Home Front: Politix |
Court orders Trump to restore funding to Voice of America |
2025-04-23 |
![]() The federal judge in Washington agreed to a request led by the outlets' employees for a preliminary injunction, a temporary order as a court examines the legal challenge in greater depth. Trump, who has long jostled with the press and questioned the editorial rules that prohibit interference in government-funded media, on March 14 issued an executive order to eliminate the outlets. The following day, Kari Lake, his firebrand supporter turned advisor, began issuing notices to terminate all funding, which was appropriated by Congress. Lake and other Trump officials are ''likely in direct violation of numerous federal laws,'' wrote Royce Lamberth, a judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The US Agency for Global Media, which supervises taxpayer-funded media, is allowed by law to redirect funds among its different programming by five percent or less, he wrote. ''Certainly, no law gives the agency the power to cut funding to the drastic degree that is alleged,'' he wrote. Lamberth wrote that Voice of America's congressionally established charter states that the outlet will '''serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news (that is) accurate, objective, and comprehensive' but the defendants have silenced VOA for the first time.'' Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA, said the media rights group was ''very pleased'' with the decision on VOA and other outlets. ''Every day they're off the air is a gift to authoritarian regimes that forbid the free press, like China and Iran,'' he said. The judge called on the Trump administration to return all employees and contractors to their jobs and to provide monthly status reports on compliance. Related: Donald Trump 04/22/2025 'US invokes RICO law in charging more alleged Venezuelan gang members Donald Trump 04/22/2025 US military stationed at the border in New Mexico National Defense Area can detain illegal migrants Donald Trump 04/22/2025 Mexican sewage gushing into Navy SEAL training waters is US' 'next Camp Lejeune,' vets warn; UPDATE: EPA sect’y Lee Zeldin flies out to handle it Related: Washington: 2025-04-22 DOGE is granted untapped access to more than 3.5million Washington: 2025-04-22 US to establish two military bases in Kurdish-held areas of Syria: Rojava official Washington: 2025-04-22 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: April 21, 2025 Related: Kari Lake 03/16/2025 Trump admin axes US-funded media in shock move Kari Lake 01/30/2025 Senate easily confirms ex-LI Rep. Lee Zeldin as Trump''s EPA chief Kari Lake 11/12/2024 Why There Wasn’t as Much Democratic Cheating This Year in Battleground States Related: Royce Lamberth 12/24/2024 Montgomery attorney wins not guilty verdict on charge for January 6 defendant Royce Lamberth 12/15/2024 Nearly 4 Years Later, No Letup in Jan. 6 Prosecutions, Possible Pardons or Not Royce Lamberth 08/10/2024 Jan 6 rioter who attacked police with pole jailed for 20 years |
Link |
The Grand Turk |
Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, gather at Istanbul rally to protest against Erdogan |
2025-03-30 |
Aerial crowd shot and matching video, for those who would like to estimate for themselves. [IsraelTimes] After controversial arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, week of unrest culminates in giant demonstration in Turkey’s largest city, with some estimates putting crowd size in the millionsWaving flags and chanting slogans, hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators rallied in Istanbul Saturday calling for democracy to be defended after the arrest of mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... ’s worst street unrest in over a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, huge crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which starts Sunday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition party CHP which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but AFP was unable to independently confirm the figures. "I’m not scared. I’ve only got one life, I’m ready to sacrifice it for this country," said an 82-year-old woman in a headscarf, carrying a picture of Imamoglu and the Ottoman Turkish flag. She did not want to give her name "in case they come knocking at my door." "He’s an honest man, he’s the one who will save the Ottoman Turkish republic," she said of the mayor who was arrested then jugged anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not over a graft probe on charges widely believed to be spurious. The mass protests, which began with Imamoglu’s March 19 detention, have prompted a repressive government response that has been sharply condemned by rights groups and drawn criticism from abroad. Widely seen as the only Ottoman Turkish politician capable of challenging President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ![]() at the ballot box, Imamoglu was elected as the opposition CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential race on the day he was jugged anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not He was resoundingly re-elected mayor last year for the third time. The anger over his arrest quickly spread from Istanbul across Turkey. Nightly protests outside Istanbul City Hall drew vast crowds and often degenerated into running battles with riot police, who used teargas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. "We are here today for our homeland. We, the people, elect our rulers," insisted 17-year-old Melis Basak Ergun, vowing the protesters would never be cowed "by violence or tear gas." "We stand behind our mayor, Imamoglu." ’KEEP FIGHTING!’ Heading for the rally, protesters on board ferries crossing the Bosporus could be heard chanting: "Everywhere is Taksim, resistance is everywhere!" It was a reference to Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square, the epicenter of the last massive wave of protests in 2013. "I joined the rallies outside City Hall for four days together with university students. I told them not to give in," protester Cafer Sungur, 78, told AFP. "There is no other way than to keep fighting," he said. "I was jugged anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not in the 1970s but back then there was justice. Today we can’t talk about justice any more." Among those at the protest were Imamoglu’s wife Dilek and their children, along with his parents, an AFP correspondent said. Opposition chief Ozel told French newspaper Le Monde the Saturday rallies would from now on be a weekly event in cities across Turkey, alongside a weekly Wednesday night demo in Istanbul. "If we don’t stop this attempted coup, it will mean the end of the ballot box," he said. Student groups have kept up their own protests, most of them masked, in the face of a police crackdown that has seen nearly 2,000 people arrested. The authorities have also cracked down on media coverage, arresting 13 Ottoman Turkish journalists in five days, deporting a BBC correspondent and arresting a Swedish news hound who flew into Istanbul to cover the unrest. Eleven journalists were freed Thursday, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul. Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who flew into Turkey on Thursday to cover the demonstrations, was jugged anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not on Friday, his employer Dagens ETC told AFP. Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu said Medin had been charged with "insulting the president" — a charge often used to silence Erdogan’s critics. "The judicial pressure systematically brought to bear on local journalists for a long time is now being brought to bear on their foreign colleagues," he told AFP. Ottoman Turkish authorities held BBC journalist Mark Lowen for 17 hours on Wednesday before deporting him for posing "a threat to public order," the broadcaster said. Ottoman Turkish officials said it was due to "a lack of accreditation." Baris Altintas, co-director of MLSA, a legal NGO helping many of the detainees, told AFP the authorities "seem to be very determined on limiting coverage of the protests." He added: "We fear that the crackdown on the press will not only continue but also increase." |
Link |
The Grand Turk |
Jailed Istanbul mayor says his lawyer has been arrested UPDATE: along with more lawyers and journalists |
2025-03-29 |
[IsraelTimes] Istanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu says in a social media post that his lawyer has been detained and demands his immediate release. “My lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds,” Imamoglu says in a post on X published via his legal team. “As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims defending themselves,” he writes, adding: “Release my lawyer immediately.” More journalists detained by Turkey after covering anti-government protests [IsraelTimes] Nobel-winning author says events represent ‘Erdogan’s strong-fisted, autocratic rule at a level we have not seen before’ Two journalists were detained in dawn raids in Istanbul early Friday as part of a crackdown on media workers covering ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... ’s largest protests in more than a decade, their outlets reported. Elif Bayburt, who works for the Etkin News Agency, and Nisa Suda Demirel, from the Evrensel news website, were the latest to be arrested in early morning sweeps that have targeted political activists and trade unionists as well as journalists. "Our news hound, Nisa Sude Demirel, was detained by the police who came to her house at around 6 a.m. this morning," Evrensel said in a statement. "Demirel, who was following the (Istanbul City Hall) protests and the boycotts at the universities, was taken to the Istanbul Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism Branch office." The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ![]() . Imamoglu was tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! pending trial on corruption charges that many see as politically motivated. The government insists the judiciary is independent and free of political interference. Reporters Without Borders condemned the journalists’ arrests. "There is no end to the detentions of journalists," its Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu said. The Ottoman Turkish Journalists’ Union called for the news media to be allowed to do their work and for an "end to these unlawful detentions." Earlier this week, 11 journalists were detained in morning raids. Although initially tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! pending trial, they were freed Thursday but still face charges of "taking part in illegal rallies and marches." Turkey’s broadcasting authority issued a 10-day airwave ban on Sozcu TV on Thursday, as well as fines and program suspensions to other opposition channels. A news hound from the UK’s BBC was also deported Thursday. The editor-in-chief of Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC said Friday that its news hound had gone missing. Joakim Medin has not been heard from since he wrote that he was being taken for questioning after arriving in Istanbul on Thursday to cover the protests, Andreas Gustavsson wrote on the paper’s website. ’CHILDREN BEING TREATED LIKE TERRORISTS’ Courthouses across Turkey are dealing with a spike in cases as a result of the protests. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Thursday that nearly 1,900 people had been arrested since March 19. Anxious families have been gathering outside court buildings to await the fate of their loved ones, whom police can hold for four days. "The youth we call Generation Z are more likely to participate in these protests. They sense that something is wrong," Savas Ozbek, whose daughter was detained Sunday, told ANKA News Agency outside Ankara Courthouse late Thursday. Zeynep Ulger, who was waiting for news of her friend, said they were protesting for a "free, democratic country," adding: "The only thing we have achieved in the face of this is being beaten by the police on the streets and being detained." Istanbul-based lawyer Arif Anil Ozturk, who represents many detained protesters, gave his insight into court proceedings. "It is an unlawful process from beginning to end," he told the Cumhuriyet newspaper. "There is no evidence, no footage. Children... are being treated like terrorists." Nightly Istanbul rallies organized by Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, ended Tuesday. In other cities, and in Istanbul since the end of the CHP gatherings, largely peaceful protests have been more organic. Police, however, have used tear gas, water cannon and plastic pellets to suppress demonstrations that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. LAWYERS DETAINED At the Middle East Technical University campus on the outskirts of the capital Ankara, nine students were detained early Friday, opposition politicians who visited the site said. "Young people have set up tents inside (the campus). Officious administrators have evaluated this situation as a ’threat’ and invited the police to the university to conduct an operation," CHP Provincial Chairperson Umit Erkol said on social media. Aylin Yaman, a CHP member of parliament, said students were sitting on the grass and singing when police stormed the area at 2 a.m. "We object to the police entering here as if it were a dawn operation and creating an atmosphere of fear," she said. The Istanbul Bar Association announced that three lawyers had been among some 100 people arrested at a Thursday demonstration in the city’s Sisli district. Lawyers also said they had been kept waiting for hours outside police headquarters to gain access to detainees. Following the overnight arrest of Imamoglu’s lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan, it was revealed Friday that he is accused of money laundering. Imamoglu, in a social media post, said Pehlivan had been "detained on fictitious grounds." He was later released on condition of judicial control. RUBIO: "WE ARE CONCERNED" Turkey’s Nobel-winning author Orhan Pamuk, writing in several European newspapers, said events over the past 10 days represented "Erdogan’s strong-fisted, autocratic rule (at) a level we have not seen before." Following a meeting with Turkey’s foreign minister earlier in the week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... described events in Turkey as "disturbing." Speaking on a return flight from Suriname late Thursday, he said: "We are concerned. We don’t like to see the direction that’s going... Anytime you have instability on the ground you don’t like to see it." A group of European politicians arrived in Istanbul to show support for Imamoglu and meet opposition figures. Led by former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, the delegation from the Party of European Socialists also included European Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley. "This is not just about one person. This is about democracy, and we are here to stand up for democratic values," Lofven said. "These politically motivated accusations are a threat to democracy in Turkey." In a TV interview Friday, the co-leader of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party appeared to offer qualified support for the protests. "We are not the CHP’s activist group. We support them, but we will not take to the streets for this," Tuncer Bakirhan said. Commentators have suggested that the recent peace initiative offered to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is a bid by Erdogan to lure the DEM Party, which is the third-largest in parliament, into supporting an extension of his presidency beyond his current term. Imamoglu faces charges stemming from two investigations into the opposition-controlled Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality — a corruption case and one alleging support for terrorism. The mayor has been confirmed as the CHP’s presidential candidate in an election currently scheduled for 2028 but which is likely to take place earlier. He has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan, and his election as mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 was a major blow to the president. |
Link |
Europe |
Germany: Conservatives scrutinize state support for NGOs |
2025-03-03 |
If America gets to rein in their NGOs, maybe Germany should look into theirs, eh? Good for the CDU/CSU! [DW] Germany's conservative CDU/CSU bloc is questioning the political neutrality of some NGOs. That could weigh on relations with its potential Social Democrat coalition partners.Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators erupted into the streets to protest against the conservative Christian Democrats ![]() white people, white supremacy, whiteanything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nastyto the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... (CDU) after they voted through proposals for stricter migration policies together with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. By so doing, the demonstrators said, the CDU had torn down the "firewall" between traditional parties and the far right that has long prevailed in Germany. The protests were organized by a range of NGOs such as "Omas gegen Rechts" (Grannies against the Right), the environmental group NABU or "Munchen ist bunt" (Munich is Diverse). Many of the associations and initiatives involved in the protests are financed not only by donations and member fees but also by state subsidies. Charitable organizations are also eligible for tax breaks. But legally, their situation is a tightrope walk because they are permitted to be involved in social issues but not to take sides in party politics. CONSERVATIVES QUESTION STATE SUPPORT Now, if the CDU and CSU are to be believed, some NGOs have violated this principle with their protests. For this reason, the CDU/CSU finance expert, Mathias Middelberg, announced in a newspaper interview in mid-February that he would be "very critically" scrutinizing federal support programs about who was benefiting from them, and looking at potentially cutting them altogether. The conservative bloc is following through on his words. It has put in a parliamentary request for information to the federal government. It said the request was made because of the protests against the CDU, "which were partly organized or supported by charitable associations or state-financed organizations." The 32-page inquiry contains 551 questions about altogether 17 NGOs. ”Gotcha!” POLITICAL NEUTRALITY: A QUESTION OF INTERPRETATIONIn its inquiry, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group refers to an article in the conservative-leaning German daily Welt in which several experts on constitutional law expressed very critical views about the demonstrations. "Associations that helped organize 'firewall' demonstrations did not act on a charitable basis," argued Volker Boehme-Nessler from Oldenburg University. "The demonstrations were one-sidedly political. They were directed concretely against one party, the CDU." Indeed. Dietrich Murswieck, a legal expert who taught at Freiburg University until 2016, is of a similar view."If a nature conservation group protests that a parliamentary resolution ignored the 'firewall,' it has nothing to do with its charitable purpose of protecting the environment," he said. But Maximilian Schiffers, a political scientist from the Duisburg-Essen University, has a very different take on the precept of political neutrality, which is also a subject of debate in expert circles. "It doesn't mean that organizations have to be neutral on political issues. They are just not allowed to campaign for a particular party," he told DW. HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONSERVATION: POLITICALLY NEUTRAL ISSUES? According to Schiffers, even the German constitution is not neutral, "particularly when human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights,mind you... , civil liberties, environmental and climate protection and the participation in democratic decision-making processes are concerned." In view of this, civil society organizations did not have to be neutral either, Schiffers said. The Society for Civil Rights (GFF), which is financed by donations and member fees, is also on the side of those criticizing the way the conservatives and the AfD closed ranks for the vote in parliament. "It is always possible to support democratic principles and objectively examine positions taken by a party that are problematic from the point of view of constitutional law," it said in a blurb. The GFF stressed that such actions were even desirable to enable the open democratic discourse reflected in the German constitution, or Basic Law. ATTEMPT AT INTIMIDATION? The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which fights for press freedom across the world, has been even more explicit in its criticism of the action taken by the CDU/CSU bloc. The director of its German branch, Anja Osterhaus, accused the conservatives of trying to intimidate critical voices from civil society. Although she conceded that parliamentary inquiries by parties were an important monitoring mechanism, she said it was "worrying that the CDU/CSU parliamentary group used this means to demand information on media organizations that are known for their investigative journalism." The CDU/CSU inquiries include questions about German media organizations Correctiv and Netzwerk Recherche. In early 2024 Correctiv, which also receives money from the state, reported on a meeting in Potsdam attended by right-wing holy warrior and conservative figures. The gathering was allegedly held to discuss plans to carry out mass deportations of people with an immigration background from Germany. The revelations triggered mass demonstrations nationwide against right-wing extremism and the AfD. SPD PARLIAMENTARY LEADER CALLS 'FOUL' The debate on state support for charity organizations is also damaging relations between the CDU/CSU bloc and its potential partners in a coalition government, the Social Democrats (SPD). On Friday, the first exploratory talks between the parties were held in Berlin following the February 23 elections. Lars Klingbeil, who co-leads the SPD and heads its parliamentary party, accused the CDU and CSU of "foul play." "The Union [CDU/CSU bloc] should do some soul-searching very quickly about whether it will stick with that," he said. But the words of the conservatives' parliamentary leader, Thorsten Frei, give no reason to believe that it will. Frei told public-service broadcaster ARD that no one wanted to intimidate anyone but that it was "normal" to watch where and to whom public monies and tax cuts were going. That is the conservative way. |
Link |
Afghanistan |
Taliban Crackdown on Free Speech: Naraiman Radio’s Operations Halted in Badghis Province |
2024-09-22 |
[8am] The Taliban![]() continue to impose severe restrictions and censorship on the media, recently shutting down Naraiman Radio in Badghis province. Last week, they arrested three employees of the station in Qadis district and released them after four days of detention, following a guarantee. In a separate action, the Taliban disrupted the flow of information by heavily jamming the satellite frequencies of the Afghanistan International News Network, severely curbing freedom of speech. Sources in Badghis told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban halted Naraiman Radio’s broadcasts and arrested several of its staff. A week has passed, and the station remains off the air. One local source, speaking anonymously, said, "For three days and nights, three Naraiman Radio employees were held in Taliban custody. Last week, the Taliban came to the radio office and stopped its broadcasts." The source added that the Taliban gave no reason for shutting down the station or detaining its staff. Another source reported that the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) had recently supported Naraiman Radio and Oboor Radio TV in Badghis as part of a media protection program. The Taliban, aware of this support, then shut down Naraiman Radio and arrested its staff. They also ordered all media outlets and NGOs in the province not to accept donor-funded projects without informing the group. The source added, "Naraiman Radio’s broadcasts were fully censored and controlled by the Taliban. No event was covered without their approval. The only reason we found is that the station received a project to produce documentaries and informational clips about Afghanistan’s historical issues. Upon learning of this, the Taliban detained the staff and halted its broadcasts." Hasht-e Subh Daily confirmed that Naraiman Radio focused on historical topics and documentaries, without violating Taliban policies. Despite this, the group stopped the broadcasts and locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! the staff. Another source revealed that local efforts were made to resolve the issue through dialogue after the staff’s detention. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... according to the source, Matiullah Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Director of Information and Culture in Badghis, does not recognize media freedom, given his background in the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Muttaqi had repeatedly criticized Naraiman Radio employees in official meetings and in front of the media and ultimately shut down the station without providing any justification. The source claimed Muttaqi held the station hostage, refusing to comply with directives from Kabul. He also insisted that all commercial advertisements must be approved by him and decided which outlets would receive them. The Taliban suspended Naraiman Radio’s activities just as they were heavily jamming Afghanistan International’s satellite frequencies, further restricting the flow of information and violating press freedom. Afghanistan International condemned the jamming as a violation of press freedom and introduced a new satellite frequency to ensure continued access to free news for its audience. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) expressed grave concern, calling on Taliban officials to immediately and permanently stop the jamming of Afghanistan International’s frequencies and allow citizens unrestricted access to media. The AFJC also reported that, over the past three years, the Taliban have issued at least 17 media-related directives that contradict media laws. These directives include prohibiting women from working at Radio Television Afghanistan, segregating men’s and women’s roles in the media, banning interviews between men and women, and other restrictions. In addition to censorship and media restrictions, the Taliban have imposed several bans on female journalists. Orders have barred women from appearing on television without covering their faces, and many local radio stations have been instructed not to broadcast women’s voices. Earlier, Reporters Without Borders noted that 2023 was marked by the continued exclusion of female journalists, with Taliban restrictions showing no signs of easing. Over the past 19 years, 132 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan. The previous government attributed 67% of these killings to the Taliban. Afghan journalists have repeatedly expressed fear, repression, and despair, stating that they are forced to self-censor to survive. Related: Badghis province: 2023-02-20 IEA Supreme Leader Called on Group's Leadership to Avoid "Favoritism and Discrimination": Mujahid Badghis province: 2022-12-16 Afghanistan: 20,000 displaced people evicted from makeshift camps in freezing temperatures Badghis province: 2022-10-30 Afghanistan Discovers New Gas Deposits |
Link |
Africa North |
Tunisia detains Journalists in crackdown |
2024-05-17 |
[AFRICANEWS] Tunisia saw a wave of arrests targeting government critics, including journalists and lawyers, sparking concern from international allies. President Kais Saied's administration launched a crackdown on perceived opponents, detaining activists like Saadia Mosbah and La Belle France 24 cameraman Hamdi Tlili. Lawyer Sonia Dahmani was also among those detained. While Tlili was released without charges, radio journalist Borhen Bsaies and columnist Mourad Zeghidi were kept under pre-trial detention, accused of violating cybercrime laws by allegedly spreading fake news and undermining state security. Bsaies's lawyer highlighted a lack of clear evidence linking his client to these charges. Criticism of the president often leads to accusations of undermining state security, signaling a broader attack on press freedom. Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrests, calling for an end to the government's authoritarian tactics. These developments mark a troubling trend in Tunisia, where political arrests have become more frequent under President Saied's rule, raising concerns both domestically and among international partners. The European Union ![]() , Tunisia's top trade partner, on Tuesday issued a rare rebuke of Tunisian authorities, calling the arrests worrisome. "Freedoms of expression and association, as well as the independence of the judiciary, are guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution and constitute the basis of our partnership," its spokesperson said in a statement. |
Link |
-Great Cultural Revolution |
Access to the Reporters Without Borders website has been restricted in Russia. |
2024-04-22 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] Roskomnadzor has restricted access in Russia to the website of the international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders. This follows from data from the department’s universal service for checking blocking of pages and Internet resources. At the same time, Roskomnadzor did not indicate at the request of which department and on what grounds they blocked the resource of the international non-governmental organization rsf.org. The site is currently not available in Russia. At the same time, rsf.org is not included in the unified register of domain names that contain information prohibited for distribution in Russia. The international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders was founded in 1985 in France. The organization's goal was to protect the right to freedom of information. It has consultative status with the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. As Regnum reported, on April 12, Roskomnadzor blocked the online publication Polit. Ru" for repeatedly posting unreliable socially significant information. According to the department, the publication was aimed at destabilizing the socio-political situation in Russia. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor reported that during the Russian presidential elections it had identified and deleted more than 480 Telegram channels that spread fake news about terrorist attacks to intimidate voters. |
Link |
Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
Al Jazeera 'journalists' in Gaza were terrorists: IDF presents evidence |
2024-01-11 |
[Jpost] IDF Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari on Wednesday night presented evidence to prove that two Gazook journalists killed by the IDF on Sunday were terrorists. Unexpectedly. Actually, as we predicted, but anyway. Regarding Hamza al-Dahdouh, ...previously in our archives as Hamza Wael Dahdouh... the son of Al Jazeera's chief correspondent 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 oppressionand disproportionate response... , Wael al-Dahdouh, Hagari said that Israeli forces had found Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... internal documents in their various command centers in Gaza proving he was part of their terror ranks. The IDF presented a copy of the document in Arabic, which it said listed Hamza as a dual-hat terrorist-journalist for Islamic Jihad. One of many. It’s the way the smart money bets in that part of the world. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm what the document said, and there was no English translation, but the IDF said that it listed Hamza as working for the terror group's electric engineering unit.Impressive, if terribly wasteful when he could have been designing better poo ponds. Documents also said that Hamza had previously served as a terrorist battalion leader for the Zeitoun area of northern Gaza and that he was still currently responsible for firing Islamic Jihad rockets in that area.IDF SAYS THERE ARE DOCUMENTS THAT LINK JOURNALIST TO HAMAS Hagari said that similar documents were found by Israeli forces in Hamas ![]() command centers linking the other journalist, Mustafa Thuraya, to Hamas. He said the documents said that Thuraya was a deputy chief of a terror cell. Further, Hagari said that both had been involved in activating drones which caused danger to Israeli forces and which led to the air strike against them. On Sunday, Paleostinian media reported that the son of the head of Al Jazeera in Gaza was killed by the IDF along with a photographer. IDF responses until Wednesday night had alternated from somewhat defensive to suggesting the two were terrorists, but without offering much evidence. Al Jazeera has denied the two were holy warriors and accused the IDF of illegally targeting Paleostinian journalists, but had not publicly responded to the latest more specific IDF allegations at press time. In Sunday’s strike in Rafah, Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Wael Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for AFP who was also working for the Qatar-based TV outlet, were both killed. A third journalist, Hazem Rajab, was seriously wounded, Al Jazeera said. Mr. Rajab being the targetted drone operator, who creates content and is a photojournalist in his spare time. Giving us all three names — with two spellings — in one place. Woot! Also surviving the strike were photojournalist Amer Abu Amr and another journalist, Ahmed al-Bursh. Talk about clown cars! Dahdouh, according to the IDF, was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It said documents recovered by troops in Gaza reveal he served in Islamic Jihad’s electronic engineering unit, and previously was a deputy commander in the Zeitoun Battalion’s rocket force.The IDF attached a copy of the document showing Dahdouh was a member of Islamic Jihad’s electronic engineering unit. Not electrical engineering? What’s the difference? Thuria and Hamza Wael Dahdouh had been tasked with filming the aftermath of a strike on a house in Rafah and their car was hit while they were on their way back, AFP correspondents said.The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 79 Palestinian reporters, as well as four Israeli and three Lebanese reporters, have been killed since Hamas’s October 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza and an escalation in fighting along Israel’s border with Lebanon amid attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group. Israel denies targeting journalists and says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians, blaming the high death toll on the fact that Hamas fights in densely populated urban areas and embeds itself deliberately among civilians who are used as human shields. The International Criminal Court confirmed Tuesday that it is investigating potential crimes against journalists since the outbreak of the war. Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in November that it had filed a complaint with the Hague-based ICC alleging war crimes over the deaths of journalists trying to cover the conflict. “The office of prosecutor Karim Khan has assured the organization that crimes against journalists are included in its investigation into Palestine,” the organization announced on Monday. The court confirmed the statement, saying: “The ICC Office of the Prosecutor’s investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine concerns crimes committed within the Court’s jurisdiction since 13 June 2014.” Israel has fiercely condemned that investigation, noting the significance of the timing of the investigation’s span. On June 12, 2014, Hamas terrorists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. The investigation is set to focus on events beginning from the following day. Related: Hazem Rajab: 2024-01-08 Israel war on Gaza: Condemnation after Israel kills two journalists in Gaza Related: Al Jazeera: 2024-01-08 Another busy day for the IDF in Gaza as attention moves to center and south Al Jazeera: 2024-01-08 Car rams checkpoint in East Jerusalem; Palestinian girl mistakenly shot dead by cops Al Jazeera: 2024-01-08 As war in Gaza enters 3rd month, EU top diplomat urges to make 'two-state solution a reality' Related: Wael al-Dahdouh: 2024-01-08 Another busy day for the IDF in Gaza as attention moves to center and south Wael al-Dahdouh: 2023-12-17 Al-Qassam, Al-Quds Brigades carry out multiple ops against Zionist invaders; IDF ties up 90 turbans in hospital, finds weapons stashed in preemie incubators; connected but unimportant people killed in war zone Wael al-Dahdouh: 2005-11-02 Palestinian fighters die in Israeli strike |
Link |
International-UN-NGOs |
Behind the scenes of the Nobel Peace Prize |
2023-10-08 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Text taken from the Live Journal post of Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin. Commentary by Rozhin is in italics. [ColonelCassad] Interesting details about the new “Nobel laureate”. Intelligence services, drugs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Behind the scenes of the Nobel Peace Prize In 2003, Nargiz Mohammadi joined the Center for Human Rights, founded in 2000 by Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. He holds the position Vice President of the Human Rights Defense Center (DHRC). *** DHRC was established in Tehran in 2001. Ebadi received the Nobel Prize and Mohammadi got a job with her. The peculiarity is that Ebadi was an activist in the campaign to strengthen the legal status of women and this played a key role in the presidential elections in May 1997, which was won by reformist Mohammad Khatami and appointed Ali Shamkhani as Minister of Defense. Ebadi's human rights activities were aimed at demonstrating the cruelty of Khatami's conservative opponents in eliminating dissident intellectuals. Ali Khamenei pointed to the enemies of Iran, others specifically to the Israeli intelligence services, and Ebadi to the liquidation team from the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). So Said Emami, adviser to the Minister of Intelligence, was arrested and, under strange circumstances, passed away, hiding almost all traces. However, the story of the murder of Iranian-Kurdish dissidents in a Greek restaurant in Berlin (09/17/1992), the details of which were reported to German investigators by Abolghassem Mesbahi, a former Iranian intelligence officer who fled the country with the assistance of Emami, led to an arrest warrant for Ali Fallahian, an influential minister intelligence from 1989 to 1997 under Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. So Khatami, having become the president of Iran (when Bill Clinton began his second presidential term, replacing Secretary of State Christopher with Madeleine Albright, a protégé of Zbigniew Brzezinski), immediately weakened the position of his predecessors. Emami was Fallahian's deputy at MOIS and became an advisor to his successor Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi. The investigation into the “chain of murders” with the participation of Shirin Ebadi led not only to the liquidation of Emami, but also to the resignation of Dorri-Najafabadi. Only then (in February 1999) did Khatami have his own intelligence minister, Ali Younesi, who later served as adviser to President Hassan Rouhani on political and security issues. So, Shirin Ebadi is a very special human rights activist. When it created its center in Tehran, Ahmadinejad was the mayor. But what could he do against Khatami's will? And so in 2003, Nargiz Mohammadi, born in Zanjan, got a job with Ebadi. Perhaps then the game of Ahmadinejad or Khamenei began to introduce “their human rights activist” closer to the “alien” Ebadi (who has been living in exile in London since 2009, because she called for the cancellation of the election results in which Ahmadinejad was re-elected). Or Mohammadi, like Ebadi, represents the Khatami/Shamkhani network. This interpretation is also possible. Once again: the flow of opium from Baluchistan goes by land from Iran through Armenia to Georgia, and then by sea to Odessa; the scheme strengthens the elites of southern Iran, but the influence of the Azerbaijani provinces in the West (West and East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan) decreases. More recently, Ali Shamkhani was getting closer with the NKR and was in conflict with Azerbaijan. The Nobel Committee, at the request of unnamed VIPs, confirmed that the influence of the Azerbaijani provinces has weakened and those who criticize the excesses of the regime are winning? And then the multifaceted regime sent the advanced Ahmadinejad to Guatemala. First delayed due to security issues. And then he left with a beautiful woman without a hijab on the plane (maybe they were waiting for her?). Show that Azerbaijani provinces can respond brightly. Exactly in the same special field. Almost simultaneously with Ahmadinejad's detention at the airport, some media in Colombia reported that former President Alvaro Uribe would stand trial and could receive 12 years in prison. Uribe, who has ties to Medellin and the local cartel, is on the opposite side of President Gustavo Petro's stance on drug policy splicing. The author is transparently trying to hint that the Iranian special services continue to play Zubatovism with “special human rights activists” since the late 80s, using them as a tool to control the human rights agenda and internal squabbles. The version, of course, has only indirect confirmation, but it has a right to exist, although the very fact of working for another “Nobel laureate”, who was supervised by Iranian intelligence services, does not yet prove that the new “laureate” also worked for them. Well, regarding drugs, the United States tried to separate Balochistan from Iranian territory as part of the 2007 “Greater Middle East” plan, which would allow them to control drug production in Balochistan, complementing other important drug countries that are under US control - Colombia , Afghanistan (until recently), Kosovo, etc. Baluchistan, if the Americans managed to destroy Iran, would be an excellent addition to this strategy of controlling the main flows of drug trafficking.Official Iran officially scolded the award of this prize, calling it an example of Western interventionism and its interference in the internal affairs of Iran. More from RIA Novosti Biography of Nargiz Mohammadi Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was born on April 21, 1972 in Zanjan (Iran). She graduated from Imam Khomeini International University with a degree in physics. She worked as an engineer. While at university, she co-founded an organization called the Enlightened Students Group and was arrested twice. As a journalist, she wrote for various reformist magazines, including Payam-e Hajar. This publication was later banned. Mohammadi is also the author of political essays "Reforms, Strategy and Tactics" in Persian. In 2003, Nargiz Mohammadi joined the Center for Human Rights, founded in 2000 by Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. He holds the position of Vice President of the Human Rights Center (DHRC). In 2008, she was elected president of the executive committee of the National Peace Council of Iran, a coalition against war and for human rights. Nargis Mohammadi was first arrested in 1998 for criticizing the Iranian government. Her most recent arrest occurred in November 2021, just a year after her October 2020 release . She was released on health grounds in February 2022 but was arrested again seven weeks later. In total, Nargis Mohammadi was arrested 13 times, convicted five times and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Nargiz Mohammadi has received many awards and honors for her human rights activities. Among them are the International Alexander Langer Prize ( 2009 ); Per Anger Prize - an international award from the Swedish government in the field of human rights ( 2011 ); Prize of the Italian Foundation "Galileo 2000" ( 2015 ); City of Paris Award from the Mayor of Paris and Reporters Without Borders (RSF, 2016 ); Human Rights Award from the German City of Weimar (2016); Andrei Sakharov Award from the American Physical Society ( 2018 ); Reporters Without Borders Award borders" ( 2022 ). In 2023, she was awarded the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize together with Nilufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi. On October 6, 2023, Nargis Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for her struggle against the oppression of women in Iran and for promoting human rights and freedom for all." The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources. |
Link |
The Grand Turk |
Turkey arrests German MP for social media posts |
2023-08-15 |
[NPASyria] A German official of Kurdish heritage said on Sunday that she was arrested for hours when she traveled to ![]() in early August for social media posts she made in 2019. Gökay Akbulut, 40, is a member of the German parliament for the far-left Die Linke party. Rooters reported, citing Akbulut as saying, that she was arrested in Antalya Province on allegations of "terror propaganda." Akbulut previously criticized the It is not clear for which social media posts she was arrested. However she added that she would still travel to Turkey and express her opinion about the Akbulut has previously demanded to lift the ban imposed on the activities of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1993. The PKK has been in the EU list of terrorist organizations since 2022. In recent years the relations between Germany and Turkey witnessed tension due to German criticism of the policies of Erdogan’s government abroad and at home. Turkey always suppresses those who express their opinions that go against the In April, the In May, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the |
Link |
Iraq |
Iraq blocks Telegram over ‘national security’ concerns |
2023-08-07 |
[Rudaw] Iraq's Ministry of Communications on Sunday announced that the country was blocking popular messaging service Telegram, citing concerns over "national security" and threats to citizens’ personal data. The ministry said that the decision has been issued "based on directives of higher authorities," claiming that relative authorities had repeatedly requested Telegram to shut down channels that were leaking documents of state institutions and personal data of Iraqi users, but had not received a response from the platform. Digital Media Center (DMC), an Iraqi non-governmental organization monitoring and analyzing digital media, in late July criticized Telegram’s "poor" technical support saying that the ignoring of reports filed by Iraqi users has turned the app into a "hotspot for digital crime" in the country. The DMC said that it had recorded dozens of channels on the platform that specialize in electronic extortion and have leaked personal data of thousands Iraqi users, while Telegram "continuously ignores requests to delete the violating channels." Telegram is very popular among Iraqi users, and is the main platform for many of the country’s armed factions and militias. Sabreen news, a channel affiliated with Iranian-backed factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has heavily criticized the Iraqi government’s decision, labelling it as "silencing" and "fighting press freedom." The channel, which has over 330 thousand subscribers on Telegram, has called for a campaign of "political and media opposition to all government activities" in response to the recent decision. "The communication ministry reaffirms its respect for the people’s rights to freedom of expression and communication without violating the security of the state and its institutions, and expresses its confidence in the citizens' understanding of this measure.," read the statement from the Iraqi ministry. Human right watchdogs frequently criticize Iraqi authorities for violating press freedom. According to a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report, Iraq ranks 172nd out of 180 countries in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, falling even further from 163rd in 2021. Iraq's former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on Sunday, expressed discontent with banning Telegram, a popular messaging application in Iraq, stressing that the government should direct its attention toward platforms that promote violence and hatred. Iraq's telecoms ministry said it had blocked Telegram over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' data, which it said the app had mishandled. "Iraq, a democratic nation that upholds the freedom of media and expression, recognizes these as fundamental rights, albeit not absolute ones," the head of the State of Law bloc wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "blocking social media sites for security reasons should take into consideration the distinction between sites supporting the state and government, versus those inciting hatred, violence, and infringements on others' privacy." The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content. Some channels contain large amounts of personal data, including the names, addresses, and family ties of Iraqis. The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens... but the company did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests." "The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions," the statement said. Related: Telegram: 2023-08-05 Russian Perspective: Operation to denazify Ukraine: operational summary August 4 (updated) Telegram: 2023-08-05 Actual information about the situation on the front line: August 4 (updated) Telegram: 2023-08-04 Actual information about the situation on the front line: August 3 (updated) |
Link |
Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 21st, 2023 | |
2023-02-22 | |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Korrespondent] 23:25 Bloomberg writes, citing sources, that as part of a new military assistance package, the United States is transferring to Ukraine not just JDAM bombs, but a modification with an increased flight range of up to 72 km when dropped from a height of 14 km - JDAM-ER. ![]() 23:18 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he again held an expanded meeting of the Headquarters, including reports from the front line from commanders in the hottest areas. According to him, fierce battles continue in the Bakhmut and Liman directions. In Avdiyivske and other directions, the occupiers use "the whole range of weapons", including tear grenades. But the front line has not changed. 23:12 Ukraine and Italy signed a declaration reaffirming their commitment to strengthening joint efforts to ensure further progress towards the implementation of EU and NATO standards and Ukraine's integration into the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, the Office of the President said. In addition, the Italian side expresses support for the global peace summit, "which should be convened when conditions permit," and the Ukrainian "peace formula." Italy also expresses its readiness to organize a joint conference on the post-war restoration of Ukraine on its territory. 23:06 Western partners in 2023 should provide Ukraine with another 33 billion euros of assistance, writes the Financial Times, citing a study by the University of Kiel. The publication notes that last year Kyiv received less than half of the promised money: in particular, as of December, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance received 31 billion euros out of 64 billion promised. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine in its forecast for the next year estimated the budget deficit at 38 billion euros. The EU promised regular monthly financial support for Kyiv in the amount of 1.5 billion euros - for a year the total will be 18 billion euros. The FT emphasizes that in the past, Western countries have provided much more financial assistance in similar conflicts and done it faster. In particular, during the Gulf War, the costs of the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea were several times higher than the costs of aid to Ukraine. 22:57 Danilov said that Russia is now striving to implement Plan B in relation to Ukraine. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to the fact that Putin is no longer talking about the seizure of the entire country - in his speech he spoke only about the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "Today, they are reducing all desires for themselves. Now their goal is plan B. It consists in signing any negotiating positions so that we cede part of our lands, having allegedly received peace. These are completely unacceptable things for us," - said Danilov. 22:30 Chinese "peace proposals" on Ukraine will be made public within a few days, said China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun. 22:28 The mood in Washington is shifting towards sending Ukraine ATACMS and F-16 fighters, Republican Michael McCall, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, said in Kiev. 22:25 According to official figures from the UN Human Rights Office, 8,006 Ukrainian civilians were killed as a result of a full-scale Russian invasion and another 13,287 were injured. However, the real figures are much higher, the UN is convinced. 22:00 Biden arrived in Poland after visiting Kiev. His performance in Warsaw has already been dubbed historical. The US President stressed that Ukraine's allies "will not get tired" of supporting it in confronting Russian full-scale aggression, and Kyiv will "never be" defeated by Russia. More details - in the material Russia will never win . 21:13 Zelensky said that he did not know the specific provisions of the Chinese "peace plan", and he was counting on the support of the Ukrainian peace formula: "We are interested that all states - European, of the whole world, of course, India, Africa, China - be involved in so that this war ends, in order to maintain our, it seems to me, fair formula for peace. 21:01 The Czech Republic must prepare for a possible clash between Russia and NATO, said Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army Karel Rzehka. According to him, in the event of such a clash, the Czech Republic will become an active participant in the conflict "from the first minute." 20:49 The new offensive of the Russians has been going on for about ten days, but they have not managed to make it "big", said NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov: "The phrase "big offensive", as they wanted, has already faded away. they planned, already, according to their plan, lasts the eighth or tenth day. There are no successes. Five directions today where they are trying to attack. But our fighters courageously defend our country." 20:34 Russia's decision to suspend participation in the Treaty with the United States on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms is another provocative step on the part of Moscow, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said: "By undermining one of the most important international treaties in the field of nuclear weapons control, Russia is doing another daring challenge to the world community, confirming the criminal nature and further aggressive intentions to destroy international peace and security." Kyiv calls on the international community "to give a resolute response to Russia's aggressive behavior, to take urgent joint measures to prevent and counter any form of nuclear blackmail by a terrorist state." 20:29 Fighters are not on the agenda, but Italy is considering sending more air defense systems, Prime Minister George Meloni said during a visit to Kiev. At the same time, she stressed that Italy will provide Ukraine, in addition to SAMP / T, with Skyguard and Spike air defense systems. 19:43 The EU still cannot find the blocked 300 billion euros of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. According to Delfi, citing its own sources, 45 MEPs sent a letter to EU leaders demanding the creation of a unified register of funds blocked in the European Union by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Russian oligarchs, indicating the amount and location of these funds. They stressed that such a registry does not yet exist, and demand that the European Commission encourage EU member states to share information about the arrested Russian money with it in order to "have a clear picture of the situation." 19:08 Biden said during a speech in Warsaw that NATO will never get tired of supporting Ukraine until its victory, the alliance is more united and resolute than ever. He stressed that dictators will never take away freedom. Biden also addressed the Russians: "The West does not want to attack Russia and threaten its independence. You are not our enemies, war is not necessary, President Putin chose war - this is his choice. If Russia stops its invasion, the war will end. If Ukraine stops defend, that will be the end. Therefore, our main task is for Ukraine to be able to defend itself." 18:58 Xi Jinping intends to deliver a "peace speech" on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China took a neutral stance and did not condemn the Russian Federation for the invasion, but called for a negotiated settlement. The US reacted nervously to the Chinese "peace plan" as they fear that Beijing might take Russia's position. And in the European Union, this step was cautiously welcomed as the first sign that Beijing recognizes the problem of war not only "as a European matter." Read more in the article Which side will Beijing take? 18:19 Due to the high level of desertion from the ranks of Russian troops, since February 20, mass raids have been carried out in the Chaplinsky district of the Kherson region. Particular attention is paid to abandoned dachas and houses, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the evening building. Meanwhile, in the Crimea, in particular in Sevastopol, since the beginning of the year, the criminogenic situation has significantly worsened. The reason is the appearance of former prisoners who fought as part of the Wagner PMC and were amnestied after the completion of the contract. If they are detained for the crimes they have committed, they are not sent to correctional facilities, but back to the front line. 18:14 Zelensky said that he had met with a delegation of the US House of Representatives - members of the Republican Party - led by Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCall: "I thank the American congressmen for supporting Ukraine and understanding the importance of strengthening aid to achieve victory over the aggressor" . 17:47 Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that Russia plans to seize the airport in Chisinau and deploy its military there. According to him, this is one of the scenarios for destabilizing the situation in the country. Rechan also said that Russia should withdraw its troops from Transnistria: "We must achieve one fundamental thing - demilitarization. After that, everything else follows, and the economic and social integration of our citizens who are there is very important, but in the first place - demilitarization" . The prime minister urged the citizens of Moldova not to ignore "real threats of escalation", because Russia is waging a hybrid war in the country. 17:18 The Wall Street Journal writes that Xi Jinping may visit Russia in the coming months - preparations for the visit are at an early stage, and the dates have not yet been determined. According to the publication, the Chinese leader may come to Moscow in April or early May, when Russia will celebrate the victory over Germany in World War II. 16:49 The Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice to ban the activities of the Party of Regions and transfer the property of the pro-Russian political force to the state property of Ukraine, the SBU reported. Experts are currently estimating the value of this property. 16:28 Belgium has begun training the Ukrainian military to operate submarine UAVs that Brussels will supply to Ukraine, said Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder. She did not specify how long the training will last and when the drones will be delivered to Ukraine. 16:21 Ukraine, the EU and NATO at a trilateral meeting agreed to develop an effective, transparent and accountable system of arms purchases for Ukraine, Kuleba, Borrell and Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference. The parties also agreed to work intensively to resolve three issues - effective training of the Ukrainian military, efficient production of weapons and shells, and their effective delivery to the battlefield. 16:14 Reporters Without Borders reported that during the year of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, eight journalists were killed, 19 were injured, at least four of them seriously. During this time, the organization registered 50 cases of media workers coming under fire, at least 26 of them were targets of Russian soldiers. In total, about 12,000 Ukrainian and foreign journalists received accreditation to cover events in Ukraine last year. Reporters Without Borders has filed seven war crimes cases with the International Criminal Court and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for a total of 44 acts of violence and attacks against more than 100 media workers and 11 radio and television towers in Ukraine. 15:59 The Kherson OVA specified that as a result of today's shelling of the regional center, five people were killed, 16 were injured. 15:37 Ukrzaliznytsia announced the start of the Zalizna Ukrainizatsiya program. The comprehensive program is designed for 2023-2025, during which it is planned to remove everything that connects Ukraine with Russia - the names of railways, mileage marks, signal marks, Soviet bas-reliefs, station names, etc. In particular, the Southern and South-Western railways will be renamed, because they were geographically so in relation to Moscow, and not Kyiv. We started the project by changing the mileage marks: in Kyiv, for example, this mark was still "856", because the zero kilometer since Soviet times is calculated from Moscow. Now the countdown of Ukrainian railways will start from the Central Station of the Kyiv-Passenger station, where the zero mark is set. Also, inscriptions in Russian will be removed from railway tickets, as required by outdated regulations. Russian is planned to be replaced by English. 15:24 Kuleba said that Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, shared with the Ukrainian side the key points of the "peace plan" of the PRC. The Foreign Minister noted that Kyiv intends to study it and draw conclusions. 15:02 Stoltenberg expressed regret over the decision of the Russian Federation to suspend participation in the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms and said that Putin is preparing for war: "Putin started this imperialist war and continues to escalate it. A year after the start of the war, there are no signs that that he is preparing for peace. On the contrary, today he has made it clear that he is preparing for a new war." Blinken, in turn, called Russia's decision on START "disappointing" and said that Washington is still ready to talk with Moscow about arms restrictions at any time. Borrell said that Russia's decision on START destroys the system of international security. 14:43 The Russians fired at Kherson and Ochakov from multiple launch rocket systems, OK Pivden reported. In Kherson, the enemy hit residential areas, critical infrastructure facilities, a kindergarten, a hospital, as well as a local market and a public transport stop. Currently, six dead and 12 injured are known, the data is being specified. In Ochakovo, the invaders fired at the port infrastructure, one person was wounded. 14:36 FSB director Alexander Bortnikov said that Russia did not provide any security guarantees to Biden before his visit to Ukraine: "The United States did notify Russia of Biden's visit to Kiev - through diplomatic lines. We did not give guarantees of his security." 14:32 The Ministry of Education and Science calls on all schools in Ukraine to switch to distance learning from February 22 to February 24 due to the increased threat of shelling. 14:25 The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador Lynn Tracy and protested to her in connection with "the expansion of US involvement in hostilities on the side of Kiev." She was told that Washington should "take steps that involve the withdrawal of military and equipment, as well as the cessation of hostile anti-Russian activity." Also, the United States is required to explain about the explosions in the Nord Streams. 14:19 The Russians fired at the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region today: as a result of a shell hitting a private residential building, one person was injured. In addition, the enemy is shelling the towns of Dvurechnaya and Volchansk - it hits only the private residential sector, several houses are damaged, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. 13:57 Putin addressed the traditional message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The last time he performed in a similar format was in April 2021. This year, during a full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin made a number of traditionally cynical statements - in particular, he said that "we are not at war with the people of Ukraine, they have become a hostage of the Kiev regime", and the Russians are only "protecting people and their home" . He also dedicated part of his address to the LGBT community. More details - in the material Gaia and war . 13:42 M1 Abrams tanks can be transferred to Ukraine from cash stocks from US warehouses, and not after their production, as previously expected, Stanley Brown, First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs, said in an interview with Breaking Defense. "We have Abrams in stock. We have different versions of Abrams, and I don't know which specific versions Ukraine will eventually get," he added. Brown noted that it is not yet clear when a final decision will be made and when these tanks may arrive in Ukraine. "Potentially it could be a combination of finished and manufactured tanks," he said. 13:26 The goal of Russia is to, having accumulated resources, try to seize the initiative and freeze the war for an indefinite time - by remaining in the occupied territories and drawing Ukraine into information confrontations, Podolyak said. The goal of Ukraine, according to him, is completely different: to destroy the remaining resource of Russian combat capability, inflict several major tactical defeats, break the defenses in the occupied territories and sharply increase the pace of de-occupation. To do this, Ukraine needs tools, Podolyak stressed: missile defense systems and fighter jets to cover the skies; shells of heavy calibers; long-range missiles - from 150 km and more; unmanned aircraft; armored vehicles; attack aircraft. 12:49 Putin said that Russia is suspending participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. He called "a theater of the absurd" NATO's recent demand to return to START inspections. The Russian president also said that the West is "directly involved in plans to strike at our strategic targets." In addition, Putin said that a week ago he signed a decree on putting new ground-based strategic systems on combat duty. According to him, Washington is allegedly "thinking about the natural testing of nuclear weapons." Therefore, the Russian Defense Ministry and Rosatom should ensure that they are ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if the United States does it first, Putin said. 12:20 Italian Prime Minister George Meloni arrived in Kyiv , La Repubblica reports. In the afternoon, she will meet with Zelensky, and before that she will visit Bucha and Irpin. 11:56 During Biden's visit to Poland, Warsaw will raise the issue of transferring combat aircraft to Ukraine, Pavel Yablonsky, deputy head of the Polish Foreign Ministry, said: "We are discussing and will talk about this today with the US president, in particular, during the Bucharest Nine summit. We will talk about what future military support should look like." 11:28 Putin, in his address to the Federal Assembly, once again stated that "it was the West that unleashed the war, and we are using force to stop it." According to him, Russia allegedly "was open to a constructive dialogue with the West" and for many years offered to work on a joint security system, while the West, meanwhile, "was preparing enslaved Ukraine for a big war." According to Putin, the Russian Federation "defends its home and people's lives," and the "Anti-Russia project" allegedly goes back to the 19th century - "it was also cultivated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Poland with one goal - to tear off these historical territories, which Today they are called Ukraine, from our country." Putin said that "it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield," and the more long-range systems Ukraine receives, "the further we will push the threat." 11:17 At the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the ratio of forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation with the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine averaged 12:1. Now the difference between these potentials has decreased three times, said Aleksey Neizhpapa, Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He also assured that all strategic approaches to the Odessa region are under the control of the Navy and other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 11:13 From Tuesday, February 21, and over the next few days, the grouping of forces and means of defense of Kiev will conduct training to protect the capital, said the head of the KGVA Sergey Popko. According to the scenario, the enemy is conducting an offensive operation from the northern direction. The task of the Kyiv defense forces and means is to work out the entire range of tasks for the defense of the capital. Popko stressed that this is a planned training, at present the threat of an attack on the capital from the north is minimal. 11:10 There is no shortage of power in the energy system of Ukraine on February 21 and is not predicted yet. All power plants are operating, electricity imports are insignificant and significantly reduced, Ukrenergo reported. In Odessa and the Odessa region, network restrictions remain due to damage to equipment at substations, and hourly outage schedules are applied. 10:59 The legendary Artemsol, which disappeared from stores in the summer after the Russians destroyed the facilities of the enterprise in Soledar, will now help form a flotilla of kamikaze drones for the GUR. On the occasion of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, UNITED24 and the Artemsol enterprise produced a special batch of salt: they divided 20 tons into 100,000 symbolic packs. Profits from each pack will go to kamikaze drones to equip a new strike force. You can buy salt in Silpo or order it online at Rozetka, Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, said. The cost of one pack is 500 hryvnia, of which 465 is the fee for the APU. 10:55 Boris Johnson, during a debate in the House of Commons, called on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to send fighter jets to Ukraine, writes The Guardian. He was supported by Liz Truss, who also insisted on the need to use frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine. 10:34 In the summer of 2021, the Putin administration developed a strategy to absorb Belarus until 2030. The document titled Strategic Goals of the Russian Federation in the Belarusian direction was received by journalists from several publications, including the Kyiv Independent, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Yahoo News and the Dossier Center. The strategy involves control over the socio-political, commercial, scientific and cultural life of Belarus, as well as bringing the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in line with the Russian one. Thus, by 2022 it was planned to form a pro-Russian stratum of the population and elite, by 2025 - to have stable groups of influence in all sectors and expand the military presence, by 2030 - to complete the absorption, merge the two armies into one, take full control of the information space, complete the transition to a single currency and create a common cultural space with a common approach to history. According to journalists, the war in Ukraine slowed down the implementation of Russia's plans, but did not stop it. At the same time, Minsk is unlikely to be seriously interested in implementing this strategy, since Lukashenka does not trust Moscow.
09:43 Latvia handed over another cargo for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Elena Kondratyuk said. In particular, Latvia donated an off-road vehicle equipped with a machine-gun platform of its own production, uniforms and footwear for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, rations, sleeping bags, tactical goggles, generators, etc. 09:26 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, three people were killed - two in Bakhmut and one in Ivanopol. Another five people in the area were injured. In the Kherson region, two people died, according to the OVA. 09:21 The most difficult area in the Luhansk region remains the Kremennaya area, where the active phase of hostilities is underway, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. According to him, the Ukrainian military is holding the defense there, in some places recapturing positions from the enemy. 09:17 In Russia, they are preparing for the mass mobilization of full-time students. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, so-called warning stations are being created for this purpose, which will help military registration and enlistment offices hand over summonses to students. A number of higher educational institutions have already issued documents obliging the structural subdivisions of higher educational institutions to allocate a certain number of students and employees to work at "alert areas." The GUR recalls that no additional legal grounds are needed for the next wave of mobilization in the Russian Federation, since the “partial mobilization” announced in September 2022 has not been officially completed. Probably, the mobilization will be carried out before April 1 - the beginning of the spring conscription for military service. If necessary, the start of the draft may be delayed, according to intelligence. 08:54 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Ukraine will be able to return the initiative to the battlefield in 2023 with sufficient and timely support from the West. Analysts also note that Zelenskiy likely softened his administration's stance on Bakhmut to make a small rhetorical concession to U.S. officials who have raised concerns about the ability of the Defense Forces to both defend Bakhmut and conduct counter-offensives. In particular, the president said that Ukraine would continue to defend Bakhmut, but "not at any cost." At the same time, ISW continues to consider Ukraine's decision to defend Bakhmut to be strategically justified, aimed at pinning down Russian forces on a separate sector of the front. ISW also drew attention to the fact that the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the official integration of the "militias" of the so-called "DNR" and "LNR" into the Russian armed forces on February 19 in response to growing criticism about the change of command in the puppet units. The decision to reorganize the "militias" against the backdrop of the ongoing offensive probably indicates that the Russian Defense Ministry does not realize the scale of the challenges associated with the integration of irregular formations into a professional army during intense hostilities, analysts say. According to experts, the restructuring of the puppet armed formations indicates that the Russian military command is trying to implement all the desired reforms, while the Russian Defense Ministry enjoys the favor of Putin. 08:45 The Council of the European Union approved the extension of anti-Russian sanctions until February 24, 2024. The document emphasizes that "the alliance remains unwavering in its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and is committed to the full implementation of the policy of non-recognition regarding illegal Russian annexation." The decision will enter into force on Wednesday, February 22, and concerns the sanctions that were introduced on February 23, 2022 in response to Russia's recognition of the "DPR" and "LPR". In October, the restrictions were extended in response to the illegal annexation of parts of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine. There are currently 1,386 individuals and 171 organizations under EU sanctions against Russia. 08:36 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of February 21.
08:24 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Miner directions in the areas of Nevsky, Bakhmut, Novobakhmutovka, Vodyany and Marinka, the General Staff said in the morning report . Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repelled attacks by Russians in the areas of the settlements of Gryanikovka and Masyutovka in the Kharkiv region; Belogorivka - Luhansk and Vasyukovka, Berkhovka, Bakhmut, Vasilievka, Novobakhmutovka, Vodiane, Nevelskoe and Maryinka of Donetsk region. Russia continues forced passportization of Ukrainian citizens. So, in Gorlovka, Donetsk region, employees of budgetary organizations have been given an order from the "administration" under their personal signature on the need to obtain Russian citizenship before July 1, otherwise they will be fired. 04:43 The German Foreign Ministry called on its citizens to refuse to travel to Russia, especially to the western regions - Rostov, Krasnodar, Kursk, Saratov, Voronezh and Volgograd. Berlin asks to be especially attentive and careful during the period from February 20 to 26, when a number of events are planned in the Russian Federation. "Citizens with dual citizenship should remember that the Russian authorities consider them only as citizens of Russia. This also applies to a possible conscription into the Russian armed forces. The Embassy cannot provide them with consular protection," the message says. 03:55 Trump said that if he is elected President of the United States, he will immediately call Putin and Zelensky: “Literally on the same night, as it becomes known about my victory, I will call two people - Putin and Zelensky. I will tell them: we need to meet. I guarantee that I can resolve this issue... We will close the deal within 24 hours." 03:19 Putin may soon mobilize hundreds of thousands more Russians, in addition to the 300 thousand already called up, reports The New York Times, citing representatives of American intelligence. 02:50 The Netherlands plans to send another 230 troops to Germany to train Ukrainian fighters, according to NOS. The country's authorities said they would join the training of a total of 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers. 02:23 The first batch of German ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft systems will be delivered to Ukraine before July, Armin Papperger, director of Rheinmetall manufacturing company, said. In response to a call by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to boost munitions production, Papperger said his company "has doubled its capacity and even tripled it in some sectors." "Weapons stock is full, we're operating at full capacity and we can still increase capacity in one shift," Papperger added. He also added that 20 Marder combat vehicles will be ready for shipment to Ukraine by the end of March. 01:24 Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced plans to form a "people's militia", which, in his opinion, could join 100-150 thousand people. At the same time, he did not rule out that those who did not undergo military training, including women, could become “volunteers”. | |
Link |