Month: December 2023

Євросоюз

Police Raid Moscow Gay Bars After Court Deems LGBTQ+ Movement ‘Extremist’

Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization. Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar that hosted LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of a drug raid, local media reported. Eyewitnesses told journalists that clubgoers’ documents were checked and photographed by the security services. They also said that managers had been able to warn patrons before police arrived. The raids follow a decision by Russia’s Supreme Court …

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Євросоюз

Surfing Venue for Paris Olympics Is on the Other Side of the World but Could Steal the Show

The giant waves form in the storm belts of the Southern Ocean, off Antarctica, where whales roam. Supercharged by intense winds, the swells then roll on an ocean journey of thousands of kilometers to crash into Tahiti in the South Pacific. There, in the waters of the volcanic island that will host next year’s Olympic surfing events, surfer Kauli Vaast waits. If the Tahitian-born 21-year-old catches one of the waves just right, he’ll harness its awesome power as it rears up to become a furious, frothing wall of water. If he stays upright, he’ll zip through the crystal-blue tunnel that …

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Євросоюз

Pentagon’s New High-Tech Deal with Australia, Britain, Aims to Counter China

From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the U.S. is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the United Kingdom as part of a broader effort to counter China’s rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the United Kingdom at the U.S. military’s defense technology hub in Silicon Valley on Friday to forge a new agreement to increase technology cooperation and information sharing. The goal, according to a joint statement, is to be able to better address global security challenges, ensure each can defend against rapidly evolving threats and to …

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Євросоюз

Finland Closes Russian Border Over Migrant Influx; Estonia May Follow

Finland has closed its entire 1,340 kilometer-long border with Russia after accusing Moscow of “instrumentalizing” asylum-seekers by sending them across the frontier in a hybrid attack, in retaliation for Finland’s joining of NATO. Russia denied the accusation and warned that the deployment of any military units at the border would be seen as a threat by Moscow. The Finnish Border Guard said more than 900 asylum-seekers from countries including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in the month of November. Previously, the rate was less than one per day. The Finnish government responded by closing …

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Євросоюз

Spanish Police Arrest Man Wanted by US in North Korean Crypto Case 

Spanish police said Friday that they had arrested a Spaniard wanted by U.S. officials for working with an American to provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions against the rogue state. In a statement, Spanish police said they had arrested Alejandro Cao de Benos, 48, in Madrid on Thursday as he got off a train from Barcelona. He appeared before a judge Friday and was then released, pending the formal extradition process. The U.S. Justice Department, in April of last year, indicted Cao de Benos along with British citizen Christopher Emms, then 30, …

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