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01
Denmark is set to become the world’s first country to place a levy on greenhouse gasses produced by livestock Denmark is set to impose a new tax on farmers over greenhouse gases produced by their livestock, Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus has announced. The toll on cow, pig, and sheep emissions will be implemented starting in 2030, according to the minister.The new tax is expected to greatly contribute to the country’s goal of reducing emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by the end of the decade, as well as ultimately attaining carbon neutrality, Bruus explained.“We will take a big step closer in becoming climate neutral in 2045,” the minister stated, praising the measure as a way for Denmark to become “the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture.”Livestock farmers will be taxed 300 kroner ($43) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent produced by their animals. However, this will initially be subject to an income tax deduction of 60%. Read more Farmers' protest in Brussels, on February 26, 2024 EU elites promised a prosperous green future. This could be their undoing The measure is expected to hit dairy farmers the most, given that an average Danish cow produces around six metric tons (6.6 tons) of CO2 equivalent each year, with pigs and sheep emitting significantly less gas.The country is a major livestock producer, with its current cattle population at nearly 1.5 million, according to Statistic Denmark. That would net more than $400 million a year in carbon taxes.The new tax is set to rise even higher, reaching a target of 750 kroner per ton by 2035.Dairy farming is believed to be a major contributor to human-related greenhouse gas production. According to the UN Environment Program’s estimates, livestock account for some 32% of methane emissions caused by human activity. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/ItZXK3e
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<strong>The WikiLeaks founder is a man of great personal integrity who fell victim to changing western attitudes about media freedom</strong> The long running and epic prosecution of Julian Assange seems to be coming to an end. The defendant has pleaded guilty to one of the charges against him – conspiracy to obtain and transmit classified information. He was sentenced to the time he has already served in a British prison, fighting extradition to the US. And now the case is closed.Assange’s deal with the US Department of Justice is a relief for everyone. The journalist and activist himself cannot be criticized for agreeing – he has repeatedly demonstrated his personal integrity and courage. And there is no point in sacrificing himself for nothing. As for the American side, Assange’s hypothetical deportation to the United States would trigger another social and political conflict. And a confusing one at that. In favor of the WikiLeaks founder are many on the left and some on the right. Namely those who consider their own government to be anti-citizen and dictatorial. Against him are the official bureaucracy, nowadays more-so on the left, and conservative patriots who consider him a traitor. There’s already a lot of strife and polarization in American politics, so they hardly want to add more in the middle of an election campaign.Anyway, if this is indeed the case, one can only be glad. It is also interesting to see how the overall situation has changed over the years for WikiLeaks. Assange himself has undoubtedly become a symbol of resistance to the American government, a legend and hero to like-minded people around the world. But the perception of the information made public by his work has changed over the twenty years of his activity. <strong>Read more</strong> <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/thumbnail/667bf1ff85f54038c517f670.jpg">WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange waves after landing at RAAF air base Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26 2024. <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/600045-julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuadorian-embassy/">Julian Assange once told me his secret to surviving impossible odds The founders of WikiLeaks believed that in a democracy, citizens have a right to know what their elected leaders are up to, how closely those actions match what they say they are doing, and where their more secretive policies are leading. Almost immediately, the revelations were widely publicized, especially as they concerned two unpopular US military campaigns – in Iraq and Afghanistan. The publication of a huge trove of diplomatic correspondence between US embassies around the world and Washington caused a furore. It did not contain anything super-sensational, but it did reveal a large number of assessments that were clearly not intended for public consumption. In general, the main effort of the whistleblowers was to demonstrate the hypocrisy of American policy. This could hardly be news to anyone, but it is one thing to have a general idea, another to have tangible evidence.WikiLeaks’ popularity peaked around 15 years ago. After that, Assange was systematically persecuted, attempts were made to block the site, and the project itself began to experience the inevitable disagreements that are part of any evolving process. But the environment was also changing. The phenomenon of ‘post-truth’, which was already being talked about in the noughties, has grown to such an extent that it has come to define the information landscape. The most common description of this concept is that it’s based on people’s willingness to accept arguments based on their beliefs and emotions rather than on what’s actually true. Accordingly, facts that contradict beliefs and emotions are often simply ignored or, at most, reinterpreted to fit the required narrative.While this process began more as an act of information warfare, over time (rather quickly) it has become a structural element of the entire communication space. Discussion becomes less and less possible, because the arguments…
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The charge to terminate a marriage may be hiked almost eightfold, according to RBK, citing amendments to the tax bill Russia’s Finance Ministry has proposed increasing the state fee for divorce almost eightfold starting in 2025, the business news outlet RBK reported on Wednesday, citing amendments to the national tax bill.According to the report, the fees for those seeking to end their marriage could rise from 650 rubles ($7.45) to 5,000 rubles ($57.31).This will apply to couples who do not have common minor children and are divorcing by mutual consent, as well as those seeking divorce through the court. If both parties consent, they can submit a joint application for divorce to the Civil Acts Registration Office. In other cases, ending a marriage will require a judicial procedure.The report cited data by national statistics bureau Rosstat showing that more than 683,000 divorces were registered in Russia in 2023.Meanwhile, the fee for registering a marriage is expected to remain the same at 350 rubles ($4), RBK wrote.In addition, the ministry proposed increasing the fee for state registration of a name change from the equivalent of $18.34 to over $57. Read more FILE PHOTO: The building of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on Ilyinka Street in Moscow. Russia poised to overhaul tax policy The amendments were reportedly added to a bill that introduces a new progressive personal income tax, which the Duma approved in the first reading on June 20.The tax will remain at 13% for those earning the equivalent of up to $27,500 a year, but will increase for higher incomes. The maximum tax rate will be 22% for incomes exceeding $573,000.Russia had a progressive tax scale up until 2001, when the government decided to introduce a flat rate of 13% in a bid to attract investment to the country. In 2021, an extra 15% bracket was introduced for incomes exceeding the equivalent of roughly $68,500 a year.According to the Finance Ministry, the measures are expected to bring in over $29 billion to the state coffers next year. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/OqxANeW
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NATO countries will not be able to deploy more than 300,000 troops in case of a conflict, experts warn NATO countries in Europe are reportedly facing a shortage of military personnel and would have difficulty mobilizing a significant number of troops in case of a conflict, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.According to the outlet’s analysts, Western European members of the US-led military bloc are said to have 1.9 million troops “on paper.” In reality, however, they would face challenges deploying more than 300,000 people – and even this would require months of preparation.Former NATO Assistant Secretary-General Camilla Grand explained that the bloc’s members have never had to consider mass deployment of their forces and that European defense planning has for many years been limited to matters such as supplying “300 special forces for Afghanistan.”“That’s created gaps,” Grand said, adding that the bloc has seen “a shrinking in forces all over the continent year after year.”Ben Barry, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also told FT that NATO’s European members have focused on increasing military budgets but have neglected conscripting more people.According to Barry, European NATO states have now reached a “tipping point of critical mass” and have entered a “vicious circle” in which personnel shortages limit their military capabilities and make it difficult to train new recruits, frustrating existing servicemen and forcing them to leave the army. Read more NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2024. NATO could put more nuclear weapons on ‘standby mode’ – Stoltenberg In order to address the problem, experts told FT that Western European nations would have to resolve several issues such as competitive pay for servicemen and attractive benefits, while employing various methods to attract more recruits.NATO states would also have to address the issue of living conditions for their personnel, as barracks in countries such as Germany and the UK are reported to be in a state of dilapidation and are plagued with mold, pest infestations, and other issues.Another pressing factor, according to the report, is the issue of patriotism among NATO servicemen. The FT noted that while in countries such as Poland and the Baltic states, the perceived threat of Russian aggression has spurred recruitment, these fears are not shared in places such as Germany and the UK.Russia has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO members. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the West against escalating tensions in Ukraine and attempting to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, warning that this could pose a threat to the Russian state and trigger its nuclear doctrine. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/dQLOKWX
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An unnamed embassy attache has reportedly been found lifeless inside a locked room at the Hilton Hotel An attache to the American embassy in Ukraine has been found dead in a room at Kiev’s Hilton Hotel, according to several Ukrainian news outlets.The online portal Strana UA reported the discovery on Wednesday, citing a law enforcement source. This was followed by the outlet New Voices.“Yesterday around 11am the body of an attache at the US embassy was found inside a room at the hotel,” Strana quoted its source as saying. “There were no signs of violence on the body.”According to Strana’s source, the man, who had arrived in Ukraine on June 15, had shown elevated cholesterol levels in medical records provided by the US embassy. Local police have reportedly launched an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the diplomat’s death.New Voices reported that the hotel room where the body was discovered had been locked from the inside and that no autopsy was performed, as the corpse was claimed by the US embassy.Neither the US embassy nor the State Department has commented on Ukrainian media reports.The US embassy in Kiev employs between 100-200 diplomats and military personnel, Foreign Policy magazine reported in March, describing it as “overstretched and understaffed” for dealing with the Ukraine-Russia conflict.According to four anonymous sources, the State Department was planning to send up to 40 additional diplomats to Kiev to make it easier for Ambassador Bridget Brink and her deputies to travel around Ukraine.Washington is one of Ukraine’s main backers in the conflict with Russia, supplying Kiev with billions of dollars in cash, weapons, ammunition and equipment. The US and its allies have insisted that this does not make them a party to the conflict, however, ignoring Moscow’s repeated warnings to the contrary. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/4Hacb6g
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The incident took place in the northern Republic of Komi Nine cars from a passenger train have gone off the tracks in Komi Republic, Russian Railways said on Thursday. At least 70 people were injured in the crash, but there have been no confirmed deaths.Train 511 was carrying passengers between Vorkuta in northeastern Komi and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The derailment happened around 6:12pm Moscow time, near the town of Inta, according to the railway authorities.“Emergency services have been dispatched to the scene. Measures are being taken to assist passengers,” Russian Railways said on Telegram. “Information about the victims is being clarified. Traffic on the section has been suspended.”The office of the North-Western Transport Prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into the derailment. Meanwhile, the head of the Republic of Komi, Vladimir Uyba, has reportedly flown to the site of the incident.Train 511 included a total of 14 carriages with 232 passengers on board, the railway said. According to Russian Railways, the cause of the derailment may have been recent heavy rainfall.Russian Railways has set up a task force headed by General Director Oleg Belozerov to look into the derailment. Two recovery trains have been sent to the location.DETAILS TO FOLLOW via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/w7UVk2A
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The bloc’s ambassador in Kiev has expressed optimism about the country’s entry before the end of the decade It would be realistic to expect membership talks between Ukraine and the EU to be finalized by the end of the decade, the bloc’s ambassador in Kiev, Katarina Mathernova, has told local media.The EU officially launched membership negotiations with Kiev on Tuesday, after all 27 member states approved the negotiating framework last week. “So far I have seen in Ukraine a lot of determination and a lot of tenacity to move quickly. So I do think that in the case of Ukraine it may take less time than before in the case of some other countries. I think that 2030 is a very realistic date,” Mathernova told RBC-Ukraine.According to the US-educated Slovak diplomat, the next step will be “bilateral screening,” or comparing the EU’s body of laws and rules to Ukrainian regulations to identify “gaps.” That will take several months, whereupon the first “chapters” of negotiations can be opened.The chapters act as a sort of a “checklist,” dealing with “thematic areas,” she explained. Parts of chapters 23 and 24 that “deal with the rule of law, democratic governance, anti-corruption, etc.” are not part of the EU’s acquis communautaire, but will be assessed against European standards,” Mathernova noted. Read more RT Date of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to EU revealed – media Pressed to offer a specific timeline, the envoy said it was difficult, because “each step depends on the rapidity and success of the previous step” and “a lot of the timing will depend on the preparedness and quality of the inputs.”“Again, I know it’s a lot of jargon, but this is what we are famous for,” Mathernova told the outlet.EU enlargement requires the consensus of all members and Ukraine has “bilateral issues with one of the countries,” the diplomat noted, not mentioning Hungary by name. “And the way to deal with it is to patiently persevere,” Mathernova added, quipping that “there is no magic formula.”The government in Kiev applied for EU membership at the end of February 2022, following the escalation of the conflict with Russia. The current crisis dates back to 2014, when the US backed a violent coup in Kiev during a dispute in Ukraine over mutually exclusive free trade deals with Russia and the EU.Speaking to Ukrainian media last month, Mathernova said that 2030 was “quite a realistic date” for joining the EU, even given the “completely unpredictable geopolitical environment we live in today.”The bloc had previously named the end of the decade as the target date for admitting new members, potentially affecting Ukraine, Moldova and some parts of the former Yugoslavia. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/bc2zECH
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US “vassals” are willing to breach any agreements at Washington’s orders, the Russian foreign minister says The West has repeatedly displayed its “inability to negotiate,” which has now become evident to everyone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.Western “vassals” of the US are willing to breach “any agreements” and violate international law upon receiving “orders” from Washington, Lavrov claimed at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. Russia had been interested in a mutually beneficial relationship with the collective West, but building one has proven to be effectively impossible, the top diplomat argued. “Our interest was much broader and more comprehensive, but the West was not ready for mutually beneficial, equal cooperation,” Lavrov stated. “When it needs to do something on orders from Washington, it resorts to breaking any agreements, any violations of international law.”Moscow is now seeking to ensure its security and prevent any threats emanating from the “Western direction,” Lavrov said. The collective West, at the same time, is trying to make an example of Russia to assert its neocolonial policies, the diplomat claimed. Read more Media West wants to distrupt Russia-India-China engagement – Lavrov “The Westerners are seeking to punish our country, using our example to intimidate everyone who is pursuing or seeks to pursue an independent foreign policy, who puts national interests above all, and not the whims of the former colonial powers,” Lavrov stated.The Western efforts to “punish” Russia, however, are doomed to fail and are “already producing effects opposite to the intended ones,” the minister insisted. Leading Western officials have repeatedly said they are seeking to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in the Ukraine conflict, or at least ensure that it does not emerge victorious. Moscow perceives the hostilities as a proxy conflict being waged by the collective West. Russia has insisted it will fully achieve its stated military goals, but has nonetheless signaled it is ready to negotiate an end to the hostilities through a diplomatic settlement. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/sRrbJu3
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The Italian PM has slammed the backroom deals giving Ursula von der Leyen a second term as president of the European Commission Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hit out at backroom deals being struck to fill top positions in the EU’s institutions, saying it was “surreal” that voters’ opinions were being ignored.Citizens across the bloc shifted significantly away from the left in the European Parliament elections earlier this month, with ruling coalitions in Germany and France being comprehensively trounced by right-wing parties.However, the three main political groups in the parliament, which are largely centrist, reportedly agreed a deal to fill the top EU posts on Tuesday. The arrangement would see Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen returned as president of the European Commission for a second term.Addressing the Italian parliament on Wednesday, Meloni said it was “surreal” that names for top EU positions had been presented “without even pretending to discuss the signals from voters.” Under the reported deal, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will become the new EU foreign policy chief, replacing Spain’s Josep Borrell; while former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa will preside over the European Council, which was previously chaired by Belgium’s Charles Michel.The names will be presented at an EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday for their approval.Media reports suggested that Italy had effectively been excluded from discussions regarding the agreement, which was approved by the leaders of France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Greece, and the Netherlands. Read more File photo: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, June 17, 2024. EU leaders back another von der Leyen term – media The Italian prime minister claimed that this kind of backroom deal contradicted the original spirit of the European Union, by which institutions “were conceived as neutral entities, thus able to guarantee all member states, regardless of the political color of the governments of those member states.”Meloni, whose European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group won the most votes in Italy and is currently the third-biggest in the European Parliament, said she wanted the shift to the right to be reflected in the bloc’s decision-making.“The third [largest] group today is a group that is not liked by those who are deciding,” she said, calling the EU an “invasive bureaucratic giant.”Meanwhile, the appointment of von der Leyen will still need to be approved by the European Parliament and, according to media, she might seek to win Meloni’s support by giving Italy a senior portfolio in the next European Commission. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/DiRL03N
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Among the events in the city of Obninsk is an international forum, with guests from more than 80 countries Russia is marking the 70th anniversary of the launch of the world’s first nuclear power plant in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Region on Wednesday. The facility, which is now a museum, has opened a new exhibition for the occasion.The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant was put into operation on June 26, 1954, and was phased out in 2002. Following the launch, the facility served for some time as a testing ground for pioneering nuclear technologies.A variety of events are being held in the city on the occasion, with Russian officials and foreign guests from more than 80 countries.The dignitaries visited the museum, which underwent months of refurbishment to recreate the historic interior design and atmosphere. A roundtable on the promotion of Russian nuclear education abroad is also taking place in Obninsk. Rosatom’s personnel director-general, Tatyana Terentyeva, said the state-controlled corporation’s work with partner countries is long-term in nature. She added that it includes the building of nuclear power plants as well as education provided to local specialists. READ MORE: Sanctioning Russian nuclear sector would ‘hurt’ EU – IAEA As part of these efforts, the city, which is around 100km from Moscow, is hosting the Obninsk Tech Summer School for foreign students seeking to learn about key developments in the field.On Wednesday, the Second Obninsk NEW International Youth Nuclear Forum began, devoted to the next seven decades of nuclear technology development. Representatives of more than 80 countries attended. The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, welcomed the guests via video link. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/pyeVbxs
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The new agreement comes as the two countries have been expanding energy and trade cooperation Russian energy giant Gazprom has signed a strategic memorandum with Iran for pipeline gas supplies to the Islamic Republic, according to a statement by the company on Wednesday.The agreement with the National Iranian Gas Company was clinched during a visit to Iran by a Russian delegation headed by Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller, who met with Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji. The signing ceremony was reportedly attended by interim Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber. No details about the memorandum have been revealed.Iran, a major oil-producing country with large deposits and its own refineries, announced in 2023 plans to create an international gas hub with the participation of Russia, Qatar, and Turkmenistan.Owji said last year that Iran was seeking to partner with Russia to develop new oil deposits in the country in addition to existing joint projects. Later, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak confirmed there were discussions about producing gas within a hub in southern Iran with the participation of Russian companies. Novak, however, noted that “it will take time to give this a specific shape.” Moscow and Tehran have been forging closer energy and trade ties as both countries are under Western sanctions. Read more RT Iran wants to set up regional gas hub In 2022, Novak announced a massive energy deal with Iran worth $40 billion and an agreement to swap supplies of oil and natural gas. Since then, the two countries have been working out the routes and technical aspects of the deal. Russia made its first fuel deliveries to Iran by rail in April 2023.Currently, the main overland route for cargo sent from Russia to Iran passes through Azerbaijan. This is part of the so-called International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-kilometer-long multi-mode transit system that connects ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Russia, and the rest of Europe.Construction of the INSTC started in the early 2000s, but developing it further has taken on a new impetus in light of Western sanctions that have forced Russia to shift its trade routes towards Asia and the Middle East. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/TH9EzZo
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William Ruto has addressed the nation following unrest over proposed tax increases Kenyan President William Ruto has said he will not sign a finance bill providing for major tax increases, which had caused deadly riots in the country. Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Ruto said the people’s voices had been heard.Anti-tax protesters clashed with police in Kenya on Tuesday after lawmakers voted 195-106 to pass the government’s 2024 Finance Bill. The legislation included tax increases intended to generate $2.7 billion in revenue in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands.Protesters claimed that the tax increases in the bill would raise the cost of living.“Having reflected on the continuing conversation around the Finance Bill 2024 and listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with the Finance Bill 2024… I concede. I will not sign the Finance Bill 2024. It will be fully withdrawn,” Ruto said as he addressed the nation from State House.The Kenyan government has mobilized all available resources to prevent a repeat of the violence. The protesters were demanding Ruto’s resignation and threatening a “total shutdown.”“About 214 Kenyans were involved in various escalations and many of them went to hospital,” the president said in response to questions. Read more A protester reacts after being pushed by Kenya Police officers while demonstrating during a nationwide strike to protest against tax hikes and the Finance Bill 2024 in downtown Nairobi, on June 25, 2024. Kenyan leader vows crackdown amid deadly protests (VIDEO) Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association, reported that at least 13 people had lost their lives in Tuesday’s protests. He remarked that he had never witnessed “such level of violence against unarmed” people.In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Amnesty Kenya reported that 31 people had been injured. Footage published on social media and by local news channels shows the governor’s office in Nairobi on fire, as well as a group of demonstrators damaging flags and furniture inside parliament, and attempting to break down the Senate chamber doors. Local media said security officers resorted to gunfire after tear gas and water cannons failed to disperse the crowd, which had torched at least one police vehicle and set fire to a section of the National Assembly building.Ruto denounced the protests as “treasonous events” and vowed to crack down on “organized criminals” who “hijacked” the “legitimate” demonstrations and turned them into “violence and anarchy.” Meanwhile, Kenya’s National Assembly has authorized the deployment of soldiers to assist the police amid nationwide protests against the controversial tax hikes. Protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations, with plans to take to the streets again on Thursday.  via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/zbRl14L
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The British politician says Kiev is running out of ‘young men’ to fight Russia Ukraine has no hope against Russia on the battlefield due to a lack of manpower, British politician Nigel Farage stated on Tuesday.The Reform UK leader has been embroiled in a row with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after arguing that NATO expansion in Europe contributed to the ongoing hostilities.Farage defended his position on the BBC’s Panorama program last week, prompting Zelensky’s office to claim that the politician is infected with a “virus of Putinism.” Johnson branded Farage’s remarks “nauseating ahistorical drivel” and “Kremlin propaganda,” calling him “morally repugnant.”Speaking to British journalists on Tuesday, Farage took aim at his critics, in particular Johnson, who he accused of pushing Zelensky into rejecting a peace deal with Russia in 2022.The former Tory leader “very clearly did [that] for his own reasons. How many people have died as a result of that, I don’t know,” Farage said. He estimated that there have been “a million battle casualties” in the conflict. Read more US President Joe Biden attends a meeting with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky earlier this month in Paris. Biden likely to allow US contractors to deploy in Ukraine – CNN Considering the heavy losses, “there may be no young men left in Ukraine” to achieve Kiev’s stated goal of defeating Russia, Farage pointed out. He said it was Zelensky’s choice whether to cede territory to stop the bloodshed and lamented that “no one is even talking about peace.”“All we are talking about is ‘Ukraine is going to win’. Really? I’m pretty skeptical about that,” Farage added.“I just think some attempt to broker negotiations between these two sides needs to happen,” the politician said, after citing his past opposition to Western military campaigns in Iraq and Libya.Farage issued a similar rebuke during a campaign rally in Maidstone on Monday, when he suggested that Johnson is the one who is “morally repugnant.” He showed supporters a Daily Mail article from 2016 featuring a pro-Brexit speech by Johnson, a key figure in the campaign. READ MORE: West ‘provoked’ Ukraine conflict – Nigel Farage In it, Johnson blamed the EU’s expansionist foreign policy for stoking tensions with Russia in Ukraine. He was accused of being an “apologist” for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the remarks. Farage told the crowd that Johnson was a hypocrite for criticizing him for saying similar things. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/rLhR8ux
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<strong>If Cairo’s efforts do not change the situation, there might be other mediators</strong> Next month, Egypt will host a conference for Sudanese civil political forces in order to help the neighboring country overcome the protracted military and political crisis. The relevant announcement was published by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 28.<em>“Egypt will host a conference … to bring together all Sudanese civil political forces, with the participation of relevant regional and international partners. The aim of the conference is to reach a consensus among the various Sudanese civil political forces on ways to build comprehensive and lasting peace in Sudan through a Sudanese-Sudanese national dialogue based on a purely Sudanese vision,” </em>the Egyptian Foreign Ministry <a href="https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/193029?lang=en-us">stated.</a>From the statement, it is clear that all Sudanese <em>“civil political forces”</em> are invited to the conference – however, military departments and structures are not mentioned. Apparently, neither side of the armed conflict in Sudan – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – has been formally invited. However, the army may be represented by the Transitional Sovereignty Council, headed by Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and officials from various ministries, while the RSF will mainly be represented by the oppositional political parties that support it. <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/original/667bec1285f5403873390728.jpg">Media</a> FILE PHOTO. War-torn Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits casualties receiving treatment at a hospital in the southeastern Gedaref state, on the first day of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan on April 10, 2024. ©  AFP Neighboring countries and organizations that acted as mediators at the Jeddah talks – i.e. Saudi Arabia, the US, the UN, the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – have been named the conference’s regional and international partners.Civil war broke out in Sudan on April 15, 2023 and has been going on for over a year. Cairo’s initiative to resolve the armed conflict is not the first such attempt. After unsuccessful talks in Jeddah, which only led to a short-term truce that ensured the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone and allowed for the delivery of humanitarian aid, no one managed to convince the SAF, led by Colonel General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the rebel RSF, led by Colonel General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ‘Hemedti’, to return to the negotiating table. <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/original/667bed6985f54038c517f66a.jpg">Media</a> FILE PHOTO. Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti), now de facto deputy military leader, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. ©  ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP <strong>The military situation</strong>Hostilities are currently centered in Khartoum – the capital of Sudan, and the problematic Darfur region. SAF and RSF continue to fight for control over the strategic districts of the three cities that are part of the Khartoum metropolitan area.In<strong> </strong>the southern regions, the main battles are fought for Al-Fashir – the capital of North Darfur State. Meanwhile, the RSF have seized control of the other regional capital cities: Nyala (South Darfur), Zalingei (Central Darfur), Ed Daein (East Darfur), and El Geneina (West Darfur).So far, the war has claimed the lives of about 17,000 people and caused economic damage estimated in the billions of dollars. The country is experiencing its biggest humanitarian crisis in modern times, which has largely gone unnoticed because of the recent events in the Middle East. According to the UN, about 25 million people, including over 14 million children, are facing hunger and need aid. Additionally, over 8.6…
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Even close allies of the French president fear aligning with him ahead of snap elections, the outlet has reported French President Emmanuel Macron’s allies could distance themselves from him ahead of snap elections as the leader has become a “toxic brand” due to his waning popularity, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources.  The heads of communication at the Elysee Palace have admitted they have “no polls or data to suggest candidates should publicly align themselves with Macron to retain their seats,” the outlet said on Wednesday, citing attendees at an emergency meeting of top French government officials.    Soon after Macron called snap elections earlier this month, dozens of lawmakers who initially supported the French leader now want him to keep a “low profile” as his behavior grows increasingly “erratic,” Bloomberg claimed.   Even political heavyweights such as French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, once Macron’s closest allies, are keeping their distance, the outlet stated.    READ MORE: Macron pledges ‘unequivocal’ support for Ukraine Most pro-government candidates have not placed the president’s image in their campaign posters or leaflets as the Macron brand is feared to be toxic, Bloomberg added. A person close to the president claimed that it’s normal for candidates not to use his image, arguing that the election is about the parliament, not the presidency.Speaking on Monday on the ‘Generation Do It Yourself’ podcast, Macron claimed that upcoming legislative elections in France could lead to civil war, should the far right or the leftist bloc sweep to power.   Read more Left-wing activists in Toulouse, France, protest on Saturday against the right-wing National Rally party. France faces threat of ‘civil war’ – Macron Only his centrist ruling coalition can prevent such a scenario, Macron insisted, arguing that both the right-wing National Rally party and the left-wing France Unbowed party have espoused divisive policies that stoke tensions.  Macron’s popularity has tumbled in recent months, and opinion polls indicate that his party is lagging far behind National Rally.  Macron, who has presented himself as a leading backer of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, has floated the possibility of sending French – and other Western – troops to the battlefield. Jordan Bardella, the National Rally leader, recently said that if he becomes prime minister, he will not send troops or long-range missiles to Ukraine, describing any such moves as “very clear red lines.”  Macon dissolved the country’s parliament and called snap elections earlier this month, after the National Rally party trounced his ruling coalition in the European Parliament elections. He has vowed to stay on as president until his five-year term ends in 2027, but an opposition-controlled legislature and government would dramatically shift the balance of power.  The first round of the elections will be held on Sunday, while the second round is scheduled for July 7. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/dmiRGts
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A video purports to show a strike on Ukrainian forces responsible for attacks on Gorlovka Russian artillery has detected and hit Ukrainian artillery positions near Gorlovka, according to Russian reporter Andrey Rudenko, who has shared a video of the counterbattery strike.Gorlovka is a city in Donetsk People’s Republic and comes under regular Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks, according to regional head Denis Pushilin.Rudenko said the drone footage he published on social media on Tuesday showed a barrage delivered by the 132nd brigade of the 1st Army Corps on the positions of Ukrainian forces responsible for recent shelling of Gorlovka.In the video, a single plume of smoke can be seen rising from a small forest. Then multiple explosions go off in the vicinity, sending shockwaves through the air. The 132nd used to be part of the DPR’s militia forces and was named after Gorlovka but joined the official armed forces after the region voted to join the Russian Federation in late 2022. READ MORE: Three civilians killed in Ukrainian strikes on Russian city – regional head Hostilities in the region initially started after a US-backed armed coup in Kiev in 2014, which was rejected by Ukrainian citizens in the east. The new authorities sent in the military in a failed attempt to quash the rebellion, and later stonewalled attempts to reintegrate Donetsk and the fellow breakaway region of Lugansk as autonomous parts of Ukraine.Ukrainian forces have suffered a string of setbacks on the frontline this year. Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry reported the full liberation of Staromayorskoye, a frontline village in DPR that Kiev captured during its so-called counteroffensive in 2023. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/8SL2lTQ
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US officials reportedly cited political reasons for pressuring an international health group to drop limitations on such operations US health authorities pressured the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove age restrictions for teenage surgeries from its guidelines published in 2022, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing newly unsealed court documents. According to the outlet, the administration of President Joe Biden, and specifically the assistant secretary of health, Rachel Levine, who is transgender, feared that age limitations could fuel the growing political opposition to the controversial treatments.  In the first draft of the guidelines published in 2021, the WPATH initially planned to set the minimum age for hormonal treatment at 14, 15 for mastectomy, 16 for breast augmentation and facial surgery and 17 of genital surgery or hysterectomy. However, in the final version of the document, which was released a year later, the group mentioned no age limits at all.  Emails obtained by the NYT have now reportedly shown that Levine’s staff had contacted the group and took issue with the guidelines, urging WPATH to drop the age limits.  “[Levine] and the Biden administration worried that having ages in the document will make matters worse. She asked us to remove them,” one of the letters from a WPATH staffer was quoted as saying.  Some members of the organization were reportedly concerned about the government’s intervention and insisted that the commission’s guidelines be based on science and expert consensus rather than politics.   Read more Dr. Eithan Haim US doctor indicted after reporting child trans procedures “I need someone to explain to me how taking out the ages will help in the fight against the conservative anti-trans agenda,” one WPATH member reportedly questioned.  Sex change operations and other “gender-related treatments” for minors have become an increasingly controversial issue, particularly in the US, where positions on the topic generally split along party lines.  Democrats and the Biden administration have been pushing for increased access to what they call “gender-affirming healthcare” for minors, while conservatives and Republican state leaders have been looking to restrict the practice.  A number of US states, including Texas, Florida, Ohio, Georgia and others, have already introduced legislation banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors while some, such as Tennessee and Alabama, have threatened fines and prison sentences for medical workers who violate the restrictions.The Biden administration has been challenging these legislative bans in court, arguing that denying transgender minors access to gender-affirming healthcare is a violation of guarantees of equal protection and due process under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/cX7ZM6n
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Kiev won’t receive an invitation to join the bloc at next month’s meeting because the US won’t support it, the top diplomat has said Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join NATO at the bloc’s summit next month, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said. He added that Kiev can only expect a strong declaration of support regarding its conflict with Moscow.In a phone call with Russian prankster duo Vovan and Lexus – one of whom posed as former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko – which was made public on Wednesday, Cameron confirmed that Ukraine should not hope to make strides on its path to become a NATO member when the bloc’s leaders convene in Washington July 9-11.”There is not going to be an invitation because America won’t support one,” Cameron said, adding that he told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Kiev and the West should come up with the best language possible with regard to NATO’s support for the country and its eventual inclusion in the bloc.”But we can’t have an argument between NATO and Ukraine before the summit… Let’s make sure we go into the conference united. We can’t afford a sort of public argument about where Ukraine is vis-à-vis NATO in the run-up to the July summit,” the foreign secretary said, adding that he personally supports the country’s accession to the US-led military bloc. “I’m sure it will happen. But we are not going to get there this time.” Read more France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) speaks to NATO'S Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 24, 2024. Macron pledges ‘unequivocal’ support for Ukraine NATO first announced that Ukraine would become a member of the bloc back in 2008, without giving an exact timeline. In 2019, after the Western-backed coup in Kiev several years prior, Ukraine officially declared NATO membership to be a strategic objective. In 2022, after the conflict with Russia escalated and four of its former regions voted to join the neighboring country, Ukraine formally applied to join the bloc.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine will not be able to join the bloc while it is embroiled in the conflict, amid widespread concerns that the move could trigger a direct clash with Russia.Moscow has for years sounded the alarm about NATO’s expansion towards its borders, with President Vladimir Putin citing Ukraine’s aspirations to join the bloc as one of the main reasons for the conflict. Earlier this month, Putin said Russia is ready to begin peace talks with Ukraine once it withdraws from its four former regions and commits to neutrality. Both Kiev and its Western backers have rejected the offer. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/WvtV3Ol
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An initial 400 officers have arrived in the island nation as part of a UN mission, even as violence swells back home The first contingent of Kenyan police officers has arrived in Haiti to lead a UN-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission aimed at combating rampant crime gangs and militants. The group of 400 officers departed on Tuesday following a pre-deployment ceremony at the Administration Police Training College in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the day before. “This mission is one of the most urgent, important, and historic in the history of global solidarity,” Kenyan President William Ruto said in an address to the officers on Monday, proclaiming that the country has “solid credentials in peace-making and conflict resolution globally.”The mission is going ahead despite a court ruling deeming it unconstitutional. Nairobi agreed last October to contribute 1,000 police officers to lead the Haiti mission after the UN Security Council greenlit a US-introduced resolution that called for an international security force to address spiraling violence in the island nation.In April, the UN called for the “urgent” deployment of the MSS force, describing the first quarter of this year as the “deadliest” for Haitians. Around 2,500 people have been killed in gang violence, with attacks targeting police stations, prisons, schools, hospitals, and religious sites in Port-au-Prince, according to Maria Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.Several other countries including Canada, Jamaica, and Senegal have expressed their support for the initiative. Last month, US President Joe Biden pledged $300 million in funding to the multinational force but declared that Washington would not contribute troops because an American military presence in Haiti could generate “all kinds of questions that can easily be misrepresented.” Read more FILE PHOTO: Police officers patrol a neighborhood amid gang-related violence in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on April 25, 2023. Proxy colonialism: The West is using this African nation as an imperial accomplice Some in the impoverished country of 11.4 million people, which the US occupied from 1915–1934 after the assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, object to any Western involvement on the ground due to the past history of military interventions.Rights organizations, including Haiti-based lobby group Movement Unforgettable Dessalines Jean Jacques, have questioned Kenyan police involvement, citing longstanding abuse allegations against officers.Meanwhile, Kenya itself descended into chaos on Tuesday when police cracked down on thousands of protesters who stormed parliament to demonstrate against a finance bill introducing controversial taxes. At least five people died from police gunfire and more than 30 others were wounded, Amnesty International and three Kenyan organizations said in a joint statement. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/jWwVUs0
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Congress had launched a review as a result of rising costs as Washington seeks to replace a key element of its nuclear triad The US Air Force has sacked Colonel Charles Clegg, the official responsible for the development of the next-generation ‘Sentinel’ intercontinental ballistic missile. The rocket is earmarked to replace the 1970s-era Minuteman III as the land-based element of Washington’s nuclear triad.Earlier this year, Congress launched a review of the program after its costs ballooned by at least 37% to an estimated $131 billion. In its report on the Defense Department’s fiscal 2025 budget request, the House Appropriations Committee said it “was stunned to learn” of the massive increase in costs.The lawmakers eventually agreed to earmark $3.4 billion for the program in the coming year, which is $340 million less than requested.According to a statement by the US Air Force, quoted by several media outlets, Clegg was ousted as director of the Sentinel Systems project on Monday “because he did not follow organizational procedures.” A spokesperson for the Air Force cited a “loss of confidence,” but denied that the dismissal had been “directly related” to the ongoing congressional review. In January, Bloomberg reported that a 1982 law had mandated the scrutiny after the project overspent its budget by more than a third over the course of two years. Read more FILE PHOTO. Russia to upgrade nuclear weapons Now, the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff are having to justify the cost overruns and present convincing arguments to lawmakers. The lion’s share of the sum is apparently needed to upgrade existing launch sites and communications lines.This task, estimated to last nearly ten years, will be a lengthy and complicated endeavor "involving real estate purchases, construction, deconstruction, removal and installation of equipment and nuclear certification,” the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its fiscal 2024 budget report.Earlier this month, Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to the president and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, revealed that President Joe Biden had “recently issued updated nuclear weapons employment guidance, which takes into account the realities of a new nuclear era.”“It emphasizes the need to account for the growth and diversity of [China’s] nuclear arsenal – and the need to deter Russia, [China], and North Korea simultaneously,” the official said at the time. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/L0tRsWp
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<strong>One particular personal exchange with the WikiLeaks co-founder during his stay in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London spoke volumes about his mindset</strong> <em>“Never let the bastards grind you down,”</em> Julian Assange told me after I published something that elicited the usual wrath of warmongering neocons. <em>“Outlast.”</em> In that moment, I understood that if anyone could actually survive the insurmountable odds of being targeted as enemy number one by the most powerful people in the most powerful government on the planet, it was Julian. Always businesslike, laser-focused on the issues and fighting for a better, more peaceful world. Before it became nearly impossible to communicate with him, we did so online, on a regular basis. It was always about work. As journalists, we’re constantly looking for historical context to fully flesh out any acute event, because nothing ever happens in a vacuum, or just out of the blue without any run-up. And that’s where WikiLeaks and its database of diplomatic cables, emails, and other raw data was a goldmine.  Virtually any event, from the Western-backed wars in Syria and Libya to Hillary Clinton’s victory over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries was more easily understood as the result of backdoor shenanigans laid out in exchanges between relevant parties and published in searchable WikiLeaks databases. And our media audience was wiser for it. Julian’s vision of journalism as a science, driven by raw data, is ideal for transparency, and a nightmare for those who thrive in the shadows and depend on the average citizen not knowing about things to which they’d most likely object. When journalistic ambition runs up against state secrets, far too often subjected to abusive classification to hide wrongdoing, it sets public accountability efforts on a collision course with the government itself, with the journalist caught in the middle. Until WikiLeaks came along in the rise of the independent online publishing era of the mid-00s, government officials could at least pressure mainstream newspaper brass to lay off, citing national security considerations. With Assange, they had zero control beyond brandishing the long, swinging stick of American law.  <strong>Read more</strong> <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/thumbnail/667aba9c20302770c5784d7f.jpg">WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/599956-julian-assange-journalism-freedom/">Why Assange’s plea deal is bad news for investigative journalism Despite his eventual efforts to work with newspapers such as The Guardian, and mitigate any risks to himself, it seemed to be too little, too late. Assange was already <a href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/06/25/world/julian-assange-plea-deal-explainer-intl-hnk%20">seen as a threat after initially releasing raw footage of American forces in Baghdad opening fire from a helicopter on Reuters journalists in 2007, and eventually ended up being hit by Washington with 18 espionage related charges and a potential 175 years in prison. It’s not like Assange’s publications hurt intelligence sources. The judge at his plea hearing even <a href="https://x.com/stella_assange/status/1805791384697553375?s=46">underscored the US government’s admission that there was no <em>“personal victim”</em> of Assange’s actions.In the end, he’s walked free. But without the endless fundraising resources, activist support, team of lawyers, and constant media and celebrity attention, he probably wouldn’t have. Washington was struggling to convince the British court handling the US request to extradite Assange that his basic rights would be protected and that he wouldn’t face the death penalty — as a foreign citizen, whose rights Washington doesn’t give a damn about. Also, it was pretty tough to prove that they’d protect his well-being in their custody when it was revealed by <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/kidnapping-assassination-and-a-london-shoot-out-inside-the-ci-as-secret-war-plans-against-wiki-leaks…
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The incident in Syrian airspace exemplified reckless flying by US-led forces, the military claims Military aircraft operated by a US-led alliance have been responsible for multiple risky encounters with Russian forces in Syria, Moscow claimed on Tuesday.In one incident over Homs province, an MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging flew dangerously close to a Su-34 strike aircraft, the Russian military mission in Syria said at a daily briefing.“The Russian pilot demonstrated high professionalism and took necessary measures in time to avoid collision,” a military spokesman said.The episode was one of nine violations of deconfliction protocols perpetrated by the “terrorist coalition” in just 24 hours, according to the statement. The protocols were signed in 2019 with a view to avoiding incidents. By failing to inform the Russian mission about its flight plans, the alliance “creates risks for air incidents and escalates the tensions in Syrian airspace.” Read more Hezbollah supporters chant during the funeral procession for a militant who was killed this month in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon. US fears being dragged into another war – CBS Other cases involved F-15, F-16 and Rafale jets flown by coalition forces near Al-Tanf, the US base in southeastern Syria near the borders with Jordan and Iraq, the statement said.The US military continues to operate the facility despite objections from Damascus regarding what Russia and several other nations consider a violation of Syrian sovereignty.The Russian military was invited to Syria by its government in 2015 to help it deal with jihadist groups trying to topple it. Washington claims that its military presence is required to prevent Islamic State, a once-powerful terrorist organization, from resurging.The report followed rumors circulating online, which claimed that the US had lost a Global Hawk surveillance drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with a Russian MiG-31 interceptor jet. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the speculations on Tuesday, and said the Russian government was not aware of any such incident. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/IrQ6bAL
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<strong>Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party has vowed to hold the government “accountable”</strong> Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Indian National Congress, was elected on Tuesday as the leader of the Indian opposition, his party has announced.Gandhi, 54, a fierce critic of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, won the recently-concluded parliamentary elections from two constituencies – Wayanad in the southern state of Kerala and his family stronghold of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, known as the Hindu heartland.The Congress Party made significant gains overall in the general election, winning 99 seats, while the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, which is spearheaded by the party, won over 200 seats, <a href="https://www.rt.com/india/598717-india-opposition-election-results-trends/">defying expectations.The Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its absolute majority and had to rely on allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form <a href="https://www.rt.com/india/599047-modi-india-third-term-oath/">a coalition government. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured the majority of seats (293) in the 543-seat lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha). <strong>Read more</strong> <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/thumbnail/666332f385f54007f1563956.jpg">RT <a href="https://www.rt.com/india/598972-india-eletion-decoded-modi/">India’s comeback: How Modi foiled the West’s grand plan Gandhi’s appointment as leader of the opposition is significant – in the past decade, following the elections in 2014 and 2019, the Congress Party was not able to nominate its candidate for the crucial post as it did not have enough seats in the Lok Sabha.”We are confident that as [leader of the opposition], Rahul ji will be a bold voice for the common people of India and ensure that the NDA government is held firmly accountable at all times,” senior Congress Party leader KC Venugopal posted on X (formerly Twitter).The day he was sworn in as MP, Gandhi promised that the <em>“opposition will continue its pressure, raise the voice of the people and will not allow the prime minister to escape without accountability.”</em>On Wednesday, Modi and Gandhi were seen shaking hands in parliament, shortly after NDA candidate Om Birla was elected speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. <em>“The government has political power, but the opposition also represents the voice of India’s people,”</em> Gandhi said in his first speech in the ongoing parliament session. <em>“This time, the opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people,”</em> he said, expressing hope that the house will function well. RaGa Olive Branch? Rahul Gandhi Makes First Speech as Opposition Leader - Calls for Cooperation to be Voice of Indian People <a href="https://t.co/2cyfmEm4Xa">pic.twitter.com/2cyfmEm4Xa— RT_India (@RT_India_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_India_news/status/1805872739787346039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2024 <em></em>Among the key issues the opposition plans to raise during the first session of the newly elected parliament are railway safety following a recent deadly incident, <a href="https://www.rt.com/india/599734-indian-opposition-calls-out-modi/">alleged irregularities in the central examination that left millions of young people aspiring to college studies in uncertainly, high inflation, and a lack of employment opportunities in the country, which currently has world’s highest pace of economic growth.Days after the recent vote concluded, Gandhi also demanded a parliamentary investigation into a stock market crash after the election results were declared, claiming that Modi gave <em>“misleading”</em> investment advice. Around $380 billion in Indian stock market value was erased after the election, owing to the BJP’s poorer-than-expected showing.Gandhi is descended from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, and is the son of Rajiv Gandhi, another former prime minister who was assassinated in 1991. His mother, Sonia…
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William Ruto says it’s unacceptable for “criminals” posing as peaceful protesters to terrorize people The Kenyan government has mobilized all available resources to prevent a repeat of violence that occurred on Tuesday when anti-tax protesters clashed with riot police, the East African country’s president, William Ruto, has warned. The president made the remarks while addressing the nation Tuesday night, following a day of widespread protests, chaos, and fatalities in Kenya, with protesters demanding his resignation and threatening a “total shutdown.”At least five protesters were shot and killed by police in the riot that began after lawmakers voted 195-106 to pass the government’s 2024 Finance Bill, which includes tax increases to generate $2.7 billion in revenue in response to International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands.Thirty-one people were injured in the capital, Nairobi, according to a joint statement by Amnesty International, the Kenya Medical Association, the Law Society of Kenya, and the Police Reforms Working Group. “13 have been shot with live bullets, four with rubber bullets, and three people have been hit with launcher canisters. 11 others survived with minor injuries,” the group stated. The coalition claimed that uniformed and non-uniformed officers had kidnapped 21 people and arrested at least 52 more “over the last 24 hours.”Kenyan-British activist Auma Obama, the half-sister of former US President Barack Obama, was teargassed while giving a live interview to CNN. Footage circulating on social media and local news channels shows the governor’s office in Nairobi ablaze, as well as a group of demonstrators trashing flags and furniture inside parliament and attempting to break down the Senate chamber doors. Local media said security officers resorted to gunfire after tear gas and water cannons failed to disperse the crowd, which torched at least one police vehicle and set fire to a section of the National Assembly building. Lawmakers who were trapped inside were reportedly evacuated through an underground tunnel.The country’s defense ministry later announced that the armed forces had been mobilized to help the police deal with a “security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts” of the country, “resulting in destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure.” Read more Kenyan police officers stand outside the burning parliament building in Nairobi, June 25, 2024. WATCH Protesters storm Kenyan parliament President Ruto has denounced the protests as “treasonous events” and vowed to crack down on “organized criminals” who “hijacked” the “legitimate” demonstrations and turned them into “violence and anarchy.”  “It is not in order, or even conceivable, that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people,” Ruto said.On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply saddened by the reports of deaths and injuries – including those of journalists and medical personnel – connected to protests and street demonstrations in Kenya.”Moscow’s embassy in Kenya has advised Russian citizens in the former British colony to avoid “crowded places” and comply with the requirements of local authorities “due to the further deterioration of the situation” in the country. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/Vuvxe30
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Moscow claims to have proof of Washington’s activities on the continent The US is expanding its biological military presence across Africa, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov claimed on Tuesday. According to the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, the move comes after Russia halted the implementation of similar programs in former Ukrainian territories.  “Because Russia has managed to halt the implementation of biological warfare programs in Ukraine’s liberated territories, the Pentagon is forced to transfer incomplete research under Ukrainian projects to other regions,” Kirillov alleged. He highlighted Africa as a new zone of interest for the US Defense Department and related agencies. The general mentioned the presence of Pentagon contractors in several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa.  “Washington uses outside actors to hide the objectives of research. These are contracting and intermediary organizations (Metabiota, Quicksilver, EkoHealth Alliance, more than 20 companies) and businesses of the so-called Big Pharma,” Kirillov claimed. Russia has documents confirming the rapid expansion of the US biological warfare presence in Africa continent, he added. Read more RT Washington seeking new military partners in Africa Kirillov cited several examples of alleged US activities, stating that “in October 2023, staff of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases conducted a large-scale survey of hantavirus samples from bats in Kenya’s natural hotspots. A year ago, US military biologists studied the effects of anti-malarial drugs on local populations. “In January 2024, US officials from the Defense Department, the State Department, and the US Department of Health and Human Services met with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa to discuss the continent’s prospects for developing laboratory capabilities,” the general said.   At the end of last year, Kirillov said Russia had obtained documents proving that the US had conducted research on bioweapon components and highly dangerous pathogens in Ukraine.  via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/wLOKUDF
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A plane carrying the WikiLeaks co-founder has landed in Australia after he was freed as part of a plea deal with the US WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has arrived in his native Australia, hours after formally accepting a plea deal in a US court in the Northern Mariana Islands. Assange was accused of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security materials which shed light on alleged American war crimes.The charter flight VJT199 traveling from Saipan landed at an airport in Canberra on Wednesday evening local time after a six-hour journey. Assange was greeted by his wife Stella, father John Shipton, as well as a crowd of supporters and journalists. He was accompanied by Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, UK High Commissioner Stephen Smith and his lawyer, Jen Robinson.According to WikiLeaks, Assange will hold a press conference a couple of hours after his arrival.Earlier in the day, Assange pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information at a US court in Saipan, and was sentenced to five years – time he has already served in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison. As part of the deal, the US also agreed to drop its request for extradition while demanding that Assange instruct WikiLeaks to destroy classified information stored on its servers or devices.Numerous experts and free speech advocates have suggested that Assange had been “coerced” into pleading guilty and that he should not have been prosecuted in the first place. READ MORE: Assange pleads guilty to espionage Stella Assange had earlier said the key priority following her husband’s release would be to get him “healthy again,” as “he’s been in a terrible state for five years,” referring to his time in prison. She had also signaled that her husband would seek a presidential pardon following the guilty plea. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/dYUa8BG
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Russia’s emergency services are surveying the coast and sea after a Ukrainian missile killed civilians and left numerous injured  Russia’s emergency services have discovered an unexploded cluster bomblet in the waters near Sevastopol following a deadly Ukrainian missile strike on a beach last weekend.According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian military fired five US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Sunday. Russian air defense systems destroyed four of the projectiles in mid-air, but the fifth was damaged, veered off course, and detonated its cluster warhead over a packed beach. The strike killed at least four people, including two children, and injured more than 150 others.The police and special teams of the Russian Emergency Ministry and other departments continue to work at the location. Emergency services specialists have examined the coastline and the beach area in the town of Uchkuevka, near Sevastopol, where the missile exploded, and are currently inspecting the sea as well. Read more A beach chair with traces of blood in Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia, June 23, 2024. Russia ‘can’t not respond’ to Crimea attack – Ron Paul The footage released by Russia’s Emergency Ministry on Wednesday show a diver discovering an unexploded missile submunition. In another part of the video, a diver is handing over a fragment of what is purported to be a cluster warhead bomblet found in the sea to an emergency services specialist.“A diving survey of the beach water area is taking place here at the moment, a search area has been determined, this is a 50-meter zone,” head of the underwater demining department of Russia’s Emergency Ministry, Viktor Ilyenko, told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.The coast remains cordoned off as teams of minesweepers and divers search for submunitions and explosive remnants. Diving units have so far surveyed more than two hectares of the seabed and another 4.5 hectares still need to be checked, according to the ministry.Moscow has described the missile strike as an act of terrorism and argued that the US and Kiev bear equal responsibility for the deaths. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/iekQnc1
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Kiev continues to carry out reckless attacks around the Zaporozhye NPP, staff at the facility have said The Ukrainian military has shelled a radiation monitoring station near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, officials at the Russian facility reported on Wednesday.The attack targeted a monitoring station in Velikaya Znamenka, a village around 15km west of the nuclear facility. It was “totally destroyed” by Ukrainian artillery fire, according to a statement from Russian officials on social media. The statement included photos of the burned-out equipment box.Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear plant is the largest of its kind in Europe. It has a network of sensors, known as the ‘Koltso’ (Ring), within a 30km range that monitors for possible radiation leaks. The system was upgraded several years ago.Plant workers have taken measures to maintain the monitoring regime, the statement said, adding that no spikes in radiation levels have been detected.Russia has been in control of the Zaporozhye NPP since the early weeks of the hostilities with Ukraine. Officials in Energodar reported several Ukrainian attacks on its key infrastructure last week, in which two transformer substations were damaged. Read more IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. Sanctioning Russian nuclear sector would ‘hurt’ EU – IAEA The attacks have disrupted electricity supplies to some of the power plant’s facilities and posed a threat to its personnel, according to its management. Ukrainian actions “may affect nuclear safety,” a statement released last Saturday said.Kiev considers the Zaporozhye station to be illegally occupied and has accused Russia of using it for military purposes – allegation Moscow has denied. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), maintains an observer mission at the site, but declines to attribute blame for any attacks affecting the station.“Whoever is behind this, it must stop,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week. “Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent. This is completely unacceptable and it runs counter to the safety pillars and concrete principles which have been accepted unanimously.” READ MORE: No Russian heavy weapons at Zaporozhye plant – IAEA boss The IAEA noted that the disruption of power had affected the radiological monitoring stations. The sensor network went offline for some time after backup batteries ran out, and went back online again after power was restored. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/fCYzH6y
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The South Korean military has said the DPRK launched a rocket on Wednesday, which apparently exploded in mid-air North Korea is believed to have test-fired a hypersonic missile on Wednesday but the launch apparently ended in failure, the South Korean military has claimed. The projectile traveled around 250km before exploding in mid-air.Hypersonic weapons, which can travel at up to 25 times the speed of sound, are believed to be practically impossible for modern-day air defenses to intercept. The US, Russia, China, and India currently have hypersonic rockets in their arsenals. Several other nations are either developing the weapons or claim to have tested them.Yonhap News Agency quoted South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying the missile was launched from the Pyongyang area around 5:30am local time. South Korean and US intelligence services are analyzing the nature of the missile, but an anonymous military source told Yonhap that the rocket fired by the North appears to have been hypersonic. Read more FILE PHOTO Russia supports North Korea against ‘treacherous’ West – Putin The apparent launch came shortly after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea vowed to take “overwhelming and new” deterrence measures in response to the arrival of US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in South Korea on Saturday. The warship is set to take part in trilateral military drills, which also involve Japan.Pyongyang has repeatedly described similar maneuvers in the region as being a threat to its national security.Late last month, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles in response to drills between the US and South Korea.In April, the DPRK conducted what it described as a simulated nuclear counterattack against an adversary.Earlier that month, Pyongyang fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile that reportedly had a hypersonic warhead. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/1a3Ig7K
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Profits from frozen Russian assets will further enrich arms producers and will not help Ukrainians, Angelo Giuliano has predicted The EU’s plan to tap profits from frozen Russian assets to buy arms for Ukraine is benefiting Western weapons producers and not the people of the country, Hong Kong-based financial consultant Angelo Giuliano has told RT.Brussels intends to spend some $1.5 billion generated by Russian national wealth to procure military equipment and munitions for Kiev and bolster the Ukrainian defense industry, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on Monday. The goal is to do so “in the swiftest possible manner for the benefit of Ukraine,” he said.”It’s not for the sake of Ukraine, for the wellbeing of Ukraine to reconstruct. It’s for the profit of the military industrial complex, which wants to perpetuate this war,” Giuliano responded in an interview on Tuesday.The entire conflict is not so much about Ukraine as it is about trying to hurt and potentially balkanize Russia, which is what globalist elites want, he believes. Lining the pockets of the arms makers is an extra benefit, he said. Read more FILE PHOTO: EU High Representative Josep Borrell EU to send €1.4bn in Russian money to Ukraine – Borrell In a sense, the refusal of Western nations to repay the money that was lent to them by Russia through purchase of their bonds was a default on debt, the expert added. This hurts the financial credibility of the US and its allies in the long term and unnerves foreign creditors.”Many countries will think twice before they actually lend money to those countries, because they see the example,” he said.Russia considers the immobilization of its sovereign funds illegal. It has warned that it will retaliate against the West for any attempt to “steal” its money.The EU has rejected calls by Kiev and Washington to tap the Russian assets themselves, but applied a windfall tax on profits from them. Brussels reportedly used a legal loophole to circumvent Hungary, a critic of its Ukraine policy, when it decided how the $1.5 billion should be spent.There is concern that Budapest, which was angered by the news, may oppose continued freezing of the Russian money the next time the EU needs to prolong it, which requires unanimity among members of the economic bloc. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/ufYphwT
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Kiev’s backers advised it not to discuss the issue during talks with Russia in 2022, David Arakhamia has revealed The West refused to provide Ukraine with any serious security guarantees during peace talks between Moscow and Kiev early in the conflict, Time magazine reported on Tuesday, citing Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who led Kiev’s delegation at the negotiations. Time recalled that while the prospects for resolving the conflict currently seem remote, this was not the case in the spring of 2022, when Russia and Ukraine engaged in direct talks. It noted that within six weeks of dialogue, the two countries had reached the general outlines of a deal which would have seen Russia and other nations provide Ukraine with “security guarantees,” while the latter would agree to “permanent neutrality.” The provision would involve Ukraine abandoning its plans to join NATO, which is a major concern for Russia. According to Time, while the Kremlin was apparently willing to consider these terms, the talks soon broke down for several reasons, including allegations of Russian war crimes in the town of Bucha outside Kiev, which Moscow has vehemently denied. Arakhamia told the outlet that another major reason was that the West had “refused to make any firm promise to stop Russia from invading again in the future.” “They actually advised us not to go into ephemeral security guarantees,” the MP said. Read more Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin’s peace proposal still stands – Kremlin At the same time, the failure of the talks stemmed from the battlefield situation, as Russian troops withdrew from several areas, including the outskirts of Kiev, the report said. Moscow has said it pulled out from the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital as a “gesture of good will” to facilitate the talks that were underway at the time. As Ukraine managed to gain more ground in the autumn of 2022, its Western backers urged it “to resume the peace talks from a position of strength.” Time noted that while Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky was reluctant to open talks, he produced a “compromise” peace formula which demanded that Russia withdraw from all territories Kiev claims as its own. Moscow has rejected the offer as detached from reality. Earlier this month, ahead of a Swiss-hosted Ukraine ‘peace summit’ which Russia was not invited to, President Vladimir Putin shared a new proposal to start negotiations. He stated that Moscow would be ready to immediately open peace talks if Kiev withdrew all of its troops from Russia’s Donbass, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, while committing to neutrality. The overture was dismissed by both Kiev and the West. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/erot4j1
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The upcoming meeting between the leaders is sending a message of unity to the world, Nandan Unnikrishnan has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Moscow is significant as it will show the world that “India and Russia are still on the same page,” Nandan Unnikrishnan, the head of Eurasian Studies at Observer Research Foundation, India’s premier foreign policy think tank, told RT.Modi is scheduled to visit Russia and meet with President Vladimir Putin in early July, according to media reports. On Tuesday, Yury Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, confirmed that preparations are being made for the visit without specifying dates, which will be announced jointly by both sides.Unnikrishnan said the development is notable as it will be the first bilateral visit for Modi after he was reelected for a third consecutive term. The two leaders will be meeting in person after two years; they last met during the September 2022 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Modi’s last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.“The relationship with Russia is still very, very important for India, contrary to all rumors,” Unnikrishnan said. He added that “given the complexities of current geopolitics, bilateral ties are in a good place.” Read more Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads of State Council (SCO-HSC) Summit, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Modi to meet with Putin in Moscow – Kremlin India has abstained from United Nations resolutions condemning Russia over the Ukraine conflict and has maintained robust trade and diplomatic ties with Moscow despite pressure from the West to distance itself from its traditional partner.Last week, India refused to sign the final document that emerged at the Swiss-hosted conference on Ukraine advocating Kiev’s ‘peace formula’, which Moscow rejected. New Delhi insisted that “a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict.”Asked about New Delhi being targeted by Western countries for maintaining robust diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow, Unnikrishnan said India has always opposed unilateral sanctions and will not accept them. Last year, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar suggested that sanctions are “levers” that advanced economies use when it suits their interests, adding that much of the world does not agree with sanctions.While the countries maintain a strong relationship, the meeting between the two leaders is also vital “to sort out any impediments,” Unnikrishnan noted. “There are issues of payments pending between India and Russia. There is the whole question of military-technical cooperation. There is also the question of widening economic ties and introducing new areas of cooperation.” READ MORE: Russia fueling Indian economic growth – Jaishankar Russia is India’s biggest supplier of arms and ammunition, and in 2023, became the largest supplier of oil to the country. In the financial year ending March 2024, trade between India and Russia stood at $65.7 billion, marking a 33% increase over the previous year. However, India’s exports to Russia have not seen any major upswing in recent years, creating a massive trade imbalance in Russia’s favor.Earlier this year, Denis Alipov, Russia’s ambassador to India, said the two sides aim to diversify bilateral trade “and correct its imbalances, which are huge.” via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/VDlACQb
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A Russian court has ruled that the Christian-themed menu of the establishment was “offensive” A St. Petersburg court has fined a woman for operating a bar that used images of Jesus Christ and other Christian iconography to sell drinks, the spokeswoman for the city’s judiciary, Darya Lebedeva, has said. At least one person filed a police report, complaining that interior design and the menu of the bar S’aint had offended his religious beliefs.According to Lebedeva, the bar’s owner, Sophie Noskova-Avramovich pleaded guilty to violating Article 148 of the Russian Criminal Code, which criminalizes “offenses against religious beliefs.” She has been fined 30,000 rubles ($342).Lebedeva wrote on Telegram that the bar’s design incorporated Christian symbols, including a large pink neon cross, as well as “elements of non-religious and anti-religious aesthetics aimed at emphasizing the philosophy of hedonism and relativism that is unacceptable from a Christian standpoint.” READ MORE: Swedish police grant permission for Bible-burning protest She noted that the defendant had created the bar’s menu and used “Chrsitian symbols and icons, images of Virgin Mary, the Holy Grail, Jesus Christ on the cross, and the symbols of the Holy Communion to advertise alcoholic beverages.” Noskova-Avramovich had demonstrated “explicit contempt for society” and offended “religious feelings” of the patrons, Lebedeva said. Read more A Koran calligraphy exhibition at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque. Man arrested for ‘desecrating’ Koran in Russian region According to the online catalogue Restoclub, the bar with “Medieval aesthetics” was inspired by Paolo Sorrentino’s TV show The Young Pope, where actor Jude Law portrays fictional Pope Pius XIII. The cocktails served there included ‘The Blood of Jesus,’ ‘The Sorrow of Madonna,’ ‘Personal Jesus’, ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Judas’ Kiss’.Conservative activists first complained about the bar in late January. The management defended its stylistic choices at the time, arguing that The Young Pope is not banned in Russia. “Our idea is based on using Catholic symbols to get the younger generation interested in the holy values. We are not hurting religious values in any way, we are not insulting the image of Christ and not worshiping Satan,” the bar said in February. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/IeqTPVW
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Activist groups are seeking to overturn Louisiana’s new requirement for the religious text to be posted in public schools The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other activist groups have joined with nine Louisiana families to sue the state over a new law that requires publicly funded schools to post copies of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.The case was filed on Monday in the US District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The plaintiffs claimed that the controversial law “substantially interferes” with the constitutional right of parents to raise their children in the religion of their choosing. The lawsuit added that the state mandate sends a “harmful and religiously divisive message” that students of different beliefs “do not belong in their own school community.”Governor Jeff Landry signed the legislation into law last week, making Louisiana the first US state to require all public schools to display the Ten Commandments. Specifically, the law dictates that a Protestant translation of the Bible verses be used. It applies to all primary and secondary schools, as well as universities, that receive state funding. Read more FILE PHOTO: People protest against the 'transparency of foreign influence' bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024 EU applicant wants to ban ‘LGBTQ movement’ The Rev. Jeff Sims, pastor of a Presbyterian church in Madisonville, Louisiana, was one of two clergymen who joined in the lawsuit. “By favoring one version of the Ten Commandments and mandating that it be posted in public schools, the government is intruding on deeply personal matters of religion,” Simms told reporters on Monday.Parents of various religious faiths, as well as some who are non-religious, are also among the plaintiffs. Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU’s Louisiana chapter, called the new law “religious indoctrination” and argued that it is blatantly unconstitutional. “This law strikes at the core of religious freedom,” she said.The legislation refers to the Ten Commandments as “foundational documents” of Louisiana’s state and national governments. “I look forward to implementing the law and defending Louisiana’s sovereign interest to select classroom content fundamental to America’s foundation,” Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said in a statement to WWL-TV, the CBS News affiliate in New Orleans.Former President Donald Trump endorsed the new law on Friday, saying he would also like to see the Ten Commandments displayed in other public places. “This may be, in fact, the first major step in the revival of religion, which is desperately needed in our country,” he said in a Truth Social post. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/PjwnuRT
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Lloyd Austin and Andrey Belousov spoke two after a Ukrainian missile exploded over a packed beach in Crimea Russian and US defense chiefs spoke over the phone on Tuesday, discussing the need to maintain communication despite the ongoing standoff between the two nuclear powers. It was Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s first direct conversation with Andrey Belousov who replaced Sergey Shoigu as Russia’s Defense Minister last month.Austin has “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in the readout of the call.The Russian MOD released a short statement, saying that Austin and Belousov have “exchanged views about the situation around Ukraine.” Belousov warned the Pentagon chief about “the dangers of further escalation in terms of the continuing deliveries of American weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” Read more RT Civilians killed on Sevastopol beach were ‘occupiers’ – top Zelensky aide The conversation took place two days after four beachgoers, including two children, were killed during a Ukrainian missile strike in Crimea. Moscow condemned Kiev’s “barbaric” attack that also injured more than 150 people, saying that Ukraine had used US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles with cluster munitions. The MOD also accused the US of helping the Ukrainians pick targets for missile strikes. “We understand perfectly well who is behind this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.The US had previously authorized Kiev to use some of the Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia during Moscow’s new offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.Speaking in Brussels earlier this month, Austin reiterated Washington’s support for Kiev. “Make no mistake: Ukraine’s partners around the world have its back,” he said.Moscow has maintained, however, that no amount of foreign aid can stop its troops in Ukraine. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/l7ngy9q
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Wednesday’s court hearing in Saipan marked the end of the WikiLeaks founder’s 14-year legal battle for freedom WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded and been found guilty in a US court to a single espionage charge. He is now free to return to his native Australia, having already served five years in a British prison.Assange pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information at the United States District Court for The Northern Mariana Islands in Saipan on Wednesday morning. He will likely be handed a 62-month prison sentence immediately afterwards, but as his five years served in London’s Belmarsh Prison will be counted towards this sentence, he will not see the inside of a jail cell.Assange was accompanied in the courtroom by Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, Australian Ambassador to the UK Stephen Smith, and his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson. Asked by Judge Romana Manglona whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty, he responded “guilty.” Read more WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Why Assange’s plea deal is bad news for investigative journalism The outcome of Wednesday’s hearing was widely known in advance. “We anticipate that the defendant will plead guilty to the charge…of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States,” the US Justice Department wrote in a letter to the court on Tuesday. “We expect [Assange] will return” to Australia after the day’s proceedings, the department added. Assange’s 14-year fight for freedom began in 2010, when he was arrested by British police over sexual assault charges in Sweden that were later dropped, Assange jumped bail in 2012 and was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was arrested again in 2019 when Ecuador revoked his asylum, and spent the next 1,901 days in Belmarsh.The US Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Assange on the day of his arrest, charging him with 17 counts of espionage. Assange spent the next five years fighting extradition to the US, where he would have faced up to 175 years behind bars if convicted.  Read more RT WATCH Assange’s controversial show produced with RT The charges against Assange stemmed from his publication of classified material obtained by whistleblowers, including Pentagon documents detailing alleged US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.The WikiLeaks founder was released from Belmarsh on Monday, two months after the Wall Street Journal reported that his lawyers were in talks with US officials about a potential plea deal. Assange was preparing to mount a final appeal against his extradition at the time, and the WSJ’s sources claimed that US President Joe Biden wanted to reach an agreement rather than deal with the “political hot potato” of a journalist arriving in Washington to face criminal prosecution so close to November’s presidential election. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/FGyQpOr
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The US president has reportedly decided to grant clemency to ex-soldiers who were prosecuted under previous military law US President Joe Biden has reportedly decided to pardon military veterans who were convicted over decades past under a sodomy law that criminalized gay sex among service members.The pardon proclamation, which will grant clemency to about 2,000 former troops, is expected to be announced on Wednesday, CNN reported, citing three unnamed US government officials. The proclamation will enable those who were convicted under the military’s former sodomy law to apply for a formal certificate of pardon, which will help clear their records and allow them to receive withheld veteran’s benefits.The military ban on sodomy, including consensual gay sex, stood from 1951 until the law was rewritten by Congress in 2013. That revision came two years after then-President Barack Obama repealed the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which banned openly gay people from enlistment. Read more FILE PHOTO: US Army recruits arrive for basic training in September 2022 at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. American men shunning army – media Troops who were court-martialed for engaging in gay sex typically were given a bad-conduct discharge from the military, making them ineligible for such benefits as pensions, education subsidies and Veteran’s Administration home loans. CNN said Biden’s pardon proclamation will not apply to service members who were convicted of non-consensual sex acts.The Pentagon launched a review last year to investigate the records of veterans who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. That review doesn’t affect those who were convicted of having gay sex. “For decades, our LGBTQ+ service members were forced to hide or were prevented from serving altogether,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the time of the announcement. “Even still, they selflessly put themselves in harm’s way for the good of our country and the American people.”Republican lawmakers have argued that the Pentagon’s focus on “woke ideology,” emphasizing such issues as sexual orientation and race, is contributing to a recruiting crisis and diminishing military readiness to defend the country. Last year, the Biden administration reportedly extended special privileges to transgender troops, including exemptions from uniform standards and permission to avoid deployment while taking cross-sex hormones. READ MORE: Pentagon defends LGBTQ priorities    via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/UdsvjWx
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The US ally’s government recently hiked tax rates at the IMF’s request Hundreds of Kenyans protesting the government’s plan to raise taxes have broken into the parliament building in Nairobi, as some lawmakers cowered in the basement. At least five people were killed in clashes with police who were reinforced by the Kenyan military.Tuesday’s riot began after the legislature voted 195-106 to pass the government’s 2024 Finance Bill, which envisioned tax increases to drum up $2.7 billion in revenue due to demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).President William Ruto denounced the protests as “treasonous events” and vowed to crack down on “criminals” who “hijacked” the demonstrations and turned them into “violence and anarchy.” “Today’s attack resulted in the loss of lives, destruction of property and a lack of respect for the institutions,” Ruto said, calling it “a critical turning point in how we respond to such threats on national security.”Videos making rounds on social media show the governor’s office in Nairobi in flames, as well as a group of demonstrators smashing flags and furniture inside the parliament and attempting to break down the doors of the Senate chamber. Footage of protestors storming Kenya's parliament pic.twitter.com/Ng8WYk3NhL— Dwayne Wong (@DOmowale) June 25, 2024 According to the BBC, “hundreds” of lawmakers were trapped inside the building and took shelter in the basement. At least ten people have died in clashes with the police, while another 40 have been admitted to local hospitals for treatment, according to local media. Read more FILE PHOTO: Former US President Barack Obama (R) embraces his sister Auma at the Moi International Sports centre in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 26, 2015. Obama’s half-sister teargassed at Kenya protest (VIDEO) Defense Minister Aden Duale announced that the armed forces had been mobilized to support the police due to a “security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts” of the country, “resulting in destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure.”Earlier in the day, Duale hosted the British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan and his military adviser, Brigadier Oliver Bryant. They discussed “our strong bilateral relations, focusing on defense collaboration in areas such as counter-terrorism, anti-piracy, and climate change,” according to the Kenyan minister.On Monday, the US announced its designation of Kenya as a “major non-NATO ally,” allowing Nairobi “military and economic privileges,” according to the State Department.Meanwhile, a contingent of 400 Kenyan police officers was dispatched to Haiti, as part of a US-backed operation to “restore order” on the Caribbean island. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/ID8XZHp
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The WikiLeaks founder is expected to enter a guilty plea, ending a 14-year legal saga WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has arrived at a US courthouse in the Northern Mariana Islands, where he has agreed to plead guilty to a single espionage charge in exchange for his freedom.Assange walked into the United States District Court for The Northern Mariana Islands in Saipan more than 24 hours after he left the UK aboard a charter flight, following his release from London’s Belmarsh Prison.Dressed in a black suit, Assange did not respond to questions from the press as he passed through a metal detector and into the glass-fronted court building. He was accompanied inside by Australia's former prime minister and current ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. He made it !! Assange just arrived safely at the Saipan Court for his hearing at 9am. 💥🙏💥 pic.twitter.com/FQEeHYadMQ— Kat A 🌸 (@SaiKate108) June 25, 2024 Assange was allowed leave Belmarsh on Monday after his lawyers reached a plea deal with the US Justice Department. According to court documents, the former WikiLeaks boss will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information, for which he will receive a 62-month prison sentence. The five years Assange has already spent in detention in the UK will be counted toward this sentence, meaning he will be free to travel onward to his native Australia.After his arrest by British police in 2010 for sexual assault charges that were later dropped, Assange jumped bail in 2012 and was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was arrested again in 2019 when Ecuador revoked his asylum. He spent the next 1,901 days in the Belmarsh high-security complex, much of it in solitary confinement. Read more RT Assange ‘will always be in danger’ – ex-UK envoy to RT The US Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Assange on the day of his arrest, charging him with 17 counts of espionage. Assange spent the next five years fighting extradition, where he would have faced up to 175 years behind bars if convicted. The charges against Assange stemmed from his publication of classified material obtained by whistleblowers, including Pentagon documents detailing alleged US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.Wednesday’s hearing marks the final chapter of a 14-year legal battle for Assange. However, press freedom activists have warned that the US insistence on an espionage conviction could deter journalists from publishing classified documents in the future.“The plea deal won’t have the precedential effect of a court ruling, but it will still hang over the heads of national security reporters for years to come,” Seth Stern, the director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), said in a statement on Tuesday. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/w3AMckY
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The effectively illegal decision will further erode the international legal system, Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos believes The EU’s decision to take the profits generated by Russia’s frozen central bank assets and send them to Ukraine undermines the bloc itself and has serious implications for the international legal system, former Greek diplomat and ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos has told RT. The controversial move to seize €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) in revenues accrued by the assets was announced by the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, on Monday. According to Borrell, the bloc has agreed on “the legal framework” for the step. Borrell also claimed that how the funds will be used cannot be blocked by Hungary, a staunch opponent of seizing Russia’s immobilized assets, since it did not participate in the decision in the first place. The EU has no legal capacity to implement the decision whatsoever, and a true international consensus should be required for such a step, Chrysanthopoulos said, arguing that this is bound to damage the bloc itself.“The EU again is undermining itself by what it is doing. First of all, if this world was a civilized world, you would need a decision of the Security Council or a decision of the International Court of Justice to go ahead and take such measures. But according to international law, [such measures] are illegal now,” the veteran diplomat argued. Moving forward with availing itself of the Russian assets despite Hungary’s opposition carries the risk of destroying the whole EU, Chrysanthopoulos warned. The existing veto system and the requirement to universally agree on important decisions, such as sanctions, are the mechanisms that ensure “that the EU still functions,” he said. Read more FILE PHOTO: EU High Representative Josep Borrell EU to send €1.4bn in Russian money to Ukraine – Borrell Budapest is “absolutely right that it has crossed the red lines. And I presume that [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban will raise the issue at the European Council that will be held in a few days. Because… the argument used by other states was that since Hungary does not participate in these measures, they cannot block them. That’s ridiculous. You can do this for everything,” Chrysanthopoulos said. The decision ultimately undermines the “whole global economy” and the EU’s own investment climate, Chrysanthopoulos suggested. “After this war is over, many countries will be very, very reluctant to make investments in other countries, knowing that their investments may be frozen on a moment’s notice,” he said. “And this undermines the euro and European government bonds as a store of value for other central banks in the world. And this will reduce in the near future investments from other countries like the BRICS [group],” Chrysanthopoulos explained. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/LKD9NZR
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Denmark is set to become the world’s first country to place a levy on greenhouse gasses produced by livestock Denmark is set to impose a new tax on farmers over greenhouse gases produced by their livestock, Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus has announced. The toll on cow, pig, and sheep emissions will be implemented starting in 2030, according to the minister.The new tax is expected to greatly contribute to the country’s goal of reducing emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by the end of the decade, as well as ultimately attaining carbon neutrality, Bruus explained.“We will take a big step closer in becoming climate neutral in 2045,” the minister stated, praising the measure as a way for Denmark to become “the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture.”Livestock farmers will be taxed 300 kroner ($43) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent produced by their animals. However, this will initially be subject to an income tax deduction of 60%. Read more Farmers' protest in Brussels, on February 26, 2024 EU elites promised a prosperous green future. This could be their undoing The measure is expected to hit dairy farmers the most, given that an average Danish cow produces around six metric tons (6.6 tons) of CO2 equivalent each year, with pigs and sheep emitting significantly less gas.The country is a major livestock producer, with its current cattle population at nearly 1.5 million, according to Statistic Denmark. That would net more than $400 million a year in carbon taxes.The new tax is set to rise even higher, reaching a target of 750 kroner per ton by 2035.Dairy farming is believed to be a major contributor to human-related greenhouse gas production. According to the UN Environment Program’s estimates, livestock account for some 32% of methane emissions caused by human activity. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/ItZXK3e
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<strong>The WikiLeaks founder is a man of great personal integrity who fell victim to changing western attitudes about media freedom</strong> The long running and epic prosecution of Julian Assange seems to be coming to an end. The defendant has pleaded guilty to one of the charges against him – conspiracy to obtain and transmit classified information. He was sentenced to the time he has already served in a British prison, fighting extradition to the US. And now the case is closed.Assange’s deal with the US Department of Justice is a relief for everyone. The journalist and activist himself cannot be criticized for agreeing – he has repeatedly demonstrated his personal integrity and courage. And there is no point in sacrificing himself for nothing. As for the American side, Assange’s hypothetical deportation to the United States would trigger another social and political conflict. And a confusing one at that. In favor of the WikiLeaks founder are many on the left and some on the right. Namely those who consider their own government to be anti-citizen and dictatorial. Against him are the official bureaucracy, nowadays more-so on the left, and conservative patriots who consider him a traitor. There’s already a lot of strife and polarization in American politics, so they hardly want to add more in the middle of an election campaign.Anyway, if this is indeed the case, one can only be glad. It is also interesting to see how the overall situation has changed over the years for WikiLeaks. Assange himself has undoubtedly become a symbol of resistance to the American government, a legend and hero to like-minded people around the world. But the perception of the information made public by his work has changed over the twenty years of his activity. <strong>Read more</strong> <a href="https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2024.06/thumbnail/667bf1ff85f54038c517f670.jpg">WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange waves after landing at RAAF air base Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26 2024. <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/600045-julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuadorian-embassy/">Julian Assange once told me his secret to surviving impossible odds The founders of WikiLeaks believed that in a democracy, citizens have a right to know what their elected leaders are up to, how closely those actions match what they say they are doing, and where their more secretive policies are leading. Almost immediately, the revelations were widely publicized, especially as they concerned two unpopular US military campaigns – in Iraq and Afghanistan. The publication of a huge trove of diplomatic correspondence between US embassies around the world and Washington caused a furore. It did not contain anything super-sensational, but it did reveal a large number of assessments that were clearly not intended for public consumption. In general, the main effort of the whistleblowers was to demonstrate the hypocrisy of American policy. This could hardly be news to anyone, but it is one thing to have a general idea, another to have tangible evidence.WikiLeaks’ popularity peaked around 15 years ago. After that, Assange was systematically persecuted, attempts were made to block the site, and the project itself began to experience the inevitable disagreements that are part of any evolving process. But the environment was also changing. The phenomenon of ‘post-truth’, which was already being talked about in the noughties, has grown to such an extent that it has come to define the information landscape. The most common description of this concept is that it’s based on people’s willingness to accept arguments based on their beliefs and emotions rather than on what’s actually true. Accordingly, facts that contradict beliefs and emotions are often simply ignored or, at most, reinterpreted to fit the required narrative.While this process began more as an act of information warfare, over time (rather quickly) it has become a structural element of the entire communication space. Discussion becomes less and less possible, because the arguments…
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The charge to terminate a marriage may be hiked almost eightfold, according to RBK, citing amendments to the tax bill Russia’s Finance Ministry has proposed increasing the state fee for divorce almost eightfold starting in 2025, the business news outlet RBK reported on Wednesday, citing amendments to the national tax bill.According to the report, the fees for those seeking to end their marriage could rise from 650 rubles ($7.45) to 5,000 rubles ($57.31).This will apply to couples who do not have common minor children and are divorcing by mutual consent, as well as those seeking divorce through the court. If both parties consent, they can submit a joint application for divorce to the Civil Acts Registration Office. In other cases, ending a marriage will require a judicial procedure.The report cited data by national statistics bureau Rosstat showing that more than 683,000 divorces were registered in Russia in 2023.Meanwhile, the fee for registering a marriage is expected to remain the same at 350 rubles ($4), RBK wrote.In addition, the ministry proposed increasing the fee for state registration of a name change from the equivalent of $18.34 to over $57. Read more FILE PHOTO: The building of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on Ilyinka Street in Moscow. Russia poised to overhaul tax policy The amendments were reportedly added to a bill that introduces a new progressive personal income tax, which the Duma approved in the first reading on June 20.The tax will remain at 13% for those earning the equivalent of up to $27,500 a year, but will increase for higher incomes. The maximum tax rate will be 22% for incomes exceeding $573,000.Russia had a progressive tax scale up until 2001, when the government decided to introduce a flat rate of 13% in a bid to attract investment to the country. In 2021, an extra 15% bracket was introduced for incomes exceeding the equivalent of roughly $68,500 a year.According to the Finance Ministry, the measures are expected to bring in over $29 billion to the state coffers next year. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/OqxANeW
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NATO countries will not be able to deploy more than 300,000 troops in case of a conflict, experts warn NATO countries in Europe are reportedly facing a shortage of military personnel and would have difficulty mobilizing a significant number of troops in case of a conflict, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.According to the outlet’s analysts, Western European members of the US-led military bloc are said to have 1.9 million troops “on paper.” In reality, however, they would face challenges deploying more than 300,000 people – and even this would require months of preparation.Former NATO Assistant Secretary-General Camilla Grand explained that the bloc’s members have never had to consider mass deployment of their forces and that European defense planning has for many years been limited to matters such as supplying “300 special forces for Afghanistan.”“That’s created gaps,” Grand said, adding that the bloc has seen “a shrinking in forces all over the continent year after year.”Ben Barry, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also told FT that NATO’s European members have focused on increasing military budgets but have neglected conscripting more people.According to Barry, European NATO states have now reached a “tipping point of critical mass” and have entered a “vicious circle” in which personnel shortages limit their military capabilities and make it difficult to train new recruits, frustrating existing servicemen and forcing them to leave the army. Read more NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2024. NATO could put more nuclear weapons on ‘standby mode’ – Stoltenberg In order to address the problem, experts told FT that Western European nations would have to resolve several issues such as competitive pay for servicemen and attractive benefits, while employing various methods to attract more recruits.NATO states would also have to address the issue of living conditions for their personnel, as barracks in countries such as Germany and the UK are reported to be in a state of dilapidation and are plagued with mold, pest infestations, and other issues.Another pressing factor, according to the report, is the issue of patriotism among NATO servicemen. The FT noted that while in countries such as Poland and the Baltic states, the perceived threat of Russian aggression has spurred recruitment, these fears are not shared in places such as Germany and the UK.Russia has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO members. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the West against escalating tensions in Ukraine and attempting to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, warning that this could pose a threat to the Russian state and trigger its nuclear doctrine. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/dQLOKWX
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An unnamed embassy attache has reportedly been found lifeless inside a locked room at the Hilton Hotel An attache to the American embassy in Ukraine has been found dead in a room at Kiev’s Hilton Hotel, according to several Ukrainian news outlets.The online portal Strana UA reported the discovery on Wednesday, citing a law enforcement source. This was followed by the outlet New Voices.“Yesterday around 11am the body of an attache at the US embassy was found inside a room at the hotel,” Strana quoted its source as saying. “There were no signs of violence on the body.”According to Strana’s source, the man, who had arrived in Ukraine on June 15, had shown elevated cholesterol levels in medical records provided by the US embassy. Local police have reportedly launched an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the diplomat’s death.New Voices reported that the hotel room where the body was discovered had been locked from the inside and that no autopsy was performed, as the corpse was claimed by the US embassy.Neither the US embassy nor the State Department has commented on Ukrainian media reports.The US embassy in Kiev employs between 100-200 diplomats and military personnel, Foreign Policy magazine reported in March, describing it as “overstretched and understaffed” for dealing with the Ukraine-Russia conflict.According to four anonymous sources, the State Department was planning to send up to 40 additional diplomats to Kiev to make it easier for Ambassador Bridget Brink and her deputies to travel around Ukraine.Washington is one of Ukraine’s main backers in the conflict with Russia, supplying Kiev with billions of dollars in cash, weapons, ammunition and equipment. The US and its allies have insisted that this does not make them a party to the conflict, however, ignoring Moscow’s repeated warnings to the contrary. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/4Hacb6g
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Политика Страны

В Киеве в гостинице Hilton нашли труп атташе посольства США. Об этом «Стране» рассказали источники в правоохранительных органах. «Вчера около 11:00 в гостиничном номере был найден труп атташе посольства США. На теле не были обнаружены следы насилия. Мужчина приехал в Украину 15 июня. Согласно медицинским показателям, которые предоставило посольство США, мужчина страдал от повышенного уровня холестерина», - рассказал источник. Сайт "Страна" | YouTube | Прислать новость/фото/видео | Реклама на канале | Помощь "Стране"

The incident took place in the northern Republic of Komi Nine cars from a passenger train have gone off the tracks in Komi Republic, Russian Railways said on Thursday. At least 70 people were injured in the crash, but there have been no confirmed deaths.Train 511 was carrying passengers between Vorkuta in northeastern Komi and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The derailment happened around 6:12pm Moscow time, near the town of Inta, according to the railway authorities.“Emergency services have been dispatched to the scene. Measures are being taken to assist passengers,” Russian Railways said on Telegram. “Information about the victims is being clarified. Traffic on the section has been suspended.”The office of the North-Western Transport Prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into the derailment. Meanwhile, the head of the Republic of Komi, Vladimir Uyba, has reportedly flown to the site of the incident.Train 511 included a total of 14 carriages with 232 passengers on board, the railway said. According to Russian Railways, the cause of the derailment may have been recent heavy rainfall.Russian Railways has set up a task force headed by General Director Oleg Belozerov to look into the derailment. Two recovery trains have been sent to the location.DETAILS TO FOLLOW via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/w7UVk2A
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Телеграмма РЖД

‼️ 26 июня в 18.12 мск на перегоне Инта-1 – Угольный Северной железной дороги (Республика Коми) произошёл сход 9 вагонов пассажирского поезда №511 Воркута – Новороссийск. К месту направлены оперативные службы. Принимаются меры по оказанию помощи пассажирам. Информация о пострадавших уточняется. Движение поездов на участке приостановлено.

The bloc’s ambassador in Kiev has expressed optimism about the country’s entry before the end of the decade It would be realistic to expect membership talks between Ukraine and the EU to be finalized by the end of the decade, the bloc’s ambassador in Kiev, Katarina Mathernova, has told local media.The EU officially launched membership negotiations with Kiev on Tuesday, after all 27 member states approved the negotiating framework last week. “So far I have seen in Ukraine a lot of determination and a lot of tenacity to move quickly. So I do think that in the case of Ukraine it may take less time than before in the case of some other countries. I think that 2030 is a very realistic date,” Mathernova told RBC-Ukraine.According to the US-educated Slovak diplomat, the next step will be “bilateral screening,” or comparing the EU’s body of laws and rules to Ukrainian regulations to identify “gaps.” That will take several months, whereupon the first “chapters” of negotiations can be opened.The chapters act as a sort of a “checklist,” dealing with “thematic areas,” she explained. Parts of chapters 23 and 24 that “deal with the rule of law, democratic governance, anti-corruption, etc.” are not part of the EU’s acquis communautaire, but will be assessed against European standards,” Mathernova noted. Read more RT Date of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to EU revealed – media Pressed to offer a specific timeline, the envoy said it was difficult, because “each step depends on the rapidity and success of the previous step” and “a lot of the timing will depend on the preparedness and quality of the inputs.”“Again, I know it’s a lot of jargon, but this is what we are famous for,” Mathernova told the outlet.EU enlargement requires the consensus of all members and Ukraine has “bilateral issues with one of the countries,” the diplomat noted, not mentioning Hungary by name. “And the way to deal with it is to patiently persevere,” Mathernova added, quipping that “there is no magic formula.”The government in Kiev applied for EU membership at the end of February 2022, following the escalation of the conflict with Russia. The current crisis dates back to 2014, when the US backed a violent coup in Kiev during a dispute in Ukraine over mutually exclusive free trade deals with Russia and the EU.Speaking to Ukrainian media last month, Mathernova said that 2030 was “quite a realistic date” for joining the EU, even given the “completely unpredictable geopolitical environment we live in today.”The bloc had previously named the end of the decade as the target date for admitting new members, potentially affecting Ukraine, Moldova and some parts of the former Yugoslavia. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/bc2zECH
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US “vassals” are willing to breach any agreements at Washington’s orders, the Russian foreign minister says The West has repeatedly displayed its “inability to negotiate,” which has now become evident to everyone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.Western “vassals” of the US are willing to breach “any agreements” and violate international law upon receiving “orders” from Washington, Lavrov claimed at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. Russia had been interested in a mutually beneficial relationship with the collective West, but building one has proven to be effectively impossible, the top diplomat argued. “Our interest was much broader and more comprehensive, but the West was not ready for mutually beneficial, equal cooperation,” Lavrov stated. “When it needs to do something on orders from Washington, it resorts to breaking any agreements, any violations of international law.”Moscow is now seeking to ensure its security and prevent any threats emanating from the “Western direction,” Lavrov said. The collective West, at the same time, is trying to make an example of Russia to assert its neocolonial policies, the diplomat claimed. Read more Media West wants to distrupt Russia-India-China engagement – Lavrov “The Westerners are seeking to punish our country, using our example to intimidate everyone who is pursuing or seeks to pursue an independent foreign policy, who puts national interests above all, and not the whims of the former colonial powers,” Lavrov stated.The Western efforts to “punish” Russia, however, are doomed to fail and are “already producing effects opposite to the intended ones,” the minister insisted. Leading Western officials have repeatedly said they are seeking to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in the Ukraine conflict, or at least ensure that it does not emerge victorious. Moscow perceives the hostilities as a proxy conflict being waged by the collective West. Russia has insisted it will fully achieve its stated military goals, but has nonetheless signaled it is ready to negotiate an end to the hostilities through a diplomatic settlement. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/sRrbJu3
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The Italian PM has slammed the backroom deals giving Ursula von der Leyen a second term as president of the European Commission Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has hit out at backroom deals being struck to fill top positions in the EU’s institutions, saying it was “surreal” that voters’ opinions were being ignored.Citizens across the bloc shifted significantly away from the left in the European Parliament elections earlier this month, with ruling coalitions in Germany and France being comprehensively trounced by right-wing parties.However, the three main political groups in the parliament, which are largely centrist, reportedly agreed a deal to fill the top EU posts on Tuesday. The arrangement would see Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen returned as president of the European Commission for a second term.Addressing the Italian parliament on Wednesday, Meloni said it was “surreal” that names for top EU positions had been presented “without even pretending to discuss the signals from voters.” Under the reported deal, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will become the new EU foreign policy chief, replacing Spain’s Josep Borrell; while former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa will preside over the European Council, which was previously chaired by Belgium’s Charles Michel.The names will be presented at an EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday for their approval.Media reports suggested that Italy had effectively been excluded from discussions regarding the agreement, which was approved by the leaders of France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Greece, and the Netherlands. Read more File photo: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, June 17, 2024. EU leaders back another von der Leyen term – media The Italian prime minister claimed that this kind of backroom deal contradicted the original spirit of the European Union, by which institutions “were conceived as neutral entities, thus able to guarantee all member states, regardless of the political color of the governments of those member states.”Meloni, whose European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group won the most votes in Italy and is currently the third-biggest in the European Parliament, said she wanted the shift to the right to be reflected in the bloc’s decision-making.“The third [largest] group today is a group that is not liked by those who are deciding,” she said, calling the EU an “invasive bureaucratic giant.”Meanwhile, the appointment of von der Leyen will still need to be approved by the European Parliament and, according to media, she might seek to win Meloni’s support by giving Italy a senior portfolio in the next European Commission. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/DiRL03N
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Among the events in the city of Obninsk is an international forum, with guests from more than 80 countries Russia is marking the 70th anniversary of the launch of the world’s first nuclear power plant in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Region on Wednesday. The facility, which is now a museum, has opened a new exhibition for the occasion.The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant was put into operation on June 26, 1954, and was phased out in 2002. Following the launch, the facility served for some time as a testing ground for pioneering nuclear technologies.A variety of events are being held in the city on the occasion, with Russian officials and foreign guests from more than 80 countries.The dignitaries visited the museum, which underwent months of refurbishment to recreate the historic interior design and atmosphere. A roundtable on the promotion of Russian nuclear education abroad is also taking place in Obninsk. Rosatom’s personnel director-general, Tatyana Terentyeva, said the state-controlled corporation’s work with partner countries is long-term in nature. She added that it includes the building of nuclear power plants as well as education provided to local specialists. READ MORE: Sanctioning Russian nuclear sector would ‘hurt’ EU – IAEA As part of these efforts, the city, which is around 100km from Moscow, is hosting the Obninsk Tech Summer School for foreign students seeking to learn about key developments in the field.On Wednesday, the Second Obninsk NEW International Youth Nuclear Forum began, devoted to the next seven decades of nuclear technology development. Representatives of more than 80 countries attended. The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, welcomed the guests via video link. via RT - Daily news https://ift.tt/pyeVbxs
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