihkanouski was arrested in 2020 and has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
On Monday, a court in Belarus added 18 more months to Tsikhanouski's sentence over alleged violations of prison regulations.
Tsikhanouski maintained his innocence during the trial that was held behind closed doors, according to the Viasna human rights center, Belarus' most prominent human rights group. For two months, the politician was held "in inhumane conditions" in an isolation cell, the group said.
"I'm really looking forward to a time when we free Siarhei and all political prisoners from this hell," Tsikhanouskaya said in an online statement Monday.
The Viasna group has designated 1,443 people behind bars in Belarus as political prisoners.
Yellen commits to further Ukraine aid in prime minister meeting
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday her first visit to Ukraine underscored Washington's commitment to continuing its economic support for the country, as the din of air raid sirens echoed across the Ukrainian capital.
Yellen said following talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal that the US has provided nearly $50 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance and announced another multibillion dollar package to boost the country's economy.
Shmyhal offered thanks to the U.S. for its support and hailed Yellen as a "friend of Ukraine." He said Ukraine's budget deficit now stands at $38 billion and that the U.S. will provide another $10 billion in assistance by September.
US TREASURY SECRETARY JANET YELLEN TRAVELING TO SENEGAL, ZAMBIA, SOUTH AFRICA
Shmyhal and Yellen also discussed sanctions aimed at weakening Russia's economy as well as the possibility of using Russian frozen assets to help in Ukraine's economic recovery.
Yellen repeated U.S. President Joe Biden's message that Washington will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. She underscored the importance of fighting corruption, praising Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for enacting measures to ensure transparency in how the assistance is spent.
The U.S. official also visited a renovated school that had its windows blown out by the blast wave from a Russian missile that landed nearby in March. She also announced an additional transfer of $1.2 billion, the first tranche of the $10 billion assistance package.
"Maintaining an effective government is indispensable to Ukraine’s capacity to respond to Russian attacks and other emergencies," said Yellen. "Our economic support is keeping essential public services running. These services maintain economic and social stability in Ukraine".
Addressing the school's students and teachers, Yellen said they are helping to "write history" in a country that is "a central force in the history of the free world."
JANET YELLEN BLAMES AMERICANS' 'SPLURGING' FOR RECORD-HIGH INFLATION
"America stands with you in this fight for freedom, and we will be by your side and help you rebuild".
Yellen also met with Zelenskyy and other top officials, including the head of Ukraine’s National Bank.
Zelenskyy posted on Telegram after the meeting with Yellen that it is "necessary to strengthen further sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance the war."
Yellen also laid the flowers at the Wall of Remembrance dedicated to fallen soldiers and met Ukrainian landmine removal experts whose equipment was financed with US funds.
yellen_zelenskyy
IRA splinter group claims responsibility for police shooting
Police in Northern Ireland said Monday they were looking into an unverified statement by an Irish Republican Army splinter group claiming responsibility for the shooting of a senior police officer.
A statement purportedly from the dissident group known as the New IRA appeared on a wall in Londonderry late Sunday, claiming it was responsible for Wednesday's attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.
Two masked men shot Caldwell in front of his young son after the off-duty officer coached a children's soccer team in Omagh, about 60 miles west of Belfast. Caldwell remained in critical condition in hospital.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said Monday police were aware of the claim of responsibility and was "reviewing its contents as part of the overall investigation."
BREXIT DEAL: RISHI SUNAK, EU REPORTEDLY REACH AGREEMENT ON NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL
Police said last week they were treating the attempted murder of Caldwell as terrorism-related, and that the New IRA was its primary line of enquiry.
Six men were detained for questioning.
Paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland put down their arms after the 1998 Good Friday peace accord largely ended three decades of violent conflict, known as "the Troubles," between Irish republican and British loyalist groups and U.K. security forces.
But small IRA splinter groups have continued to launch sporadic attacks on security forces. The last fatal attack on a police officer in Northern Ireland was the April 2011 killing of Constable Ronan Kerr, who died when a booby-trap bomb exploded under his car in Omagh.
EU official defends talks with Big Tech on digital infrastructure upgrade
Europe's existing telecom networks aren't up to the job of handling surging amounts of internet data traffic, a top European Union official said Monday, as he defended a consultation on whether Big Tech companies should help pay for upgrades.
The telecom industry needs to reconsider its business models as it undergoes a "radical shift" fueled by a new wave of innovation such as immersive, data-hungry technologies like the metaverse, Thierry Breton, the European Commission's official in charge of digital policy, said at a major industry expo in Barcelona called MWC, or Mobile World Congress.
EU LAWMAKERS PASS LANDMARK TECH RULES, BUT ENFORCEMENT A WORRY
Breton's remarks came days after he announced a consultation on whether digital giants should help contribute to the billions needed to build the 27-nation bloc's future communications infrastructure, including next-generation 5G wireless and fiber-optic cable connections, to keep up with surging demand for digital data.
"Yes, of course, we will need to find a financing model for the huge investments needed," Breton said in a copy of a keynote speech at the MWC conference.
Telecommunications companies complain they have had to foot the substantial costs of building and operating network infrastructure only for big digital streaming platforms like Netflix and Facebook to benefit from the surging consumer demand for online services.
"The consultation has been described by many as the battle over fair share between Big Telco and Big Tech," Breton said. "A binary choice between those who provide networks today and those who feed them with the traffic. That is not how I see things."
TELECOM MASTS IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE ATTACKED IN WAKE OF BIZARRE 5G CORONAVIRUS CONSPIRACY THEORY
Big tech companies say consumers could suffer because they'd end up paying twice, with extra fees for their online subscriptions.
Breton denied that the consultation was an attack on Big Tech or that he was siding with telecom companies.
"I’m proposing a new approach," he later told reporters. Topics up for discussion include how much investment is needed and whether regulations need to be changed, he said.
"We will have zero taboo. Do we need to adapt it? Do we need to discuss who should pay for what? This is exactly what is the consultation today," Breton said.
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Putin Says The Ukraine War Poses An Existential Threat To The ‘Russian People’
Russian President Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow © Thomson Reuters
The Hill: Putin says Ukraine war poses existential threat to ‘Russian people’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a new interview that Russian people may not survive if Western countries succeed in handing a “strategic defeat” to Moscow in its war in Ukraine.
Putin’s comments to state TV channel Russia 1 followed his decision to suspend Russia’s involvement in the last remaining arms control treaty with the United States.
“In today’s conditions, when all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal as inflicting a strategic defeat on us, so that our people suffer as they say, how can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?” Putin said, per Reuters.
Putin accused Western countries of seeking to divide Russia in order to take control of the country’s raw materials. “I do not even know if such an ethnic group as the Russian people will be able to survive in the form in which it exists today,” he said. Read more ....
Update #1: Putin casts war as a battle for Russia's survival (Reuters)
Update #2: Vladimir Putin accuses west of seeking to ‘dismember’ Russia (The Guardian)
WNU Editor: He he is not the only one who is pushing this line .... Russia to be 'torn to pieces' if it stops special op without winning — Medvedev (TASS). More here .... Former Russian president sends warning to US (RT).
As to what is my take.
I disagree with Russian President Putin's view that the war in Ukraine poses an existential threat to the Russian people.
But I am a minority of one. Everyone I know in Russia is now on board with the Kremlin's message that this conflict is an existential threat and can only end with a Russian victory.
Russian President Putin Says Future Nuclear Arms Control Agreements Must Take Into Account The "Nuclear Potential" Of NATO Countries Like The U.K. And France, As Well As The U.S.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame and the Unknown Soldier's Grave in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow on February 23, 2023. Putin told Russian state media channel Rossiya-1 that Russia will "take into account" the "nuclear potentials" of NATO countries. © Mikhail Metzel / Sputnik/AFP
Newsweek: Putin Says Russia Has to Take NATO 'Nuclear Potential' Into Account
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow must "take into account" the "nuclear potential" of NATO countries like the U.K. and France, as well as the U.S., after freezing a key nuclear arms control agreement.
Speaking to Russian state media channel Rossiya-1, or Russia-1, Putin said "all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal to inflict a strategic defeat on us, so that our people suffer."
Putin then asked state media host Pavel Zarubin, according to a readout from state news agency Tass: "Under these conditions, how can we not take into account their nuclear potential?"
On February 21, Putin announced in an annual address to lawmakers that he was suspending Russia's participation in the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Read more ....
Update #1: Putin: will 'take into account' NATO's nuclear capability (AP)
Update #2: Putin: Russia can't ignore NATO's nukes, West wants to liquidate Moscow (Reuters)
WNU Editor: You might as well add China to the mix. Something that US nuclear arms control experts have been calling for years.
US condemns Russian withdrawal from nuclear weapons treaty
A top U.S. arms control official on Monday sharply criticized Russia for suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty, but said Washington will try to work with Moscow to continue its implementation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that the country would suspend participation in the New START treaty which obligated both Russia and the U.S. to commit to regular communications on the status of their nuclear arsenals, allow regular on-site inspections and abide by caps on the number of deployed and non-deployed warheads of each side.
"Russia is once again showing the world that it is not a responsible nuclear power," Bonnie Jenkins, the U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control, said at a session of the Conference on Disarmament, a United Nations-affiliated international forum.
RUSSIA DITCHES NUCLEAR SECURITY AMID CHINA VISIT, ‘DANGEROUS DECADE’ AHEAD, EXPERT WARNS
Russia is not withdrawing from the treaty, which is in force until 2026, but Putin said Russia cannot accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites while Washington and its NATO allies seek Russia’s defeat in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the country would respect the treaty’s caps on nuclear weapons and continue notifying the U.S. about test launches of ballistic missiles.
The inspections have been dormant since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions on resuming them were supposed to have taken place last November, but Russia abruptly called them off.
Jenkins later told reporters that the U.S. has not fully assessed the consequences of Russia's suspension move, but said "we're not seeing any evidence that Russia is in noncompliance."
"We remain ready to work assertively with Russia to fully implement the New START treaty, continued implementation of the treaty based on the best interests of both parties," she said.
RUSSIA SUSPENDS PARTICIPATION IN NEW START NUCLEAR TREATY WITH US, PUTIN SAYS
Putin's announcement of suspending participation came just before the first anniversary of Russia sending troops into Ukraine. Putin has repeatedly cast the conflict as necessary to combat alleged Western aims to weaken Russia and has warned of an increasing threat of nuclear war.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the national security council, said last week that "If the U.S. wants Russia’s defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear."
"Russia must end this war and must cease its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric," Jenkins said.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also harshly criticized Russia's New START suspension at the Geneva conference as "added proof — if any was needed — of the dangerous impasse that Russia is sealing itself into."
Russia-news
American citizen confirmed dead in West Bank terror attack
A U.S. citizen has died in a terror attack in the West Bank, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed Monday.
"Sadly, I can confirm that a U.S. citizen was killed in one of the terror attacks in the West Bank tonight," Nides tweeted. "I pray for his family."
The ambassador’s tweet came amid local reports that a Palestinian gunman on Monday shot and killed an Israeli motorist in the West Bank.
The 27-year-old motorist was transferred from the scene to Hadassah Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
The Jerusalem Post has reported that the victim was a U.S.-Israeli dual-national.
Violence has erupted in the West Bank in recent days after two Israelis were killed by a Palestinian gunman, prompting Israeli settlers to rampage through a Palestinian area in revenge.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Israeli security personnel stand as they guard a main junction near Nablus close to where Israeli police said two Israelis were killed, in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank
Iran forces female students to attend hijab ‘counseling’ after months of women’s rights protests
Dozens of female students in Iran have been summoned to attend "mandatory counseling sessions" for failing to wear their hijab "properly" following months of women’s rights and anti-regime protests across the nation, reports said Monday.
Though mass protests have largely slowed down, some shows of resistance persist, particularly among students and at universities where authorities are now cracking down and calling on university officials to take action.
A notice sent by Shiraz University, located in southwestern Iran, to its students informed them that "removing the hijab and not having proper student clothing" was a "violation" and called on the Union Council of Iranian Students to report any infringements, reported Radio Free Europe.
IRANIAN REGIME BECOMING 'MORE FRAGILE AND FRAGMENTED: CROWN PRINCE REZA PAHLAVI
Those found to be breaking the rules set out under the strict Iranian regime will then be required to engage in counseling.
Similar notices have reportedly been sent from universities across the county, including at Tehran's Soore University, where female students have been informed via text message that they are required to take a "mandatory cultural camp."
Universities have also begun firing professors found to be aiding or participating in student protests calling for women’s rights.
The protest movement began some five months ago after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was arrested by Iran’s morality police in Tehran for improperly wearing her hijab.
EUROPEAN UNION TARGETS MORE IRAN OFFICIALS, ORGANIZATIONS OVER PROTEST CRACKDOWN
Amini was severely beaten before succumbing to her injuries on Sept. 16, 2022.
The story of her arrest and death was not only broken by two female journalists who remain in an Iranian prison, according to a Politico report, but it started a national movement that saw some 19,600 arrests and more than 520 deaths.
Women in Iran have long been held under oppressive measures that not only dictate how they can travel on a day-to-day basis and bars them from dancing in public or attending sporting matches, but also enforces restrictions over their daily attire by requiring that they don loose clothing and have their hair covered at all times in public.
To protest Amini’s death, Iranian women have been removing and burning their hijabs – an act that could result in jail time if caught.
By the end of January, at least 700 university students had been arrested, according to the activist HRANA news agency, and many have faced sentences of imprisonment, flogging and expulsion from school.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a ceremony of National Student Day at Tehran
Egypt's foreign minister pays earthquake-ravaged Turkey rare visit
Egypt’s foreign minister arrived in Turkey on Monday to show solidarity with the quake-hit country, in the first high-level visit from Egypt since relations between Ankara and Cairo started to improve after years of friction.
Sameh Shoukry traveled to the southern Turkish city of Mersin from Syria -- part of a two-legged trip seeking to convey Egypt’s solidarity with the earthquake-stricken populations.
Diplomatic relations between Ankara and Cairo have been frosty for almost a decade. Erdogan was a close ally of Egypt’s previous Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted by the military amid widespread protests in 2013.
Turkey in recent years abandoned its critical approach to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government, as it tried to repair the frayed ties. In November, Erdogan and el-Sissi were photographed shaking hands during the World Cup in Qatar.
Egypt's neighbor Libya remains a point of conflict between the two governments, with each backing rival administrations that divide the country’s east and west.
"What is important for us is to bring the relationships back to the old level and to take them very far in the interests of both countries in accordance with their common interest,″ Shoukry told reporters, during a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The two stood in front of an Egyptian aid ship that docked at the port of Mersin. Cairo has sent numerous consignments of aid to Turkey since the earthquake struck on Feb. 6, killing tens of thousands — mostly in Turkey.
INDIA, EGYPT SIGN AGREEMENTS TO ENHANCE TRADE, INVESTMENTS AND FIGHT TERRORISM
"Friendship and brotherhood become apparent during times of difficulties and the Egyptian state and people have shown that they are the Turkish people's friends and brothers during these difficult times," Cavusoglu said.
The Turkish minister continued: "We are opening a new page in our relations. The development of ties between Turkey and Egypt is to both countries’ benefit."
The massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria has killed some 48,000 people in both countries and led to the collapse or serious damage of 173,000 buildings in Turkey.
On Monday, another earthquake shook southern Turkey, causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person.
DOTCOM_STATE_COUNTRY_NEWS_MIDDLE_EAST
Poland reports African swine fever outbreak in local livestock
Poland has reported outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in five wild boar in the northern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday citing Polish authorities.
AFRICAN SWINE FEVER DETECTED IN GREECE FROM WILD BOAR
The deadly hog disease has been spreading in eastern Europe with outbreaks found in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania, WOAH said in a separate report on the disease.
ARGENTINA TIGHTENS HEALTH PROTOCOLS TO CONTROL BIRD FLU
In total, since January 2021 ASF has been reported as present in 41 countries, affecting more than 828,000 pigs and more than 23,000 wild boar with more than 1 million animal losses, WOAH said.
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Macao, the world’s biggest gambling hub, eases COVID-19 mask mandate
Macao, the world’s biggest gambling hub, has eased its requirements for people to wear masks after mandating them for most of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starting Monday, people no longer have to wear masks when outdoors, the statement by authorities in the Chinese territory said. They’ll still be required in places like elderly care homes and hospitals and on public transit, but indoor venues such as casinos have the discretion to decide themselves whether to require masks.
The statement said the policy was eased because the virus situation in Macao "has continuously remained stable for the past two months."
In neighboring Hong Kong, authorities last week extended its mandate until March 8 to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses in cold weather, although they have signaled they may ease the requirements soon. Violators of the mandate requiring masks be worn in indoor and outdoor public areas can be fined $637 on the spot.
Both territories had followed China’s "zero-COVID" strategy using travel restrictions and quarantines to try to stamp out the virus for much of the pandemic. The strategy was abandoned late last year as more virulent viral strains spread.
Both cities later reopened to tourists, and China on Jan. 8 dropped mandatory quarantine for inbound travelers.
Pope Francis to visit Hungary at the end of April, will focus on European migration, Russia's war in Ukraine
Pope Francis will visit Hungary at the end of April, the Vatican said Monday, in a trip expected to focus on migration to Europe and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The April 28-30 trip to Budapest represents a proper state visit after Francis made a brief, hours-long stopover in 2021 to close out a church conference. That visit was visibly awkward, given that Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s hard-line views on migration and Francis' call for countries to welcome those fleeing war, hardship and poverty.
Since then, Hungary has accepted hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Francis, who has repeatedly expressed solidarity with Ukraine, met at the Vatican with Orban last April and thanked him for taking them in.
Upon arrival, Francis will meet with Orban, a contentious leader who has centered his political brand around a staunch rejection of immigration and a focus on preventing Hungary from becoming "mixed race."
POPE FRANCIS WARNS CHURCH CANNOT BECOME ‘PROGRESSIVE’ OR ‘CONSERVATIVE’ ‘POLITICAL PARTY’
While Hungary accepted Ukrainian refugees, it has refused to provide weapons to Kyiv or allow their transfer across its borders, and has lobbied against European Union sanctions on Moscow and held up some financial aid packages to Ukraine.
Francis has been supportive of Ukraine’s plight following Russia’s invasion -- likening it to a 1930s genocide of Ukrainians blamed on Soviet leader Joseph Stalin -- while Orban has been lukewarm in his support for Hungary’s eastern neighbor.
Still, Orban has cast his view of the war as being in line with the Vatican’s, saying during a speech Feb. 18 that his government and the papacy were the only powers in Europe advocating for peace in Ukraine.
POPE FRANCIS HINTS AT THE FUTURE, REVEALS MORE ABOUT RESIGNATION LETTER
Francis has also tried to maintain relations with Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church. Hungary was key in blocking the EU from sanctioning the head of the Russian church, Patriarch Kirill, over his support for the war.
Francis will meet with refugees during his visit, as well as children. On his final day, he will deliver a speech to the Hungarian academic and cultural world, in which he is likely to issue a message to Europe at large.
Francis, who just returned from Congo and South Sudan, has other trips confirmed or in the works this year. The 86-year-old pope, who marks his 10th anniversary as pontiff next month, is due to participate in World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal in August. He has said the Vatican is studying a possible trip to Mongolia at the end of September, after a brief stop in Marseille, France.
AP23057419400101
Israel calls up army battalions as serious violence hits West Bank following murder of Israeli brothers
JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israeli army is calling more battalions to the Nablus area on the West Bank following a deadly terror attack that saw two Israeli brothers killed and riots in the Palestinian Authority run village of Huwara near Nablus.
On Sunday night, about 400 Jewish settlers entered Huwara, threw stones at houses, and set homes and cars on fire in a rampage of revenge that lasted more than five hours following the murder of two Israeli brothers, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, from the nearby Jewish community of Har Bracha.
Thirty-six homes were burned, and most of the families living there had to be evacuated. Hundreds of cars, olive trees, and livestock were torched. The Palestinian health ministry said a 37-year-old man was shot and killed by Israeli fire on Sunday. The Palestinian Red Crescent said two others were shot and wounded, another was stabbed, and a fourth was beaten with an iron bar. Ninety-five people were treated for tear gas and smoke inhalation.
An IDF official told Fox News Digital the Israeli army considers the riots last night as "terror attacks." Six Jewish settlers were arrested overnight, but four of them were released by Monday morning.
PALESTINIAN GUNMAN SHOOTS AND KILLS TWO ISRAELI BROTHERS IN WEST BANK
The official also acknowledged that Sunday night's violent events diverted the forces hunting the Palestinian assailant that murdered the two Israelis and allowed him to escape.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the scene Monday morning, and said, "We expect difficult days ahead of us. It may be here in Judea and Samaria, in the Jerusalem area, or in the Gaza region."
While hoping to restore calm, he instructed the various security forces to be on high alert and "ensure readiness to face all threats, reinforce troops and activities on the ground, and most importantly, reach and apprehend the terrorists. We will not tolerate terrorism against Israelis and will operate in every way necessary," he said.
On Monday morning, the Israeli army told Huwara Palestinian shop owners to close their shops, and residents stayed in their homes, fearing escalation.
On Sunday evening, shortly after they received the devastating news, Esti Yaniv, the mother of the two slain Israeli brothers, called for unity. She sent out an emotional voice message to the youth of their community and urged them not to avenge her sons' deaths. "We have a massive hole in our heart; nothing will ever fill this hole – not construction, not protests, nothing."
Speaking to the Israeli Knesset Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his condolences to the parents of the murdered brothers, Hillel and Yagel Yaniv. Quoting from the Book of Samuel he said, "Beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided … God will avenge their blood, and we will avenge their blood."
He continued, "And when I say 'we', I mean the defense force of the State of Israel - the IDF and the security forces exclusively. They know how to do it. They do. They come to account with everyone who lays a hand on us."
Netanyahu condemned the rioters: "This is our answer to terrorism: to strike at terrorists, to strike at terrorists, and to deepen our roots in our country. But again - this is our role, that of the government and that of the security forces. We will not accept a reality in which a man who is honest in his eyes will do: setting fire to houses, burning cars, and premeditatedly harming innocents."
ISRAELI FORCES EXCHANGE HEAVY FIRE IN WEST BANK RAID ON PALESTINIAN MILITANTS
Sunday's events drew broad condemnations from the International community. The European Union said it was "alarmed" by the violence, adding that "authorities on all sides must intervene now to stop this endless cycle of violence."
Tor Wennesland, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, released a statement saying, "There can be no justification for terrorism, nor for arson and acts of revenge against civilians. All perpetrators of violence must be held accountable. Violence, provocations, and incitement must stop immediately and be unequivocally condemned by all."
On Sunday, while the shooting attack took place, a multilateral summit was held in Aqaba, Jordan, with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, and American security and diplomatic representatives to find a solution for the recent escalation in the West Bank. The talks, rare in their occurrence, were comprehensive and frank.
A joint statement released Sunday noted, "The two sides (Palestinian and Israeli sides) affirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them, and to work toward a just and lasting peace." It also continued, "They reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence."
Israeli troops also had to remove settlers from the previously evacuated Evyatar settlement near Nablus. The settlers had decided to return and camp in the outpost.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power party, called for a "real war on terrorism" and legalizing the outpost, which troops were once again clearing. He was speaking at the Evyatar outpost, strongly stating, "I understand the hard feelings, but this isn't the way. We can't take the law into our hands".
Tensions in the West Bank between Israel and the Palestinians have been growing in recent months. The last IDF raid in Nablus targeted three members of the "Lion Dens" militants, resulting in the death of 11 Palestinians and dozens injured.
c481356b-Terror attack
International Energy Agency says SUVs pose environmental issues, produce more greenhouse gas emissions
Ever bigger cars pose a growing problem for the environment because they produce more greenhouse gas emissions and need larger batteries than their smaller cousins, according to the International Energy Agency.
The Paris-based body suggested Monday that it’s time for the car industry to downsize its vehicles, citing data that showed the world’s 330 million sports utility vehicles, or SUVs, pumped out almost 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2022.
That’s more than the annual emissions of an industrial nation like Germany.
"The shift towards heavier and less fuel-efficient conventional vehicles increases growth in both oil demand and CO2 emissions," the agency said, noting that SUVs consume about a fifth more gasoline than an average medium-sized car.
HOW TO MAKE A CLASSIC CAR GREEN WHILE STILL GUZZLING GAS
"Between 2021 and 2022, oil use in conventional cars, excluding SUVs, remained roughly the same, but the oil consumption of SUVs globally increased by 500,000 barrels per day, accounting for one-third of the total growth in oil demand," it said.
And while conventional vehicle sales slowed slightly in 2022, by about 1 million SUVs and 1 million smaller cars, sales of electric vehicles almost doubled to a record of more than 10 million. For the first time, electric SUVs outpaced electric non-SUVs, at 5.5 million compared to 5.3 million.
VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS FORCE STATE TO ADOPT CALIFORNIA'S CRACKDOWN ON GAS CARS
Electric SUVs require larger batteries than smaller cars, the agency noted.
"A growing electric SUV market would impose additional pressure on battery supply chains and further increase demand for the critical minerals needed to make the batteries," it said.
The IEA urged policymakers and manufacturers to address the issue and suggested three possible actions: "Downsizing of the average car size; increasing battery swapping; and investing in innovative battery technologies."
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What Victory Looks Like To Putin
Putin addresses the Federal Assembly on Feb. 21. Sergei Savostyanov / TASS
Tatiana Stanovaya, Moscow Times: A Fight for Survival: What Victory Looks Like to Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state of the nation address on Feb. 21 was eagerly anticipated inside Russia, yet it shed no light on the question that is foremost on the minds of the Russian elite and public: how Putin intends to win this war.
The address had been postponed from last year, prompting speculation that Putin didn’t know what to say amid the lack of victories at the front. It’s more likely, however, that he was just too immersed in his unsuccessful military campaign to find the time. In the end, the address was a mixture of what Putin considered it necessary to say (the geopolitical part about the “crazy” West), and what he is required to say under the constitution (an update on Russia’s socioeconomic situation).
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Just as Ukraine President Zelensky has framed the war as a fight for the existence of Ukraine as a nation state, Russian President Putin has done the same thing in Russia.... Russia issues warning about future of Ukraine conflict (RT).
Bottom line. This is a war that is going to be decided on the battlefield, and the end of it will occur when the losing side agrees to the terms of the other.
So what does victory look like to Putin? IMHO It has changed since the start of the war last year.
From what I am hearing, Putin's current version of victory is the fracturing of Ukraine where some (if not all) of the Russian speaking portions of Ukraine join the Russian Federation. The parts of the country that are dominated by Ukrainian speakers will permitted to exist as Ukraine. A commitment by Ukraine to never enter NATO or any other defense bloc without Moscow's approval. And the demilitarization of its military.
Will this happen? I do not know. It all comes down to what will the West do. But I do know that the Kremlin is preparing for a long war that may last for years. To put it into context. The second Chechen war fought with Putin as the Russian President lasted 9 years. The war in eastern Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014. My nightmare scenario sees the Ukraine war grinding on for 3 to 5 years.
Germany pushes back on call to terminate government’s Facebook page over data privacy concerns
The German government on Monday pushed back against a demand by the country's data protection commissioner to take down its Facebook page over data privacy concerns.
The commissioner, Ulrich Kelber, said Wednesday that he had given the government's press office four weeks to shut down the page.
"All public agencies have a responsibility to uphold the law in exemplary fashion," Kelber said. "The result of my assessments is that this is currently impossible when running a fan page because of the wide-ranging processing of users' personal data."
He argued that people who run such Facebook pages and the social network's owner, Meta, are jointly responsible for what is done with users' personal data, and that the government was unable to prove that data protection principles — a deeply held concern in Germany — were being adhered to.
The government will use the coming weeks to examine Kelber's decision carefully and decide on its next steps, spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said.
"We are of the opinion that Facebook alone is responsible for its data processing under data protection law," he told reporters in Berlin. He added that obtaining legal clarity is important for all concerned.
"From our point of view, our Facebook presence is an important part of our public relations work which we would like to stick with for the time being," Büchner said. He argued that social media also offer an important platform to combat disinformation directly in a time of crisis.
Haiti's former interim Prime Minister Gérard Latortue dies at the age of 88
Gérard Latortue, a former interim prime minister of Haiti who helped rebuild and unite the country after a violent coup in the mid-2000s, has died. He was 88.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced Latortue's death Monday, saying it was a tremendous loss for the nation. He described Latortue as "a reformer, a convinced patriot, an eminent technocrat, a voice of change, of development (and) a supporter of democracy."
Latortue was a former exile who was sworn in as interim prime minister in March 2004 following months of bloodshed and political strife that left more than 300 dead and culminated in the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The turmoil at the time prompted the U.S. military to escalate its mission in Haiti.
UN CONDEMNS HAITIAN GANG VIOLENCE SPIKE
In a July 2004 interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Latortue vowed to fight corruption and disarm powerful gangs as he requested $1.3 billion from the international community to help rebuild Haiti after the violent revolt.
In September 2005, he welcomed former U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice to Haiti, where she stressed the need for local officials to accelerate the process to hold general elections.
Latortue said at the time that his administration shared the same concerns as the U.S. government and the international community, and that the administration would honor the results of the upcoming elections.
SUSPECTED HAITIAN GANG MEMBER TIED TO MURDERS OF 6 COPS ARRESTED
"This government has no concerns whatsoever as to who will be the next president. Whoever that is, we will greet that person with open arms and pass power on to him or her," Latortue said at the time.
In February 2006, Haiti held general elections to replace the interim government of Latortue, who was succeeded by former Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis. The provisional president, Boniface Alexandre, was succeeded by former President René Préval.
On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant tweeted that Latortue was "a pragmatic politician who knew how, in a very difficult context, to lead the country to free and democratic elections."
Latortue had previously served as Haiti's foreign minister, as a business consultant in Miami and as an official with the U.N. Industrial Development Organization in Africa.
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Montenegro lawmakers elect judges to country's top court, ending stalemate that threatened to halt NATO bid
Montenegro's lawmakers on Monday elected all but one of the judges of the country's top court, ending a stalemate that has threatened to halt the Balkan nation's European Union membership bid.
Montenegro's Constitutional Court has been blocked for months with main political players failing to agree on new members. The court has seven judges but four places have been vacant since September.
EU officials have warned Montenegro that it must allow for the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court if it wants continue on its path to join the EU. The court is crucial for the rule of law and as the country holds an important presidential election next month.
MONTENEGRO PM: RUSSIA'S ACTS 'DESTRUCTIVE AND PRIMITIVE'
Lawmakers on Monday approved three out of four judges but failed to agree on the fourth candidate. The vote still means that the court is formally unblocked despite lacking one member. A new vote to elect the fourth judge is expected within weeks.
"Good news from Montenegro today! " tweeted Vladimir Bilcik, the European Parliament member dealing with the region. "I hope a fourth judge can be elected soon. The culture of dialogue and compromise across party lines is the only way forward for progress on the EU path."
MARC THIESSEN: TRUMP, PUTIN, NATO AND THE MONTENEGRO QUESTION
Montenegro has been locked in a political crisis for months after its government fell in a no-confidence vote and main political players couldn't agree on whether to call an early election or try to form a new government.
The presidential vote on March 19 is expected to reflect the divisions among pro-Western, and pro-Serbia and pro-Russia voters, in the Balkan nation of around 620,000 people. Long-serving pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic is running for another term in office.
Montenegro used to be part of a union with Serbia before splitting in 2006. The country joined NATO in 2017, defying Russian opposition, and is widely considered as the next in line for EU membership.
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Kidnapped archaeologist, 2 others released after being held hostage in Papua New Guinea for ransom
After spending a week held hostage by an armed group demanding a ransom in Papua New Guinea’s remote Highlands region, an archaeologist is expected to return to Australia soon.
On Monday, police and soldiers were hunting the group of around 20 gunmen who on Sunday released New Zealand citizen Bryce Barker, a professor at Australia’s University of Southern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea nationals Jemina Haro and Teppsy Beni.
The three were taken captive Feb. 19 while conducting fieldwork at Mount Bosavi in the wilds of the South Pacific island nation. A fourth hostage had already been released.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong tweeted Sunday that the former hostages "will soon be reunited with their families."
The three were flown to Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby where they were welcomed by the nation’s Prime Minister James Marape.
"It was a random, opportunistic crime that took place, but something that I condemned in the various strongest terms possible," Marape told reporters.
He said the three hostages were secured "through covert operations" without paying the $993,000 ransom. However, media reports say a significantly smaller ransom had been paid.
ARMED CRIMINALS HOLDING 4 HOSTAGE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Kidnap for ransom is an uncommon crime in Papua New Guinea, a tribal society of 9 million people who are mostly subsistence farmers.
Marape said police remained determined to catch the perpetrators.
"Let me tell all the criminals: Police firepower is always higher than criminal firepower. I will not tolerate this sort of nonsense anymore," Marape told reporters, adding that police and soldiers remained at the crime scene.
USQ Vice-Chancellor Geraldine Mackenzie said Sunday the university was relieved to hear their much-loved colleague and his research team had been released.
"Bryce is a highly regarded archaeologist and a valued colleague at the University of Southern Queensland and in the wider archaeological community. He has many years experience in undertaking research in PNG," Mackenzie said. "Our deepest thanks go to the governments of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, and the many people who worked tirelessly during this extremely difficult and sensitive time to secure their release."
The Philippines joins the US in search for missing Taiwanese fishing vessel carrying 6 people
The Philippine coast guard said Monday it has joined a search for a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel carrying six people, which was last spotted more than a week ago off Palau in the western Pacific.
U.S. Coast Guard aircraft have helped carry out a search, along with other Taiwanese fishing vessels, for Sheng Feng No. 128, which was last seen Feb. 17 with one Taiwanese and five Indonesian fishermen about 414 nautical miles northwest of Palau, the Philippine coast guard said, citing a report from Taiwanese authorities.
After Taiwanese coast guard officials sought help, the Philippine coast guard said it deployed a Cessna plane Monday and ordered five regional commands to launch a search off the country’s eastern coast where the missing fishing vessel may have drifted from the Pacific.
Two more Taiwanese coast guard vessels were joining the ongoing search, the Philippine coast guard said.
Japan, New Zealand foreign ministers agree to speed up talks on intelligence sharing as China concerns grow
The foreign ministers of Japan and New Zealand agreed on Monday to speed up talks on an intelligence sharing pact as the two island nations vowed to strengthen security ties and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region amid shared concern over an increasingly assertive China.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and her Japanese counterpart, Yashimasa Hayashi, also agreed during their talks in Tokyo to collaborate on priority issues for Pacific Island nations such as climate change, maritime security and infrastructure.
The two countries pledged to ensure that the Pacific Island region, where China's influence is rapidly expanding, remains stable and prosperous and free from foreign interference and coercion, and that the "rights, freedoms and sovereignty of all countries regardless of size or power are protected," according to a statement released by Japan's Foreign Ministry.
JAPAN EASES CORONAVIRUS MEASURES FOR TOURISTS FROM CHINA BY ONLY TESTING RANDOM PASSENGERS
Hayashi said Japan, under its new National Security Strategy, is strengthening cooperation with like-minded countries to maintain and expand the "free and open" international order, and that cooperation with New Zealand is extremely important.
In December, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government adopted key security and defense upgrades, including a counterstrike capability that breaks with the post-World War II principle limiting Japan to self-defense, while doubling defense spending in five years.
JAPANESE STARTUP ANNOUNCES PLANS TO LAUNCH COMMERCIAL SPACE VIEWING BALLOON FLIGHTS
Kishida told a parliamentary session on Monday that the Defense Ministry is purchasing 400 U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles for deployment as early as 2026. The Tomahawks would be used on Aegis radar-equipped destroyers and would be capable of striking targets as far as 1,000 miles away.
But potential counter-strike usage requires highly advanced cyber-security and intelligence, which Japan lacks. It has been hoping to develop closer ties with members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance and has signed intelligence-sharing agreements with the United States, Australia and Britain, and is discussing pacts with the two remaining members, New Zealand and Canada.
Hayashi said he and Mahuta agreed to "accelerate an early conclusion of an information security agreement, which will be a foundation of security and defense cooperation between the two countries."
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Western Leaders Are Privately Admiting That Ukraine Can't Win The War
Ukrainian servicemen of the 80th Independent Air Assault Brigade take a break at their base near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Consortium News: Western Leaders Privately Say Ukraine Can’t Win the War
The German and French leaders have told Ukraine they must seek peace with Russia in exchange for a post-war defense pact, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Western leaders privately told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine can not win the war against Russia and that it should begin peace talks with Moscow this year in exchange for closer ties with NATO.
The private communications are at odds with public statements from Western leaders who routinely say they will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes until it achieves victory on the battlefield.
The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the private remarks to Zelenksy, said:
“The public rhetoric masks deepening private doubts among politicians in the U.K., France and Germany that Ukraine will be able to expel the Russians from eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014, and a belief that the West can only help sustain the war effort for so long, especially if the conflict settles into a stalemate, officials from the three countries say.
‘We keep repeating that Russia mustn’t win, but what does that mean? If the war goes on for long enough with this intensity, Ukraine’s losses will become unbearable,’ a senior French official said. ‘And no one believes they will be able to retrieve Crimea.’
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Zelensky at an Élysée Palace dinner earlier this month that he must consider peace talks with Moscow, the Journal reported.
According to its source, the newspaper quoted Macron as telling Zelensky that “even mortal enemies like France and Germany had to make peace after World War II.”
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Ukraine President Zelensky is not listening .... Zelensky Says Ukraine Is Preparing to Attack Crimea (Antiwar.com).
On a side note. I always ask my Ukrainian friends and family members who are 100% convinced that Ukraine will win the war on how can that be accomplished when Russia has ten times the manpower, resources, and fire power committed to the war that Ukraine has. I am still waiting for an answer.
Could Climate Engineering Trigger A War?
Washington Post: A ‘climate solution’ that spies worry could trigger war
It sounds like something out of science fiction: A country suffering from heat, flooding or crop failures decides on its own to send out a fleet of aircraft to spray a fine, sun-blocking mist into the earth’s atmosphere, reducing temperatures and providing relief to parched populations.
Other countries view it as a threat to their own citizens and ready a military response. But members of the U.S. intelligence community and other national security officials were worried enough last year to plot how to avert a war triggered by this kind of climate engineering.
In a role-playing exercise, they practiced managing the tensions that would be unleashed, according to people familiar with the exercise, a sign that they see it as a credible threat in need of a strategy.
Read more ....
Update: Climate engineering is the greatest, most immediate threat to the human race – Dane Wigington of Geoengineering Watch (BizNews)
WNU Editor: I understand the science and how climate engineering can lower sunlight and cool down temperatures. Major volcanic eruptions in the past where mega-tons of particulate matter were blasted into the atmosphere have always resulted in global temperature dropping for 2 to 3 years. But lowering the sunlight will also have an immediate impact on food production.
Cooler temperatures .... but shortages in food resulting in hunger and maybe famine. This climate solution has a lot of drawbacks.
After Many Promises, Germany's Military Is Still In A Dire State
Politico.eu: Germany’s new defense minister faces ‘ticking time bombs’ in his armed forces
Boris Pistorius’ honeymoon might soon be over as he faces fights over reforms and budget for the military.
BERLIN — Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has swiftly conquered the hearts and minds of the security community — and enjoys soaring polling among German citizens. Yet massive challenges, some of them deeply ingrained in his ministry’s structures, risk derailing him from his popularity path.
Barely four weeks into his tenure, Pistorius gained a major win in almost instantly securing long-discussed German tanks for Ukraine. But he’s also garnered credibility by speaking plainly about the state of his country’s armed forces and making bold demands of his boss — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At the Munich Security Conference this past weekend, Pistorius earned applause by saying, “Ukraine must win this war” — a clear formulation that Scholz has yet to utter. And while Scholz reiterated his point at the conference that Germany must “permanently” spend 2 percent of its economic output on defense, Pistorius pushed boldly ahead, stating “it must be clear to everyone” that “barely 2 percent” is not enough.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The problem is that even with all of these promises of revamping the German military, nothing has really changed .... The truth about Germany’s defense policy shift (Politico).
Update: Why am I not surprised. There are calls for even more money .... German army chief wants more money for equipment (DW). More here .... Only 30% of Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks are not combat ready, €100 billion insufficient (Frontier India).
Israel’s Netanyahu Is Said To Be Hold Regularly Meetings With Top Brass On Attacking Iran's Nuclear Facilities
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Israel Air Force base at Hatzerim, May 18, 2021. With him are Air Force chief Amikam Norkim (left) and deputy IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir (Kobi Gideon / GPO)
Times Of Israel: Netanyahu said to huddle repeatedly with military brass over possible attack on Iran
TV report says PM held 5 meetings with defense minister, IDF chief, Mossad head, Military Intelligence chief; he tells conference world must back up promise to thwart nuclear drive
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly held a series of secret high-level meetings with top military officials aimed at upping preparations for a possible confrontation with Iran.
According to a Channel 12 report on Tuesday, the premier huddled five times in recent weeks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad head David Barnea, Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva and other military brass to discuss readying for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
The report, which was not attributed to any source, included few other details about the discussions, and may itself be designed to telegraph the seriousness of Israeli threats to resort to military action in order to shut down Iran’s suspected drive toward a nuclear weapon, which Netanyahu has described as an existential threat.
Read more ....
Update #1: Israel Planning Iran Attack? Netanyahu Holds Meetings With Top Brass Amid "Military Action" Call (News 18)
Update #2: Report: Israel’s Netanyahu Held Meetings With Top Brass on Attacking Iran (Antiwar.com)
WNU Editor: The new government of Israeli PM Netanyahu has been putting pressure on the Biden administration to issue an ultimatum to Iran on its nuclear program. This leaked report on Netanyahu regularly meeting with his military brass over military action against Iran tells me that they are intensifying this pressure even more.
Greta Thunberg protests clean wind farm on indigenous lands as human rights abuses
Climate activist Greta Thunberg on Monday chained herself to the entrance of the Norway Ministry of Energy to protest wind turbines operating on lands used by the Sami Indigenous people to herd reindeer.
The well-known 20-year-old climate protester sat with activists from the indigenous group, mostly teenagers, to protest the government’s solution to expand clean energy and said going green should not come at the expense of indigenous rights.
The turbines in question currently run on land in Arctic Norway, which the nation’s Supreme Court ruled in 2021 violated the rights of the Sami who have used the land to raise reindeer for centuries. However, the wind farm has continued to operate.
GRETA THUNBERG TELLS 'VIEW' HOSTS THAT CLIMATE ACTIVISTS MUST NOW GO BEYOND 'LEGAL METHODS'
Activists from the Young Friends of The Earth Norway and the Norwegian Sami Association’s youth council NSR-Nuorat chained themselves, along with Thunberg, to the entrance of the ministry and blocked access to government building.
The activist accused the continued turbine operations as an "ongoing human rights violation" and said it "must come to an end."
"Indigenous rights, human rights, must go hand-in-hand with climate protection and climate action," Thunberg told Reuters. "That can't happen at the expense of some people. Then it is not climate justice."
The Sami – who live in an area known as Lapland which stretches across parts of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and over to Russia – have argued that the sight and sound of the powerful turbines disrupt their herding traditions.
The Sami have demanded that the wind farm be torn down.
Thunberg called the decision by the Norwegian government to ignore the Supreme Court ruling "absurd" and joined the five-day-long protest early Monday morning.
The protesters had originally occupied the ministry’s lobby but were kicked out by authorities Monday according to local media.
They then chained themselves to the front of the ministry which forced the ministry to ask employees to work from home.
Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland told Norwegian media that though the Supreme Court ruled on the legality of the turbines it did not rule on what should be done about the wind farm.
The protesters were eventually removed from the premises though they were not arrested.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
5d052527-Demonstration against the Fosen wind turbines not being demolished in Oslo
Japanese air force member sues government for allegedly failing to protect her from sexual harassment
A Japanese air force serviceperson filed a lawsuit against the government on Monday, saying it had failed to protect her from verbal sexual harassment from a male colleague and then systematically covered up the problem for more than a decade.
The plaintiff, who was only identified as a current member of the Air Self Defense Force, faced verbal sexual abuse starting as soon as she was assigned to Naha air base on the southern island of Okinawa in 2010, her lawyers said.
The plaintiff is seeking about $85,800 in damages from the government for failing to protect her from the harassment and failing to create a better working environment, and for not countering the criticism she received for speaking out, causing her to suffer for more than 10 years, lawyer Daisuke Tabuchi told reporters.
TENNESSEE MAN ALLEGEDLY USED APPLE AIRTAG TO STALK EX-WIFE: POLICE
The lawyers said the perpetrator also made similar comments to other female air force members, but they didn't openly complain to avoid friction. They said they want to call into question the tendency of the male-dominated military to neglect and cover up sexual harassment.
The Defense Ministry said it had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
The harassment from the plaintiff's colleague included frequent comments about her body and public questions about her sex life, her lawyers said.
She sought help from her supervisors and an SDF sexual harassment consultation department, but subsequent awareness training put her on the spot, giving her a reputation as a troublemaker rather than a victim, they said.
After six years' endurance, she filed an earlier lawsuit against the perpetrator in 2016 at Naha District Court, which dismissed the case the following year even though it acknowledged his sexual harassment. It said he could not be held responsible as an individual public servant and that the government should bear responsibility. The decision was upheld by a high court.
The plaintiff also filed a criminal complaint with the military police in 2019, but prosecutors eventually dropped the case, according to the lawyers.
They said she has developed stress and insomnia, and has suffered career setbacks in an alleged organizational revenge for her having spoken up.
Sexual misconduct complaints are often disregarded in Japan, and victims tend to face criticism for speaking up.
Lawyers say Japan's military has lagged behind private companies in dealing with harassment.
"The Self Defense Force has faced staff shortages and is desperately recruiting members, and yet problems like these are left unchecked," said Yukiko Takei, another lawyer for the plaintiff. "We must say governance at the Japanese military is not properly functioning."
Monday’s lawsuit comes weeks after another SDF sexual harassment victim, former army soldier Rina Gonoi, filed a civil lawsuit against five alleged perpetrators and the government over sexual abuse she suffered.
She went public with her experience last year, demanding that the Defense Ministry re-investigate her case, in which she said she was repeatedly assaulted by several servicemen, causing her to give up her military career. The army dropped her case after she initially filed a complaint in 2021, saying there was insufficient evidence.
Preliminary results of a ministry-wide harassment investigation launched in response to Gonoi’s case found 1,414 complaints, the ministry said in December. About 84% involved abuse of power, while sexual harassment accounted for 116 cases, or 7.7%, the ministry said.
Islamic State land mines kill 10 workers, injure 12 others in central Syria
Land mines left behind by the Islamic State group in central Syria went off in two different locations on Monday, killing 10 workers as they were collecting truffles in the countryside and wounding 12, state media reported.
According to Syria's state news agency SANA, the two mines exploded east of the central town of Salamiyeh. All the casualties were taken to a hospital in the town, the report added. It wasn't immediately clear what had triggered the explosions.
It is not uncommon for mines left behind years ago, when IS controlled large parts of Syria, to go off inadvertently, usually when stepped on, inflicting casualties.
DRONE STRIKE IN SYRIA KILLS 2 AL-QAIDA-LINKED OPERATIVES
IS was driven out of all the territory it once held in Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2019, but the extremists left behind countless bombs and booby traps, and large areas have yet to be cleared. The militant group’s sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks both in Syria and Iraq.
SANA said the first explosion on Monday killed nine people and wounded two while the second killed one person and wounded 10.
Earlier this month, IS sleeper cells attacked workers collecting truffles near the central town of Sukhna, killing at least 53 people, mostly workers but also some Syrian government security forces.
The truffles are a seasonal delicacy that can be sold for a high price. Since the truffle hunters work in large groups in remote areas, IS militants in previous years have repeatedly preyed on them, emerging from the desert to abduct them, kill some and ransom others for money.
'Hangry' woman's 911 call angers police, sparks public reprimand: 'Not a valid reason'
A Canadian woman called 911 to report a long line at a new Burger King drive-thru, prompting Mounties to issue a public reminder that being "hangry" is not a police emergency.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba tweeted Friday that they had received a call the day before from a woman in Steinbach "who was angry about the long drivethru line at the new Burger King."
"We realize you aren't you when you're hangry, but this is not a valid reason to dial 911," the tweet said, adding a reminder that "911 is ONLY for emergencies."
LAWSUIT ALLEGES BURGER KING SANDWICH SIZES IN ADS MISLEAD CUSTOMERS
Mounties spokeswoman Tara Seel noted that while the tweet was made partly in jest, frivolous calls to emergency services are a serious issue, according to the CBC.
"When you call 911 for a non-emergent matter, that can tie up an operator who could be dealing with an emergency," Seel told the outlet in an interview.
Seel went on to say that an excessive line at a restaurant fails to qualify as an emergency, and that Canadians should only call police if they have more pressing problems.
Seel noted that someone also recently called Manitoba RCMP to ask where they could get a Zamboni ice resurfacer, which she said also did not meet the standard of a true emergency.
"At 911, we're there for you. We want to help you and this is not at all to discourage anyone from calling," she said. "Just keep in mind the situation that you should be calling 911, and that is when there is an emergency situation where you need immediate assistance."
Sign of Burger King in Liverpool
Germany seeks to set up new wind power network with its North Sea neighbors
The German government said Monday that it wants to set up a new power line network to connect its own offshore wind parks with those of its North Sea neighbors in order to eliminate bottlenecks in the European energy market.
Governments in northwestern Europe are hoping that wind power at sea will provide a large share of their future clean energy needs. Germany in particular needs to boost offshore wind powered electricity generation to meet its ambitious goal of shutting down all coal powered plants and generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
One big problem at present is the lack of power lines, which results in bottlenecks that prevent wind park-generated electricity from reaching consumers and industries further inland.
GRETA THUNBERG REMOVED BY GERMAN POLICE FROM SITE OF MASS-CLIMATE CHANGE PROTEST AT COAL MINE
Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, said that by building more interconnectors at sea, his country will be able to tap additional cheap electricity from offshore wind parks, including from European neighbors such as Denmark and the Netherlands.
This will also boost security of supply at times of high demand and allow Germany to export more renewable energy when it has a surplus, he said.
North Sea nations last year announced plans to massively increase offshore wind power in the coming decades as part of an effort to combat climate change and become independent of fossil fuel imports from Russia.
2 experts slam World Health Organization's investigation into sexual abuse allegations in Congo
Two experts appointed by the World Health Organization to investigate allegations that some of its staffers sexually abused women during an Ebola outbreak in Congo dismissed the U.N. agency’s own efforts to excuse its handling of such misconduct as "an absurdity" on Monday, saying they were not satisfied that no senior officials have been fired.
Some of the victimized women say — nearly four years later — they are still waiting for the WHO to terminate those responsible or be offered any financial compensation.
In October 2020, Aichatou Mindaoudou and Julienne Lusenge were named by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to head a panel investigating reports that some WHO staffers sexually abused or exploited women in a conflict-ridden region of Congo during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak.
Their review found there were at least 83 perpetrators of abuse who worked for WHO and partners, including complaints of rape, forced abortions and the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, in the biggest known sex abuse scandal in the U.N. health agency’s history.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EMPLOYEE RELEASED IN MALI
The panel also found that three WHO managers mismanaged a sexual misconduct case first reported by the Associated Press, involving a U.N. doctor signing a contract to buy land for a woman he allegedly impregnated.
A confidential U.N. report submitted to the WHO last month concluded that the managers’ handling of that case didn't violate WHO’s sexual exploitation policies, because the woman wasn't considered a beneficiary of WHO aid since she didn't receive any humanitarian assistance.
"The restrictive approach favored by WHO is an absurdity," Mindaoudou and Lusenge said in a statement, adding that any gaps or ambiguity in those policies should be weighed in favor of the victim to ensure the agency is held accountable.
Anifa, a Congolese woman who worked at an Ebola clinic in northeastern Congo, said she was offered a job at double her salary in exchange for sex with a WHO doctor and was still traumatized by the experience.
"How many times do I have to speak before (the doctors) at WHO responsible for the sexual abuse are punished?" she asked. "If WHO does not take radical measures, we will conclude that the organization has been made rotten by rapists."
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION NOW SAYS GENDER 'EXISTS ON A CONTINUUM' AND IS 'BEYOND NON-BINARY'
Anifa, who didn't share her last name for fear of reprisals, said she didn't expect any financial compensation from the WHO, explaining that "money will not erase the wounds I have in my heart." She reported the alleged misconduct to the WHO in 2019, but never received a response.
WHO chief Tedros has said repeatedly the agency has a "zero tolerance" policy for sexual misconduct.
Mindaoudou, a former government minister in Niger and Lusenge, a human rights activist in Congo, also slammed the WHO for its failure to punish any senior staffers linked to the abuse.
"We are not satisfied," they told the AP. "The ‘zero tolerance policy’ does not mean engaging in subterfuge to make sure no one is responsible for sexual abuse and exploitation."
Paula Donovan, who co-leads Code Blue, which seeks to hold the U.N. accountable for sexual offenses, said it was striking that experts appointed by the WHO itself were so openly critical of the agency.
"Two courageous African women exposed sky-high levels of tolerance for misogyny and racism at the top of WHO," she said. "Now it’s up to governments to launch their own truly independent investigation into the organization’s leaders, beginning with Dr. Tedros, to root out the poison infecting WHO."
When allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation surfaced in the press in September 2020, Tedros said he was "outraged" and that anyone found to be involved would face serious consequences. WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan claimed the agency had "absolutely no details" of the abuse.
But the internal U.N. report noted that Tedros was informed of sexual abuse allegations in 2019 and that some cases of alleged misconduct were discussed by senior WHO staff shortly after they occurred.
The WHO has refused to comment on the internal U.N. report and the agency created a new department to prevent misconduct after the Congo sex abuse scandal. Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, who heads that work, told U.N. investigators that prior to being appointed, "sexual exploitation and abuse were not familiar terms to her."
Tedros said earlier this month that the agency has established a $2 million fund to help survivors of sexual abuse in Congo, but it's unclear how many women have obtained assistance.
Jeanette, a woman who says she was impregnated by a WHO doctor while working at an Ebola center in Butembo, said she was pressured into having an abortion, which nearly killed her. She said she is waiting for the WHO to punish the doctor responsible for her pregnancy and has had no offers of financial compensation.
"I don’t have the strength to work since the abortion," she said. "WHO should know that their staffers are flatterers, freeloaders and liars."
Anifa-congo-who
Mexican army clashes with angry border residents after soldiers randomly fired into a pickup truck, killing 3
Mexican army soldiers apparently clashed with residents of the rough border city of Nuevo Laredo, according to a rights activist.
Raymundo Ramos said Sunday that residents were angry because soldiers had fired into a pickup truck earlier in the day. Ramos said at least three people were killed.
The Mexican army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MEXICAN PRESIDENT HOPES CONVICTED EX-SECURITY CHIEF WILL TURN INFORMER
Videos of the incident posted on social media show residents scuffling with soldiers on a street near the bullet-ridden pickup truck.
In a taped statement, Ramos said troops fired indiscriminately into moving vehicles in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. Ramos claimed troops also fired rounds during the confrontation with residents.
Nuevo Laredo is dominated by the Northeast drug cartel, and has also been the scene of human rights violations by the military in the past.
Hundreds protest in Baghdad to denounce a proposed law that would increase Iraq’s electoral district size
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Baghdad on Monday to denounce a draft elections law that would increase the size of the country’s electoral districts, potentially undermining independent candidates.
The current legislation, under which the 2021 election was held, breaks up each of the country’s 18 provinces into several electoral districts. The law, which was a key demand of mass anti-government protests that kicked off in late 2019, was seen as giving independent candidates a better chance at winning.
Last week, Parliament debated the draft, which would return Iraq to having one electoral district per governorate. Independent lawmakers who objected to the proposal, walked out of the session, which ended early due to losing its quorum.
IRANIAN-BACKED MILITIA LAUNCHES ROCKETS AT TURKISH BASE IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The Parliament is set to discuss the proposed law again on Monday but lawmakers were not expected to vote on the proposal.
The return to a single district per province is backed by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed parties that forms the majority bloc in the current parliament, and which brought Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to power last year.
Monday’s protests took place as heavy security forces surrounded the Parliament and closed off Joumhouriya Bridge on the Tigris River that leads to the government areas of the heavily fortified Green Zone.
Israel Steps Up Talks With Saudi Arabia On Developing Closer Military And Intelligence Ties To Confront Iran
Bloomberg: Israel Steps up Talks With Saudi Arabia Over Ties to Combat Iran
Israel’s new government has stepped up US-backed talks with Saudi Arabia on developing closer military and intelligence ties in light of growing concerns about Iran, according to several people familiar with the discussions.
Officials from the two countries held exploratory meetings ahead of the recent US-Gulf Cooperation Council Working Group gathering on defense and security in Riyadh, six people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.
Further engagement is expected to take place in Prague to coincide with the Munich Security Conference this weekend, three of the people said. “We think that other regions integrating and beginning to sit at the same table with Israel is in the interest of stability and security in the region,” US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Dana Stroul, said in Riyadh on Monday.
Read more ....
Update #1: Israel said to boost its efforts for closer ties with Saudi Arabia to face down Iran (Times of Israel)
Update #2: Israel stepping up talks with Saudi Arabia over ties to combat Iran - report (i24 News).
Update #3: Israel, Saudi Arabia Hold Talks on Increasing Military Ties (Antiwar.com)
WNU Editor: The last thing the world needs right now is a major war in the Middle East.
Pentagon Report Says Military Bases Should Stop Selling Guns To Soldiers Under 25 To Prevent Suicides
FOX News: Pentagon panel recommends bases stop selling guns to troops under 25 to fight suicides
Independent Pentagon panel also recommends creating national database tracking firearm purchased on Defense Department property
An external evaluation of suicide in the U.S. military has produced a report calling for greater gun control restrictions for troops.
The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) was formed by the Department of Defense in March 2020 to help combat the rising rate of suicides among servicemembers.
In the committee's report, released Friday, the independent body recommends, "On DoD property, raise the minimum age for purchasing firearms and ammunition to 25 years."
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Firearms are used in 66% of suicides among active duty troops, 72% among reservists and 78% in the National Guard.
Also from the report .... The suicide rate for active-duty service members in 2021, the most recent data available, was 24.3 per 100,000 people, which was down from 28.7 in 2020, the highest active-duty suicide rate since the Defense Department started tracking the data in 2011.
The report is here ... Preventing Suicide in the U.S. Military: Recommendations from the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee.
Pentagon Report Says Military Bases should Stop Selling Guns To Soldiers Under 25 To Prevent Suicides
Slowing down access to firearms could prevent more suicides in the military, panel finds -- CBS
Pentagon panel says military bases should stop selling guns to troops under 25 to prevent suicides -- NYPost
Keeping firearms out of easy reach key to preventing military suicides -- Military Times
China Says The US Is 'Endangering Peace And Stability' By Flying Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait
Reuters: China says U.S. 'endangered' peace with Taiwan Strait fly-through
BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) -China accused the United States of "endangering" peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. military plane flew through the sensitive waterway on Monday, with the U.S. Navy responding that it had been in international airspace.
Beijing has been incensed by U.S. military missions through the narrow strait, most frequently of warships but occasionally of aircraft, saying China "has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction" over the waterway.
Taiwan and the United States dispute that saying it is an international waterway.
The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army said its forces closely monitored the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane, which is also used for anti-submarine missions, as it flew through the strait which separates China from Taiwan.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Beijing was quick to criticize this US surveillance plane's transit through the Taiwan Strait .... PLA criticizes US warplane's flight over Taiwan Straits (China Daily).
China Says The US Is 'Endangering Peace And Stability' By Flying Aircraft Through The Taiwan Strait
China protests US surveillance plane's Taiwan Strait flight -- AP
China alleges US 'endangered peace and stability' by flying aircraft through Taiwan Strait: report -- FOX News
China protests after US Navy jet flies through Taiwan Strait -- SCMP
American naval aircraft makes rare Taiwan Strait transit -- Focus Taiwan
Picture Of The Day
Supply Chain
An Army CH-47F Chinook assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division delivers relief supplies to Turkish authorities in Samandang, Turkey, Feb. 17, 2023. The 1AD CAB provides dynamic lift capability in direct support of USAID and Turkish relief efforts to those affected by the earthquakes in Turkey. Photo By: Army Spc. William Thompson
North Korea Holds Rare Meeting On Farming Amid Food Shortage
Farmers plant rice using a rice seedling transplanter during a media event at the Chongsan Cooperative Farm near Nampho City on May 9, 2022. © Kim Won Jin, AFP
France 24: North Korea's Kim opens farming summit amid reports of food shortages
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has opened a key party meeting to discuss agricultural development, state media said Monday, following a report of "grave" food shortages in the isolated country.
Normally such meetings are convened only once or twice a year, but the plenary comes just two months after a previous one, which also focused on agricultural issues.
The unusual frequency of the meetings focused on agriculture has fuelled speculation that there may be serious food shortages in North Korea now.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: North Korea has always had a crisis over food production. But it looks like it is getting worse .... North Korea on brink of return to 1990s famine as 'food rations' given to troops (Express).
North Korea Holds Rare Meeting On Farming Amid Food Shortage
North Korea Holds Rare Meeting on Farming Amid Food Shortage -- AP
North Korea calls agriculture meeting amid food crisis -- UPI
North Korea scrambles to address country's worsening food shortage -- NYPost
N Korea holds meeting on farming amid fears of food shortages -- Al Jazeera
North Korea Says Joint US - South Korea Military Drills Amount To ‘Declaration Of War’
Republic World: North Korea Warns US, Says 'provocative Acts' May Be Construed As A 'declaration Of War'
North Korea test-fired four "Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles" from the city of Kim Chaek towards the Sea of Japan on Friday morning.
North Korea test-fired four "Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles" from the city of Kim Chaek towards the Sea of Japan on Friday morning, according to reports in North Korean media.
This announcement coincided with joint military exercises hosted by the Pentagon and involving US and South Korean forces.
In response to what it sees as persistent "hostile and provocative practices" by the US, North Korea has warned that these actions may be construed as a 'declaration of war', according to a statement by Kwon Jong-gun, the director-general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's US affairs department, as reported by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Read more ....
Update #1: North Korea slams US-ROK visit to submarine base as ‘nuclear war demonstration’ (NK News)
Update #2: North Korea says US drills amount to ‘declaration of war’ (RT)
WNU Editor: Expect more missile tests .... North Korea says it fired cruise missiles as rivals trained (AP).
Pakistani police arrest retired army general on charges of inciting the public against national institutions
Pakistani police arrested Monday a retired army general and prominent supporter of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of inciting the public and government employees against national institutions, officials said.
The charge against retired Gen. Amjad Shoaib, which carries a seven-year sentence, came after he appeared on Pakistani BOL news channel on Saturday criticizing authorities for keeping Khan’s supporters jailed, especially in remote areas of the country.
They were arrested amid Khan’s latest campaign dubbed "fill the jail cells" with detainees — or "jail bharo" in Urdu — as a way to pressure the government into holding early elections.
Last Wednesday in the former premier's hometown of Lahore and some other urban areas, Khan’s supporters protested, hopped into police vans and posed for cameras, taunting police to arrest them en masse and defying a ban on rallies.
TALIBAN SECURITY FORCES KILL 2 MILITANTS FROM ISLAMIC STATE GROUP IN OVERNIGHT RAID
Police mostly stayed back but at least 200 Khan supporters were arrested in different places in eastern Punjab province and elsewhere, as Khan's supporters had aimed for.
In his TV appearance, Shoaib allegedly urged civil servants to refuse to do their duties. The charge against him claims Shoaib's remarks were part of a "planned conspiracy" to weaken the country. Shoaib does not hold any office in Khan’s party.
Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party, condemned the arrest of the 80-year-old Shoaib, saying such actions would "bring nothing but more hatred and anxiety."
'WESTERN AGENDA': TALIBAN BAN SALE OF BIRTH CONTROL, ACCORDING TO REPORT
Shahbaz Sharif replaced Khan as prime minister after the former cricket star turned Islamist politician was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Since then, Khan — who has claimed his ouster was a conspiracy backed by the U.S. — has been seeking early elections. Washington and Sharif have denied Khan's claims and Sharif has rejected calls for early elections, saying the vote would be held as planned later this year.
Sharif's government has struggled with lingering political instability but also a surge in militant attacks and violence over the past months across the country.
On Monday, suspected militants killed four workers and wounded three others at a coal mine in southwestern Pakistan, according to police official Syed Akbar. No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Harnai, a district in restive Baluchistan province that is home to most of the region's coal mines.
Separately, a shootout left two soldiers and two militants dead following a raid in North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said. Waziristan was a base for the Pakistani Taliban until the army claimed to have cleared the region of insurgents. However, attacks have continued, raising concerns the Pakistani Taliban are regrouping there.
AP23053496374215
Dead Hong Kong model Abby Choi's ex-husband, former in-laws detained on murder charges
Warning: Details in this story are disturbing.
The ex-husband and former in-laws of murdered Hong Kong model Abby Choi were detained Monday on charges of murder after body parts and a skull were found in a refrigerator and a cooking pot in their homes.
The case, which has gripped the city known for being low in violent crime, became a family affair after ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murdering Choi Sunday after the model disappeared Tuesday.
Kwong’s mother Jenny Li also has been charged with one count of perverting the course of justice.
LISTEN: INTRODUCING THE FOX TRUE CRIME PODCAST WITH EMILY COMPAGNO
Choi, who has 100,000 Instagram followers, last posted on Feb. 19 when she shared a photo of a shoot she had done with fashion magazine L’Officiel Monaco before she disappeared two days later.
Police found her dismembered body Friday in a refrigerator in the home rented by her former father-in-law, along with the skull belonging to a female believed to be the 28-year-old model.
Officials said the skull, which reportedly had a hole in it, was found in a pot seized from the home in a suburban Hong Kong area roughly 30-mintues from mainland China.
Other tools "used to dismember human bodies were found in the flat, including meat grinders, chainsaws, long raincoats, gloves and masks," Kowloon West Regional Crime Unit, Alan Chung, told reporters Saturday.
HONG KONG MODEL'S EX-HUSBAND, FAMILY, ARRESTED AFTER BODY FOUND DISMEMBERED
The lawyers of the family of four have not yet commented on the case and the defendants have yet to enter any pleas.
None of the four individuals have been granted bail and the case was adjourned until May.
Choi, who remarried Chris Tam, shared two children from her first marriage and two children from her second marriage.
According to a friend of Choi's, Bernard Cheng, the 28-year-old model shared a good relationship with both families and would travel with the families of her current and former husband.
However, according to Hong Kong police, Choi had ongoing financial disputes with her ex-husband and his family, and she allegedly owed them millions of dollars.
Police noted that "some people" were unhappy with Choi’s financial decisions.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
Police officers escort a suspect in connection with the killing of model Abby Choi, in Hong Kong
United Nations suspends flights in eastern Congo following helicopter attack
A United Nations helicopter came under heavy fire in eastern Congo, bringing the mission to suspend flights in the conflict-riddled region, the organization said Monday.
A helicopter returning from Walikale to the regional capital, Goma in North Kivu province, came under attack for 10 minutes last week but was able to land safely in Goma with all three crew and 10 passengers unharmed, said a statement by the U.N.'s World Food Program.
Flights have been suspended on specific routes in the region until the security situation can be reassessed, said the U.N. The helicopter delivers assistance to some of Congo's most remote areas which would otherwise be inaccessible because of poor roads or insecurity.
8 UN PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN CONGO HELICOPTER CRASH
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but this is the second time this month that a U.N. mission’s helicopter came under fire in North Kivu province. The previous incident killed a South African peacekeeper and injured another. The United Nations Security Council said the deliberate targeting of peacekeepers could constitute war crimes.
CONGO REPORTS 32 CIVILIANS KILLED BY REBELS, MILITIAS
Fighting in eastern Congo has been simmering for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources — while others try to defend their communities. The violence spiked in late 2021 when M23 rebels, which had been largely dormant for nearly a decade, resurfaced and started capturing territory.
The fighting has internally displaced more than 5 million people, threatening many civilians with starvation, according to several aid groups.
"For armed groups seeking to force civilians under their control, firing at aircraft may prove an easy way to suspend aid deliveries and influence food supplies into an area," said Benjamin Hunter, Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a risk intelligence firm.
GettyImages-641903102
Japan eases coronavirus measures for tourists from China by only testing random passengers
Japan is easing its coronavirus border measures for tourists from China beginning Wednesday by testing only random passengers, a top government spokesman said Monday.
Since December, Japan has been testing all travelers from mainland China at four designated airports on grounds of surging infections in that country and a lack of information. Visitors from China are also required to show a proof of pre-boarding negative test.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference that as of Wednesday, only random testing will be carried out on passengers from China.
JAPAN’S HERD IMMUNITY FOR COVID-19 NEARS 90%
The change is intended to "promote smooth international travel" taking into consideration relatively low infection rates among arrivals over the past two months, Matsuno said. All samples analysed at the border were of the omicron strains, which are already found inside Japan, he said.
Proof of pre-boarding negative test will still be required, he said.
Direct flights from China, currently only allowed to land at Narita, Haneda, Chubu and Kansai, will be expanded to other airports.
JAPAN WIDENS COVID RESTRICTIONS DUE TO OMICRON
China, which lifted its "zero-COVID" policy in December, retaliated for the stricter border measures imposed by Japan and South Korea by temporarily suspending short-term visas for the nationals of the two countries. China has since resumed issuing visas in Japan.
South Korea has already removed entry restrictions for short-term travelers from China since the beginning of January, as officials saw the pandemic in China being stabilized.
Japan plans to largely relax its mask-wearing requests on March 13 and leave it up to individuals. It will also downgrade COVID-19 to the equivalent of seasonal influenza in May.
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Brexit deal: Rishi Sunak, EU reportedly reach agreement on Northern Ireland Protocol
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly reached a deal in London Monday while meeting for what 10 Downing Street billed as "final talks" to end years of wrangling and seal a deal to resolve their thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland.
"An agreement has been reached. The deal is done," a senior government source told the BBC.
In a joint statement Sunday evening, Sunak and von der Leyen said they "agreed to continue their work in person toward shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland."
The two sides announced that von der Leyen would travel to England for a meeting with Sunak in Windsor, about 20 miles west of London. A joint news conference is penciled in, followed by a statement by Sunak to the House of Commons. A meeting with King Charles III is also planned and will likely touch on a variety of issues, including climate change and the war in Ukraine.
UK PM SUNAK HEADS TO NORTHERN IRELAND, FUELING SPECULATION OF POST-BREXIT TRADE TALKS
Striking an agreement would be a victory for Sunak – but not the end of his troubles. Selling the deal to his own Conservative Party and its Northern Ireland allies may be tougher.
"The king is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the government’s advice that he should do so," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told The Associated Press.
If all goes to plan, the deal could end a dispute that has soured U.K.-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that shares a border with an EU member, the Republic of Ireland. When the U.K. left the bloc in 2020, the two sides agreed to keep the Irish border free of customs posts and other checks because an open border is a key pillar of Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Instead, there are checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. That angered British unionist politicians in Belfast, who say the new trade border in the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
What's known as the Northern Ireland Protocol has been criticized as potentially jeopardizing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian violence known as The Troubles. The Democratic Unionist Party collapsed Northern Ireland’s Protestant-Catholic power-sharing government a year ago in protest and has refused to return until the rules are scrapped or substantially rewritten.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab spoke to Sky News Sunday about taking "more of an intelligence-based approach" to good checks at Irish ports, which "would in itself involve a significant, substantial scaling back of the role of the ECJ." He also spoke of the prospect of a "proper democratic check coming out of the institutions in Stormont."
Hints of compromise toward the EU also have sparked opposition from hard-line euroskeptics who form a powerful bloc in Sunak’s governing Conservative Party. Critics include former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who as leader at the time of Brexit signed off on the trade rules that he now derides. Johnson was ousted by the Conservatives last year over ethics scandals but is widely believed to hope for a comeback.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent pro-Brexit Tory lawmaker, said acceptance of any deal "will all depend" on the DUP. "If the DUP are against it, I think there will be quite a significant number of Conservatives who are unhappy," Rees-Moog said.
Sunak has said Parliament will get to debate any deal he strikes, but he hasn't promised lawmakers a binding vote on it.
During the long Brexit divorce, the U.K. government introduced a bill that would let it unilaterally rip up parts of the Brexit agreement, a move the EU called illegal. The bloc accused the U.K. of failing to honor the legally binding treaty it had signed regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The mood between London and Brussels improved after Sunak, a pragmatic Brexit supporter, took office in October, replacing Johnson's predecessor Liz Truss after her short tenure.
A deal is likely to remove customs checks on the vast majority of goods moving between the U.K. and Northern Ireland and give Northern Ireland lawmakers some say over EU rules that apply there as part of the protocol.
The thorniest issue is the role of the European Court of Justice in resolving any disputes that arise over the rules. The U.K. and the EU agreed in their Brexit divorce deal to give the European court that authority. But the DUP and Conservative Brexiteers insist the court must have no jurisdiction in U.K. matters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Brexit deal: Rishi Sunak, EU enter 'final talks' on Northern Ireland Protocol
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are to meet outside London Monday for what 10 Downing Street is billing as "final talks" to end years of wrangling and seal a deal to resolve their thorny post-Brexit trade dispute over Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement Sunday, Sunak and von der Leyen said they "agreed to continue their work in person toward shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland."
The two sides announced that von der Leyen will travel to England for a meeting with Sunak in Windsor, about 20 miles west of London. A joint news conference is penciled in, followed by a statement by Sunak to the House of Commons. A meeting with King Charles III is also planned and will likely touch on a variety of issues, including climate change and the war in Ukraine.
Striking an agreement would be a victory for Sunak – but not the end of his troubles. Selling the deal to his own Conservative Party and its Northern Ireland allies may be tougher.
UK PM SUNAK HEADS TO NORTHERN IRELAND, FUELING SPECULATION OF POST-BREXIT TRADE TALKS
"The king is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the government’s advice that he should do so," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told The Associated Press.
If all goes to plan, the deal could end a dispute that has soured U.K.-EU relations, sparked the collapse of the Belfast-based regional government and shaken Northern Ireland’s decades-old peace process.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that shares a border with an EU member, the Republic of Ireland. When the U.K. left the bloc in 2020, the two sides agreed to keep the Irish border free of customs posts and other checks because an open border is a key pillar of Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Instead, there are checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. That angered British unionist politicians in Belfast, who say the new trade border in the Irish Sea undermines Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
What's known as the Northern Ireland Protocol has been criticized as potentially jeopardizing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian violence known as The Troubles. The Democratic Unionist Party collapsed Northern Ireland’s Protestant-Catholic power-sharing government a year ago in protest and has refused to return until the rules are scrapped or substantially rewritten.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab spoke to Sky News Sunday about taking "more of an intelligence-based approach" to good checks at Irish ports, which "would in itself involve a significant, substantial scaling back of the role of the ECJ." He also spoke of the prospect of a "proper democratic check coming out of the institutions in Stormont."
Hints of compromise toward the EU also have sparked opposition from hard-line euroskeptics who form a powerful bloc in Sunak’s governing Conservative Party. Critics include former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who as leader at the time of Brexit signed off on the trade rules that he now derides. Johnson was ousted by the Conservatives last year over ethics scandals but is widely believed to hope for a comeback.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent pro-Brexit Tory lawmaker, said acceptance of any deal "will all depend" on the DUP. "If the DUP are against it, I think there will be quite a significant number of Conservatives who are unhappy," Rees-Moog said.
Sunak has said Parliament will get to debate any deal he strikes, but he hasn't promised lawmakers a binding vote on it.
During the long Brexit divorce, the U.K. government introduced a bill that would let it unilaterally rip up parts of the Brexit agreement, a move the EU called illegal. The bloc accused the U.K. of failing to honor the legally binding treaty it had signed regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The mood between London and Brussels improved after Sunak, a pragmatic Brexit supporter, took office in October, replacing Johnson's predecessor Liz Truss after her short tenure.
A deal is likely to remove customs checks on the vast majority of goods moving between the U.K. and Northern Ireland and give Northern Ireland lawmakers some say over EU rules that apply there as part of the protocol.
The thorniest issue is the role of the European Court of Justice in resolving any disputes that arise over the rules. The U.K. and the EU agreed in their Brexit divorce deal to give the European court that authority. But the DUP and Conservative Brexiteers insist the court must have no jurisdiction in U.K. matters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Egypt's foreign minister meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad, promises to deliver more earthquake aid
Egypt's foreign minister Monday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus and promised to deliver more aid to the quake-hit country.
Sameh Shoukry is Egypt's most senior official to visit Syria since 2011, a day after Cairo's parliament speaker, Hanafy el-Gebaly, and a delegation of top Arab lawmakers visited Assad in a push to end Syria’s political isolation.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 after Assad’s government cracked down brutally on mass protests against his rule — an uprising that quickly descended into a brutal civil war. The conflict has killed over 300,000 people and displaced half the country’s population of 23 million.
Though several Arab countries began to rekindle ties with Assad in recent years, the process intensified after this month's massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria and killed more than 47,000 people, including over 1,400 people in government-controlled areas of Syria and more than 2,400 in the rebel-held northwest. The quake further compounded the war-torn country's deep economic crisis.
Egypt, Jordan Saudi Arabia are among U.S. allies in the Middle East that have delivered quake aid to government-held areas in Syria. The United Arab Emirates sent more aid-loaded planes than any other nation, including Syria’s key allies Russia and Iran.
US MILITARY SHOOTS DOWN IRANIAN-MADE DRONE OVER OIL SITE IN SYRIA
Shoukry told the media after meeting Assad and also his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, that Egypt has thus far sent 1,500 tons of humanitarian aid.
"We will continue to provide whatever humanitarian aid we can," Shoukry said. When asked about why Cairo has not yet normalized ties with Damascus, he responded by saying his visit was "first and foremost humanitarian".
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi spoke with Assad over the phone on less than 48 hours after the earthquake hit, the first time the two had spoken in over a decade. For years, many public figures in Egypt have called on el-Sissi’s government to strengthen relations with Syria. Shoukry has also pushed for Damascus’s return to the Cairo-based Arab League.
AP23058388856403
Holy town in India, built on unstable terrain, is sinking
Inside a shrine overlooking snow-capped mountains, Hindu priests heaped spoonfuls of puffed rice and ghee into a crackling fire. They closed their eyes and chanted, hoping their prayers would somehow turn back time and save their holy — and sinking — town.
For months, the roughly 20,000 residents in Joshimath, burrowed in the Himalayas and revered by Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, have watched the earth slowly swallow their community. They pleaded for help that never arrived, and in January their desperate plight made it into the international spotlight.
But by then, Joshimath was already a disaster zone. Multistoried hotels slumped to one side; cracked roads gaped open. More than 860 homes were uninhabitable, splayed by deep fissures. And instead of saviors they got bulldozers that razed swaths of the town.
INDIAN COUGH SYRUP MANUFACTURER LINKED TO DEATHS OF 19 CHILDREN IN UZBEKISTAN HALTS PRODUCTION
The holy town was built on piles of debris left behind by landslides and earthquakes. Scientists have warned for decades that Joshimath could not withstand the level of heavy construction that has recently been taking place.
"Cracks are widening every day and people are in fear. … It’s a time bomb," said Atul Sati, an activist with the Save Joshimath Committee.
Joshimath’s future is at risk, experts and activists say, due in part to a push backed by the prime minister’s political party to grow religious tourism in Uttarakhand, the holy town's home state. On top of climate change, extensive new construction to accommodate more tourists and accelerate hydropower projects in the region is exacerbating subsidence — the sinking of land.
Joshimath is said to have special spiritual powers and believed to be where Hindu guru Adi Shankaracharya found enlightenment in the 8th century before going on to establish four monasteries across India, including one in Joshimath.
Visitors pass through the town on their way to the famous Sikh shrine, Hemkund Sahib, and the Hindu temple, Badrinath.
"It must be protected," said Brahmachari Mukundanand, a local priest who called Joshimath the "brain of North India" and explained that "our body can still function if some limbs are cut off. But if anything happens to our brain, we can’t function. … Its survival is extremely important."
The town’s loose topsoil and soft rocks can only support so much and that limit, according to environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, may have already been breached.
"In the short term, you might think it’s development. But in the long term, it is actually devastation," he said.
At least 240 families have been forced to relocate without knowing if they would be able to return.
Prabha Sati, who fled Joshimath last month when her home began to crack and tilt, came back to grab her belongings before state officials demolished her home.
"Now I will have to leave everything behind. Every small piece of it will be destroyed," she said, blinking back tears.
Authorities, ignoring expert warnings, have continued to develop costly projects in the region, including a slew of hydropower stations and a lengthy highway. The latter is aimed at further boosting religious tourism, a key plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Uttarakhand, dotted with several holy shrines, would see a surge in tourists in the next decade thanks to improved infrastructure, Modi said in 2021. Nearly 500,000 passed through Joshimath in 2019, state data shows.
A big draw is the Char Dham pilgrimage where pilgrims traverse challenging terrain and harsh weather to reach four, high-altitude temples. In 2022, 200 out of the 250,000 pilgrims died while making the journey. Authorities said the rise in visitors was straining existing infrastructure.
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DEMANDS INDIA PROSECUTE ATTACKS OVER COWS
Already underway, the Char Dham infrastructure project, aims to make the journey more accessible via a long and wide all-weather highway and railway line that would crisscross through the mountains.
Some experts fear the project will exacerbate the fragile situation in the Himalayas where several towns are built atop debris.
To create such wide roads, engineers would need to smash boulders, cut trees and strip shrubbery, which would weaken slopes and make them "more susceptible to natural disasters," said veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra.
While construction for the project near Joshimath was paused last month, locals feared it was too late. A long crack running across one of the front walls in the famed Adi Shankaracharya monastery had deepened worryingly in recent weeks, said Vishnu Priyanand, one of the priests.
"Let places of worship remain as places of worship. Don’t make them tourist spots," he pleaded.
It’s not just the highways.
In late January, hundreds of residents protested against the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan hydropower station located near Joshimath.
"Our town is on the verge of destruction because of this project," said Atul Sati, the Save Joshimath Committee member.
Locals say construction blasts for a 7-mile tunnel for the station are causing homes to crumble. Work has been suspended but NTPC officials deny any link to Joshimath’s subsidence. Various government agencies were conducting surveys to determine what caused the damage, said Himanshu Khurana, the officer in charge of Chamoli district where Joshimath is located.
The crisis has reignited questions over whether India’s quest for more hydropower in the mountains to cut its reliance on coal can be achieved sustainably. Uttarakhand has around 100 hydropower projects in varying stages.
The heavy construction required for hydropower could do irreparable damage in a region already vulnerable to climate change, experts warn.
It could also displace entire villages, as residents of a one near Joshimath found out.
Haat, along the Alaknanda River, was once a sacred hamlet where the guru Adi Shankaracharya is said to have established another temple in the 8th Century.
Today, it is a dumping site for waste and a storage pit for construction materials after the village was acquired in 2009 by an energy enterprise to build a hydropower project.
The Laxmi Narayan temple is the only part of the village still standing. All of its residents were relocated, said Rajendra Hatwal, once the village chief who now lives in another town.
Hatwal and a few others still check in on the temple. A caretaker, who refused to leave, lives in a makeshift room next to it. He sweeps the grounds, cleans the idols and prepares tea for the odd guest who comes through.
They feared its days were numbered.
"We are fighting to protect the temple. We want to preserve our ancient culture to pass on to a new generation," said Hatwal. "They have not only destroyed a village - they have finished a 1,200 year old culture."
Silent no more: Criticism of the state's inadequate earthquake response reaches football stadiums in Turkey
Fans also called for the ruling AKP government to resign
Originally published on Global Voices
Screenshot from Besiktas football club's official YouTube channel video of the stadium.
It was an unforgettable moment as fans of one of Turkey's main football teams, Besiktas, started throwing thousands of plush bear toys onto the Vodafone arena — Besiktas's home turf — at exactly the 4:17-minute mark, the time when Turkey's southeastern provinces were hit by the devastating earthquake on February 6. The club organized the protest to commemorate all the children who died in the earthquake, with plans to donate the toys to displaced families who survived the disaster. Seconds prior, license plate numbers for each of the affected provinces were shown on the scoreboard of the game played on February 26.
Fans in the stadium also chanted slogans calling for the government to resign. This was not the first football game, where anger over the delayed and inadequate state response to the earthquake-hit provinces reached the football field. On February 25, during the Fenerbahce game, fans too came up with a catchy chant calling for the government to resign: “Yalan yalan yalan, dolan dolan dolan, 20 sene oldu istifa ulan!” translating to, “Pack of lies, its been 20 years, resign buddy!”
Kadıköy’de Fenerbahçe taraftarı:
“Yalan yalan yalan, dolan dolan dolan, 20 sene oldu istifa ulan!” pic.twitter.com/WhVS7dhy6L
— Solcu Gazete (@solcugazete) February 25, 2023
Fans of Fenerbahce in Kadikoy: Pack of lies, its been 20 years, resign buddy!
Players of the Fenerbahce team wore uniforms with the names of provinces hit by the earthquake:
Futbolcularımızın giydiği formalarda ülkemizi yasa boğan deprem felaketinden etkilenen illerimizin isimleri yer aldı.
https://t.co/TCEHUclKIY pic.twitter.com/5jBnLYNDX3
— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) February 25, 2023
The jerseys worn by our players, featured the names of the provinces affected by the earthquake disaster that deeply saddened our country.
The club also expressed solidarity on Twitter. In a series of tweets, the club featured license plate numbers for each of the affected provinces with the text, “don't be cold, Fenerbahce is with you,” at the minute mark of the game corresponding with the provincial license plate numbers.
Journalist Can Dundar believes the calls made during the Fenerbahce game were the first collective public calls for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to resign.
State response was swift. The leader of the nationalist party, Devlet Bahceli, demanded fans be banned from attending football games:
Bütün kulüp başkanlarının müsabakaların ya seyircisiz ya da gerekli tedbirlerin alınarak oynanması hususunda acil ve gerekli adımları atmaları kaçınılmaz görevleridir. Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi konunun takipçisidir.
— Devlet Bahçeli (@dbdevletbahceli) February 26, 2023
Presidents of all football clubs must take urgent and necessary measures to either ensure that games are played without fans or take necessary precautions. The Nationalist Movement Party is following the matter closely.
Bahceli also commented on the chants calling for the state to resign during the game. In another tweet, the leader said these calls were “irresponsible” and “insensible.” But the leader also made a spectacle out of himself by officially announcing his decision to resign from the club. Several politicians commented on Bahceli's resignation on Twitter, critiquing the decision and saying he misunderstood:
44.374 ölüm var!
100 bin yaralı var!
173 bin yıkık ve ağır hasarlı bina var!Çadır yok!
Devlet yok!
Bir tek istifa yok!
Dedik.Bizi bir kişi anladı, o da yanlış anladı. pic.twitter.com/VynwK1eEJW
— Özgür Özel (@eczozgurozel) February 26, 2023
44.374 deaths! 100,000 injured! 173,000 destroyed or heavily damaged buildings! We said there are no tents! No state! Not one single resignation! Only one person understood us, but he too misunderstood.
Leader of Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu tweeted:
Tribünler hükümet istifa, istifa dedi. Bahçeli yine yanlış anladı, Beşiktaş üyeliğinden istifa etti.
— Ahmet Davutoğlu (@Ahmet_Davutoglu) February 26, 2023
The tribunes called for the state to resign. Bahceli misunderstood again, he quit the Besiktas.
The leader of another party, Muharrem Ince, tweeted, “Bahceli instead of quitting Besiktas, quit the [ruling] AKP.”
Written by Arzu Geybullayeva
Georgia debates a foreign agent law, which critics say sets a dangerous precedent
The proposed bill has striking similarities to Russia's “foreign agent” law
Originally published on Global Voices
Image by Climate Reality Project. Free to use under Unsplash License.
Georgian parliament set to debate a proposed bill “on transparency of foreign influence,” similar to Russia's 2012 “foreign agent” law, which has been used to crush dissent and opposition. In Russia, according to OVD Info, an independent Russian human rights media project, 637 people have been classified as “agents,” which can restrict opportunities for national and international funding, making it easier for the state to punish critics, granting broad powers to the state in going after anyone engaged in broadly defined activities that “contradict the national interests of the Russian Federation,” to name a few.
The bill was tabled by a group of parliament members, formally from the ruling Georgian Dream who quit the party ranks last year and formed their own political party called People's Power in August 2022. It was then that the same group proposed the bill that if approved, will “compel foreign-funded non-governmental organizations to register as foreign influence agents,” reported Eurasianet.
The premise of the People's Power since its inception was a conspiracy theory — Georgia was being dragged into the war in Ukraine as part of a plan orchestrated with the help of the European Union, the opposition United National Movement, and Georgian civil society. The conspiracy theory was voiced at the time when the ruling Georgian Dream was facing “the biggest challenge to their ten-year rule” for failing “to secure EU candidate status,” reported OC Media. Georgia formally applied for EU membership in March 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine — one day after Ukraine made its formal application. At the time, the move was described as a U-turn for the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which had previously insisted it would not accelerate its initial timeline of applying for membership in 2024. Pundits argued this shift was mainly driven by the series of protests that took place in the country as well as opposition pressure.
Georgia has been engulfed in a political crisis since October 2020, when opposition groups contested the results of parliamentary elections won by the ruling Georgian Dream Party. As such, once a frontrunner in EU integration, the country's internal political divisions have slowed down its prospects.
Since 2020, the country has witnessed a decline in press freedoms and numerous attacks on civil society, including the beating of journalists and the overall deterioration of its democracy.
“Wherever you look, the picture is bad: poor conduct of elections, the politicization of the judiciary, the way the authorities failed to prevent violence against journalists and Gay Pride organizers in Tbilisi, revelations about surveillance of EU diplomats,” wrote Tom de Waal, a Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and a long time observer of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
But the situation only got worse when in July 2022, the Georgian Dream Party got into an “unprecedented sparring” between Georgia and its Western allies as the Georgian Dream Party began leveling accusations against US and EU diplomats in the country. From claims of interfering in Georgia's judiciary to accusations that the partners had played a negative role in the country's European Union accession plans, the spats triggered outrage and accusations in both Brussels and Washington.
Dimitri Khundadze, a former member of the ruling party, suggested the US was involved in the shady foreign financial transactions of former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, with the intention “to force Ivanishvili back into politics again” as well as to “involve the country into [the] war [in Ukraine],” reported OC Media at the time.
Ivanishvili is a key figure in Georgian politics. He made his fortune in the pre-Putin era in Russia and founded the Georgian Dream party in 2012. Although Ivanishvili publicly announced his decision to leave politics in 2021, some believe he still calls the shots behind the scenes.
Following Georgia's hasty decision to apply for EU membership, the country's application was deferred under the pretext that the country must fulfill a list of criteria before being considered as a candidate. The same month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “on violations of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Georgia.” The document called on Georgian officials to impose personal sanctions on Ivanishvili “for his role in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia.” Accusations by Georgia officials were swift.
Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, in a letter addressed to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, criticized the resolution, and wrote that it was aimed “at discrediting the current system of governance in Georgia.”
The new bill submitted to the parliament shows that Gerogia is not only emulating the Kremlin through its disinformation tactics but also legislation, as the similarities between Georgia's proposed bill and the Russian foreign agent law are striking. The draft bill requires all media outlets in Georgia receiving more than 20 percent of foreign funding to register as “foreign agents” and report on their annual income. According to OC Media, “the law would likely apply to a majority of non-governmental organizations active in Georgia,” as well. The Russian bill, which has been through several iterations since 2012, also forces news platforms receiving foreign funding to disclose their annual budgets. In its most recent form, “the law expands the definition of foreign agent to a point at which almost any person or entity, regardless of nationality or location, who engages in civic activism or even expresses opinions about Russian policies or officials’ conduct could be designated a foreign agent, so long as the authorities claim they are under “foreign influence.” It also excludes “foreign agents” from key aspects of civic life,” wrote Human Rights Watch following the most recent changes to the law that went into force in December 2022.
Just like the law in Russia, which hands steep fines for failing to register as a “foreign agent,” the draft submitted to the parliament in Georgia also envisions steep fines.
The ruling party in Georgia, however, does not see any similarities. According to Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the draft bill is in “full accordance” with human rights standards “unlike its American [US Foreign Agents Registration Act] and Russian analogues.” US State Department disagreed. In a briefing on February 15, spokesperson Ned Price, said, “these statements that the Georgia draft law is based on FARA are patently false.”
The proposed bill comes just months after the EU recommended that Georgia speed up its reforms as per the list of criteria proposed by the EU. According to reporting by RFERL, “EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said [in September] Georgia needed to speed up reforms in areas such as the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and media freedom before it can be granted the status of a candidate for European Union membership.”
Over the course of last year, Georgian Dream drew public criticism for its tepid stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The ruling government faced public criticism following the invasion for failing to release any strong-worded statements or criticism. The country also chose not to sanction Russia, while Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili went so far as to criticize the supply of arms to Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Georgia “has emerged as a convenient logistics conduit between Russia and the outside world.” The bond was strengthened in January 2023, when Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, expressed hope that flights between the two countries would resume soon, a wish that was quickly echoed by the ruling Georgia Dream Party.
Written by Arzu Geybullayeva
North Korea holds conference to improve farming sector amid food shortage
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened a major political conference dedicated to agriculture, state media reported Monday, amid outside assessments that suggest the country is facing a serious shortfall of food.
South Korean experts estimate that North Korea is short around 1 million tons of grain, 20 percent of its annual demand, after the pandemic disrupted both farming and imports from China.
Recent, unconfirmed, reports have said an unknown number of North Koreans have died of hunger. But observers have seen no indication of mass deaths or famine in North Korea.
During a high-level meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that began Sunday, senior party officials reviewed last year’s work on state goals to accomplish "rural revolution in the new era," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
The report said that the meeting of the Central Committee will identify "immediate, important" tasks on agricultural issues and "urgent tasks arising at the present stage of the national economic development."
KNCA didn’t say whether Kim spoke during the meeting or how long it would last. Senior officials such as Cabinet Premier Kim Tok Hun and Jo Yong Won, one of Kim’s closest aides who handles the Central Committee’s organizational affairs, were also attending.
The meeting is the first time the party has convened a plenary session only to discuss agriculture. Monday’s report didn’t elaborate on its agenda, but the party’s Politburo said earlier this month that a "a turning point is needed to dynamically promote radical change in agricultural development."
Most analysts North Korea's food situation today is nowhere near the extremes of the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of people died in a famine. However, some experts say its food insecurity is likely at its worst since Kim took power in 2011, after COVID-19 restrictions further shocked an economy battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions imposed over Kim’s nuclear program.
In early 2020, North Korea tried to shield its population from the coronavirus by imposing stringent border controls that choked off trade with China, its main ally and economic lifeline. Russia’s war on Ukraine possibly worsened the situation by driving up global prices of food, energy and fertilizer, on which North Korea’s agricultural production is heavily dependent.
North Korea reopened freight train traffic with China and Russia last year. More than 90% of North Korea’s official external trade goes through its border with China.
Last year, North Korea’s grain production was estimated at 4.5 million tons, a 3.8% drop from 2020, according to South Korean government assessments. The North was estimated to have produced between 4.4 million tons to 4.8 million tons of grain annually from 2012-2021, according to previous South Korean data.
North Korea needs about 5.5 million tons of grain to feed its 25 million people annually, so it’s short about 1 million tons this year. In past years, half of such a gap was usually met by unofficial grain purchases from China, with the rest remaining as unresolved shortfall, according to Kwon Tae-jin, a senior economist at the private GS&J Institute in South Korea.
Kwon says trade curbs due to the pandemic have likely hindered unofficial rice purchases from China. Efforts by North Korean authorities to tighten controls and restrict market activities have also worsened the situation, he said.
It’s unclear whether North Korea will take any action to quickly address its food problems. Some experts say North Korea will use this week’s plenary meeting to boost public support of Kim during his confrontations with the United States and its allies over his nuclear ambitions.
Despite limited resources, Kim has been aggressively pushing to expand his nuclear weapons and missile programs to pressure Washington into accepting the idea of the North as a nuclear power and lift international sanctions on it. After a record year of weapons testing activities in 2022, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and other weapons in displays this month.
Hundreds in Croatia spend night in cars, gas stations after snowstorm brings traffic to a halt
Hundreds of people in Croatia have spent the night in their cars or at gas stations and reception centers after a snowstorm over the weekend caused traffic to collapse and left parts of the country cut off.
The sudden change of weather after a period of warm and balmy days also has snarled traffic in neighboring Serbia and Bosnia, leaving areas in western Serbia without power and cutting railway traffic to neighboring Montenegro.
Croatian authorities said on Monday that the roads leading to and from the Adriatic Sea coastline remain closed because of snow and strong winds. Media reported that cars and buses were parked along the main Croatian highway as they wait to move on.
WINTER WEATHER ACROSS US TO BRING SNOW TO MIDWEST, NEW ENGLAND
About 300 people have stayed in the reception centers that have been set up because of the situation, said Natalia Turbic, local emergency official in Gracac in central Croatia. Others sought places in private accommodation in the area, she said.
State television HRT reported that hundreds of people that couldn't reach the reception centers stayed in buses and cars or looked for gas station cafes nearby which opened their doors for stranded motorists and passengers.
People were lying on the floor or sleeping on chairs, HRT said. A group of soccer fans who were traveling from the capital Zagreb to the coastal town of Split were among those stuck on the way.
"There is no use in getting irritated," Melita Ancic, a bus passenger, told HRT. "These are extraordinary circumstances. We just need to be patient."
Marijan Grubisic was traveling from Germany to Bosnia when he got stranded. He told HRT that "we didn't expect something like this."
STORM TO BRING HIGH WINDS TO ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, NEVADA
"It's been tough, lots of snow, very hard, very cold," he said.
While the situation was most dramatic in Croatia, problems were also reported in western Serbia and elevated regions of Bosnia.
Serbia's state railway company said that trains to Montenegro weren't running, mostly because of fallen trees and problems in power supplies in the region near the border between the two countries.
The towns of Prijepolje and Bajina Basta were without electricity overnight Sunday to Monday, the Tanjug news agency reported.
Bosnian authorities said Monday that heavy snow and wind have slowed down traffic throughout the country, especially over the mountains. Landslides and fallen trees are causing further problems, traffic authorities said, urging caution.
New 5.6 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey, killing one person
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday — three weeks after a catastrophic temblor devastated the region — causing some already damaged buildings to collapse and killing at least one person, the country's disaster management agency, AFAD, said.
Another 69 people were injured as a result of the earthquake which was centered in the town of Yesilyurt in Malatya province, AFAD's chief Yunus Sezer told reporters. More than two dozen buildings collapsed.
Yesilyurt’s mayor, Mehmet Cinar, told HaberTurk television that a father and daughter were trapped beneath the rubble of a four-story building in the town. The pair had entered the damaged building to collect belongings.
STUNNING TURKEY EARTHQUAKE RESCUES: TEEN, NEW FATHER SAVED 11 DAYS LATER IN ‘TRUE MIRACLE’
Elsewhere in Malatya, search-and-rescue teams were sifting through the rubble of two damaged buildings that toppled on top of some parked cars, HaberTurk reported.
Malatya was among 11 Turkish provinces hit by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on Feb. 6.
That quake led to more than 48,000 deaths in both countries as well as the collapse or serious damage of 173,000 buildings in Turkey.
AFAD's chief urged people not to enter damaged buildings saying strong aftershocks continue to pose a risk. Close to 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region affected by the quake since Feb. 6.
Russia ditches nuclear security amid China visit, ‘dangerous decade’ ahead, expert warns
Global security was flung into a state of ambiguity last week after Russian President Vladimir Putin "suspended" Moscow’s participation in the New START treaty and forced the U.S. to re-enter an age of nuclear instability.
The suspension of the treaty marks the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the conclusion of the Cold War that the U.S. and Russia are not actively engaged in a joint nuclear treaty.
"We are entering an extremely dangerous decade of which nuclear employment is once again [a] potential," Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute and an expert on strategic deterrence, told Fox News Digital. "Thinking about it in a realistic way needs to be back into the American consciousness."
RUSSIA SUSPENDS PARTICIPATION IN NEW START NUCLEAR TREATY WITH US, PUTIN SAYS
President Biden called Putin’s decision a "big mistake" and reports have since surfaced suggesting that Russia may be planning to deploy new nuclear systems as experts question what is next for nuclear deterrence amid the war in Ukraine.
Heinrichs explained that nuclear deterrence is no longer just about restricting the number of arms a nation can have at its disposal; it’s about countering nuclear capabilities.
"Whenever you think about deterrence," she began, "it’s not just about numbers. It’s also about [what] we have."
The expert explained that deterrence only works if an adversarial nation thinks that any action they carry out could be adequately responded to with an equal or greater threat to their own security.
Moscow already knows the U.S. has powerful nuclear warheads. The threat of nuclear warfare is not on the same level as it was in the 20th century when the core principle of deterrence was established between Washington and Moscow – mutually assured destruction.
The top threat now lies in how nuclear weapons can be employed in the theater of war and whether the U.S. can appropriately respond to low-yield nuclear capabilities.
"If the Russians are going to threaten to launch a weapon in the European theater, do we have sufficient kinds of weapons that they would believe that we would respond [with]?" Heinrichs questioned. "Are they really going to believe that we’re going to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at their missile sites if they launch a low yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine? No."
Heinrichs said that Russia has been "doggedly" focused on creating more advanced capabilities than the U.S. in terms of "nuclear delivery systems" for the last 15 years.
"When we think about nuclear modernization for ourselves, we’re talking about maintaining our systems," she said. "Russians think about modernizing their nuclear weapons [by making] new ones."
RUSSIA'S WAR IN UKRAINE HITS ONE-YEAR MARK AS PUTIN DIGS IN, ZELENSKYY PUSHES VICTORY. WHAT’S NEXT?
But Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty also points to an emerging threat that has become increasing evident following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – Russia’s burgeoning ties with China.
Putin’s decision to ditch the New START treaty coincided with a visit from China’s top diplomat just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that Beijing was considering providing lethal aid to Russia – a move that would not only escalate the war in Ukraine but would exacerbate already strained geopolitical relations between China and the West.
China has said it has no plans to provide Russia with arms, but security officials remain wary of the relationship.
"Everything is timed," Heinrichs said when asked about the significance of Putin’s announcement. "Those two countries continue to move closer.
"We’re back to the point where you have enemies that, no kidding, want to replace the United States as the preeminent power, and they’re investing in nuclear weapons," she added.
Heinrichs pointed not only to the shared rhetoric that Putin and his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping have used in demonizing the U.S., but in China’s expanding nuclear program.
The security expert said she could not speculate on nuclear cooperation between the two nations but highlighted that the Russia-China partnership has expanded because they share a common objective in removing the U.S. as top dog from the world order.
"From a U.S. defense perspective, we have to assume the worst," she said regarding nuclear security when it comes to both Russia and China.
Despite China’s unchecked nuclear expansion, the U.S. and Russia still account for roughly 90% of world’s nuclear arsenal, according to data provided by the Arms Control Association (ACA), with nearly 12,000 nuclear warheads in existence between the two.
Under the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Washington and Moscow agreed to start clearing out their nuclear stockpiles – which reached their peak in 1985 when more than 70,000 warheads reportedly made up global inventories.
The State Department warned last month that Russia was not complying with the stipulations laid out under the New START treaty – which was renewed by Russia and the U.S. in February 2021 for another five years – by refusing to facilitate inspection activities and bilateral consultive meetings.
It is unclear how Russia will proceed now that it is no longer adhering to the treaty that restricted either Washington or Moscow from deploying more than 1,550 nuclear warheads at a time on delivery systems like intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missile or heavy bombers.
However, the nuclear security expert said she is not concerned that a nuclear war is looming. Instead, Heinrichs encouraged Americans to press their leaders on what is being done to ensure U.S. nuclear capabilities can adequately hold up against modern adversaries.
russian-president-vladimir-putin-greets-military-officials
Belarus Air Base Attacked. Russian A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Attacked
Now this is big. Belarusian Partisans reportedly blew up a Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft at Machulishchy airfield near Minsk. According to the BYPOL initiative, the front and central parts of the plane, avionics and radar antenna were damaged. pic.twitter.com/IGFAx00973
— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) February 26, 2023
Warzone/The Drive: Claims Swirl Around Supposed Strike On Russian A-50 Radar Jet In Belarus
One of Russia’s most prized military aircraft, an A-50 Mainstay, is claimed to have been struck at its forward base in Belarus.
There has been quite the buzz this Sunday on social media about a supposed attack on a Russian A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft that is forward deployed to Machulishchy Air Base south of Minsk, in Belarus.
We cannot confirm that this attack actually happened or the nature of the damage, if any, to the A-50 — the type has been a staple at the base throughout the war. But if it did occur, it would be a significant loss for the Russian Air Force and, depending on how it was carried out, it could be a sign of a developing front and what's to come in the now year-old war.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: There are only 9 (now 8) A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft in the Russian fleet. On social media there are reports that another Belarus air base was attacked, and that there have been clashes on the Belarus - Ukraine border where one Belarusian soldier was killed.
Russian A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Attacked
Russian A-50 AEW&C Attacked In Belarus; Was Ukraine’s ‘Mystery Drone’ Behind The Bombing? -- EurAsian Times
Belarusian partisans claim responsibility for blowing up important Russian plane at Belarus air base -- EuroWeekly
Opposition group: Explosion at Belarusian military airfield damaged Russian aircraft in reported partisan attack -- Kyiv Independent
Russian plane destroyed near Minsk airfield: Belarus opposition -- Al Jazeera
New Poll Says US Voters Willing To Commit U.S. Naval And Air Power To Defend Taiwan Against A Chinese Invasion, But Against Sending Ground Troops
Most voters are willing to commit U.S. naval and air power to defending Taiwan against a Chinese invasion, but draw the line at sending ground troops to fight in such a conflicthttps://t.co/mvytXosOm0 pic.twitter.com/5JG2KtmGKb
— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) February 26, 2023
EurAsian Times: ‘No Boots On Ground‘: Majority Of US Voters ‘Chicken Out’ From Sending Soldiers To Taiwan To Battle China
In an interesting reflection of American society, a recent survey found a massive majority of likely voters backing intervention in support of Taiwan – but without boots on the ground.
They agree that the US should militarily intervene, but with only jets and warships and not with soldiers, which entails higher casualties.
The findings in the survey by Rasmussen Reports put the figure at 79% who would support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China for invading Taiwan, including 60% who would ‘Strongly Support’ sanctions. Only 12% would oppose sanctions if China invaded Taiwan.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 79% of Likely U.S. Voters would support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China for invading Taiwan, including 60% who would Strongly Support sanctions. Only 12% would oppose sanctions if China invaded Taiwan.
As to sending in troops, the numbers are close. 46% say they would oppose the U.S. sending ground troops to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, compared to 42% who say they would support it.
More details on the poll are here .... Rasmussen Poll: Plurality Doesn't Want to Defend Taiwan With Ground Troops (NewsMax).
New U.S. Intelligence Has Concluded That The Covid Pandemic Most Likely Arose From A Chinese Laboratory Leak
The Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a lab leak, according to a classified intelligence report https://t.co/mO9cnU6Egc
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 26, 2023
The Guardian: Covid-19 likely came from lab leak, says news report citing US energy department
Updated finding comes with ‘low confidence’ and is a departure from previous studies on how virus emerged, Wall Street Journal reports
The virus that drove the Covid-19 pandemic most likely emerged from a laboratory leak but not as part of a weapons program, according to an updated and classified 2021 US energy department study provided to the White House and senior American lawmakers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The department’s finding – a departure from previous studies on how the virus emerged – came in an update to a document from the office of National Intelligence director Avril Haines, the WSJ reported.
It follows a finding reportedly issued with “moderate confidence” by the FBI that the virus spread after leaking out of a Chinese laboratory.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: This updated and classified 2021 US energy department study joins the FBI in saying Covid came from a Chinese lab .... Energy Department Joins FBI In Supporting COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory: Report (Huffington Post).
Remember all the condemnation that former President Trump received when he suggested the same thing.
Update: WOW! National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan "can't confirm or deny" the WSJ report on new intel that says Covid was leaked from a Chinese military bio research facility (see video below).
New U.S. Intelligence Has Concluded That The Covid Pandemic Most Likely Arose From A Chinese Laboratory Leak
US agency says COVID-19 likely emerged from China lab leak: Reports -- AFP
Another US agency assesses COVID-19 origin likely a Chinese 'lab leak': report -- FOX News
Covid-19 Likely Originated with Lab Leak, U.S. Energy Department Finds in New Report -- National Review
Classified Energy Department report finds lab leak likely cause of COVID-19 pandemic -- UPI
WSJ: U.S. Energy Department Report Says Lab Leak Most Likely Source of Global Coronavirus Pandemic -- Breitbart
COVID "Likely Arose" From Lab Leak, US Energy Department Admits In Classified Report -- Zero Hedge
CIA Director Burns Says China Has Some Doubt On Its Ability To Invade Taiwan
Axios: CIA director: China has doubts whether it could accomplish invasion of Taiwan
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his military leaders likely have some doubts as to whether China could accomplish a successful invasion of Taiwan after witnessing the trajectory of Russia's war in Ukraine, CIA Director Bill Burns told CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
Driving the news: While U.S. intelligence indicates that Xi has instructed his country's army to be ready for a potential invasion by 2027, Burns stressed that a decision has not yet been made.
* "I think we need to take very seriously Xi's ambitions with regard to ultimately controlling Taiwan. That doesn't, however, in our view, mean that a military conflict is inevitable," he added.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I see no indications that Chinese President Xi or from his military leaders that they have some doubts as to whether China could accomplish a successful invasion of Taiwan after witnessing how Russia is conducting its war in Ukraine. On the opposite. I have seen China doubling down on its rhetoric and military exercises on Taiwan since the start of the year.
CIA Director Burns Says China Has Some Doubt On Its Ability To Invade Taiwan
CIA chief: China has some doubt on ability to invade Taiwan -- AP
China has doubts on ability to invade Taiwan, CIA chief says -- DW
Report Says Russian Oil Is Being Sold Far Above Price Cap
Shun Tai crude oil tanker is seen anchored at the terminal Kozmino in Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia, December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo
gCaptain/Bloomberg: Russia Sold Oil Far Above Price Cap, Researchers Say
(Bloomberg) –Russian companies got far more money from selling the country’s oil than previously thought in the weeks that followed the imposition of a price cap on the nation’s exports, a group of academics said.
The research weakens the idea that the price limits are crushing Moscow’s revenue to fund the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s crude fetched an average of about $74 a barrel in the four weeks that followed the cap, according to calculations by experts including from the Institute of International Finance, Columbia University and University of California.
That’s about a quarter above the threshold — $60 a barrel — that the Group of Seven set from Dec. 5. Their work was based on an analysis of customs’ invoice-level data for the four weeks after the cap was set for crude sales to buyers all over the world, and from all ports and pipelines.
Read more ....
Update: Researchers say that the oil price cap imposed by Western leaders to limit Russia's ability to fund its war against Ukraine didn't exactly work (Bloomberg)
WNU Editor: Another sign that Russian sanctions are not working .... Barrels of Russian oil switched off the coast of Greece to avoid sanctions Bloomberg (Ukrainska Pravda). More here .... Russian Oil Flows to China Hit Highest Levels Since Ukraine Invasion (Bloomberg).
The report is here .... Assessing the Impact of International Sanctions on Russian Oil Exports (SSRN).
Majority Of Germans See Their Country's Arms Deliveries To Ukraine As Participation In The War Against Russia
DW: Germans see arming Ukraine as involvement
A poll conducted by Germany's DPA news agency suggests many Germans disapprove of arming Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The majority of German people see their country's arms deliveries to Ukraine as participation in the war against Russia, a recent poll suggests.
The poll was conducted on behalf of Germany's DPA news agency by the opinion research institute YouGov. It surveyed 2,072 Germans nationwide from February 21 until February 23, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Fifty-one percent of the respondents thought arming Ukraine meant being part of the war, an argument that Russia has been pushing. Meanwhile, 37% disagreed with the statement.
Germany has approved some €2.6 billion ($2.75 billion) worth of weapons and armaments since the start of the war.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The German Foreign Minister said so herself last month that Germany is at war against Russia .... German Foreign Minister Announces That 'We Are Fighting A War Against Russia' (January 25, 2023).
Update: Peace demonstrations are starting in Germany .... Thousands in Berlin attend 'naive' Ukraine peace rally (DW).
10 Graphics Calculating The Effects Of Russia's Invasion On Ukraine
DW: Russia's war on Ukraine in numbers
Cities in ruins, millions of refugees, continued military support, and ongoing sanctions: Russia's war on Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the globe. Here are 10 graphics calculating the effects of Russia's invasion.
February 24 marks one year since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Despite counter-advances by the Ukrainian army, substantial parts of eastern Ukraine remain occupied by Russian troops. Most recently, on January 19, 2023, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the embattled city of Soledar in the Donbas region, which has since been under Russian control again.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Here are some more graphs .... One Year of Russia’s War on Ukraine, in Graphs (Moscow Times).
Russia - Ukraine War: Military Summary And Analysis For 2.26.2023 (Video)
WNU Editor: A lot of updates on the Russia - Ukraine war from the Military Summary channel. Alexander Mercouris gives his update on the war below.
Tweets On The Russia - Ukraine War
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 26 February 2023
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) February 26, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence: https://t.co/LaZxiqvjnz
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/RODCq3oCxg
UK, French, & German officials are reportedly preparing a NATO-Ukraine pact that falls far short of the protections Ukraine would receive from NATO membership & could reflect a desire to press Ukraine to accept a negotiated settlement on unfavorable terms. https://t.co/r4yr8I5urW pic.twitter.com/8gRMiZAMBu
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) February 26, 2023
A timelapse of the changes around Bakhmut over the past week as Russia continues to advance.
— War Mapper (@War_Mapper) February 26, 2023
Thread below of the updates I was unable to make over the past week. pic.twitter.com/yZJz1zq01v
🇷🇺🇺🇸🇪🇺☢️⚛️Putin talks about the participation of the US and NATO in the war with Russia and about START III Treaty pic.twitter.com/4f74QhBMZB
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 26, 2023
“The F-16 question is a question for later,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan tells @MarthaRaddatz as Ukraine asks U.S. and allies for fighter jets.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 26, 2023
“We will cross the bridge of future phases of this war when they come.” https://t.co/ijQfZ2Culp pic.twitter.com/k8ecDWhhk0
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, CIA Director William Burns said in a television interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being “too confident” in his military’s ability to grind Ukraine into submission. https://t.co/WrktzyakUX
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2023
🇺🇦💸💰💵🇸🇦Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud visited Zelensky and Ukraine.
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 26, 2023
"Saudi Arabia will allocate $ 410 million to Ukraine as humanitarian aid" - Saudi Foreign Minister. pic.twitter.com/TEJcTwsUoz
Tweets Of The Day
#UPDATE Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged after rare talks in Jordan on Sunday to prevent more violence, which has surged this year and saw two Israelis killed in the West Bank as the meeting took place ▶️ https://t.co/oSYuVnUMlc pic.twitter.com/5auVEUs3e4
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 26, 2023
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have jointly announced in-person talks, in London on Monday. This comes amid long-running post-Brexit negotiations on Northern Ireland.https://t.co/P9FOhMSOoA
— DW News (@dwnews) February 27, 2023
Vote counting is under way in Nigeria's tightest presidential election since military rule ended in 1999.
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) February 26, 2023
West Africa correspondent Mayeni Jones is in Lagos for #BBCBreakfasthttps://t.co/r6FU2GiMJ4 pic.twitter.com/ZuGhulzfg6
Iran’s currency fell to a new record low on Sunday, plunging to 600,000 rials to the dollar for the first time as the effects of nationwide anti-government protests and the breakdown of the 2015 nuclear deal continued to roil the economy. https://t.co/NJPgpSGeeO
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2023
Tens of thousands of people filled Mexico City’s vast main plaza to protest President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's electoral law reforms that they say threaten democracy and could mark a return to the past. https://t.co/Z3ZXLKtxTg
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 26, 2023
Germany plans to spend €100 billion on modernizing its "neglected" armed forces, but this general says that's not enough. https://t.co/9SvQKu8wXi
— DW News (@dwnews) February 26, 2023
Russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-23 docked at the International Space Station and is set to bring back stranded Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio in September https://t.co/v17WAIjW9O pic.twitter.com/6HtdaNDxRl
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 26, 2023
Borsch And The Russia - Ukraine War
WNU Editor: The AP story is here .... Borsch without a ‘t’: Kyiv chef uses food to reclaim culture (AP).
I have been eating borsch all my life, and from my experience the recipe is basically the same from both sides of my family. But I will admit that my Ukrainian cousin makes one kick-ass borsch. I do not know what she does, but it always tastes better than what I can make, and I am who is always making borsch during the winter months.
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