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head-post · 12 hours

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US remains determined to keep Russia from any further aggression, Austin said

US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin on Friday delivered opening remarks at a virtual meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s defence issues, pledging continued assistance to Ukraine and indicating that the US attitude towards Russia remains unchanged.

In his opening remarks, Austin stated:

“We remain determined to deter Russia from any further aggression, including against our NATO allies.”

The United States will provide another $1 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including additional HIMARS, 155mm ammunition, air defence and armoured vehicles, the minister added. He also emphasised:

“Ukraine also needs more artillery and armoured vehicles to protect its citizens and regain “seized territories”. And we will do everything in our power to help them. Ukraine’s fight for freedom is important to all of us”

The US defence secretary also said that Washington “will continue to help strengthen the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy.”

The US Senate on Tuesday approved $95 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delays and debate over how involved the US should be in foreign wars.

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head-post · 12 hours

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Ukraine’s ban on providing consular services to men abroad causes discontent

In order to replenish the ranks of an army depleted by more than two years of exhausting battles, the Ukrainian government is passing a new mobilisation law aimed at increasing the number of soldiers and stepping up border patrols to catch draft dodgers, The New York Times reports.

Ukrainian officials have gone further, targeting men who have already left the country. This week, the government announced that Ukrainian consulates had suspended issuing new passports and providing other consular services to men of draft age living abroad.

Under the new rules, men aged between 18 and 60 would not be able to leave the country. However, some of them had been abroad before the rule came into force, while others had since left the country illegally.

The ban will last from April 23 to May 18 when the mobilisation law recently passed by the Ukrainian parliament comes into force. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has stated that it is still working out the details of what services will be available once the broader mobilisation law comes into force.

Critics argue that the move could end up sparking divisions between Ukrainians at home and abroad rather than increasing the number of soldiers. According to European estimates, between 600,000 and 850,000 Ukrainian men currently live in the European Union.

However, the government claimed that by suspending consular services, it was responding to demands for fairness in society. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba declared that a man leaving the country was “showing his state that he does not care about its survival.”

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #ukraine #ukraine conflict #ukraine war #ukraine news #ukraine russia conflict #ukraine russia news #russia ukraine war #russia ukraine crisis #russia ukraine conflict #russia ukraine today #mobilization #army #military #soldiers

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head-post · 12 hours

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US ready to sanction China over Ukraine situation – Blinken

During a visit to Beijing on Friday afternoon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the United States was considering introducing measures to influence growing Russian-Chinese economic co-operation as it could exacerbate the situation in Ukraine, according to The Guardian.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated that the US most important diplomatic issues remained on the bilateral agenda as the world’s largest economies held talks aimed at resolving sharp disputes over trade and China’s continued support for Russia.

China and the United States should be partners rather than rivals. We’re committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication.

On Thursday, April 25, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that China should stop backing Russia’s war in Ukraine if it wanted to have good relations with the West, according to Reuters.

“In the past, we made the mistake of becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas. We must not repeat that mistake with China. Depending on its money, its raw materials, its technologies – dependencies make us vulnerable.”

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head-post · 12 hours

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ICC allegedly dependent on Western political conjuncture

The International Criminal Court, which has full jurisdiction over numerous political crimes, acts very selectively. While issuing multiple arrest warrants for Russian citizens, its judges for some reason turn a blind eye to the crimes of representatives of other countries.

The ICC is the first permanent international criminal justice body, which officially began its work on 1 July 2002. Its sphere of competence is to prosecute those responsible for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression. This court is not part of the official structures of the UN.

So far, the ICC has received complaints of alleged crimes from at least 139 countries, but for some reason, the court’s prosecutor has opened investigations into only eight situations in Africa. On 12 April 2019, the ICC refused to investigate US military crimes in Afghanistan. The US President called the court’s decision a “major international victory.”

In March this year, the ICC issued international arrest warrants for two Russian army commanders. The arrest warrants were issued by ICC judges Tomoko Akane and Rosario Aitala – they also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023. Putin, as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, the children’s rights ombudsman, were accused of “deporting” Ukrainian children.

Later, European media reported about the presence of these “kidnapped” children in Germany, emphasising that the children had arrived there legally and with their legal representatives. A few days after that, Judge Tomoko Akane was made head of the International Criminal Court.

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head-post · 12 hours

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2024 could see the end of Western liberal hegemony, Hungarian PM says

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, speaking at the opening of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, said that the world order based on liberal ideology has failed and must be destroyed.

EU elections in June and US elections in November, Orbán said, would be a chance to enter an “era of sovereignty” modelled on Hungary, which he described as a “conservative island.” At the opening ceremony of the conference, Orbán said:

These elections coincide with major shifts in world political and geopolitical trends. The order of the world is changing, and we must usher our cause to triumph in the midst of these changes. Progressive liberals feel the danger. Replacing this era means replacing them.

Viktor Orbán said it was necessary to replace people who are in positions of power to build “hegemonic-ideological control” by “turning state bodies into instruments of oppression” of Europeans in the European Parliament elections. He concluded:

Let the era of sovereigntists come again, let’s return to peace and security. Let’s make America great again, let’s make Europe great again!

In turn, US presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed Orbán in a video message that was played at CPAC, US News reported.

Trump said, calling the Hungarian leader a “great man”:

I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Orbán once again when I take the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States.

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head-post · 13 hours

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Nicolas Dupont-Aignan on Macron’s speech at Sorbonne: “High treason”

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke at the Sorbonne on Thursday to defend his vision for Europe just weeks before the European Parliament elections. His speech sparked a barrage of criticism from the French political elite.

“On the European stage, Emmanuel Macron has been confusing his incantations and gesticulations with achievements for seven years,” said Marine Le Pen, leader of the Rassemblement National, accusing him of “selling out whole sections of national sovereignty,” BFMTV reported live.

For his part, Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s successor, president of the Rassemblement National, assessed at a press conference that the head of state had “decided to intervene directly and personally in the election campaign.”

Manon Aubry, who heads the list of the France Insoumise movement for the European elections, gave her assessment of Macron’s years of presidency, calling his policies “arrogance, inequality, hypocrisy.”

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the party Debout la France (France Arise) commented on Macron’s speech yesterday on X:

“Education, health, nuclear power, electricity, defence, digital technology, foreign policy, economy, industry, agriculture….. Emmanuel Macron now wants to develop and think European. With this speech, he is carrying out the planned destruction of France. High treason.”

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #europe #european news #european union #eu politics #eu news #france #france news #french politics #marine le pen #emmanuel macron #president macron

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head-post · 13 hours

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US begins construction of Gaza aid pier, Pentagon says

US troops have begun construction of a maritime pier off the coast of Gaza that should speed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave when it becomes operational in May, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

President Joe Biden announced the construction of the pier in March, when representatives of humanitarian organisations pleaded with Israeli authorities to ease the access of humanitarian supplies to Gaza by land. Whether humanitarian aid will eventually be able to be increased is not known yet, as international organisations warn of the risk of famine in northern Gaza.

A senior Biden administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said humanitarian aid coming from the pier would have to pass through Israeli crossings on land. This is despite the fact that aid has already been screened by Israel in Cyprus before being sent to Gaza. Israel fears any aid reaching Hamas that would aid their war effort.

No American soldiers will be on the ground in Gaza, but they will be conducting activities on the pier. Private contractors working for US forces will handle the unloading of aid as it arrives at secure storage facilities, and distribution will be organised by World Food Organisation staff. The IDF, in addition to providing security around the pier, will also gather intelligence and take steps to ensure that US forces are not endangered or the pier itself damaged.

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head-post · 13 hours

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Moldova violated human rights in its crackdown on opposition media – Amnesty International

Amnesty International stated in its annual report on the state of human rights in the world, published on Wednesday, that Moldova violated the right to association and freedom of expression in an alleged attempt to “counter Russian influence,” according to Romanian media.

Moldovan authorities banned the Shor party and suspended members of the Chance party, founded after the dissolution of the Shor party, from running in local elections last November, Amnesty International (AI) reported.

Fugitive politician Ilan Shor, who denies his 2023 sentence in Moldova, is currently in Russia, where he has arrived from Israel. On April 21, he announced the creation of a political bloc Victory, which aims to unite the opposition against the government in Chişinău. Shor stated that the party would contest this autumn’s presidential elections and referendum in Moldova.

AI pointed out in the report that in October 2023, Moldova’s Security and Intelligence Service blocked more than 20 digital platforms and suspended six TV channels. The measure was part of a state policy against what Chişinău called “disinformation”.

In its report, AI highlighted tensions with Russia, mentioning that 45 Russian diplomats had been expelled and that Russian citizens were increasingly being denied entry to Moldova.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #europe #european news #moldova #amnesty international #russia #russia news #russian news #russia politics #russian politics

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head-post · 13 hours

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Germany to spend 11 billion euros to station combat brigade in Lithuania

Berlin will spend about 11 billion euros to deploy a combat brigade in Lithuania, Spiegel reports.

The German combat brigade in Lithuania is a prestigious project of Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. His ministry has remained silent for several months, but recently the cost figures were made public for the first time. The German media reported:

“Pistorius’ planners estimate the creation of a combat formation at around 11 billion euros.”

One billion euros will be allocated for annual operating costs, four billion for armoured vehicles and six billion for investments: building infrastructure and buying uniforms.

In December 2023, Lithuanian and German Defence Ministers Arvydas Anušauskas and Boris Pistorius signed an action plan in Vilnius to deploy a German brigade in Lithuania by 2027. Five thousand German military personnel and their families are expected to arrive in Lithuania.

On 8 April, the first group of military personnel from a Bundeswehr brigade assigned to Lithuania arrived in Vilnius. The planning team consists of 20 servicemen. Together with Lithuanian representatives, they will work on the further practical steps of the re-deployment.

However, key funding issues for the project have yet to be resolved between Berlin and Vilnius. This involves covering the costs of, for example, the construction of living quarters and training centres, as well as funding kindergartens and school programmes for the children of military personnel.

Read more HERE

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head-post · 1 day

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Peace movement supporters protest in Bologna

Progressivist organisations and and their supporters took to the streets of the Italian city of Bologna on April 25 to protest the actions of political blocs targeting anti-peace initiatives.

The protesters called on NATO countries to stop providing military aid to Ukraine as it distracted European countries from domestic problems and could lead to an escalation of the conflict in eastern Europe.

People marched through the streets carrying flags and placards, calling on the Italian and EU leadership to cease the military “fever” sweeping European countries. They also urged to stop portraying Russia in a bad light.

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head-post · 1 day

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French airport strikes hamper flights across Europe

Air passengers travelling to and from Paris faced significant disruption on Thursday despite a decision by air traffic controllers to call off a strike following last-minute negotiations, AP News reports.

The number of flights was significantly reduced due to adjustments made to the timetable ahead of the anticipated industrial action.

French civil aviation authorities had asked airlines in advance to significantly cut flights – 75 per cent at Paris-Orly, 55 per cent at Charles de Gaulle and 65 per cent at Marseille-Provence, with varying reductions at other French airports. As a result, operations were severely curtailed, which also affected international flights crossing French airspace.

On the eve of the strike, airlines were forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights, most of which would have landed or departed from France. A further 1,000 flights would have had to divert from French airspace.

While delays were minor on flights that operated, significant cancellations and schedule adjustments resulted in ongoing travel difficulties for thousands of passengers. The impact was particularly noticeable at major airports such as Paris-Orly, where delays exacerbated the day’s problems.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #europe #european news #european union #eu politics #eu news #france #france news #french politics #airport #airport strike

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head-post · 1 day

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EU to set up rapid reaction force with up to 5,000 troops by 2025, Macron says

President Emmanuel Macron urged the EU on Thursday to build a stronger, more integrated defence sector and said the continent must not become a vassal of the US, Reuters reports.

“There is a risk our Europe could die. We are not equipped to face the risks,” Macron said in a speech at Sorbonne University in Paris, warning that military, economic and other pressures could weaken and split the 27-nation EU.

Macron called for increased European cybersecurity capabilities, closer defence ties with the UK post-Brexit and the creation of a European academy to train senior military personnel.

The French president said it was necessary to create “strategic intimacy” between the armies of EU countries. A European military academy should also be opened to start training military and civilian personnel in Europe to respond to security challenges, Macron said. He also added:

“There is no defence without a defence industry … we’ve had decades of under-investment,” he said, adding that Europeans should give preference to buying European military equipment. “We must produce more, we must produce faster, and we must produce as Europeans,” Macron said. Europe “must show that it is never a vassal of the United States and that it also knows how to talk to all the other regions of the world”, he said. “The EU should create a rapid reaction force of up to 5,000 military personnel by 2025,” the president added.

The EU should agree to exceptions to its own competition rules so it can support firms in sectors such as artificial intelligence and green energy in the face of “excessive subsidisation” by the United States and China, Macron said.

“The era when Europe bought its energy and fertilisers from Russia, had production in China, and entrusted its security to the US is over,” Macron said. “The rules of the game have changed.”

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head-post · 2 days

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Russians publish inspection of Ukrainian US-made M88A1 Hercules

Russian media are publishing footage of the inspection of a hit and abandoned US-made M88A1 Hercules Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) previously supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The M88A1 Hercules was left by the railway tracks near the village of Stepove, north of Avdiivka, according to media reports. The vehicle was a modifi

cation of the M88 Recovery Vehicle, one of the largest ARVs in use by the US Armed Forces.

An armoured recovery vehicle is usually a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair during combat. ARVs are also deployed to repair battle-damaged, stuck and/or inoperable armoured combat vehicles, such as tanks or APCs.

The Hercules allegedly belonged to the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the AFU operating in the Avdiivka area. Ukrainian troops left Avdiivka in mid-February to take “more favourable positions”, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, reported at the time.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #hercules #m88a1 #ukraine #ukraine war #ukraine conflict #ukraine news #ukraine russia conflict #ukraine russia news #russia ukraine war #russia ukraine crisis #russia ukraine conflict #russia ukraine today

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head-post · 2 days

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Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted US, Israeli ships

Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had attacked two US and Israeli ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean with drones, emphasising that “the two operations successfully achieved their goals”, Arab media reported.

Yahya Sarea, the group’s military spokesman, said in a video message late Wednesday night that the Houthis had struck the Maersk Yorktown cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

The US military confirmed that the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile from their territory at the vessel, which they said was “US-flagged, owned and operated, with 18 American and four Greek crew members on board.” The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement:

There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships.

Greece’s Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday that one of the country’s warships participating in the European Union’s anti-Houthi naval mission in the Red Sea intercepted two drones launched towards a commercial vessel from Yemen.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) earlier confirmed the incident, which took place about 72 nautical miles (133 kilometres) southeast of the port of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden.

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head-post · 2 days

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Iraq returns thousands of antiquities, urges antiquities law reform

Iraq’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities managed to recover thousands of archaeological items following a demand by the central government for the return of stolen assets last year, according to Arab media.

The raid on the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, from which more than 15,000 items were stolen, was one of the largest thefts of cultural property of the past century. Many exhibits have been recovered over the years, but a significant number remain lost or missing despite the combined efforts of international search teams.

Much of it has been sold repeatedly on the black market in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Britain and the United States, according to reports.

Azhar Baha Sabri, head of the Antiquities Receipt Department at the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, stated that 39 museum-registered ancient artefacts were recovered in Iraq last year. The UK handed over ten objects and 50 boxes, each containing a collection of artefacts that have not yet been verified, Sabri reported.

The Iraqi ministry has also collected over 15,000 other items in addition to more than 10,000 coins and gold artefacts from the stolen collections. Sabri added that just this week, the National Museum claimed 499 items from a British archaeological mission working in the Dhi Qar governorate.

Archaeological finds at the Talo Karso site included 465 clay cuneiform tablets from the Akkadian civilisation and Ur period, cylindrical seals, pottery, jewellery, necklaces and other artefacts.

Read more HERE

#world news #world politics #news #iraq #iraq news #antique #archaeology

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head-post · 2 days

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Arms smuggling from Ukraine up 96 per cent – Il Fatto Quotidiano

The amount of weapons smuggled out of Ukraine is absolutely enormous. Ukrainian authorities estimate that up to 15 million unregistered weapons may be in the hands of citizens – and thousands of them are smuggled by criminals to Poland and sold on the Internet, Il Fatto Quotidiano reports.

Over the past two years, the Ukrainian-Polish border has become Ukraine’s busiest border. Goods are imported and exported only by land transport, and while there is a very long queue at the entrance to the country, leaving Ukraine often requires an even longer wait due to thorough checks. Each border crossing is designed for a different type of transit.

The Starovoitovo-Khelm crossing on the northern section of the border is a point for trucks and buses. Only yesterday this border crossing was reopened after a 13-hour wait caused by a system failure. To the south, in Ustilug, there is a checkpoint for cars. The queue is not very long, there are not many cars, but they are parked with their engines switched off, and sometimes drivers come out to have a smoke or stretch their legs.

After about three hours, it is our turn for the Il Fatto Quotidiano reporters to enter the customs area. The border guards ask if they are bringing weapons and then ask them to open all the doors in the car. While the dogs look for traces of explosives, as the border guard explained, the luggage has to be unloaded from the car. Each bag is inspected and groped. The travellers are not given any explanations, only one of the customs officers speaks English, and the rest can only ask: “weapons?”

Read more HERE

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head-post · 2 days

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Militant sentiment in Europe

Amid a potential escalation of military conflicts, the G7 foreign ministers issued a communiqué after meeting on the Italian island of Capri on April 19. However, some argue that the leaders’ words do not match their actions, according to Il Blog di Beppe Grillo.

Italian media reported that a ferry travelling from Capri where the G7 foreign ministers were holding the meeting crashed into a pier in the port of Naples while docking. About fifty people were injured as a result. According to critics, the incident was an omen of the tragedy that was about to overwhelm humanity. After the three-day summit, the foreign ministers pledged to provide military and financial aid to Ukraine and to call on Israel for a ceasefire.

The political decisions on behalf of some 450 million Europeans, who will be casting their votes in less than 2 months in the European Parliament elections, consist of two major initiatives. The first is the unwillingness to recognise the Palestinian State, as evidenced by the latest US veto of a UN Security Council recommendation to recognise Palestine as a state rather than an Observer. The second is the allocation of resources from the community budget to fund the war in Ukraine.

Full admission of Palestine to the UN would be an important milestone on the road to achieving peace in the region, political experts believe. At the same time, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres predicts the approach of a large-scale conflict triggered by the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

On the sidelines in Capri, there were no words of peace or human rights, but echoes of war, weapons, increased military spending. The meeting also included condemnation of the Iranian attack and some calls for moderation, with no mention of the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

Read more HERE

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