Month: March 2024

China-Russia-Iran Maritime Drills Send Signal to West

tel aviv, israel — China conducted joint military drills this week with Russia and Iran in the Gulf of Oman, a critical water conduit near the entry to the Persian Gulf. The five-day exercise, “Maritime Security Belt 2024,” involved both naval and aviation forces, with the primary objective of enhancing the security of maritime economic activities, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The drills may have been planned long in advance of the current Israel-Hamas war, but their implication and message to regional players and the West are highly significant, analysts say. More than 20 ships, combat boats, support carriers and …

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At UN, Ukraine Protests Russian Presidential Elections on Its Territory

united nations — Ukraine, joined Friday by more than 55 countries at the United Nations, condemned Russia’s attempts to organize elections on occupied Ukrainian land, saying they were not valid. “We condemn in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s illegitimate attempts to organize Russian presidential elections in temporarily occupied areas within the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine,” the group said in a statement read by Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, flanked by his counterparts. “Holding elections in another U.N. member state’s territory without its consent is in manifest disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. “Such elections …

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Europe to Use Frozen Russian Profits to Arm Ukraine, Scholz Says

BERLIN — Ukraine’s backers will use windfall profits on frozen Russian assets to finance arms purchases for Kyiv, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said following a meeting with his French and Polish counterparts aimed at showing unity after weeks of friction.  At a joint news conference in Berlin, Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reaffirmed their support for Ukraine, whose ammunition-starved troops face their toughest battles since the early days of Russia’s invasion two years ago.  European support has become increasingly key as U.S. President Joe Biden has been unable to get a big Ukraine aid package …

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EU Plans More Environmental Concessions to Farmers

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm Friday proposed sacrificing even more climate and environmental measures in the bloc’s latest set of concessions to farmers apparently bent on continuing disruptive tractor protests until the June EU elections. Angering environmentalists across the 27 nations, the Commission proposed to further loosen rules imposed on agriculture that they said, not so long ago, were inherent parts of the bloc’s strategy to become climate neutral by 2050. That iconic challenge put the EU in the global vanguard of fighting climate change. “The main goal of these legislative proposals is to further ease the administrative burden …

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У СБУ заявили, що заблокували поставки комплектуючих для партії російських «Шахедів» і ракет

«Ми здійснюємо перекриття ланцюгів поставок комплектуючих до російської зброї. Один із прикладів – вже заблокували поставку сервомоторів для виробництва 1600 «Шахедів» і 4000 мікросхем для крилатих ракет» …

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Уряд схвалив програму розвитку та функціонування української мови до 2030 року

В.о. міністра культури каже, що програма спрямована не лише на створення умов для подолання наслідків русифікації, а й на розвиток та використання державної мови в усіх сферах суспільного життя …

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UN Investigators Accuse Russia of ‘Horrific Treatment’ of Ukrainian POWs, Civilians

GENEVA — U.N. investigators have accused Russian authorities of disregarding basic human rights principles and causing untold suffering to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians by subjecting them to appalling treatment. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine submitted its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council this week. The investigators presented a blistering account of “violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding war crimes,” committed by Russia in Ukrainian areas under its control. At a news briefing Friday in Geneva, Commission Chair Erik Mose said the report focuses on torture against Ukrainian prisoners of …

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Irish Anger Over Gaza Overshadows White House St. Patrick Celebration

White House — U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting Taoiseach of Ireland Leo Varadkar on Friday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House, amid calls to boycott the event by many in Ireland who are outraged by staunch U.S. support of Israel in its war against Hamas. Speaking earlier this week in Boston, where almost a quarter of the city’s population claims Irish descent, Varadkar cited Ireland’s “own painful history,” and renewed calls for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza, a step that goes beyond the six-week halt in fighting that Biden is pushing for.  The Irish prime …

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