[WSJ] Alexei Navalny’s February death in an Arctic penal colony prompted a new wave of sanctions targeting Russia’s economy, upended delicate negotiations to exchange prisoners between Russia and the West, and left Russia’s limited opposition in disarray.
Russian President Vladimir Putin might not have planned for it to happen when it did.
[Sorry, but the rest of the article on this pseudo-celebrity is behind a paywall.]
[FOX] A legal immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2021 said Wednesday he was "flabbergasted" that illegal immigrants who were flown to Martha's Vineyard are considered crime victims.
Some of the 49 migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard by Florida officials in 2022 may be given the right to work and at least three have been given work visas. Their attorney has claimed Florida officials "tricked" the migrants into boarding the planes from Texas.
The visas, designated for crime victims, are known as a "U Visa," "Fox & Friends First" host Todd Piro reported.
"According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U visas are set aside for, quote, victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity," he noted.
"It seems like our country, what America was known for, which is the rule of law, is changing right before our eyes, Alma Ohene-Opare said in response.
#1
Not to automatically defend Boeing but airlines could be dodging responsibility for years of crappy maintenance, and the media loves to pile on to todays designated Evil Corporation. When did they get the plane, and how did they maintain it?
[GatewayPundit] Earlier today, Alicia Powe at The Gateway Pundit exposed J6 insurrection leader James Ray Epps lying to the FBI in a leaked interview obtained by The Gateway Pundit.
After the release of this audio incriminating Epps, federal agents raided J6 political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s jail cell and dragged him to solitary confinement in the hole of the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn on Thursday night.
[Red State] As RedState has reported in numerous articles (see "RELATED" at the bottom), the Biden administration has been wrestling mightily with whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes since 2021.
As has been the case with most, if not all, of Joe Biden's decisions, a proposed ban on menthols has been less about the potential public health benefits of banning mint-flavored cigarettes and more about the potential fallout in both the Black and Hispanic communities.
According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly 81 percent of Black smokers smoked menthols in 2020, along with 51 percent of Hispanic smokers, compared to just 30 percent of white smokers.
In other words, it's all about the votes.
Hence, as the Journal reported, the administration was expected to announce on Friday that it is delaying a decision on whether to impose a ban, contending that it needs more time to consult with outside groups on the matter — with no set timeline to revisit the decision, as the November presidential election looms closer and closer.
[NY Post] Entitled Asshole Status™ Confirmed. Fire her
An upstate New York district attorney refused to stop for cops when she was caught speeding — and instead drove back her house and called the police chief to complain about the "a—hole" officer who pursued her home, bodycam footage shows.
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley admitted that she was driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone on Monday on Phillips Road in Webster
…founded by Daniel Webster — the dictionary guy — it’s the fastest-growing suburb of the city of Rochester…
— less than half a mile from her neighborhood, WHAM reported.
"Once I realized that the intention of the [police car] was to pull me over, I called the Webster Police Chief to inform him that I was not a threat and that I would speak to the Officer at my house down the street," she said in a statement.
The officer followed her to her home and issued Doorley a ticket, which she accepted. The DA pleaded guilty in municipal court on Tuesday "because I believe in accepting responsibility for my actions and had no intention of using my position to receive a benefit," she said.
However, bodycam footage released by the Webster Police Department on Friday shows the tense exchange between Doorley and the officer in her driveway, in which the district attorney appears to have been doing just that.
When the cop tells her she was doing 55 in a 35, she tells him "I don’t really care," clearly irritated.
She gets on the phone and calls Webster Chief of Police Dennis Kohlmeier and asks him "can you please tell them to leave me alone?"
Doorley refuses to step outside her garage to speak with officers. She dismissively hands the cop the phone to speak with the chief and tells him "just go away." The officer can be heard explaining what happened on the phone.
She then storms inside the house against the officer’s orders.
He explains that he’s trying to conduct a traffic stop, and she shoots back "I know the law better than you," footage shows.
"What is it your so against me? I’m doing my job. You say you’re a DA?" the cop asks at one point.
"I am THE DA," she emphatically snaps back, and fetches her badge out of her car as she calls him an "a—hole."
At one point the officer asks her why she was going so fast she responded that she "didn’t feel like stopping on Phillips Road at 5:30," to which the officer responded, "That’s not your choice; you know that."
"What do you want us to do, not do our jobs because it’s you?" the officer then asks Doorley.
She tells him to just write her the ticket, but he reminds her she refused to stop.
"That’s not a traffic ticket; that’s an arrestable offense, Sandra. You know this," the cop says.
In another clip, Doorley can be heard saying, "I’ve had a really bad day; I’ve been dealing with murders in the city," and then apologizes.
In a statement after the footage was released provided to WHAM, Doorley said "nobody, including your District Attorney, is above the rule of law, even traffic laws.
"Anybody who knows me understands without a doubt that I have dedicated my entire 33 year career to the safety of this community," she continued. "My work to ensure the safety and respect of law enforcement is well proven time and time again. I stand by my work and stand by my commitment to the public safety of Monroe County."
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2024
06:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[92 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
Privilege.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/27/2024 16:35
Comments ||
Top||
[MAIL] Political analysts say Joe Biden's handlers will be panicking after the 81-year-old president agreed to debate Donald Trump in the run up to November's presidential election in what appeared to be an unplanned comment.
Speaking during a softball interview with Howard Stern on Friday morning, Biden said he is 'happy' to take the stage to debate his 77-year-old rival.
It quickly led several Republican accounts mocking Biden's decision and that it was beyond his 'handler's control'.
'Crooked Joe Biden says he's 'happy to debate' President Trump. His handlers must be furious,' RNC Research, an account managed by the Republican National Committee tweeted.
#1
There was a time, youngsters, when Howard Stern would rage against the machine instead of hiding in his basement and being a face for politicians. That he was selected to play softball with Brandon shows the fall.
And you iconoclasts thinking that is a high-five moment, you would be wrong.
[Breitbart] Wednesday on FNC’s “Hannity,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) railed against so-called pro-Palestinian protesters at U.S. universities, who, in some cases, have threatened Jewish Americans while calling for the destruction of Israel.
The Missouri Republican labeled the anti-Israel protesters “bougie jihadists.”
“Senator, let’s talk about the guard that you’re calling for, which I believe would be the right call, but I don’t see Biden wanting to alienate his radical base,” I think that’s why he’s not going to do it.
“Well, sure. I mean, this is all about the fact that he has a pro-Hamas base, Sean,” host Sean Hannity said. “But listen, Eisenhower did the right thing back in ’57 when he sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock. Why not do it for Jewish Americans?”
“I mean, it shouldn’t be that in this country in this day and age that, if you are a Jewish American, you fear for your life because all of these bougie jihadists at these universities whose brains are addled by TikTok are out there calling for your death calling for the destruction of the state of Israel,” Hawley replied. “I mean, what is going on on these campuses? Send in the National Guard and wake these kids up. They ought to know they can’t do this. They ought to know they don’t have any right to occupy these campuses. They don’t have any right to threaten their fellow students. They ought to snap them out of it, and the National Guard would help do it.”
#1
...So far - fingers crossed - there have been zero disruptions of any kind at U of South Carolina, just a mile or so down the street from me. We have had some small, exceptionally well-behaved demonstrations at the State House, but that's it.
On the other hand, a good friend of ours works right across the street from said State House. He's Jewish; his sister and her family live in Tel Aviv. We're keeping an eye on things.
#2
#1 Son graduated Law School yesterday without incident. And that was with County DA Summer Stephan (prosecuting antifa assholes) doing the commencement speech
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2024 7:29
Comments ||
Top||
#12
#11The Jewish mob hasn't been the same since Danny Greene and Shondir Burns got blown up.
Posted by: DooDahMan 2024-04-27 09:18
DDM,
I grew up in Cleveland, and I remember the Danny Greene - vs. - Everybody Else War. And you're right, the level of gangland style went into negative numbers after that. And cool trivia - Shondor got whacked right across the street from old Kiefer's Tavern, best German food in town and one of our family's favorite places.
And check out the movie Kill The Irishman - kinda inaccurate in a few things, but for the most part pretty accurate.
#17
People who mythologize violent criminals are sick.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 13:33
Comments ||
Top||
#18
It was the Jewish trade unionists who drove away the fascists who’d come to rampage through whatever that Jewish neighbourhood is in London (or whichever English city it was — I’m a little shaky on the actual details) back in the 1930s.
Gangsterism was never cool.
Agreed. But sometimes rough men, etc. means gangsters. You go with the rough men you have.
There are still Jewish gangsters in America, one assumes. But they’ve assimilated in that as in everything else. What there aren’t here are Jewish gangs.
Israel still has Jewish gangs. A gang boss was recently arrested in Malaysia or Indonesia — he’d bought guns on arrival from a couple of locals, pursuant to murdering a rival boss there on vacation. The government is convinced he was actually there on a Mossad mission, so it’s probably Malaysia.
[Breitbart] Justice Samuel Alito sparred with a government lawyer Thursday during oral arguments in which a majority of Supreme Court justices sympathized with former President Donald Trump’s attorneys’ arguments that a president does enjoy some level of immunity that endures past the term of office.
Alito pressed the government’s lawyer Michael Dreeben on its claim that a former president does not have any form of immunity. Dreeben represented Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team in arguing against Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
As Alito phrased it, Dreeben claims that while a former president does not have immunity, he enjoys “a form of special protection, namely, that statutes that are applicable to everybody must be interpreted differently under some circumstances when they are applied to a former president.”
Dreeben agreed, attributing it to “the general principle that courts construe statutes to avoid serious constitutional questions. And that has been the longstanding practice of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the Department of Justice.”
Alito questioned Dreeben’s assertion that courts would avoid prosecuting former presidents as well as if that protection was truly a protection at all:
All right. So this is more, I think, than just a quarrel about terminology, whether what the former president gets is some form of immunity or some form of special protection because it involves this difference, which I’m sure you’re very well aware of.
If it’s just a form of special protection, in other words, statutes will be interpreted differently as applied to a former president, then that is something that has to be litigated at trial. The former president can make a motion to dismiss and may cite OLC opinions, and the district court may say: Well, that’s fine, I’m not bound by OLC and I interpret it differently, so let’s go to trial.
And then there has to be a trial, the former president may be unable to engage in other activities that the former president would want to engage in. And then the outcome is dependent on the jury, the instructions to the jury and how the jury returns a verdict, and then it has to be taken up on appeal.
So the protection is greatly diluted if you take the form — if it takes the form that you have proposed. Now why is that better?
“It’s better because it’s more balanced,” Dreeben answered.
Alito also referenced “the old saw about indicting a ham sandwich,” a quip conveying that some district attorneys have so much influence on grand juries that they could get them to indict a ham sandwich.
The case is Trump v. United States, No. 23-939 in the Supreme Court of the United States.
#2
Some of these people will be recognized for generations like Alger Hiss.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/27/2024 16:32
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Justice Sotomayor said, “If the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military to assassinate him, is that within his official acts for which he can give immunity?”
Actually, yes, but the military will be charged with the murder since obedience of an unlawful order is not an excuse.
Last words uttered by Atlanta armed robber:
[BLAZE] "His car was parked next to mine. He got out of the car, said, ’Hey bro! Don’t move!’ [and] pointed a gun at me. I pulled my gun, and I shot," he added.
A Georgia man told police that he thwarted an attempted armed robbery after pulling his own gun and shooting the thug who allegedly threatened him.
Hapeville police released a panicked 911 call from the victim after the shooting at the Atlantic Aerotropolis on S. Fulton Ave. on April 15 at about 9:30 a.m.
“Hey, I just had to shoot somebody in the top floor of the parking deck,” said the man on the emergency call obtained by WSB-TV.
The man said he was walking from the apartments to his car when he was confronted by the armed man.
“His car was parked next to mine. He got out of the car, said, ‘Hey bro! Don’t move!’ [and] pointed a gun at me. I pulled my gun, and I shot,” he added.
After he shot him, he noticed there was another man in the passenger seat of the suspect's car. The victim ran into his apartment and called police to tell them about the incident.
While he was worried that the second man might follow him into the apartment, police say the second suspect ran away from the scene.
Police later identified the suspect as Alton Coleman and arrested him after seeing him allegedly urinating in public at the church.
Coleman was charged with murder and aggravated assault, and records show he has a lengthy criminal history. The man who was shot and killed was identified as 39-year-old Lando Carter.
Having worked the Hapeville, GA. / Atl Airport (Fulton County, GA) area in the past.
YES! It is a common-armed robbery crime scene area. Mainly due to a lot of incoming and leaving airline passengers. Which are usually not thinking of their surroundings.
#3
I'll bet the perp won't do THAT again. No recidivism for you! (twisted Seinfeld reference)
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/27/2024 10:09
Comments ||
Top||
#4
Well. Wait and see the rfaces involved. Betting we will see Juvarius' fambly on teevee saying there should not be a def penally for trying to get some coin.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 10:15
Comments ||
Top||
#6
Witnesses said they saw the man run toward a nearby church. Police later identified the suspect as Alton Coleman and arrested him after seeing him allegedly urinating in public at the church.
Coleman was charged with murder and aggravated assault, and records show he has a lengthy criminal history. The man who was shot and killed was identified as 39-year-old Lando Carter.
WSB was also able to confirm that Carter had been released from prison only a year prior to the robbery and his death. He had served a 15-year sentence for interference with commerce by threats or violence and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
Career Criminals. One has retired, permanently.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2024 11:12
Comments ||
Top||
#7
Probably black-on-black, but this time the good guy won.
#10
Calculate the cost of prosecution alone for such a Ne'er-do-well and give the shooter a reward for saving the taxpayers money and solving a problem the state previously failed to fix.
[Federalist] Students at the University of Washington postponed an anti-Israel demonstration planned for Thursday because too many of the students who signed up are white.
According to MyNorthwest, a Washington-based radio station, the University of Washington’s Progressive Student Union (UWPSU) opted to delay an encampment in solidarity with Palestinian terrorists "to make sure this encampment is a better reflection of the UW community, and having even greater unity with Muslim, Palestinian and Arab students."
"We want to be part of a much larger coalition of groups and make no mistake, WE WILL HAVE A UW ENCAMPMENT! We want to make sure everyone’s voice is included and this action is as safe, secure, and strong as possible," read a statement from the far-left student union published by MyNorthwest. When wearing a Kifaya is simply not enough.
Because all the kool kids are doing it! In days gone by, they would all be wearing raccoon coats, swallowing goldfish, or stuffing themselves into phone booths. O tempora, o mores!
[Federalist] Having successfully secured more U.S. taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of their buddies in Ukraine, the Biden administration has now shifted its attention to another geopolitical hotspot: the Indo-Pacific.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in China this week meeting with high-level Chinese Communist Party officials, including his counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Conversations are expected to center around various issues of contention between Washington and Beijing, such as the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. During Thursday talks with CCP officials in Shanghai, Blinken reportedly "raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices," according to the State Department.
But raising concerns and demonstrating capable U.S. leadership are two different things, the latter of which President Joe Biden has failed to an embarrassing degree. Since taking office, America’s 46th president has crippled his nation’s economy and national sovereignty, while executing a disastrous foreign policy agenda that’s permitted China’s rise to go virtually unchallenged.
[Off Guardian via ZERO] They are far from alone in covering this. Back in March, Sky News was asking: "Next pandemic is around the corner,’ expert warns — but would lockdown ever happen again?"
On April 3rd, the Financial Times asked something similar: "The next pandemic is coming. Will we be ready?"
Less than an hour ago, the Daily Mail invited us inside "the world’s deadliest cave that could cause the next pandemic".
Just two days ago a professional panic spreader wrote for CNN:
The next pandemic threat demands action now!!!
OK, I added the exclamation points, but they are very much implied in the original text.
So, while Iran and Israel rattle their sabres on the front pages, I thought we should take a look at the quieter back pages to see what we can learn, and help us predict how "the next pandemic" will unfold.
WHAT IS "THE NEXT PANDEMIC"?
I mean...I feel like that’s fairly self-explanatory.
Seriously though, it’s the one they’ve been predicting from pretty much the moment Covid started. First it was going to be monkey pox — sorry MPox — but that fizzled.
Of course by "pandemic", we really mean "psy-op", because nothing about the next pandemic will be any more real than the last pandemic. Hell, given the leaps forward in AI technology, it could be considerably less real next time.
We don’t know any of the details yet, but there’s enough vague coverage to tease out some guesstimates.
WHAT DISEASE WILL THEY USE?
Probably the most important question. We already mentioned monkey pox, but that doesn’t look likely anymore.
Right now they are mostly talking about "disease X" — a term which caused a little panic in certain sections when it first appeared on the scene — but that isn’t some top secret gain of function super disease, it’s literally a place holder name.
And it’s a placeholder name which does its job, for the time being.
After all, they don’t really need an actual name yet, any more than they need an actual disease, they just need the idea of a disease to hold over people’s heads while they construct the legislative rules of their health-based tyranny.
#1
"The talk now is of antibiotic-resistant germs, of "stealth" viruses, genetically engineered to lie dormant in the human body until triggered by terrorists releasing an otherwise harmless chemical. Professor Stephen Hawking has described has described such germs as the greatest threat facing mankind."
#7
Whilst is a Britishism. Makes me want to puke when seen in a non Brit publication.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 9:10
Comments ||
Top||
#8
We went for a hundred years without a pandemic. Now we can have one in the offing constantly and a real one every time we have a Publican president.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024 13:51
Comments ||
Top||
#9
/\ I blame global peace, modern medicine, and a general absence of combat culling.
[PJ] District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Donald Trump was always weak if not meritless. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing a felony case for a low-level misdemeanor that normally would have resulted in a fine that was also past the statute of limitations.
Be that as it may, Bragg’s weak case has taken some real hits on Friday, as the testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, has been devastating for the prosecution. In fact, according to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, Bragg’s case is now "collapsing on its own weight."
"They have a witness who was disassembling in front of them," Turley told Fox News on Friday. "You know, the prosecution never revealed to the jury in the direct that Pecker actually had killed stories for other celebrities that he had been working on stories two decades before the election with Trump that he was suppressing."
This is particularly helpful to Trump’s case because it means that the prosecution can't directly link Trump’s efforts to quash the Stormy Daniels story to the election.
"And now it's only getting worse," Turley continued. "Yesterday was really bad in terms of the cross-examination for the prosecution. Today is much worse."
#1
Free media publicity for the Orange Man. Bragg's case is having the opposite of the desired effect, but the Deep State is too stupid and eaten up with Trump Derangement Syndrome to realize their error.
#3
Even MSM are beginning to question this case's merit. But no matter as long as it keeps Trump off the campaign trail and costs him a bundle.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/27/2024 11:52
Comments ||
Top||
#4
"RNC Chair Michael Whatley: Every Day Trump Is in the Courtroom, His Campaign Contributions Spike"
"What we've seen, though, is that every day that President Trump has been in court, he's been getting a million dollars or more in small-dollar donations that are coming in online…Joe Biden's team has a lead because they've been in the White House for four years. We have been making up ground very fast, and we will absolutely have the resources that we need to be able to get our message out to the American voters."
[Gateway] After the release of this incriminating audio, federal agents raided J6 political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s jail cell and dragged him to solitary confinement in the hole of the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn on Thursday night.
Earlier today, Alicia Powe at The Gateway Pundit exposed J6 insurrection leader Ray Epps lying to the FBI in a leaked interview to The Gateway Pundit.
Epps repeatedly lied to authorities saying he was listening to President Trump’s speech at the Ellipse when there is numerous video clips proving Epps was not being truthful.
Ray Epps was directing Trump supporters to the US Capitol for hours before the protests on Capitol Hill. Epps later was one of the leading protesters who broke through the first and second set of barriers going to the US Capitol.
[Just The News] The Department of Justice’s decision this week to refuse to turn over the audio tapes of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur could set up a new fight between the administration and Congress.
The refusal marks the second time the DOJ has declined to provide the audio tapes to Congress, though it has turned over the transcripts of the interview.
[IsraelTimes] University President Minouche Shafik announces retreat, citing ’progress’ in talks with students; Hezbollah terror group flag spotted at Princeton camp
Columbia University backed off late Thursday from an overnight deadline for pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protesters to abandon an encampment there as more college campuses in the United States sought to prevent occupations from taking hold.
Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the country, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel’s war with Hamas Hamas
...always the voice of sweet reason... . According to a Reuters tally, 550 have been arrested nationwide.
The office of New York-based Columbia University president Minouche Shafik issued a statement at 11:07 p.m. (0307 GMT Friday) retreating from a midnight deadline to dismantle a large tent camp with around 200 students.
"The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned," the statement said. "We have our demands; they have theirs."
Cowards. We saw exactly this in 1938, so they know how it turns out. Elsewhere it has been suggested that 1968 is the proper historical comparison, which also makes sense. At any rate, this is not about a collegial discussion of philosophical differences, but about the violent invasion of campus for the express purpose of driving out a specific sub-population and cowing any who would think to object. The answer to such violence is immediate, greater violence, with lifelong impacts on the idiots who thought they could behave so.
The statement denied that New York City police were invited to the campus. "This rumor is false," it said.
A student, identifying herself only as Mimi, told AFP she had been at the camp for seven days.
"They call us terrorists, they call us violent. But... they’re the ones that called in the police when students were sitting in a circle," she said. "The police are the ones with guns, the police are the ones with tasers, we only have our voices."
Democratic lawmaker and Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar was seen visiting her daughter during the protest at Columbia. A video uploaded to her Instagram account showed her greeting Isra Hirsi’s friends, including one Jewish pro-Paleostinian activist wearing a yarmulke.
An activist wearing one, anyway. But they can be bought on Amazon, with no requirement that the wearer be Orthodox or even Jewish.
Hirsi was one of several students suspended after more than 100 anti-Israel protesters were detained by police last week at Columbia.
Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Paleostinians in Gaza Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , where the death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 34,305, according to the terror group’s health ministry — a figure that cannot be independently verified, and includes some 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle.
Israel also says it killed some 1,000 Death Eaters inside Israel on October 7, when the Hamas-led onslaught that sparked the ongoing war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern communities. Terrorists also took 253 hostages into Gaza.
Two hundred and sixty-one IDF soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.
More than 200 people protesting the war were arrested Wednesday and early Thursday at universities in Los Angeles, Boston, and Austin, Texas, where around 2,000 people gathered again on Thursday.
On the New Jersey campus of Princeton University, officers swarmed a newly formed encampment, video footage on social media showed.
Images showed protesters waving flags of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which has been attacking Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza since October 8.
Riot officers in the southern state of Georgia used chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests at Emory University in Atlanta.
Jail records showed 22 people arrested by Emory police were charged with disorderly conduct. Emory said it had been notified that 28 people were arrested, including 20 members of the university community, with some having been released by nighttime.
Photographs showed police wielding tasers as they wrestled with protesters on neatly manicured lawns.
The Atlanta Police Department said officers responding to the school’s request for help were "met with violence" and used "chemical irritants" in their response.
The spreading protests began at Columbia University, which has remained the epicenter of the student protest movement.
FREE SPEECH?
No. They aren’t speaking — this is a violent invasion and the leaders are paid professionals.
The protests pose a major challenge to university administrators trying to balance campus commitments to free expression against complaints that the rallies have crossed a line.
Pro-Israel supporters and others worried about campus safety have pointed to antisemitic incidents and allege that campuses are encouraging intimidation and hate speech.
"I’ve never felt more scared to be a Jew in America right now," said Skyler Sieradsky, a 21-year-old student of philosophy and political science at George Washington University. "There are students and faculty standing by messages of hate, and standing by messages that call for violence."
Demonstrators, who include a number of Jewish students, have disavowed antisemitism and criticized officials equating it with opposition to Israel.
"People are here in support of Paleostinian people from all different backgrounds... (compelled by) their general sense of justice," a 33-year-old graduate student at the University of Texas, Austin, who said he was Jewish and gave his name as Josh, told AFP.
Despite such assurances by activists, videos and testimonies have surfaced of apparent antisemitic incidents linked to the demonstrations.
Footage uploaded Friday showed a protester carrying a Paleostinian flag yelling, "Go back to Belarus, go back to Poland, get the hell out of here" at Jewish students carrying Israeli flags at Columbia.
COAST TO COAST
At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, 93 people were arrested for trespassing on Wednesday, authorities said, and the university canceled events at the May 10 graduation ceremony.
The ceremony, which usually attracts 65,000 people, made headlines this month when administrators canceled a planned speech by a top student after complaints from Jewish groups that she had links to antisemitic groups. She denied the charge.
At Emerson College in Boston, local media reported classes were canceled Thursday after police clashed with protesters overnight, tearing down a pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel encampment and arresting 108 people.
In Washington, students from Georgetown and George Washington University (GW) established a solidarity encampment on the GW campus Thursday.
Protests and encampments have also sprung up at New York University and Yale — both of which also saw dozens of students arrested earlier this week — Harvard, Brown University, MIT, the University of Michigan, and elsewhere.
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt said its campus could remain closed into next week due to protesters occupying buildings.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body.... denounced "blatant antisemitism" that has "no place on college campuses."
But the White House has also said the president supports freedom of expression at US universities.
#7
She's Minouche!
She's Minouche!
She's a plagarist fandango!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 7:39
Comments ||
Top||
#8
24, s23e01...
"We thought you were dead!"
"And our cause!"
"But their scholarly communist spas
Gave me refuge. Rejoice!"
"Chloe, track down that voice!"
"Jack, that wacko's 'Din' Dina Araz!"
[An Nahar] Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has revealed that he has "received major warnings from the Europeans and Arabs" regarding the Israel-Hezbollah clashes, a media report said on Thursday.
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has also told him in their latest phone call that "there is a need to cease fire in the south and not wait for the course of the war in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip," al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
Hezbollah has meanwhile informed Mikati and other Lebanese officials that "the threats -- regardless whether they are serious or a repetition of the intimidation campaign -- will change nothing in the decision to maintain the military support for Gaza."
Informed sources also told al-Akhbar that "the intimidation comes amid the Israeli enemy’s preparations to enter Rafah with a full US cover for an assault that might last for more than six weeks."
"It needs to halt the war of attrition on the northern front amid its inability to open two fronts at the same time," the sources added.
[IsraelTimes] Jewish students unnerved, but defiant; pro-Palestinians enjoy growing numbers, but demands unmet; university head avoids punishing violators but still accused of ’genocide’ by demonstrators
The crowd of several hundred Northwestern University students at the newly established "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" erupted in cheers Thursday morning as an approaching car loudly honked in apparent support of their cause.
But then the vehicle turned onto the road adjacent to the suburban Chicago school’s quad, entering the pro-Palestinian protesters’ line of sight, where it could be identified as a firetruck.
The honking, therefore, was likely more a case of standard procedure for clearing a congested street when responding to a 9-1-1 call than an endorsement of the protesters’ key demand that the university divest from Israeli institutions.
And so it seemed like an apt snapshot for a day in which no side really came out on top and victories were at best imagined.
Because while the protesters managed to balloon from several dozen at 7 a.m. to a crowd of well nearly 1,000 by nightfall, a school administrator speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity said the chances of the students’ demands being met remained close to nil.
As for Jewish students on campus, they might have been able to take initial solace in the university’s decision to bar the tents erected at the start of the protest, but that ordinance went largely unenforced. By midnight, the number of outlawed tents had swelled to roughly 80, and anti-Israel chants rang out from similarly unapproved megaphones on repeat.
"Hey, hey. Ho ho. Israel has got to go!"
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!"
"Long live the Intifada!"
In a correspondingly no-win situation was Northwestern President Michael Schill, who is still in his first year on the job. The 65-year-old legal scholar is trying to prevent the campus from descending into the type of chaos seen through the past week at Columbia University. There, his counterpart dispatched the NYPD to clear an anti-Israel encampment in what led to the arrests of over 100 students and the sparking of a national protest movement.
Ostensibly recognizing that another aggressive crackdown would not calm the campus temperature, Schill withheld enforcement of the updated code of conduct.
This did not shield him from the anti-Israel protesters’ chants of "Schill, Schill, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!"
MASKING THEIR IDENTITIES
The protest was well organized from the outset, with organizers donning yellow traffic vests and effectively communicating with participants via megaphones and social media.
Participants were instructed to form a ring around the encampment to serve as human shields if campus police — who were at the site periodically throughout the day — were ordered to try and remove the tents. This was enough to thwart one such directive in the morning, which led to a minor scuffle, and authorities didn’t try again for the rest of the day.
Student groups supporting the action sponsored water and snacks for participants, many of whom skipped class to stay at the encampment all day. Nearly 100 were still on site Friday morning, receiving "arrest training" to be ready for the event that police would move in a second time.
Organizers pledged to remain on Deering Meadow quad until the university condemned what they said has been its censorship of pro-Palestine speech and ceased all academic partnerships and investments in Israeli groups and companies.
Nearly all protesters covered their faces with either COVID masks or Palestinian keffiyehs, which several participants said were designed to prevent them from being identified.
They were also all coached not to speak with the media, and each of the many journalists on campus was diverted to one of the organizers.
This writer was repeatedly refused interviews when identifying as a Times of Israel reporter. "Since that’s an Israeli propaganda tool, that’s not going to have a place here," one of the organizers said.
Nonetheless, the mood on the quad was light for much of the day. Music blasted from loudspeakers; some participants learned and performed the dabke Palestinian folk dance; incenses were passed around at one point in the afternoon.
Curious onlookers stopped to take pictures before continuing to their classes at the surrounding lecture halls.
HOW REPRESENTATIVE?
The protest was located on south campus, where humanities majors are largely based. Students in this half of the university were said to be more politically active, with sympathies leaning more toward the Palestinian side of the conflict. North campus largely houses STEM students, who were said to generally be more indifferent about such issues.
Still, students were split over how representative those occupying the quad were of the broader campus position on the war in Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more broadly.
Firmly pro-Israel students insisted the encampment amounted to a vocal minority.
"I think a lot of these people aren’t even Northwestern students," said senior Josh Miller.
A handful of older local Evanston residents were seen waving Palestinian flags on the outskirts of the encampment, which also housed graduate students and faculty. One participant wearing a sweatshirt featuring Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida said he was "affiliated" with the university and declined to elaborate.
One onlooking Jewish student who asked to remain anonymous told The Times of Israel in the morning that most people on campus don’t have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as the crowd expanded to nearly 1,000 people around sunset, he reached back out to correct his stance, saying that even though the overwhelming majority of Northwestern’s 8,000 undergraduates were not protesting on Thursday, a majority do care enough to have an opinion on the issue.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Indeed, over 2,300 Wildcats signed onto a resolution listing the protesters’ demands that was passed — in a 20-2 vote on Wednesday night by the student legislative body. (The two nay votes were Hillel and college Democrats; nine members abstained.)
"I was surprised that [so many] signed the petition. I thought this campus was lame and that nobody did activist stuff, but I guess they do!" said a junior who supported the protest but asked only to be identified by his first name, Dylan.
He noted that there was more of a focus at the encampment on calls for divestment from Israel than for a ceasefire in Gaza, and figured that this was because Northwestern has virtually no sway over the warring parties.
"They do, however, have a choice whether or not to cooperate with companies in Israel or support partnerships with them," said Dylan, who had to speak up to be heard over an organizer’s megaphone and the media helicopters flying overhead.
When asked whether divestment from Israel is an end in of itself, he said it was not. "It’s a means to an end. I guess a ceasefire is the end."
"If Northwestern divested and there was a ceasefire, I think the protest would end," he said.
Pressed on whether the ceasefire should be part of the potential hostage deal currently being brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, Dylan said, "No, I don’t even think that Hamas has to be part of an agreement for [Israel] to agree to stop indiscriminately bombing."
"Part of what Hamas wants is a ceasefire and maybe also an end to the occupation," Dylan said, apparently unaware of or indifferent to Hamas’s declared goal of destroying Israel and its invasion and massacre on October 7. "The hostages are their leverage, and I do think they should be released if there is a ceasefire," he added.
’UNCOMFORTABLE’
Multiple Jewish students acknowledged being distressed over the day’s protest.
"Today, I feel uncomfortable and unsafe," said junior Eden while standing just several feet away from the ring of anti-Israel students surrounding the tents.
"Yet I can’t help but stand here and just watch — watch all these people who heard that I was Jewish and and am not in support of this as they stare at me all of the time," she added.
"There are a lot of people who aren’t forthcoming about their support for Israel... I do tell people I am, because I’m proud of it," Eden said.
Later in the afternoon, she and another student joined an older Jewish local resident who had been jogging around the encampment since the morning wearing a white t-shirt with an Israeli flag.
While Northwestern has a sizable Jewish population, the subset of Modern Orthodox students is smaller.
Yarmulke spottings are accordingly rarer, save for the campus’s longtime Chabad rabbi, who was seen watching the protest from the other side of the quad with a group of Jewish students.
Later in the day, though, this reporter caught up with Jeremy Berkun, who was making his way through Deering Meadow en route to class at the music school.
He said he was choosing to wear a yarmulke Thursday, even though he doesn’t typically do so as a Conservative Jew, so that his Modern Orthodox friends wouldn’t be alone in donning them during this more tense period on campus.
"I have had a few instances of my friends getting their mezuzahs taken off their doors last semester," Berkun said.
Along with his more religious "brothers," he said he also has a friend who was leading the anti-Israel protest.
"I’ve had a lot of discussions with him about how we both think violence is bad, but he posted that he supports ’the resistance’ the day after October 7," Berkun, a sophomore, said sadly.
BUT NOT GOING ANYWHERE
As Berkun walked through campus, he was greeted warmly by Jewish and non-Jewish friends.
"I don’t think I would ever reconsider coming here. I think this is the perfect place for me. No matter where I was going to be in this country, I was always going to have some problems on campus. It was just a matter of where."
"If I was at Columbia, Yale or Michigan, I’d have the same problems I’m dealing with now. It’s just a question of how I deal with them, and that’s by being with my Jewish community, being with Hillel, being with Chabad," he added.
Freshman Maia Egnal described a similar sense of comfort at Northwestern even while acknowledging the uncomfortable, "antisemitic" nature of the day’s protest.
"I have not seen these people who are out there today protesting loss of civilian life in other places," she lamented during an interview at Northwestern Hillel, a block away from the encampment.
"I’ve been horrified, horrified, horrified to see the loss of Palestinian life during this war, but I wouldn’t say that Israel doesn’t deserve to exist over this, the same way I didn’t say America didn’t deserve to exist over the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq," said Egnal who is involved in the school’s J Street U chapter, which advocates for a two-state solution.
She discussed sometimes feeling isolated — particularly since October 7 — between some of the more hawkish students at Hillel who have branded calls for a ceasefire "antisemitic" and those at the encampment who "don’t believe Israel should exist."
"Nonetheless, I love my Jewish life here," Egnal said. "My younger sister was just choosing where to go to college, and I told her that if she came to Northwestern, she would have a vibrant Jewish life here. She’s committing here today."
"I will never tell a Jewish student not to come here, and I think that is probably the attitude of every Jewish student here. Overwhelmingly, I know that this building will always support me."
’JEWISH LIFE IS THRIVING’
Downstairs, some 150 students were taking advantage of the Passover lunch Hillel was providing throughout the holiday.
While a large group of them ate, campus rabbi Jessica Lott shared a few words about the importance of having both pride and empathy at this moment.
"We serve students across the political spectrum, including ones who have been involved in the protest," Lott said, adding that she had originally scheduled to meet on Thursday with one of the organizers for a religious lesson, which was canceled "because she needed to be there [at the encampment] today and I needed to be here today."
The campus rabbi adamantly rejected the notion that the anti-Israel activity was fundamentally changing life on campus for Jewish students.
Hillel hosted hundreds of students for Passover seders earlier this week, and there were more students than ever asking for help to host their own seders in their apartments, she said, rejecting the suggestion that this was a reaction to October 7 and its aftermath.
"They’re all excited to do this and see it as part of adulting. We do it every year, and it has been a growing program. It’s growing because it’s fun. Regardless of what’s happening outside," she said.
"Jewish life on campus is thriving, and students are finding a way to make their own sense of what’s going on," Lott added, suggesting that while Thursday was certainly no win for Jewish students, they would do just fine regardless.
[AFRICANEWS] Two individuals have been charged with immigration offences following an inquiry into the devastating loss of five migrants, including a child, in the English Channel.
Among the victims were three men, a woman, and a seven-year-old girl, who tragically perished in a harrowing incident aboard a vessel carrying 112 individuals on Tuesday.
Tajdeen Abdulaziz Juma, hailing from Sudan, and Yien Both, originating from South Sudan, have been placed in custody pending further legal proceedings.
Both defendants, aged 22, stand accused of endeavouring to reach the UK without proper entry clearance.
They are scheduled to make a court appearance at Folkestone Magistrates' Court at a later time.
Mr Both has also been charged with assisting unlawful immigration.
A third man, 18, from Sudan, was arrested earlier this week and has been bailed pending further inquiries.
The vessel got into trouble early on Tuesday morning after leaving Wimereux in northern France, and police witnessed people entering the water from the overcrowded boat.
It was one of several small boats which left France at about 03:00 local time.
Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others opted to remain in the boat and continue towards the UK, the coastguard said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[74 views]
Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] The welders received information that the F-16s would be transferred to the 30th tactical aviation brigade of Ukraine and the 114th tactical aviation brigade of Ukraine.
3 F-16AM fighters with tail numbers J-010, J-019, J-366 and 2 F-16BMs with tail numbers J-064 and J-210 arrived at the Romanian 86th air base “Lieutenant George Mokornice”.
The aircraft are intended for use by the European F-16 Training Center.
The center was created as a result of cooperation between Romania and the Netherlands in partnership with the intention of transferring 5 fighter jets to Lockheed Martin with the support of Denmark.
All five fighters are relatively new:
the F-16AM J-010 built in 1991;
F-16AM J-019 built in 1991;
F-16 AM J-366 built in 1988;
F-16BM J-064 built in 1988;
F-16BM J-210 built in 1986.
Deliveries of F-16 fighters to the Kyiv regime will begin in 2024. This was stated by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin before the start of a meeting of the contact group on providing assistance to Ukraine.
“The delivery of more than a squadron of F-16s to Ukraine will begin this year,” Austin said.
According to him, deliveries will be carried out together with pilots and maintenance personnel trained by members of the contact group.
As Regnum reported, in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with military pilots, noted that American F-16 fighters would not change the combat situation in the Northern Military District zone if they were transferred to Kiev. They will be mercilessly destroyed, like other Western equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the head of state emphasized.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on April 5 that F-16 fighters will not be able to become a “silver bullet” for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and will not turn the situation in the combat zone in favor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Russian armed forces will easily destroy the F-16 fighters stationed at Ukrainian airfields, says German journalist Julian Röpke. In his opinion, the supply of any number of fighters without creating effective air defense on the territory of Ukraine makes no sense. He also called for a sober look at the feasibility of transferring the F-16 to Kyiv.
[GEO.TV] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that the International Criminal Court's (ICC) rulings on the Paleostinians' genocide case would "set a dangerous precedent" but would not affect Israel's actions.
"Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself," Al Jazeera quoted the prime minister's statement shared online.
"While decisions made by the court in The Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures."
Last month, the Law for Paleostine organization made the first in a series of submissions to the ICC, accusing Israeli leaders of committing the crime of genocide committed against Paleostinians.
"The 200-page document, drafted by 30 lawyers and legal researchers from across the world and reviewed by more than 15 experts, makes a compelling case for the genocidal intent as well as for the prosecutorial policy that the court has followed in other cases," the group's Anisha Patel and Hassan Ben Imran wrote in an opinion piece published by Al Jazeera.
"If the ICC fails to act once again, it risks undermining its own authority as an institution of international justice and the international legal regime as a whole," they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[76 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Time to bring some accountability to courts: both national & international?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Russian security forces detained another person involved in a criminal case regarding a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
It is noted that the detained Dzhumokhon Kurbonov is a citizen of Tajikistan,
…another one?! Don’t Tajiks have anything better to do than go after innocent concert-goers in Moscow
a native of the city of Parkhor, born in 2003. He is charged with paragraph 6, part 3, p. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Terrorist act”), RBC reports, citing a source close to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
A total of 12 people were arrested in connection with the criminal case.
How many are Tajiks?
As Regnum reported, on the evening of March 22, armed terrorists attacked Crocus, opened fire on visitors with machine guns and set fire to the auditorium. 145 people were killed, including six children, and 551 people were injured. Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev informed that investigators confirmed and procedurally established the connection between the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall and Ukrainian nationalists.
Director of the Federal Security Service of Russia Alexander Bortnikov said on March 26 that the testimony of those involved in the case of the terrorist attack in Crocus confirms the Ukrainian trace. He emphasized that the investigation has confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall received significant amounts of money from Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia will reach all the beneficiaries and customers of the terrorist attack at Crocus. The Foreign Intelligence Service noted that the United States was shielding those responsible for the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
On April 24, the head of Rosfinmonitoring, Yuri Chikhanchin, said that the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow was carefully planned and carried out by an international network of accomplices. The perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus were provided with funding, weapons, transport, ammunition, and the escape routes from the crime scene and their actions were clearly coordinated by curators.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] In the Avdeevsky direction, the defenders repulsed 23 attacks of Russian invaders, in Novopavlovsky - 12.
During the day, 79 clashes were recorded at the front, most of them in the Avdeevsky and Novopavlovsky directions. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced this in an evening report on Friday, April 26.
In total, Russian troops carried out one missile and 67 air strikes, and carried out 54 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.
In the Kupyansk direction, soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled seven attacks in the areas of the settlements of Kislovka and Berestovo, Kharkov region; Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region.
In the Liman direction, nine attacks were repelled in the Serebryansky forestry area of the Lugansk region; settlements of Terna and south of Zarechny, Donetsk region.
In the Bakhmut direction, eight attacks were repelled in the areas of Belogorivka settlements in the Lugansk region; Vyemka, Spornoe and Ivanovskoye, Donetsk region, where the enemy tried to improve the tactical situation.
In the Avdeevsky direction, defenders repelled 23 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Arkhangelskoye, Keramik, Ocheretino, Semenovka, Umanskoye, Kalinovo, Donetsk region, where the Russians, with the support of aviation, tried to oust Ukrainian units from their occupied lines.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Defense Forces continue to contain the enemy in the areas of the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Prechistovka and Urozhaynoye in the Donetsk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defense 12 times.
In the Orekhovsky direction, the invaders, with the support of aviation, attacked the positions of our defenders three times in the area of Staromayorskoye, Donetsk region, and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region.
In the Kherson direction, the enemy does not abandon his intention to oust the Ukrainian Armed Forces units from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. Thus, within 24 hours, with the support of aviation, he carried out three unsuccessful attacks in the area of the village of Krynki, Kherson region.
During the day, Defense Forces aircraft carried out strikes on 11 areas where Russian personnel were concentrated.
Units of the missile forces inflicted defeat on two areas where personnel were concentrated, a radar station, three air defense systems, an electronic warfare station, and the composition of the enemy’s material and technical means.
Let us remind you that over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liquidated 950 invaders . Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has lost 463,930 soldiers.
[SHAFAQ] On Friday, the administration of the Chamchamal district announced that three people were killed and three others were injured in the drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the Qadir Karam district of Chamchamal district.
Ramak Ramadan, Chamchamal Kaimakam, stated to Shafaq News agency that "three people were killed and another three wounded in the attack," confirming that "the dead workers are foreigners."
He added that "the attack was carried out by an unidentified drone on the Khor Mor gas field at exactly 6:45 pm today, targeting the oil storage location outside the field, and the extent of the material damage has not yet been determined."
Ramadan also mentioned that "this incident is the second of its kind this year, knowing that the company produces household gas and electricity."
On his part, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani, "strongly" condemned the attack.
"The death and injury of several field employees deeply saddens me...I call on the federal government and the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region to immediately begin a thorough investigation and take serious measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, which victimize civilians. The people of Kurdistan are the first to be affected."
A source mentioned that the attack suspended gas production and reduced electricity production by 2500 megawatts.
Notably, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
ICYMI: Four #Yemeni workers have been killed in a #droneattack on a gas complex in #Iraq’s northern autonomous region of Kurdistan, an official says, revising a previous toll of three expatriate workers.https://t.co/x4um6vwXzz
[GEO.TV] Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... on Friday, demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on US campuses.
Chanting their support for the Paleostinians, the students displayed Paleostinian flags at windows and over the building's entrance. Several wore the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf that has become an emblem of solidarity with Gaza.
"When we see what is happening in the United States, and now in Australia, we're really hoping it will catch on here in France, the academic world has a role to play," said 22-year-old Hicham, a masters student in human rights and humanitarian studies at Sciences Po.
The students, he said, want Sciences Po to condemn Israel's actions.
"We're very happy that (students at) more and more universities are getting mobilised," said 20-year-old Zoe, a masters student in public administration at Sciences Po.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[176 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
22-year-old Hicham, a masters student in human rights and humanitarian studies at Sciences Po???
#3
University blurb: "Sciences Po recruits its students on the basis of academic excellence. Nevertheless, it was one of the first institutions of higher learning in France to have fully assumed its social responsibilities by promoting intellectual, geographic and social diversity in its student body. Open to all talents..."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Bodies were recovered from mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza Strip. Their number exceeded 390 people, the Palestinian agency WAFA reported on April 26.
“At least 392 bodies were found in three mass graves discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the city of Khan Yunis. Among the bodies, 165 people remain unidentified after their bodies were mutilated,” the journalists specified.
According to preliminary data, the number of civilian deaths since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 has reached 34,305 people, most of them children and women. At least 77,293 people were injured.
As Regnum reported, on April 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with German dictator Adolf Hitler and said that the leadership of the Jewish state will not escape responsibility for its crimes. Erdogan also criticized Israel for what is happening in the Gaza Strip, pointing to an unprecedented number of massacres and attempts to completely destroy Gaza. The Turkish leader emphasized that it is impossible to remain on the sidelines; active steps are needed through UN mechanisms to counter this.
Poor wannabe neo-Ottoman sultan Recep Tayip Erdogan I is terminally frustrated because those uppity Jews not only refuse to accept their proper demeaned role in the world, but they are so much better at that military stuff that the famed Ottoman Turkish army is unable to make them submit.
Large losses among civilians, journalists and humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip as a result of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are associated with the combat tactics of the Palestinian Hamas movement, explained the head of the press service of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, on April 3. According to him, Hamas militants often set up their positions in residential buildings, mosques and hospitals, which endangers civilians of the enclave and creates the risk of attacks on them by the Israeli military.
Hamas took hostages in an unprecedented attack on Israeli border areas beginning on October 7, 2023. In response, the IDF began fighting in the Gaza Strip. Since then, there have been hostage exchanges, including the release of two Russian women by the Palestinians in November.
[IsraelTimes] Evidence suggests Palestinian assertion of discovery of hundreds of bodies buried by IDF is false — and that the bodies were previously buried there by the Palestinians themselves.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Political Bureau of Ansarullah condemned the repression by US officials of peaceful protesters at universities demanding an end to the genocide in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... .
The Bureau affirmed in a statement that the unjustified repression of protesters exposes the falsehood of the US government’s claims to defend freedom, protect human rights, and promote democracy.
It also affirmed the right of American citizens to peaceful protest and commended their ethical stance, reflecting an increase in societal awareness regarding the Paleostinian cause and rejection of Israel’s brutal practices in Gaza.
The Political Bureau of Ansarullah called on international human rights organizations to condemn these oppressive practices against peaceful protesters in the US and to pressure the US government to cease its human rights violations.
The statement emphasized that the genocidal crimes committed by Israel in Gaza require a firm international stance to stop them, and that peaceful demonstrations in the US reflect the American people’s rejection of these crimes and solidarity with the Paleostinian people.
It reiterated that the Paleostinian cause will remain central to Arab and Islamic nations, and Ansarullah continues to support the Paleostinian people through all means until their legitimate rights are achieved.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[62 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[RadarOnline] A woman on Kamala Harris' Secret Service team was suspended this week and once sued the city of Dallas, Texas, for alleged gender discrimination and wrongful termination, RadarOnline.com can confirm after reviewing court documents going back to 2016.
Michelle Herczeg, 43, reportedly got into a physical fight with fellow agents at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base on Monday morning, before the vice president touched down on her way to Wisconsin.
When she arrived as part of the detail for Harris' trip, the agent "began displaying behavior" that her "colleagues found distressing," Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi told The Washington Examiner, which did not name Herczeg.
The newspaper reported that the agent was handcuffed after becoming "aggressive with other agents." Guglielmi said she was "removed" from her assignment and medical personnel were called to the scene.
RealClearPolitics identified Herczeg by name and reported that she was taken off duty after "physically attacking the commanding agent in charge and other agents trying to subdue her."
Herczeg was armed but did not draw her weapon, and colleagues disarmed her after she allegedly "tackled" and "assaulted" a senior agent, the report said.
The outlet spoke with a Secret Service rep and other unnamed sources from the agency, who claimed Herczeg was acting erratically.
The insiders said she was mumbling to herself, hiding behind curtains, and throwing objects at her colleagues while telling them they would "burn in hell and needed to listen to God."
Psychotic break?
They also said she snatched a shift leader's phone and deleted several apps.
Before joining the Secret Service, Herczeg was a member of the Dallas Police Department. She started in 2008 and rose to senior corporal in 2015.
According to court documents, Herczeg filed a lawsuit against the city of Dallas in December 2016, claiming she "suffered discrimination and retaliation because of her gender" in a "hostile work environment."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Israeli strike in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... ’s Beqaa region has killed two members of a Lebanese turban group that has fired rockets across the southern border at Israel, the group said on Friday.
Israel’s military said in a statement on Friday that its air force "struck and eliminated Mosab Khalaf in the area of Meidoun in Lebanon," saying he was a member of the Jama’a Islamiya group and had carried out attacks against Israel.
In a statement, the Jama’a Islamiya said two of its field commanders - Khalaf and relative of his - were killed in the strike.
"The Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization recently planned and promoted a large number of terror attacks from Lebanese territory against Israel in the area of Har Dov, as well as additional areas in northern Israel," the Israeli army said in a statement.
It also claimed that Khalaf "cooperated with the branch of the Hamas
...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... terrorist organization in Lebanon, coordinating and carrying out terror attacks against Israel."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[121 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Russian military has set the task of destroying all airfields in Ukraine so that the aircraft that the West plans to transfer to it have nowhere to be based, former commander of the Polish ground forces, General Waldemar Skrzypczak, said on April 26 on the radio station RMF FM.
“The Russians have an advantage in the air. Firstly, because they greatly weakened the air defense of the Ukrainian army. Secondly, the Ukrainians do not have their own air forces capable of resisting the Russian Aerospace Forces,” he pointed out.
Moreover, the Polish military man added, the Russian military has set itself the task of destroying all Ukrainian airfields so that the planes that will be donated to Ukraine have nowhere to be based.
As Regnum reported, on April 26, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, before the start of a meeting of the contact group on providing assistance to Ukraine, confirmed that deliveries of F-16 fighters to the Kiev regime will begin in 2024. According to him, deliveries will be carried out together with pilots and maintenance personnel trained by members of the contact group.
At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that F-16 fighters will not be able to become a “silver bullet” for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and will not turn the situation in the combat zone in favor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Russian armed forces will easily destroy the F-16 fighters stationed at Ukrainian airfields, says German journalist Julian Röpke. In his opinion, the supply of any number of fighters without creating effective air defense on the territory of Ukraine makes no sense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with military pilots, noted that American F-16 fighters will not change the combat situation in the Northern Military District zone if they are transferred to Kiev. They will be mercilessly destroyed, like other Western equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the head of state emphasized.
The plum blossoms are ready to pop here. You can feel your blood rising. The evening sun lingers a little longer every day. Normally you’d celebrate, but not this year of roaring portents and evil juju. History doesn’t stop to catch its breath for a moment. The tiny glowing diode deep in “Joe Biden’s” brain dims a bit more each day (pause) while low men and women in high places trifle with the fate of the nation. Everyone dreads what’s coming.
Which, judging by events of the week just past, looks like a worse summer of civil chaos than 2020 was. Some entity — say, the checkbook of George and Alex Soros, maybe? — has funded the spring mustering of student mobs in support of Hamas seeking to drive wicked Israel into the choppy Mediterranean. What you’re seeing, though, is probably not what you think you are seeing in all that. The kids are mere digits in a cultural algorithm playing out as New Age dumbshow.
I doubt that three-quarters of them actually give a flying fugazy about the Palestinians, and even fewer could find Gaza on a map if you water-boarded them. They affect to be intersectional victims of the universal oppressor, but in so far as many of the rioters are girls of the Ivy League, or comparable redoubts of privilege— little blue-eyed, blonde-haired muffins raised on pony club, Hermes, and artisan granola — there must be something else going on. That something else is probably sex, which is so problematical now in any traditional frame of a man getting it on with a woman that the American birth-rate is going to zero.
How does a young woman get it on with so many collegiate men vying for gay brownie points these days, or going for the grand prize in transitioning? Why, it’s a non-starter. So, instead, you go slumming among the savages, those hairy, dumb brutes on twerk-alert, dripping testosterone — illegal aliens, student third-worlders, BLM alumni, hardcore hoodlums. They don’t know nuthin ‘bout no pony club, but they will rut like Bilberry rams until the ladies fall away crosseyed. Affecting to be a lesbian only makes the game more piquant. And if you forgot your birth control, for some reason, there’s always the abortionist.
Any time there are brownie points at stake, you know the game is actually for status, and where status is the game, fashion is the currency. Thus, the dress-up in Arab keffiyehs, the charming head-scarf denoting allyship with Hamas. Beats the heck out of those flitty N-95 masks from the 2020 Covid nights of roistering in the Seattle CHOP and trying to burn down the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland.
Rioting gives young men of the toxic persuasion opportunities to flaunt their moxie in acts of derring-do, brawling with the cops, dancing on top of cars, ripping down chain-link fences, flinging gasoline bombs. So much the better for getting the ladies’ attention. Look what I can do! And the keffiyeh accessorizes well with black bloc riot garb. For the muffins, wearing it is great practice for the utopia-to-come when they must don burkas under submission to Sharia. Will Hermes put out a burka?
So far, the spring rioting has mostly been fun for the rioters. Unlike the J-6-21 “paraders,” locked up in the putrid DC jail for years pending trial, the Hamas frolickers are at near-zilch risk of any serious consequences. Few will even be suspended from school. They are doing exactly what the schools trained them up for: destroying Western Civ, one acanthus leaf at a time. According to the shadowy stage-managers behind “Joe Biden,” this will save our democracy.
From there he goes on to predict summer riots in the streets funded by Soros & Son, the failure at the US Supreme Court of the anti-Trump lawsuits, and mayhem at both party conventions.
#2
Actually, I think college students these days have a lot of valid complaints if only they were well enough educated to understand what their real problems are.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/27/2024 12:24
Comments ||
Top||
[GEO.TV] United States State Department’s spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa, Hala Rharrit, has resigned in protest of America’s policy on Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... — at least the third high-profile resignation from the department, as pro-Paleostinian demonstrations at university campuses across the country grow.
Great idea to deny State your undeniably valuable knowledge and services. More should punish Genocide Joe’s government that way.
Rharrit was also the Dubai Regional Media Hub’s deputy director and joined the State Department almost two decades ago as a political and human rights officer, the department’s website showed.
"I resigned in April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States’ Gaza policy," Hala Rharrit wrote in a LinkedIn post, according to Al Arabiya.
"Diplomacy, not arms. Be a force for peace and unity," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[185 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
I anxiously away mass resignations, early retirements, or group self-immolations at Foggy Bottom. Don't just sit there and quietly massage your genitalia. Make your voices HEARD !
[SAHARAREPORTERS] The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) has confirmed the abduction of an Assistant Controller, Abdulraman Ibrahim Gelele in Niger State.
Gelele, who was attached to the Niger State command of the service, was reportedly kidnapped along Minna-Ilorin Road on April 17, 2024.
It was learnt that the abductors made initial contact with both his family and the NCS command in Minna but later cut off communications.
In a statement on Friday, the NCS Comptroller in Niger State, Mohammed Isa confirmed that Gelele was kidnapped.
The statement issued by the spokesperson for the command, Rabiu Mohammed Shuaibu, stated, "On behalf of the officers and men of the command, we solicit your prayers for his safe release and freedom from captivity please."
[SAHARAREPORTERS] The bandits attacked the town at about 2:00am on Friday and the onslaught lasted for about two hours; they were shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Terrorists, locally dubbed as bandits, have attacked Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State and the country home of Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, killing two persons and abducting about 30 others.
The bandits attacked the town at about 2:00am on Friday and the onslaught lasted for about two hours; they were shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Although the actual number of the abducted persons was yet to be ascertained as of press time, the figure was put around 30, including women, children and adults given the number of homes affected.
Speaking with Leadership newspaper, a traditional ruler, whose house was ransacked by the bandits, expressed dismay over the high level of insecurity in the town.
"It was to my hearing the bandits burgled my palour’s door, coming towards my inner room, I managed to hide while my wives and children followed another passage and ran away to hide somewhere," he narrated.
The traditional ruler, who doesn’t want his name in print, expressed concern over the rampant attacks on the town, saying that last week Friday, a similar attack was carried out on the town, where cattle and sheep were rustled by the bandits.
A resident of the town, Hassan Ibrahim, lamented that the attack was terrible as bandits were stationed at different locations with sophisticated weapons.
"When I heard their movement close to my door, I crossed over to a nearby wall and ran for my dear life and luckily escaped but overheard them saying that we have all hidden," he added.
He stressed the need for the Minister of State for Defence, who is the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, to intervene in the security situation of his country home to avert further
[IsraelTimes] Authorities say former athletic director used software to fake recording of boss, in which he threatens to ’join other side’ over frustration with complaints from Jewish community.
Police say ex-employee used AI to frame Baltimore school principal as antisemitic
Authorities say former athletic director used software to fake recording of boss, in which he threatens to ’join other side’ over frustration with complaints from Jewish community
A former athletic director of a Baltimore-area high school was arrested Thursday morning and charged with using artificial intelligence to fake antisemitic and racist comments supposedly made by the school’s principal.
The case was part of a growing body of AI-generated impersonation incidents, which experts say is a newfound worry in a growing, barely regulated field of technology. This was an unusual instance of faking antisemitic comments in order to damage a public figure’s reputation.
Baltimore County police charged Dazhon Darien, formerly of Pikesville High School, with disrupting school activities. Authorities said he had used the school’s network to access OpenAI software allowing him to fake a recording attributed to principal Eric Eiswert, according to the Baltimore Banner, a local nonprofit newsroom.
In the recording, a voice sounding like Eiswert says, "If I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I’m going to join the other side." The voice also made racist remarks about Black students. Pikesville is in the center of greater Baltimore’s Jewish community.
The recording spread on social media in January and was also sent to at least three district teachers, including one who told police she forwarded it to a student knowing they would quickly spread it online. An email address linked to Darien sent the audio to various sources.
Some in the community were quick to attribute the comments to Eiswert, who is white, alluding to a history of tension with minority communities. "I am in no way surprised by his comments in this recording," Deray Mckesson, a prominent racial justice activist from the Baltimore area who said he had had Eiswert as a high school teacher, wrote on the social network X in January. He called for Eiswert to "be fired immediately" and for his teaching license to "be permanently revoked."
Superintendent Myriam Rogers said the comments were "highly offensive and inappropriate statements about African American students, Pikesville High School staff, and Pikesville’s Jewish community."
But Eiswert denied making the comments, and questions were soon raised about the voice’s authenticity. Both the local authorities and the school district soon mounted investigations. Eiswert has not worked at the school since they began, although the district would not say if he was removed from his position.
In March, AI experts told local news the audio was most likely faked, citing its flat quality and lack of consistent breathing sounds.
"From the beginning of this incident, the recording seemed odd and suspicious," Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Thursday. Libit said this was why the organization had held off on any initial comment.
"I am appreciative for the police and school system taking the time to investigate and to apparently get to the bottom of what really happened," Libit added. "It is scary to see how AI can be manipulated like this and do such damage to a school community and an individual. We have enough incidents of antisemitism and racism in our communities without things like this."
In the charging document, the police note that Eiswert suspected that Darien created the fake recording as payback after his contract was not renewed.
#3
Stop and imagine the ultra Far Lefts's for lying, creating and staging deflection. While promoting perversion for election just 190 days away and counting.
Now add AI assistance to the generated Vid's, to greatly increase the difficulty in telling real from AI generated.
BTW: there are a few examples already out there...
Google "AI generated anti-Trump videos"
#4
There used to be a saying that "the camera never lies, but the photographer chooses what story to tell". In other words, composition and framing mattered. Examples are the "crowd shot" that only shows a half-dozen people, but up close, from a low angle, it looks like a mass demonstration. Another favorite is the bombed out street with a forlorn, but surprisingly pristine, stuffed animal lying in the road.
With the invention of Photoshop, photographic evidence went out the window. Items could be added or removed from an image and depending on the operators skill, the results could be hard to notice. Face replacement and set extensions (adding stuff that was never there) are computer graphics staples in the movie industry now.
With generative AI, the situation has gotten worse. Audio and video can be hallucinated into existence on demand. The more data you have on the subject, the better the results are. As a consequence, it is easier to fake someone famous saying or doing something that never happened. It will only get worse as the tools and techniques get better and become more available. Say goodbye to evidence!
#5
There are videos all over YouTube about how to create composite images, comparing the results from various apps and what reveals they were not take at once from nature. Once seen that kind of virtual reality thingy can’t be unseen.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:20 Belgium will allocate 200 million euros to Germany’s initiative to search for air defense for Ukraine, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said. According to her, Brussels will also transfer missiles for air defense systems from its own reserves to Kyiv.
21:57 Canada will allocate about $2.2 million for the production of drones by the Ukrainian defense industry, Defense Minister Bill Blair said. He clarified that this happened for the first time in the history of Canadian assistance - in cooperation with Great Britain. In addition, Canada will contribute approximately $9.5 million to the Czech initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine - in addition to the $29 million already announced. Blair also said that Canada will transfer to Ukraine not 800, but 900 SkyRanger drones, the supply of which was first announced in February.
21:19 In the Obolonsky district of Kiev, an urgent evacuation of two hospitals began. One of the medical institutions is a children's hospital. The capital's authorities say that this is due to a video that is being distributed in the media, where "the enemy's attack on these medical institutions is actually announced." Everything that is known about the situation is in the material Urgent evacuation in Kiev: is there any danger?
20:50 The Pentagon announced the contents of the largest aid package to Ukraine from the United States worth $6 billion:
additional ammunition for Patriot and NASAMS;
equipment for integrating Western launchers, missiles and radars with Ukrainian air defense systems;
counter-UAV systems;
ammunition for laser-guided missile systems;
multifunctional radar stations;
counter-artillery radars;
additional ammunition for HIMARS;
155 mm and 152 mm artillery shells;
precision aircraft munitions;
Switchblade and Puma unmanned aerial systems;
tactical vehicles for towing weapons and equipment;
demolition ammunition;
components to support Ukrainian UAV production;
small arms and additional ammunition;
aids and support for training, maintenance, etc.
20:36 Belgium decided to transfer the F-16 to Ukraine before the end of 2024, although deliveries were previously planned for 2025. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced this at a joint press conference.
20:07 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced the largest aid package for Ukraine at $6 billion: “I am pleased to announce the allocation of $6 billion as part of the Ukraine Assistance Initiative. This will help us purchase weapons that are produced in the United States. This is the largest aid package. It will include critical interception capabilities for NASAMS and Patriot systems. More drones and other equipment. Large quantities of artillery ammunition and surface-to-air missiles."
Austin also did not rule out the transfer of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine in cooperation with partners: “As for Patriot, we will see. But we continue to work in this direction, purposefully. All countries that have these systems understand how important they are. I hope we can together with other countries to allocate new additional Patriot systems."
19:28 Biden confirmed that the United States will send weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.
19:25 The SBU commented on the probable statement of the head of the KGB of Belarus Ivan Tertel, because of which the evacuation of patients from two hospitals along Bogatyrskaya Street began in Kiev. The security service called on “to perceive any statements by representatives of the Belarusian authorities regarding mythical terrorists allegedly located in Ukrainian hospitals as a manifestation of information and psychological special operations that play into the hands of the Russian Federation.” At the same time, the SBU emphasized that Ukraine has been countering the enemy in a full-scale war for three years now, and therefore both special services and representatives of local authorities respond to every potential threat in accordance with the prescribed action protocols.
We are talking about a video from social networks in which the head of the KGB of Belarus says that certain “persons” are lying in two hospitals in Kyiv, and they “will suffer a well-deserved punishment according to the laws of war.” At the same time, he names specific addresses - Bogatyrskaya 30 and 32. However, the veracity of the video has not been confirmed. Also, from the excerpt of the speech it is not clear which “persons” are being discussed.
19:11 The large-scale damage to the Ukrainian energy system that Russia has caused with its attacks recently cannot be eliminated in a few weeks or even months, Shmygal said. According to him, work is underway on alternatives: mini-CHPs are being installed in different cities, and the energy system is being strengthened through its decentralization. At the same time, the prime minister called on Ukrainians to use electricity sparingly.
19:04 Zelensky said that on the anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant he was on a visit to Slavutich, Kiev region, and held a meeting on the development of territories near Chernobyl.
18:33 The Russians are trying to encircle Chasov Yar, said Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for the Khortitsa military grouping: “The enemy is concentrating its efforts to break through our defenses west of Bakhmut, access the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal, capture the settlement of Chasov Yar, create conditions there for further advance to Kramatorsk agglomeration. The enemy is trying to take Chasov Yar into the operational environment."
18:10 Zelensky addressed the participants of the Ramstein meeting and named three priorities in the armament of Ukraine: long-range weapons; air defense systems, including at least seven Patriot systems; artillery to thwart the Russian counter-offensive and conduct their own active operations. The President also said that Ukraine is forming new brigades to strengthen positions that need to be provided with weapons.
17:47 Germany will transfer another Patriot system to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed. He called on other countries to follow Berlin's example.
17:26 Budget support for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war has reached $85.35 billion, including $11.78 billion since the beginning of 2024, the Ministry of Finance reported. The EU provided the most financial assistance - $27.47 billion, with the United States in second place - $22.93 billion. Since the beginning of this year, the EU has provided Ukraine with $6.48 billion, while no assistance has been received from the United States.
16:53 In the village of Sotnitsky Kazachok, Bogodukhovsky district, Kharkov region, an enemy drone hit a civilian car - two local volunteers - a husband and wife - and their 18-year-old son were injured, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. The strike took place after humanitarian aid was distributed to the village residents.
16:45 In Kiev, the evacuation of two hospitals, one of which is a children's hospital, located on Bogatyrskaya Street, has urgently begun, the Kyiv City State Administration reported. The reason is the massive dissemination of a video on social networks, where the enemy’s attack on these medical institutions, which allegedly house military personnel, was actually announced. The Kyiv City State Administration emphasized that “this is an absolute lie and a provocation of the enemy, which he is trying to use to attack the social infrastructure of the capital.”
16:41 Norway will allocate $13.7 million for the maintenance of Leopard tanks transferred to Ukraine, the country's government reported. The tanks will be repaired at a maintenance center in Poland.
16:39 The death toll as a result of the Russian strike on Belopol, Sumy region, has increased to two, three more people were injured, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
16:34 UNICEF announced a sharp increase in the number of Ukrainian children killed as a result of Russian attacks. Thus, the confirmed number of child deaths in 2024 increased by almost 40% compared to 2023. According to data verified by the UN, 25 Ukrainian children were killed as a result of attacks from January 1 to March 31, 2024, with another nine killed in the first three weeks of April. Since the start of full-scale war in 2022, attacks have killed at least 600 children and injured more than 1,350, according to U.N. officials. But UNICEF notes that the real number of children killed and wounded in Ukraine may be much higher.
16:18 The United States allowed Ukraine to attack targets in Crimea with ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles, The New York Times writes, citing senior Pentagon officials. The American department called Crimea the center of Russian air and ground forces, “where until now Russia has had a relatively safe refuge,” so the purpose of ATACMS strikes will be “greater pressure on Crimea.”
In addition, ATACMS can be used to carry out strikes behind Russian army lines in other occupied regions of Ukraine. In this case, the target will be Russian supply nodes in the southeast of the country, the Pentagon explained. Ukraine received a version of ATACMS with a range of up to 300 km. The exact number of missiles transferred has not been disclosed. Last fall, the United States sent Kyiv missiles with a range of 165 km.
15:59 The United States has prepared another $1 billion aid package for Ukraine , Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the Ramstein meeting. According to him, this package will include missiles for HIMARS, projectiles, air defense systems and other weapons.
15:35 This year, more F-16 squadrons will begin to arrive in Ukraine, along with trained pilots and maintenance personnel, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said at the opening of the Ramstein meeting.
15:21 Ukrainian men from 18 to 60 years old will be able to obtain passports only from the State Migration Service on the territory of Ukraine if they have submitted application forms starting from April 25. Documents will not be sent to foreign branches of State Enterprise Document, the Passport Service Citizen Service Center reported.
Meanwhile, Kuleba said that the return of those liable for military service to Ukraine is a matter of justice: “I think that this is fair to Ukrainian men in Ukraine. I think that it will be fair to them if men from abroad return to Ukraine.”
15:16 The Russians fired artillery at the city of Belopole in the Sumy region - one person was killed and four were injured, the OVA reported. As a result of the shelling, the premises of a medical institution, multi-storey and private houses, a shopping center, and a bank were damaged.
14:37 Ukrainian citizens liable for military service will be divided into four categories based on health conditions, said Oksana Sukhorukova, director of the Department of Health of the Ministry of Defense. These will be citizens fully fit for military service; suitable for service in a higher military educational institution, in the TCC, support units, institutions, organizations, but not suitable for service in the airborne forces, marines, special forces, special forces units, floating personnel, etc.; suitable for certain specialties; suitable for specific tasks.
14:34 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense stated that it destroyed the Russian multi-purpose Ka-32 helicopter at the Moscow Ostafyevo international airfield, owned by the Russian Defense Ministry.
14:10 At today’s meeting in the Ramstein format, the allies will primarily discuss the supply of ATACMS missiles and shells to Ukraine, said Dmitry Lazutkin, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. The meeting will also focus on arranging the supply of military aid and developing logistics algorithms.
14:06 German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock held a secret dinner with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the restaurant of one of the five-star hotels in Berlin, writes Bild. According to sources, the meeting lasted almost three hours - the security of Europe and further assistance to Ukraine were discussed.
13:58 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after a meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing that Washington may introduce new sanctions against China due to Russia’s support in the war against Ukraine. He added that “if Beijing does not take action to resolve this problem, Washington will.”
13:29 Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that his country will not transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine: “Greece has supported Ukraine with defense equipment in many ways. But we have stated from the very beginning that we cannot transfer weapons systems that are critical to our deterrence ability ".
12:53 Ukraine returned home the bodies of another 140 dead defenders, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
12:45 British intelligence states that over the past week the advance of the Russians in the Avdeevka area of the Donetsk region has accelerated, despite the losses.
12:32 The Russians fired artillery at Nikopol, Dnepropetrovsk region - two people were wounded, including a nine-year-old child, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. Four five-story buildings and a gas pipeline were damaged.
12:01 The Russian Army launched a strike with two KABs on an industrial facility in the city of Sumy, the consequences of the attack are being clarified, OVA reported.
11:39 The Russians launched guided air bomb attacks on the central part of the city of Dergachi, Kharkov region - four people were injured, among them three children aged four, five and 16 years, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. As a result of the impact, a two-story house caught fire.
11:08 Estonia, in cooperation with Denmark, transferred two patrol boats to Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Defense reported.
10:46 Pentagon Speaker Patrick Ryder said that the United States has already begun the process of moving some weapons, ammunition and equipment for Ukraine, “which will arrive in a few days, if not sooner.” However, he added that the delivery of some equipment will take longer.
10:27 Spain, which its EU and NATO partners are calling on to transfer the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, can only supply Kiev with missiles for these systems, El País writes. The decision to transfer a small number of missiles was made after the Spanish Ministry of Defense refused to transfer to Ukraine a battery deployed since 2013 on the border of Turkey and Syria. The publication clarifies that this will be a very limited number of missiles, since the Spanish military reserve is about 50 units.
09:53 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said about the risk of escalation of the war in Ukraine: “Currently, there is still a risk of further deterioration and escalation of this crisis. The international community must strengthen cohesion, join efforts to achieve peace and take real actions to de-escalate the conflict ". The head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry once again emphasized that “China is neither a party to the conflict nor the culprit of the crisis, but it has never watched indifferently from the sidelines.”
09:22 The number of victims as a result of yesterday's missile attack on Balakleya, Kharkov region, has increased to 11, said the head of the OBA Oleg Sinegubov. The glazing of windows and the roof of the railway station building, the Kharkov-Izyum commuter train, which was 15 meters from the impact site, and the track were damaged. Two more people were injured as a result of shelling from MLRS in the village. Novoosinovo, Kupyansky district.
09:10 In the Donetsk region on April 25, five people were killed as a result of Russian shelling - three in Udachny, one each in Kurakhovka and Ocheretino. Eight more people were injured, said the head of the OVA, Vadim Filashkin.
08:59 In the Kherson region over the past 24 hours, six people were injured as a result of Russian shelling, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. A multi-storey building and six private houses were damaged, and hits were recorded at a shopping center, a kindergarten, and an agricultural enterprise.
08:34 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 26:
personnel - about 463,930 (+950) people,
tanks - 7262 (+7),
armored combat vehicles - 13,957 (+15),
artillery systems - 11,867 (+31),
MLRS - 1049 (+0),
air defense systems - 772 (+0),
aircraft - 348 (+0),
helicopters - 325 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 9461 (+12),
cruise missiles - 2119 (+1),
ships/boats - 26 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 15,984 (+35),
special equipment - 1962 (+16).
07:58 Over the past 24 hours, 114 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In particular, the Defense Forces repelled more than 30 attacks in the Avdeevsky direction (in the Ocheretino, Umansky, Nevelsky, Keramika, Berdychi and Netaylovo districts of the Donetsk region); 26 attacks - in Bakhmutskoye (in the areas of Belogorovka settlements in the Luhansk region, as well as Verkhnekamenskoye, Novy, Nikolaevka, Vyemka, Spornoe, Ivanovskoye, Kleshcheevka in the Donetsk region); 20 attacks - in Limansky (in the areas of settlements Druzhelyubovka, Kharkov region; Makeevka, Serebryansky forestry, Lugansk region; Torskoye, Terny, Zarechnoye, Donetsk region).
In addition, the enemy tried 19 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Pobeda, Novomikhailovka, Vodyanoye, Donetsk region. In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled ten attacks in the areas of Kislovka, Berestovo in the Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk region; on Orekhovsky - two attacks in the area of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region; on Kherson - three attacks on the left bank of the Dnieper.
06:17 Ukraine is withdrawing American Abrams M1A1 tanks from the front line, the Associated Press reports, citing two military sources. The Ukrainian military received 31 Abrams tanks from the United States in January 2023. They were used to break through Russian defensive lines. But the battlefield has changed significantly since then, in part due to the widespread use by the Russians of reconnaissance and attack drones. This has made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect tanks. According to the agency, five of the 31 tanks have already been lost.
01:41 The United States is preparing to announce the largest military aid package in history to Ukraine under the USAI program worth $6 billion, Politico writes, citing American officials. The package could be announced as early as Friday, April 26, at a meeting in the Ramstein format. It will include Patriot systems, artillery ammunition, drones, anti-drone weapons and air-to-air missiles for fighter jets.
At the same time, the newspaper clarifies that we are not talking about the immediate supply of weapons and equipment, since the money is allocated as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which issues contracts to American defense firms to manufacture new equipment for Ukraine, rather than withdrawing it from current US stocks. Thus, we can talk about deliveries over several years.
Article Linked To Is Available Only Via VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
The Zapad Group of Forces seized more advantageous lines and inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Borovoye (Kharkov region). In addition, they repelled a counter-attack launched by an assault detachment of the AFU 408th Separate Rifle Battalion close to Terny (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 20 Ukrainian troops and two pickup trucks. In counter-battery warfare, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, one 122-mm D-30 howitzer, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were eliminated.
The Yug Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line and defeated the units of the 5th Assault, 41st Mechanised, 79th Air Assault, 46th Airmobile brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Maksimilyanovka, Katerinovka, Paraskoviyevka, Chasov Yar, Stupochki, Konstantinovka, and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
One attack launched by assault groups of the AFU 58th Separate Mechanised Infantry Battalion has been repelled near Nevelskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 430 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, six motor vehicles, as well as one unmanned aerial vehicle command post.
In counter-battery warfare, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, one 122-mm D-30 gun, one 105-mm U.S.-made M102 howitzer, two Anklav electronic warfare stations, one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery warfare radar station, and four field ammunition depots.
The Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 23rd, 115th mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Novoaleksandrovka, Karlovka, Novogorodskoye, and Arkhangelskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
In addition, eight counter-attacks launched by the assault groups of the 25th Air Assault, the 68th, 71st jaeger, 142nd Infantry, 24th and 100th mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been repelled near Novokalinovo, Shumy, Berdychi, Semyonovka, Ocheretino, and Netaylovo (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 415 Ukrainian troops, one infantry fighting vehicle, eight armoured personnel carriers, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, and three 122-mm D-30 howitzers.
The Vostok Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and inflicted fire damage on the units of the 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade of the AFU and 1st Separate National Guard Brigade of Ukraine near Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses included up to 105 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, and two U.S.-made 155-mm M777 howitzers.
The Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of the 117th Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 121st and 126th territorial defence brigades near Novodanilovka (Zaporozhye region), Respublikanets, and Chervony Mayak (Kherson region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 35 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles, a UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, three U.S.-made 155-mm M777 guns, one 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and one U.S.-made 105-mm M102 towed howitzer.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery hit an echelon with Western weapons and military hardware near Udachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic), personnel and equipment of the 67th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU at a railway loading station near Balakleya (Kharkov region), as well as manpower and hardware of the AFU in 112 areas.
Air defence systems shot down 193 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, two Olkha MLRS shells, and three French-made Hammer aerial guided bombs during the day.
In total, 592 airplanes, 270 helicopters, 23,325 unmanned aerial vehicles, 509 anti-aircraft missile systems, 15,856 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,274 MLRS combat vehicles, 9,140 field artillery guns and mortars, and 21,308 special military vehicles have been neutralised since the beginning of the special military operation.
[An Nahar] An Israeli was killed overnight in a Hezbollah attack in the occupied Kfarshouba Hills, the Israeli army said Friday.
Hezbollah said it has targeted overnight in a combined attack an Israeli military convoy near the Ruweisat al-Alam post in the occupied Kfarhsouba Hills. The group said it used anti-tank missiles and artillery shells, destroying two vehicles. It said its fighters had ambushed the convoy shortly before midnight Thursday, adding that the Israeli army used smoke screen to evacuate the casualties.
The Israeli army reported that two anti-tank missile strikes had hit northern Israel from Lebanon overnight, injuring an Israeli citizen who later died of his injuries. It said the man was an Israeli civilian doing infrastructure work in the area.
Israeli media identified the man as Sharif Suad, a resident of the Bedouin town of Sallama.
Artillery and warplanes bombed in retaliation the outskirts of Shebaa, Kfarshouba and Halta. The Israeli army said fighter jets struck Hezbollah "infrastructure" near Kfarshouba , including a weapon warehouse and a rocket launch pad.
Hezbollah had on Thursday denied a comment by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that "half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated" in the months of violence.
On Friday, Israeli artillery and tanks shelled the outskirts of Dhaira, Yarin and al-Jebbayn and a house in Yarin.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[92 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[SHAFAQ] On Thursday, the Iraqi Border Guard Command announced the thwarting of an attempt to smuggle about 50 kilograms of drugs into the country through the al-Hawizah border crossing with Iran.
According to a statement, the command stated that "a force from the 10th Border Brigade within the 3rd Region Border Command, in a joint operation with the Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances and the Quick Response Unit, seized 51 kilograms of narcotics in al-Hawizah area."
It confirmed that "the joint force arrested the suspect responsible for smuggling," noting that "the seizure operation was carried out based on precise intelligence information, and an official report was prepared, with necessary legal procedures taken."
Iraq's drug problem has reached critical levels. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country has become a major transit route for illegal drugs, particularly Captagon, a stimulant amphetamine. This lucrative trade fuels organized crime and terrorist networks, posing a significant threat to regional stability.
Iraq has over 3,637 kilometres of land border with the Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkiye. Its strategic location means that it is also a conduit for the flow of drugs between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe.
The dramatic increase in methamphetamine trafficking from one side of its border and "captagon" production and trafficking from the other side have consolidated Iraq's role in the drug trade not just as a bridge between major producers and consumers but reportedly as a potential emerging source of methamphetamine production and increased consumption in its own right.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[132 views]
Top|| File under: Narcos
[Iran Press TV] The United States says it plans to withdraw part of its troops from Chad days after announcing the pullout of forces from neighboring Niger.
The withdrawal of about 75 US special forces is reportedly scheduled to begin this weekend and will be completed within days.
The US keeps approximately 100 troops in Chad, under the pretext of fighting extremism.
"USAFRICOM is currently planning to reposition some US military forces from Chad, a portion of which were already scheduled to depart," Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told a news conference on Thursday, referring to the US Africa Command.
"This is a temporary step as part of an ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad's May 6 presidential election."
However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... Sahel area countries have started to question the legality of the US military presence.
In March, Niger’s government also said it was ending a military cooperation agreement with Washington, saying US military presence was illegally imposed on Niger.
The country has also launched discussions with the US on ending its military presence in the African country.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[345 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#4
Yes, Mouchelle's pouty picture she should have held a sign saying "Stop making us look bad."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 9:50
Comments ||
Top||
#5
I hate to say I agree with anything Biden does but what were those guys doing in Chad anyway? Don't we have enough trouble already without going around the world looking for more?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/27/2024 11:41
Comments ||
Top||
#6
^^^ Agreed. One of the surprises of recent revelations is just how many countries we have troops in. Why???
Posted by: Tom ||
04/27/2024 14:19
Comments ||
Top||
#7
Re 5 - (still) chasing Joseph Kony. That guy has 9 lives
#8
#5 and #6 - its the State Department special offer diplomacy - will through in troops for free. Their Deep State brothers and sisters over at OoD don't object.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The court arrested two residents of Kabardino-Balkaria
…one of Russia’s North Caucasus republics…
who, according to investigators, held meetings in Nalchik to recruit local residents into the Islamic State, Sledkom reported.
According to investigators, two residents of Kabardino-Balkaria held meetings in Nalchik with local residents, who were convinced to become members of the international terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia by a court. At the meetings, they showed video materials related to the activities of terrorists.
The investigation believes that in order to achieve their goal, the suspects threatened people with death if they refused to travel to Syria to participate in IS activities.
Heckuva recruiting technique, guys. Way to make friends and influence people.
Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria are charged with Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( “Recruitment for terrorist activities”, provides for up to 15 years in prison - note of the " Caucasian Knot " ). They were arrested, the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for Kabardino-Balkaria reported on its website on April 25.
There were no comments from representatives of the suspects.
The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that on August 27, 2021, a military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, Artur Chemkov, to 11 years in a maximum security colony, finding him guilty of aiding an IS member.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In the city of Rivne in Ukraine, figures of soldiers erected in memory of Soviet soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War were thrown off their pedestals, the Ukrainian publication “Country” reported on April 26. ua".
The footage published on the publication’s Telegram channel shows that construction equipment was brought to the monument. Cables were thrown over the statues, and then, pulling them, they threw the figures off the pedestal.
As Regnum reported, in 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law “On the condemnation of the communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the ban on the propaganda of their symbols.” After this, the country began a campaign to dismantle monuments and rename topographical objects related to the history of the USSR. By the beginning of 2022, more than 2.5 thousand monuments were demolished in Ukraine. The names of more than 900 settlements and about 50 thousand streets were also changed.
In 2022, a new wave of struggle against everything reminiscent of Russian and Soviet history and culture arose in Ukraine. Ukraine's Ministry of Culture said 9,859 place names had been changed and 145 monuments associated with Russia had been dismantled.
However, in January 2024 it was reported that residents of the village of Pushkino in Transcarpathia in western Ukraine refused to demolish the monument to the Soviet soldier. The head of the village council, Stepan Kovach, clarified that “taking into account the constant and unwavering public opinion of the residents of the village of Pushkino, the monument will not be dismantled.” In addition, the headman of the village of Smykova, Lviv region of Ukraine, Vitaly Levitsky, was removed from his post after he did not allow the demolition of a monument to a Soviet soldier.
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the Kiev regime and its Western masters are trying to destroy everything Russian. According to him, such a policy does not and cannot have any future.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A court in Istanbul sentenced the perpetrator of the terrorist attack on Istiklal Avenue in November 2022, Ahlyam al-Bashir, to seven life sentences (1794 years in prison), TRT television channel reported on April 26.
It is noted that during the court hearings, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office asked the court to sentence her to up to 3 thousand years in prison. "Bah! I can do that time standing on my head!"
As Regnum reported, the terrorist attack took place on November 13, 2022 in Istanbul. As a result of a remotely detonated bomb on Istiklal Street in the city center, six people were killed and more than 80 were injured.
46 suspects were detained without delay. According to the authorities, members of the Democratic Union (the military wing of the People's Protection Units, the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party) were involved in the crime.
Istiklal is a 1.5 km long pedestrian street popular with tourists.
On April 1, information appeared that in Istanbul law enforcement agencies detained two suspects in preparing a terrorist attack that was planned to be carried out by the Islamic State group (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation). The newspaper Hürriyet wrote that the detainees were a citizen of Tajikistan and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, the man was arrested and the woman was deported.
[IsraelTimes] Dozens of activists return to Sciences Po after they were cleared out Wednesday, block entrance to campus building with various objects; 40 activists stage overnight sit-in
Students at a prestigious university in Paris resumed anti-Israel protests on Friday, inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses around the United States, two days after French police broke up another demonstration.
Dozens of students at the Sciences Po blocked an entrance to a campus building in central Paris with trash cans, a bike and pieces of metal and wooden platforms. About 40 people remained in a building overnight in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.
On Wednesday evening, more than 100 pro-Paleostinian protesters occupied the amphitheater outside the university’s Paris campus. Most agreed to leave after discussions with management, but a small group of students remained. They were removed by police later that night, according to French media reports.
The demonstration was organized by the Paleostine Committee of Sciences Po, demanding the administration cut ties with universities and companies over their alleged support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are digging in at Columbia University for a 10th day, one of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Connecticut.
Hundreds of students and even some professors have been arrested across the US, sometimes amid struggles with police.
In New York, Columbia is negotiating with student protesters who have rebuffed police and doubled down. Other schools have been quick to call law enforcement to douse demonstrations before they can take hold. Columbia officials have said they will seek other options if the negotiations with protesters fail.
Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
France is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the US, as well as Europe’s biggest Muslim community.
[AFRICANEWS] Human Rights Watch has documented a staggering toll of civilian deaths in a single day in Burkina Faso this year. According to their investigation, more than 220 civilians, among them at least 56 children, fell victim to atrocities allegedly committed by the country's military.
The events unfolded on February 25th, with the village of Soro bearing witness to the loss of 179 lives, while 44 others perished in the neighbouring village of Nondin. Human Rights Watch has labelled these mass killings as some of the most egregious abuses by the army in nearly ten years.
While the report has shed light on these horrific acts, Burkina Faso authorities have remained silent on the matter. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
public prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly has made a public appeal for witnesses to come forward and assist in identifying those responsible for the massacre, initially estimating the death toll at 170.
Eyewitness testimonies provided a chilling account of the military's assault. Survivors recounted how a convoy of over 100 soldiers descended upon Nondin village shortly after Islamist fighters had passed through the area. The soldiers systematically forced villagers from their homes, gathered them in groups, and mercilessly opened fire, leaving no one spared, even those attempting to seek refuge.
The brutality extended to Soro village, located just 5 kilometers away, where the military repeated their deadly actions, shooting indiscriminately at villagers and those attempting to flee.
The military has justified these heinous acts as retaliation against villagers accused of aiding Islamist fighters, following an attack on a nearby military camp by insurgent forces in the northern Yatenga province.
Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the massacres, citing them as the latest in a series of civilian atrocities committed by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency efforts.
Burkina Faso, governed by a military junta since a coup in 2022, had promised to quell the insurgency. However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... the violence has persisted, with jihadist groups now controlling over a third of the country.
International entities, including the European Union and the United Nations, have accused Burkina Faso of grave human rights violations in its fight against insurgency, citing indiscriminate killings and forced disappearances of civilians as among the atrocities committed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[265 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#2
Nothing much has changed in Central Afrika since Feb of 1965, or possibly ten thousand years before. Nothing much is likely to change in the future.
#11
The sad part is Africa is an amazing continent, fertile, rich in natural resources.
But it needs fumigated.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 8:23
Comments ||
Top||
#12
The real reason the rest of the world hates America. We stomped the tribal crap (wring your hands if you will) and harnessed the land in every way. All very Biblical. All very alarming to non-believers.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 8:25
Comments ||
Top||
#13
"Kill the Boer!". So, wait, sorry, wrong part of Africa. The EU and UN and the Vatican, when they aren't more concerned with climate change, are on it.
It sounds like the Egyptians, at least, have stopped forbidding and are considering pleading...
[GEO.TV] An Egyptian delegation met Israeli officials on Friday, looking for a way to restart talks to end the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and return the remaining Israeli hostages, an official briefed on the meetings said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel had no new proposals to make, although it was willing to consider a limited truce in which 33 hostages would be released, instead of the 40 previously under discussion.
"There are no current hostage talks between Israel and Hamas ...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... , nor is there a new Israeli offer in that regard," the official said. "What there is, is an attempt by Egypt to restart the talks with an Egyptian proposal that would entail the release of 33 hostages - women, elderly and infirm."
There was no decision on how long any truce would last but if such an exchange were agreed, the pause in fighting would be "definitely less than six weeks," the official said.
The visit by the Egyptian delegation followed Israeli media reports of a visit to Cairo on Thursday by the Israeli army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, and Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service.
Egypt, concerned about a potential influx of Paleostinian refugees from neighbouring Gaza if the war continues with the long-promised Israeli offensive into the southern city of Rafah, has taken an increasingly active role in the negotiations.
"The Egyptians are really picking up the mantle on this. Egypt wants to see progress, not least because it's worried about a prospective Rafah operation," the official said.
Qatar, the previous main broker, had increasingly been excluded, according to the official, after failing to respond to Israeli demands to expel Hamas leaders from its territory or curb their finances.
"Qatar is still involved but in a lesser capacity," the official said. "It's clear to everyone they failed to deliver, even when it came to expelling Hamas or even shutting down their bank accounts."
Officials say Israel is willing to make further widespread concessions to secure a deal, but won’t allow Hamas to drag out talks in a bid to forestall assault on southern Gaza
Talks between Israeli officials and a top-level Egyptian delegation sent to discuss Israel’s impending offensive in Rafah and efforts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas ended on Friday, with Israel reportedly warning that this was the “last chance” for a truce agreement before Israel launched its long-planned assault.
A senior Israeli official told Hebrew media that talks were “very good, focused, held in good spirits and progressed in all parameters.”
The official told Ynet that the Egyptians seem willing to pressure Hamas toward reaching a deal and that “in the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah.”
The Israeli official said Israel warned it would not agree to foot-dragging by Hamas, particularly its leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, on the hostage deal in a bid to forestall the Israel Defense Forces operation and noted that reserve forces have been called up. “This is the last chance before we go into Rafah,” the official said, according to Channel 12 news.
It’s a case of “either a deal in the near future, or Rafah,” the source said. Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre, is widely believed to be hiding in the Hamas tunnel network in the Rafah area, with hostages in close proximity as human shields.
The official confirmed that Israel is prepared to settle for the release of fewer than the 40 living hostages as earlier proposed, but also that it will not agree to only 20 hostages being freed, as Hamas reportedly suggested in recent indirect contacts. Rather, said the report, Israel believes that Hamas holds 33 living hostages who meet the so-called “humanitarian” designation — that is, women, children, men aged over 50 and the sick — and is insisting that they all be freed.
The Channel 12 report said this could be a major sticking point if the mediation efforts make headway with Hamas, but stressed that, for now, that is not the case.
There was no mention in the report of whether this would be the first phase of a wider deal for all the hostages, of the length of the proposed accompanying truce, or of Hamas’s relentless demand that Israel halt the war altogether as a condition for any further hostage releases.
“This is part of what the negotiations are going to focus on now,” an unnamed Israeli official told Axios on Friday. “The number of days of the ceasefire will be linked to the number of hostages who will be released. If Hamas does want a humanitarian deal, Israel will not be the obstacle.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out ending the war until Hamas is destroyed as a military and governing force.
The official also said Israel was willing to make further major concessions like allowing the return of residents to northern Gaza, and possibly to do so without any checks to prevent Hamas members from returning with them. Israel also indicated a willingness to withdraw forces from a key corridor bisecting Gaza in two, Channel 12 said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[66 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
[Al Jazeera] Just in the last couple of hours, the faculty from George Washington University — but also other schools in the Washington area — have sent a letter to the administrator saying that what is important are the students’ First Amendment rights.
That their right to freedom of speech is protected.
So while some people may not agree with what they are saying here, and what they are doing here, the faculty think it is important that those voices are heard.
It would appear the authorities are hoping to wait out those who are still in the university courtyard. There were more than 100 there at this time last night. The numbers went down through the night with people leaving.
Maybe the authorities don’t want to move in with any level of force and they are hoping that, essentially, cold and time, and the lack of facilities, will drive the numbers of protesters down.
But there is still a great deal of support for those who are making their voices heard in the courtyard and standing against what is happening in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... .
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[167 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] The Russian army is concentrating its efforts west of Bakhmut in order to reach the Siverskyi Donets - Donbas channel.
by Ivanna Kapustyanska
The Russian army is trying to bypass Chasiv Yar on the flanks through other settlements and has now begun to storm Andriivka and Klishchiivka, west of Bakhmut, in order to reach the Siverskyi Donets - Donbas channel.
Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesman for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, said this on the air of the telethon, Ukrinform writes .
"The enemy is concentrating its efforts to break through our defenses west of Bakhmut, access to the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas channel, capture the settlement of Chasiv Yar, create conditions there for further advance to the Kramatorsk agglomeration. The enemy is trying to take Chasiv Yar into an operational encirclement," the spokesman said.
Despite the attempt to surround Chasiv Yar, the occupiers conduct unsuccessful assaults. However, they are still trying to capture the village of Ivanivske and the outskirts of Bohdanivka in order to enter Chasovoy Yar.
Voloshyn adds that the enemy is additionally storming Andriivka and Klishchiivka in an attempt to level the lines of defense and confrontation.
"In the area of Klishchiivka, an increase in the personnel of the enemy army was noticed," Voloshyn noted.
Currently, most of the clashes are taking place in the Chasovoyarivsk direction, near Bilogorivka.
"There, the enemy is regrouping, bringing in ammunition, trying to demine our mined territories. However, he is not succeeding. Our soldiers are restraining the enemy," the spokesman said.
The spokesman also notes that the enemy has an advantage in ammunition and manpower. The Russians are practicing "meat assaults" again, and they are not sparing either their weapons or their equipment.
In order to capture Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, the Russian army began to use tactics that were used during the offensive in Avdiivka. The enemy drops aerial bombs on the city.
Earlier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the higher Russian military leadership had set the task for its troops to capture Chasiv Yar by May 9.
Having captured Chasiv Yar, the enemy gets the opportunity to attack Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka. Read more about this in the LB.ua article "Chasiv Yar. Time is short."
#3
The entire Ukraine section of Rantburg is a wasteful toilet.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 17:10
Comments ||
Top||
#4
^ I don't know of any other source for any kind of news at all on how this war is going. Yes, almost all of it is either Ukrainian or Russian propaganda but when you compare the two of them you can kinda sorta get the gist. It doesn't seem to be going well for Ukraine but I wonder if Putin needs to step up the pace before NATO gets any deeper into it than they already are.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/27/2024 19:36
Comments ||
Top||
#5
It is hard to find news of the Ukr-Rus war that isn't just cheering for one side or the other. IMHO, badanov does a good job of coming up with interesting tidbits.
Long story short, Ukraine is getting ground down, running out of equipment and more importantly, bodies. NATO will soon be faced with the choice of doubling down or finding another regional war of interest. I hear Africa is nice this time of year.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 20:17
Comments ||
Top||
#7
We are being sold dominoes again.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 20:19
Comments ||
Top||
#8
^ One can hope. Upspeaking spokesfreak in Dronsanto PSA...
"For your safety, we're taking great pains
To try all our new stuff in Ukraine
So those grain-growing guys
And gals never get wise
Till it flies on our own fruited plains."
#10
You "aren't an American" unless you care about everyone else's borders more than our own.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 21:34
Comments ||
Top||
#11
As for the use of US military assets on US citizens - as touter by Eric Swallwell D-CCP and Joe Bidet - well, if it happens they will need a big victory garden at LockMart HQ.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 21:52
Comments ||
Top||
#12
Imagine the awful things you could do to your crop when you know the gummint is coming to take it.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/27/2024 21:54
Comments ||
Top||
[Daily Excelsior] Top Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander and his aide were killed in Sopore area of Baramulla district in an overnight gun battle.
The duo has been identified as Abu Maaz, who was a top JeM commander and his aide Faraz alias Saifullah. Both of them were Pak nationals.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, VK Bhirdi told reporters that operation against the duo was launched on a tip off by the police and Army.
"Last night, the police and local unit of the Territorial Army received a tip-off about the presence of bad boyin the area. While searching the area, gunnies opened fire, initiating the operation. The operation continued throughout the night until this afternoon, resulting in the neutralization of two bad boys. Arms and incriminating material were recovered from them," he said.
He said that the operation is a prime example of the coordination between the CRPF, Army, and police. "During such operations, police prioritize evacuating civilians to ensure their safety and proceed with proper protocol thereafter," he added.
"We always appeal to the public to stay away from the operation site for their safety. Whenever police assistance is needed, they are always at the forefront. This success underscores the police’s ongoing efforts in countering bad boy
He said the successful operation reflects the alertness of security forces ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir. "We are committed to provide a safe and secure environment for Lok Sabha polls," he added.
The operation was launched last evening by 22 RR of the Army, Sopore Police and 179 Battalion of CRPF. The gun battle continued during the night and in the morning two dead bodies were recovered.
A civilian identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar was injured last evening in the encounter. "He received a bullet wound in his right shoulder and is currently being treated in a nearby Hospital. His condition is said to be stable," an official said.
Three security force personnel were also injured in the gun battle and their condition is stated to be stable.
Borodin, a defendant in the bribery case against Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov, appealed his arrest
[Regnum] On April 26, the Basmanny Court of Moscow received an appeal against the arrest order from the second defendant in the criminal case of a large bribe of the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov - Sergei Borodin. Information about this is posted on the court's website.
The appeal is registered in the case file. Borodin asks to reconsider the court decision on choosing a preventive measure in the form of arrest.
He is accused of giving a bribe on an especially large scale to the main defendant in the case, Timur Ivanov (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
According to investigators, Borodin was on friendly terms with Ivanov and entered into a criminal conspiracy with him.
As Regnum reported, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing on April 26 called on journalists to focus only on official statements on the Timur Ivanov case.
Ivanov was detained at his workplace on the evening of April 23. In the morning the court arrested him until June 23. He was charged with receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.
It was established that the deputy minister, having entered into a criminal conspiracy, received property benefits from contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense. The bribe amount could be more than 1 billion rubles. Ivanov did not admit guilt in committing the crime.
Two more people appear in the corruption case. This is businessman Sergei Borodin and co-founder of Olympsitistroy Alexander Fomin. They were also arrested by court order.
Witnesses are questioned and searches are conducted.
More from regnum.ru The Kremlin urges journalists to trust only official information on the Ivanov case For sure in a case rumored to bring down the top echelons of the Russian ministry of defense including Defense Minister Shoigu.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov at a briefing on April 26 urged journalists to focus only on official statements on the case of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.
“In this case, I propose to rely only on official statements,” he said.
Answering a question about the discovery, according to some reports, of expensive real estate belonging to Ivanov, the Kremlin representative noted that he did not know about it.
“I have not heard official statements from the investigation on this matter. The investigation is ongoing, so we cannot say how true this information is; this is not our prerogative,” Peskov emphasized.
As Regnum reported, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov was detained at his workplace on the evening of April 23. The next morning the court arrested him until June 23. He was charged with receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.
According to investigators, Ivanov, having entered into a criminal conspiracy, received property benefits from contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense. The bribe amount could be more than 1 billion rubles. Ivanov did not admit guilt in committing the crime.
Two more people appear in the corruption case. This is entrepreneur Sergei Borodin and co-founder of Olympsitistroy Alexander Fomin. They were also arrested by court order.
Even more from regnum.ru Source: episodes related to Mariupol may appear in Ivanov’s case
In the criminal case of former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov, new episodes may appear related to contracts for the restoration of Mariupol. RT TV channel reported this on April 26,citing a source in law enforcement agencies.
It is noted that the new episodes may also be related to contracts in other cities of new regions that were received by businessmen detained along with Ivanov.
In addition, according to the source, new defendants may appear in the criminal case.
As Regnum reported, law enforcement officers detained Ivanov at his workplace on the evening of April 23. The next morning the court arrested him until June 23. He was charged with receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.
According to investigators, Ivanov, having entered into a criminal conspiracy, received property benefits from contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense. The bribe amount could be more than 1 billion rubles. Ivanov did not admit guilt in committing the crime.
Two more people appear in the corruption case. This is entrepreneur Sergei Borodin and co-founder of Olympsitistroy Alexander Fomin. They were also arrested by court order.
Ivanov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense in May 2016. He oversaw issues related to property management, troop quartering, housing and medical support for the Russian Armed Forces, construction, reconstruction and overhaul of Ministry of Defense facilities. He was in charge of the restoration of Mariupol.
[IsraelTimes] No damage, injuries in strikes; missile targeted Liberian-flagged cargo ship in Gulf of Aden; rebel spokesperson claims missiles fired at Israel, although no sirens activated
The United States military said Friday that coalition forces "engaged and destroyed" two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels launched a ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden.
The anti-ship missile launched on Thursday did not lead to any injuries or damage, US Central Command (CENTCOM), said in a statement on X.
Hours later, the US military "successfully engaged and destroyed one unmanned surface vessel (USV) and one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," CENTCOM said.
Thursday marked the second consecutive day of attacks by the Houthis following a lull in strikes in recent weeks. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of both the US-led campaign against them and their steady firing of drones and missiles in the last months.
The rebels have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes targeting shipping since November, saying they were acting in solidarity with Paleostinians during the Israel-Hamas Hamas ...a regional Iranian catspaw,... war in Gaza Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Thursday’s missile attack targeted the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSC DARWIN VI in the Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which is run by a Western-led naval coalition.
"The vessel was not hit," the organization said Friday.
The Houthis claimed the strike, alleging that the ship was Israeli-owned.
"The operation has achieved its objectives successfully," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X on Thursday, without providing evidence.
Saree also said the Houthis "fired a number of ballistic and winged missiles" toward Israel, though there were no reports of incoming projectiles in the country.
The Houthis have made repeated claims that turned out to be false during their yearslong war in Yemen.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, are part of an "axis of resistance" of Iran allies and proxies targeting Israel in protest at its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, the rebels attempted an attack on MV Yorktown, a US-flagged shipping vessel, CENTCOM said.
[GEO.TV] Paleostinian group Hamas Hamas ...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... responded to the letter of 18 countries, including the United States (US), calling for the release of Israeli captives and said that it is "serious about releasing Israeli captives within the framework of an agreement" that also ensures the release of thousands of Paleostinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the group's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Arabic in a televised interview on Thursday it remains committed to achieving an agreement with Israel to end the war on Gaza Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , but only if its conditions including a lasting ceasefire are met.
In response, Hamas said it regretted that the letter did not address basic issues facing people in Gaza. It added that the letter failed to stress the necessity of a permanent ceasefire in the enclave and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Hamas said it remained open to any proposals that took into account the rights of Paleostinians. The statement further called for the safe return of internally displaced people in Gaza and aid for reconstruction, as well as a pathway towards self-determination.
The countries that signed the letter to Hamas all have citizens believed to be still held captive in Gaza. Signatories included Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2024
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[147 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
[AFRICANEWS] Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a report by Human Rights Watch on a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces.
Burkina Faso’s communication spokesperson, Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou, said late that Thursday that both radio stations would be suspended for two weeks, and warned other media networks to avoid reporting on the story.
According to the report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday, the army killed some 223 civilians, including 56 children, in villages accused of cooperating with Death Eaters. The report was widely covered by the international media, including the Associated Press.
"VOA stands by its reporting about Burkina Faso and intends to continue to fully and fairly cover activities in the country," the network said in a news article reporting on its suspension.
[AFRICANEWS] Over 100 prisoners have fled from a correctional facility near Nigeria's capital following severe rain that caused damage to parts of the prison infrastructure.
Authorities report that initially, 118 inmates escaped from the Suleja Prison, with 10 individuals subsequently recaptured. A large-scale manhunt is underway to locate the remaining escapees.
Details regarding the identities of the escaped prisoners remain unclear, raising concerns about potential risks to public safety. However, a statement from the prison authorities assures collaboration with other security agencies to address the situation and urges citizens to continue their daily routines without undue alarm.
"In conjunction with sister security agencies [we] have so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while we are in hot chase to recapture the rest," stated Abuja's prison authority.
The incident underscores broader challenges faced by Nigeria's prison system, particularly the deteriorating conditions of many facilities. Built during the colonial era, prisons like Suleja have aged and become vulnerable to damage, exacerbating security risks.
This recent escape echoes a similar incident two years prior, where over 400 prisoners broke free following an attack on another Abuja-based prison. Tragically, casualties ensued, including four inmates, a security guard, and multiple assailants.
The 2022 attack, claimed by Islamist fighters, aimed to release incarcerated members, highlighting the complex security landscape in Nigeria. Since 2020, more than 5,000 inmates have escaped during various prison breaks across the country, illustrating persistent challenges in maintaining secure correctional facilities.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Kyiv is forming new brigades to strengthen the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This was stated by the head of the Kiev regime Vladimir Zelensky at the Ramstein meeting, reports Strana. ua".
It is clarified that Zelensky also told Western partners that the Ukrainian military needs their timely support in sufficient quantities. He noted that they would also need this if they “were soldiers in the conflict.”
As Regnum reported, Business Insider previously reported that Western military analysts advised Ukraine to treat the recently approved US aid package as the last it will receive. In this regard, Kyiv needs to use it carefully.
Experts explained that political differences and the upcoming elections in the United States could significantly complicate the receipt of further assistance.
On April 24, Biden signed laws approved by the US Parliament to provide military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. According to the head of the White House, the United States will resume military supplies to Ukraine in the coming hours.
A day earlier, US senators approved the bill. Of the $60.84 billion allocated to help Kyiv, $23.2 billion will be used to replenish weapons transferred from Pentagon warehouses, $13.8 billion will be used for military purchases for Ukraine on the open market, and $11.3 billion will be used to provide "ongoing US military operations in the region." Previously, the bill was also supported by the House of Representatives of Congress.
The approval by the US Congress of a new large package of military assistance to the Kiev regime was an expected decision and will not fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on April 22.
The United States, with its decisions, puts an end to the fate of Ukraine, using it as a battering ram against Russia, said Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov.
Commenting on the law signed by the US President on providing military assistance to Ukraine, Antonov said that Washington made a choice in favor of war and sided with evil, supporting fascism.
Washington’s allocation of financial assistance to the Kiev regime will lead to the death of several tens of thousands more residents of Ukraine, as it will prolong the conflict and expand the number of people involved in it, noted American economist Jeffrey Sachs.
American military assistance to Kiev will not stop the advance of Russian forces, since Moscow is ahead of the West in weapons production, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said earlier, calling on Western countries to increase weapons production.
[AFRICANEWS] Fighting has intensified in western Sudan. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed grave concerns over the worsening situation in and around the city of El-Fasher located in North Darfur.
The spokesperson for the UN human rights chief briefed reporters Friday (Apr. 26).
"Reports indicate that both parties have launched indiscriminate attacks using explosive weapons with wide-area effects, such as mortar shells and rockets fired from fighter jets, in residential districts," X Magango said.
"At least 43 people, among them women and children, were killed as fighting was taking place between the SAF and RSF — backed by their respective allied militia — since 14 April, when the RSF began its push into El-Fasher."
Speaking from Nairobi, Magango said Commissionner Volker Turk called for "an immediate de-escalation and an end to the conflict".
Turk also urges both parties to the conflict and their allies to grant civilians safe passage to other areas, ensure the protection of civilians and civilian objects, and facilitate safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
ETHNICALLY-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE
The spectre of ethnically-motivated violence still lurks.
"Since early April, the RSF has conducted several large-scale attacks on the villages in western El-Fasher mostly inhabited by the African Zaghawa ethnic community," the spokesperson revealed.
Some of the villages, including Durma, Umoshosh, Sarafaya, and Ozbani were burnt down by the RSF.
Last year fighting and attacks between the Rizeigat and the African Masalit in West Darfur left hundreds of civilians dead or injured, and thousands displaced from their homes.
For now, civilians who haven't fled El-Fasher live in exruciating anguish: "[they] are trapped in the city, the only one in Darfur still in the hands of the SAF, afraid of being killed should they attempt to flee."
"This dire situation is compounded by a severe shortage of essential supplies as deliveries of commercial goods and humanitarian aid have been heavily constrained by the fighting, and delivery trucks are unable to freely transit through RSF-controlled territory," Magango added.
Local media outlet Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... Tribune reported that Minni Minnawi, the governor of the state of Darfur, who leads a militia that back the national army, accuses the RSF of seeking to establish an unrecognized entity in the region.
#2
...reminds me of the story of the driver that was pulled over by the state patrol. The driver complained everyone else was driving even faster than him, why pull him over. The Trooper reply, "you were the only one who pulled over".
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:59 Official summary of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC from 00:00 04/26/2024 to 00:00 04/27/2024.
A total of 18 armed attacks by the UFU were recorded by the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC over the past 24 hours.
Information was received about the death of a civilian, and two civilians were injured.
DAMAGED:
Six residential buildings
Five civil infrastructure facilities
Nine artillery attacks in the Donetsk direction
Nine artillery attacks in the Gorlovka direction
A total of 57 units of various ammunition were fired.
23:42 Explosions are reported in Western Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnitsky regions.
Enemy air defenses are trying to shoot down cruise and ballistic missiles.
23:00 Russian ChMF launched Caliber missiles.
It is reported that the missiles are in the area of Vinnitsa and Krivoy Rog. Information is also being received about the observation of ammunition in the airspace of the Western regions.
21:02 One person was killed and three were injured due to a shell hitting a private house in Kakhovka, reportedGovernor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo.
18:57 In the Kupyansky direction, the settlement of Kislovka is partially moved under the control of the RF Armed Forces. The defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been pushed through, offensive actions continue.
18:49 The 110th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces broke into Krasnogorovka from the north and gained a foothold on the outskirts. The southern part of the city is already under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
18:28 Epic destruction of German infantry fighting vehicle "Marder" somewhere in the Donetsk direction using an FPV drone. The drone operator got caught in the ammunition rack - the infantry fighting vehicle breaks into pieces along with the crew.
The explosion came into view of the camera of the second kamikaze drone - it destroyed a minibus in which Ukrainian Armed Forces militants were riding.
17:55 A missile strike was carried out on the city of Chuguev (Khar'kov region).
17:35 In the Kupyansk direction, Russian artillerymen are definitely worked out at the enemy's ammunition supply point, causing the few ammunition of Ukrainian militants to detonate - video.
17:10 Personnel work of the 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade in the Northern Military District zone.
16:47 Russian fighters have significantly advanced north from Ocheretino. In fact, the Russian Armed Forces have already reached the outskirts of Arkhangelsk.
16:24 The Russian Aerospace Forces dealt a powerful blow to the temporarily occupied Konstantinovka in the DPR. Konstantinovka is an important logistics hub of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbass.
16:05 The Ukrainian Armed Forces have left a defensive line in the village. Berdych and retreated to the west. The Russian army continues to advance.
15:55 A soldier of the 55th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces reported the complete liberation of the village. Solovyevo –video.
14:57 The advance of the Russian Armed Forces continues on the Vrem'evsky sector of the front. To the west of Staromayorskoye, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' support forces occupied the area, and to the east of Urozhaynoye, they knocked out the militants from positions in the forest plantation.
14:49 The main thing from the new briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
The Russian Armed Forces hit a train with Western weapons and military equipment in the area of the settlement of Udachnoye
Russian troops hit personnel and equipment of the 67th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a railway loading station near the village of Balakleya, Kharkov region;
The “Center” group of troops improved the tactical position and repelled eight counterattacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;
Units of the “Southern” group of forces improved the situation along the front line within 24 hours, the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to 430 military personnel;
The Ukrainian Armed Forces in the zone of responsibility of the Russian military grouping “Center” lost up to 415 military personnel, infantry fighting vehicles, and eight armored personnel carriers;
During the day, Russian air defense shot down 193 Ukrainian UAVs, two Vilkha MLRS rounds, as well as three Hammer guided bombs;
Units of the Vostok group of troops occupied more advantageous positions within 24 hours, the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to up to 105 military personnel;
During the past 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces repelled one attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement of Nevelskoye in the DPR;
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 20 military personnel in the zone of responsibility of the “West” group per day.
14:37 A missile strike was carried out on the city of Chuguev (Kharkov region)
13:55 Situation at the front as of 04/26/2024:
In the area of the village Yrozhainoye Kamchatka advanced 200 meters and consolidated their positions. In the area of the village The Staromayorsky advance amounted to 100 m, the formations consolidated their positions.
Bomber aircraft, artillery, heavy flamethrower systems and UAV Marine operators destroyed: An armored combat vehicle, two M-777 howitzers, six mortars, a Starlink satellite communication system, 2 ammunition supply points and two material warehouses. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are suffering significant losses in manpower.
13:10 There have been no more big news from Ocheretino since the beginning of the week, but events there are developing in favor of our army. The enemy was unable to organize counterattacks and cut off the base of the breakthrough: from Ocheretino itself to the north, our troops press towards Arkhangelskoye, and to the south along the Solovyevo-Novopokrovskoye line.
If successful, this would lead to the enemy having to leave a line of defense along the ravine at Berdychi and Semyonovka, as well as, probably, Novokalinovo on the northern flank. At the same time, we should expect a continuation of the offensive forward, along the railway in the direction of Progress.
12:50 In the Nikolaev region, a boarding house where the Armed Forces of Ukraine were located was hit. This was reported by underground representative Sergei Lebedev.
11:54 “Whisper of the Front” reports that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have left all positions near the settlement. Berdychi.
11:30 Today Russian troops launch two strikes at once from Ocheretino, reports “Donbass Decides”.
One is in the northwest direction to Arkhangelskoye, which we have already entered. This movement reveals an intention to encircle the Ukrainian Armed Forces grouping in Dzerzhinsk and Novgorodsky, which is terrorizing Gorlovka and preventing a full-fledged attack on Konstantinovka and further on Belitskoye and Dobropolye.
The second one is to the southwest - to Berdychi. There, there is a long overdue need to finish off the Ukrainian Armed Forces clinging to these positions. Thus, with small forces, the tactics of a thousand cuts make it possible to put pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces simultaneously (and alternately) at 10 points on the Donbass map: Terny/Torskoe, Seversk, Chasov Yar, Kleshcheevka, Novgorodskoe . Arkhangelskoye, Berdychi, Netailovo, Gerogievka.
11:00 Ukrainian Telegram channels report about explosions in Sumy.
10:47 Ukrainian Telegram channels report explosions in Khar'kov. The Russian Aerospace Forces work as FABs for the facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
09:50 Russian attack aircraft guards of the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade are clearing the vicinity of Chasov Yar from positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - operators of attack FPV drones are helping in the destruction of Ukrainian dugouts and manpower -video.
09:44 In the morning the enemyacknowledgesthe actual loss of Solovyevo and the serious advance of the Russian Armed Forces to the south from Novobakhmutovka. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to lose ground in the Ocheretino area.
09:25 Units of the Dnepr group of troops (forces) continued to carry out the tasks of a special military operation, conducted counter-battery combat to suppress attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on populated areas on the left bank of the Dnieper, destroyed manpower, equipment and facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the right bank of the river. Dnepr, fought with the UAV.
In just one day, the enemy's losses amounted to: up to 30 military personnel, five boats trying to approach the left bank were destroyed, as a result of counter-battery fighting, the positions of five guns and mortars were hit, as well as an artillery reconnaissance station, M777 and D-30 howitzers were destroyed, five cars were shot down 89 reconnaissance and attack UAVs and 20 UAV control points were hit.
Three electronic warfare stations, 19 observation posts, one ammunition depot and two warehouses of material and technical equipment were destroyed.
08:17 Frontline summary on the morning of 04/25/2024:
Zaporozhye Front. The Russian Armed Forces carried out several attacks from Novoprokopovka, in the resulting pocket between Rabotino and Verbov. Otherwise, positional battles continue in the area. Long-range weapons are actively working on both sides.
On the Donetsk front, the Russian Armed Forces continue successful assault operations in a number of directions. Fierce fighting is taking place in the south of Krasnogorovka, where Russian troops were able to take control of an important fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a fireproof plant.
Complete capture of the enterprise's territory will significantly weaken the defense of the Ukrainian garrison. Fierce fighting continues in the Netailovo and Umansky areas, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to hold the defense in these settlements.
In the Semenovka area and in Berdychi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces maintain their presence in their previous positions. LBS unchanged. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were unable to hold their positions in Solovyovo, where the Ukrainian troops had retreated from Novobakhmutovka the day before. The Russian Armed Forces quickly knocked out the Ukrainian garrison from this settlement.
In Ocheretino there are also advances of Russian troops, which knocked out the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the northern outskirts of the village. The Ukrainian garrison moved north to the village. Arkhangelskoe.
There are no significant changes in the LBS in the Chasovoyarsk direction.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are throwing reserves into battle to prevent the advance of Russian troops from the east in the suburb of Chasov Yar. The Russian Aerospace Forces and artillery continue to actively work on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Encountering battles on the flanks in the Bogdanovka area and west of Ivanovsky (Krasny). In the Kleshcheevka area, the LBS also remains without significant changes.
08:00 RF Armed Forces fought off attempts by the enemy to strengthen forward positions near Urozhainy and Staromayorsky in the DPR. This was announced by the head of the press center of the Vostok group, Alexander Gordeev.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Igor Ivanenko
[REGNUM] “When Ukraine collapses... we will be ready to strike with unprecedented intensity and firepower in Romania to protect the country's national and vital interests.”
This message was voiced by the group of Romanian militants “Getika”, who are now fighting as part of the armed forces of Ukraine. It includes citizens of both Romania and Moldova.
It was voiced in the context of the establishment of the Moldovan political bloc “Victory”, which was announced in Moscow on April 21. It is precisely the Moldovan Russophiles that the Romanian ultranationalists are planning to strike. And they are ready to do this even at the cost of breaking the laws.
The militants are echoed by completely respectable politicians from the “party in power” of Moldova. Thus, the chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on National Security, Lilian Karp, called on the prosecutor’s office to investigate whether the actions of the participants in the Moscow congress of the Moldovan opposition constituted treason.
But law enforcement officers do not need additional motivation. On April 24, it became known that two criminal cases against the bashkan (head) of the Gagauz autonomy and the leader of “Victory” Evgeniy Gutsul were transferred to the court at once. She is accused of participating in illegal financing of the Shor party, now banned in Moldova. The charges carry large fines or up to seven years in prison each.
MOSCOW FORUM
The opposition forum held in Moscow became a landmark event for Moldovan politics. The choice of venue for the conference is indicative. After all, since the beginning of the Northern Military District, any mention of Russia in the media space of Moldova has been reduced to a minimum.
Government structures remember Moscow only in the context of joining numerous anti-Russian resolutions of European structures. And even the rhetoric of the official parliamentary opposition (the bloc of socialists and communists) has become much less complimentary to Moscow.
True, ex-president and communist leader Vladimir Voronin, who has a developed political sense, noted a few days ago with a statement that only Russia in all historical eras saved Moldova from foreign oppression. Under this, along with the fascist conquest, he also mentioned the Romanian occupation, essentially equating them.
Another leader of “Victory”, Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, persecuted by the authorities, explained the choice of the venue for the event by the transformation of modern Moldova into a Gulag, where the authorities deal with all those who disagree.
“Our congress was held in Moscow, where many of our citizens live, where they speak a language that Moldovans understand and see Moldova among their friends,” the disgraced businessman-politician emphasized.
The rhetoric of the forum was also radical. From the rostrum of the congress, Shor directly stated that the idea of joining the EU “ is a phantom, it is disastrous for citizens and for the country.” Thus, the European integration consensus, which has long stabilized Moldovan politics, is called into question.
WESTERN FORCES
There is a deep political split, with the views of the authorities and the opposition on the future of the country diverging diametrically. This could be attributed to the flavor of local politics, if not for the increasingly active participation of global geopolitical players in the battle on the Moldovan “field”.
For now, they only compete with each other and do not directly participate in the battle between Moldovan Westerners and Russophiles. But the degree of involvement of the “big brothers” in the political confrontation is growing.
And it is quite possible that, like neighboring Ukraine, Moldova could become a huge political battlefield. Moreover, the first fighters in the person of the aforementioned Getika are already ready for it, and official Chisinau is showing less and less political subjectivity.
The deal to transfer an entire block in the center of Chisinau to the US government has entered the final stage. Under the guise of constructing a new American embassy, Washington will gain full control of over 5 hectares on the site of the former Republican stadium.
The experience of implementing such projects shows that such gigantic diplomatic missions are a powerful tool for the United States to influence the host country.
The Parliament of Moldova adopted in the first reading a law providing for the introduction of voting by mail abroad.
At the next presidential elections in the fall of 2024, it will concern only the Moldovan diaspora living in the United States and Canada. Together, about 80 thousand citizens of Moldova live in these two states.
Thus, the current head of state, Maia Sandu, seeks to increase the influence of the foreign diaspora in Western countries on Moldovan politics. In 2020, it was thanks to the votes of European and American Moldovans that she managed to beat socialist Igor Dodon in the elections.
But the downside of this maneuver is the increased dependence of the electoral processes in Moldova on foreign countries. After all, in the United States, voting by mail is carried out mainly within the country using national postal operators.
Official Chisinau approaches this American experience very “creatively” and, for obvious reasons, does not encounter serious objections in Western countries.
We should not forget that foreigners - citizens of Romania today officially lead such strategically important government bodies in Moldova as the National Bank and the Anti-Money Laundering Service.
There are 13 former high officials from Bucharest in the line ministries as EU advisers. Since 2020, the Ministry of Defense of Moldova has an adviser - an expert from the United States.
RUSSIA IS NOT ASLEEP
On the other hand, the Russian Federation does not observe the actual subordination of Moldovan authorities to Western decision-making centers from a distance.
It is widely known about Moscow's very strong position in Transnistria. True, the Ukrainian conflict has greatly complicated Russia’s interaction with the self-determined republic. In this regard, it was necessary to make certain concessions to Chisinau on the gas issue.
However, Moscow compensates for them by stepping up efforts in the Gagauz direction. Located in the south of Moldova, Gagauzia becomes, in fact, the base region for the Russophile Pobeda bloc.
Last week, the People's Assembly (Parliament) of Gagauzia appealed to the Parliament of Moldova with a request to return the Russian language to the status of the language of interethnic communication in the republic.
And besides, a high-profile humanitarian project has been underway here since the beginning of April. Twenty thousand local pensioners have been given the opportunity to open accounts in the Russian state bank and receive Mir payment cards. All the necessary work on accepting documents from the population was undertaken by the authorities of Gagauzia.
It is reported that eight thousand people have already taken advantage of the right to open an account in Russia. Pensioners are attracted by the fact that they receive a monthly subsidy comparable to the size of the Moldovan pension (104 euros). The program also applies to public sector workers: teachers, doctors, law enforcement officers.
The Moldovan authorities have already stated that such actions are pointless, since the Mir payment system is prohibited in the republic. But they are disingenuous, since Russian cards can be used on the territory of Transnistria; some global marketplaces accept them for payment.
Finally, through the banking application you can remotely open deposit accounts, invest, and make purchases in Russia (one of the most significant Gagauz communities lives in the Russian Federation). It is possible to use these cards in Turkey, where many Gagauz people study and work.
In fact, Russia is today testing the creation of a parallel payment system on the territory of a state with an unfriendly regime. And if the experience turns out to be successful, we can expect an expansion of its geography to other Moldovan regions, where the influence of Russophiles is strong.
And this will give a serious impetus to other humanitarian and economic projects, as well as to the political actions of pro-Russian forces.
At one time, under presidents Kirill Lucinschi, Vladimir Voronin, Igor Dodon, the idea of Moldova as a “bridge” between the West and the East was very popular. And at times they even managed to build some of its structures. However, due to the adventurous actions of a number of Moldovan governments in recent years, they were destroyed.
The current situation of the republic is much more suitable for the status of “front line”. Fortunately, it is still peripheral and not bleeding.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] The quick reaction of the Polish government, through the words of the Minister of Defense, declaring its readiness to send home citizens of Ukraine who would not be able to obtain new documents at the behest of its authorities, was not unexpected. Now in Ukrainian groups in Poland, those wishing to move are advised not to waste time and go straight to Germany. The unpleasant prospects that arise for those who decide to throw in their lot with the Polish state somehow very symbolically coincided with the 104th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact. Then the authorities of the Ukrainian People's Republic, who were in a desperate situation, also decided to throw in their lot with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. History loves such jokes: the crumbling UPR, a semblance of a state, incapable of really managing anything, was about to fall under the blows of the Red Army.
The Poles, represented by the dictator Jozef Pilsudski, gladly used the desperate situation of their neighbors to profit from this, and used the Ukrainian military formations in Polish interests. At the end of this path, Western Ukrainian lands became part of Poland, and the armed forces of the UPR were interned and placed in camps behind barbed wire. The Galicians were so offended by the “Naddniepryan brothers” that part of the Galician army transferred to the Red Army - like the Ukrainian Galician Red Army.
And most importantly, the head of the UPR Directory, Simon Petlyura, bargained for full board for himself personally. And when Poland, the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR signed a peace treaty, dividing the territory, everything was fine with Simon Vasilyevich and his retinue. Therefore, looking at examples from the past, we can always assume the near future with some confidence. After all, the Ukrainian political tradition (like the Polish one) follows the same paths.
DEFLATED AND DEGRADED
Modern Polish historians and politicians are trying to present the Warsaw Pact, signed by Pilsudski and Petliura on April 21, 1920, as a shining example of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation. “Together we fought against Moscow Bolshevism.” For example, the book “Poland: An Outline of History,” prepared by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, confidently states that the purpose of the union was “a common struggle to oust the Bolsheviks from Ukraine and establish the independence of the UPR with its capital in Kiev.”
Although such a goal was never set before the Poles.
Just a year earlier, on January 22, 1919, the “Act of Evil” was solemnly proclaimed on Sophia Square in Kyiv: the UPR united with the Western Ukrainian People's Republic into a single whole. It is still a big public holiday in Ukraine.
However, neither the armies nor the governments of the two “republics” united. It turned out that the “Naddnieprians” and the Galicians, who had lived in different states since the 17th century, had little in common. Petlyura fought with the Reds who were advancing on Kyiv, and did not want to quarrel with the Poles. And the leadership of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic entered into an alliance with Kiev because they were desperately pressed by the Poles, who had already agreed on a national revival with the Entente. With Galicia and Volyn in its composition.
On March 12, 1919, the President of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic Evgeniy Petrushevich became part of the Directory, his Ukrainian Galician Army was admitted to the warehouses of the Russian Imperial Army in Kiev. Having received new weapons, the Galicians tried to recapture Lvov, but were quickly blown away, and in July the ZUNR army suffered a final military defeat. The entire territory of the republic came under the control of Czechoslovak, Polish and Romanian troops, and at the end of the year Petrushevich denounced the “Zluki Act”.
Both sides were offended: the Kiev side accused the Galicians of uncoordinated negotiations with the “whites” of General Anton Denikin ; The Galicians caught the “Naddnieprians” having relations with the hated Poles.
And there was nowhere to go. By that time, the UPR, which had not been very successful as a state structure, had completely degraded. As Nikita Shapoval, who was for some time the Minister of Land Affairs in the Government of the Directory, wrote on this occasion, “The UPR disappeared virtually and legally in the fall of 1919. The Directory was abolished at the same time. Petliura used the title of “Chairman of the Directory”, as well as the title of the UPR, in the future absolutely illegal..."
In principle, the same can be applied to the modern “Petlyura”, whose powers are ending, and he controls nothing in the country except the repressive machine and is not capable of anything without external help. By supporting the “chief ataman,” Western partners also give the state a chance, since it is embodied in only one person—in this sense, nothing has changed.
Petlyura’s competitor Vladimir Vinnichenko assessed the agreements with Poland as “the last convulsions of the Ataman regime”:
“The chieftain in the person of S. Petlyura and his “ideological” suck-up “social democrat” A. Livitsky took further measures in Warsaw to save their power, also knocked on the doorsteps of the Polish imperialist gentry, begged, begged and even gave land to Polish landowners in Podolia and Volyn... for Polish help, there were even attempts by S. Petlyura and A. Livitsky to form a completely right-wing government in Warsaw... and with the help of the Poles to regain lost power.”
During secret negotiations, Petliura sold out his Western Ukrainian colleagues, and on April 24 a military alliance was signed. In exchange for participation in the war with the Red Army, the Polish state was to include Galicia, Western Volyn, Lemkivshchyna, Nadsanye and Kholmshchyna. That is, the “brothers” were simply sold, which caused them wild rage.
"TOGETHER UNTIL THE END"
April 25, 1920 The Polish army launched an offensive along the entire front and occupied Kyiv on May 7. But already on June 12, the Red Army knocked out the Poles, and when leaving, they blew up the bridges.
“Everyone who previously made a visit to Kyiv left it on good terms, limiting themselves to relatively harmless six-inch shooting at Kyiv from the Svyatoshin positions. Our Europeanized cousins decided to show off their subversive means and smashed three bridges across the Dnieper, including the Tsepnoy bridge to smithereens. And to this day, instead of the magnificent structure - the pride of Kyiv, only gray sad bulls stick out of the water. Ah, Poles, Poles... Ay, yay, yay!..,” the great Kiev resident Mikhail Bulgakov wrote about this.
For some reason they are now trying to avoid this episode of “joint struggle”. And then he certainly did not add points to the assessment of the allies. Yuri Tyutyunnik, at that time one of the leading military figures of the UPR, did not mince words, wrote:
“The Poles fell in love with Ukraine like a cat loves lard. A tasty morsel, and they want to get their hands on this whole piece. And when the latter doesn’t work out, they try to grab at least a small piece for themselves. A little is better than nothing at all. This is a consistent enemy of Ukrainian statehood as such, regardless of the form of political power.”
When the secret became apparent, there was nowhere to go. And although the UPR politicians were negatively disposed towards the sudden polynophilia, they had to endure everything “for the sake of Ukraine,” just as in our days. Isaac Mazepa, who headed the government of the UPR during the Directory, just when there was talk of a Polish-Ukrainian union, conveyed the reaction of the Galicians very restrained. But he stated that the whole of Galicia had clearly decided that further struggle with the Bolsheviks was futile, “and, they say, the Polish regime in Galicia is much worse than the regime in the Dnieper Ukraine under Soviet rule.” The armed forces of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic even transferred to the Red Army as an integral part - not for long, but a fact is a fact.
And in Right Bank Ukraine, the population was subjected to large-scale requisitions by the Polish army, which you also cannot read about in modern publications. Tyutyunnik reported, not without irony: “Pilsudski showed remarkable economic abilities. Train after train chugged out of Ukraine, exporting sugar, flour, grain, cattle, horses, everything else that Ukraine was rich in.”
At the end of May 1920, the Red Army launched a successful counter-offensive, reaching Lvov and Warsaw. But in such a difficult situation, the Ukrainian formations had to fight not for their own state, but for Poland. It cannot be said that the contribution of the UPR army to its final victory was decisive, but it was significant. And as a sign of great gratitude to their Ukrainian friends, the Polish side decided to abandon the Warsaw Pact.
On October 12, 1920, an armistice agreement was concluded in Riga between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR on the one hand and Poland on the other. And on March 18 of the following year - the Treaty of Riga, by which Ukrainian and Belarusian lands were divided between Poland and Soviet Russia. Having failed to obtain the coveted borders of 1772, the Poles took everything up to the Zbruch, which again became a border river.
Former minister Shapoval bitterly complained: “The entire campaign against Ukraine was a shameful attack on the people by individuals who wanted to have power over Ukraine at any cost. Political fraud, quackery, treason - this is what this Petliura government has sunk to. They betrayed the revolution." By the way, the “ideals of the Maidan” would fit perfectly here.
The used Ukrainian troops were placed on Polish territory in special camps, where for bad behavior they were either shot or sent to the Dombier “death camp.” Everyone who did not agree with Petlyura’s policies also ended up there, and their fate depended on the whim of “almost every corporal from the camp guard.”
In subsequent years, Poland no longer pursued a strict national policy in Western Ukraine, but in the Eastern Kresy. Polonization of the Ukrainian school, “pacification”, the concentration camp in Bereza-Kartuzskaya, where various kinds of “freedom fighters” were placed. Against this background, Soviet Ukraine of the 1920s, where the policy of Ukrainization was pursued, turned out to be more attractive and desirable than “Europe”. They fled there.
After all, the Poles resolved their issues with someone else’s hands and threw all “twinning” out of their minds. But Petlyura himself was not worried about this. Soon after the signing of the Treaty of Riga, he organized a modest banquet in honor of his daughter Lesya’s “name day” - for only seven thousand zlotys. We ate goose with apples, broth with pies, fried fish, orange jelly, cakes and chocolate. Loving Ukraine from Warsaw was much more pleasant.
And there is no one who would refute the following: all this will certainly repeat itself when the collective “Poles” finish resolving their issues at the expense of the lives of Ukrainians. Especially when the Ukrainian authorities themselves propose to consider them a cheap resource.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Red State] As RedState has reported in numerous articles (see "RELATED" at the bottom), the Biden administration has been wrestling mightily with whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes since 2021. 
[Off Guardian via ZERO] They are far from alone in covering this. Back in March, Sky News was asking: "Next pandemic is around the corner,’ expert warns — but would lockdown ever happen again?"
That's right, I save the ugly scowl for the courtroom. Yugley more please and much faster. 
...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body....
[GEO.TV] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that the International Criminal Court's (ICC) rulings on the Paleostinians' genocide case would "set a dangerous precedent" but would not affect Israel's actions.
...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...![]("images/HamasLogo.jpg" "\"Hamas\"")
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
