Friday, April 26, 2024
Russia targets Ukrainian railways to block US arms deliveries
Iran and Russia Move into Sri Lanka After China’s Belt and Road Disaster
"Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Sri Lanka to inaugurate a hydropower plant and irrigation project, while Russia took partial control of an airport built by China – two signs that other members of the axis of tyranny are stepping in to clean up the wreckage from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) debacles.
Sri Lanka is a prime example of a developing nation lured into ruinous debt by BRI, which tends to saddle China’s client states with loans they can never repay for infrastructure projects that prove much less profitable than promised. Sri Lanka infamously handed over control of its Hambantota Port to China in 2017 when it was unable to make its BRI loan payments.
Sri Lanka’s finances continued to crumble after China collected the port as collateral, leading to a fiscal meltdown, rolling blackouts, a fuel crisis, and food shortages.
Another notorious Chinese-funded project in Sri Lanka was the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), a $209 million boondoggle that became operational in 2013 despite the low number of flights Sri Lanka needs to service. Forbes dubbed it “the world’s emptiest international airport”.
China apparently had little trouble convincing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the sleepy fishing hamlets of his hometown, Hambantota, could be fused into a gleaming ultramodern wonder city in which half of the buildings would be named after his family, if he only borrowed about five billion dollars from Chinese banks to finance his vision.
China was eager to pry strategically important Sri Lanka from its longtime partnership with nearby India and turn the island into a trade hub of the New Silk Road, China’s effort to rebuild the fabled trade route of old. Five billion dollars in loans bought Rajapaksa’s support for a while, but much of the money vanished into thin air, construction of the airport was an environmental disaster that wiped out thousands of acres of elephant habitat and disrupted bird migration routes, most of the flights announced with much fanfare at the inaugural ceremony were quickly canceled, and the facility began losing $18 million a year. Several of the few planes that tried to use the airport were grounded when migrating birds flew into their jet turbines and the military has been called out to chase away elephants and buffalo that decided to camp on the runways." Breitbart
Sri Lanka’s finances continued to crumble after China collected the port as collateral, leading to a fiscal meltdown, rolling blackouts, a fuel crisis, and food shortages.
Another notorious Chinese-funded project in Sri Lanka was the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), a $209 million boondoggle that became operational in 2013 despite the low number of flights Sri Lanka needs to service. Forbes dubbed it “the world’s emptiest international airport”.
China apparently had little trouble convincing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the sleepy fishing hamlets of his hometown, Hambantota, could be fused into a gleaming ultramodern wonder city in which half of the buildings would be named after his family, if he only borrowed about five billion dollars from Chinese banks to finance his vision.
China was eager to pry strategically important Sri Lanka from its longtime partnership with nearby India and turn the island into a trade hub of the New Silk Road, China’s effort to rebuild the fabled trade route of old. Five billion dollars in loans bought Rajapaksa’s support for a while, but much of the money vanished into thin air, construction of the airport was an environmental disaster that wiped out thousands of acres of elephant habitat and disrupted bird migration routes, most of the flights announced with much fanfare at the inaugural ceremony were quickly canceled, and the facility began losing $18 million a year. Several of the few planes that tried to use the airport were grounded when migrating birds flew into their jet turbines and the military has been called out to chase away elephants and buffalo that decided to camp on the runways." Breitbart
Chad, Niger Kick American Soldiers Out
Hospitals evacuated in Kyiv after threat from Belarus
Blinken Threatens China Over Russia Ties, Warns Xi Against "Downward Spiral" In Relations With US
"Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, which brought to a close the US top diplomat's three day visit to China.
Blinken warned the Chinese leader of another potential "downward spiral" in relations and the two sides agreed this should be avoided, however, there were plenty of not so subtle barbs, warnings and threats exchanged.
President Xi in comments underscored that Beijing and Washington "should be partners rather than adversaries" - a familiar theme of top Chinese officials of late. "The world is big enough to accommodate the simultaneous development and prosperity of both China and the United States," he said according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.
President Xi in comments underscored that Beijing and Washington "should be partners rather than adversaries" - a familiar theme of top Chinese officials of late. "The world is big enough to accommodate the simultaneous development and prosperity of both China and the United States," he said according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.
But he added the caveat that US-China relations will only stabilize once the US takes "a positive and constructive view of China’s development.
During this second trip to China in less than a year by Blinken, the Secretary of State also called out China related to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support," Blinken claimed provocatively, while also asserting China is the "top supplier" of Russia's defense industrial base - albeit not in terms of lethal aid (but instead "dual use" technologies).He warned that the Biden administration is ready to introduce more sanctions against China if dual-use goods and technologies continue to be sent to Russia, including things previously listed such as: semiconductors, machine tools, chemical precursors, ball bearings, and optical systems.
"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support," Blinken claimed provocatively, while also asserting China is the "top supplier" of Russia's defense industrial base - albeit not in terms of lethal aid (but instead "dual use" technologies).He warned that the Biden administration is ready to introduce more sanctions against China if dual-use goods and technologies continue to be sent to Russia, including things previously listed such as: semiconductors, machine tools, chemical precursors, ball bearings, and optical systems. As expected, China's foreign ministry hit back at the commentary and accusations, saying Blinken is "unreasonably criticizing the normal trade and economic relations between Russia and China" - at a moment it's pouring billions into one side of the war: Ukraine... while refusing to press for peace negotiations. "This is a very hypocritical and irresponsible approach," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbing told reporters." ZH
During this second trip to China in less than a year by Blinken, the Secretary of State also called out China related to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support," Blinken claimed provocatively, while also asserting China is the "top supplier" of Russia's defense industrial base - albeit not in terms of lethal aid (but instead "dual use" technologies).He warned that the Biden administration is ready to introduce more sanctions against China if dual-use goods and technologies continue to be sent to Russia, including things previously listed such as: semiconductors, machine tools, chemical precursors, ball bearings, and optical systems.
"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support," Blinken claimed provocatively, while also asserting China is the "top supplier" of Russia's defense industrial base - albeit not in terms of lethal aid (but instead "dual use" technologies).He warned that the Biden administration is ready to introduce more sanctions against China if dual-use goods and technologies continue to be sent to Russia, including things previously listed such as: semiconductors, machine tools, chemical precursors, ball bearings, and optical systems. As expected, China's foreign ministry hit back at the commentary and accusations, saying Blinken is "unreasonably criticizing the normal trade and economic relations between Russia and China" - at a moment it's pouring billions into one side of the war: Ukraine... while refusing to press for peace negotiations. "This is a very hypocritical and irresponsible approach," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbing told reporters." ZH
Mark Levin Calls Anti-Israel Protesters ‘Hitler Youth on Our College and University Campuses’
Germany takes aims at Spain and Greece for not giving Ukraine Patriot missiles
Despite pressure from Berlin, Brussels and Washington, European nations with the system have failed to fulfil the Ukrainian request." MichaelSavage.com
French Servicemen Promised Big Money for Fighting in Ukraine
"French servicemen are being promised a golden parachute for participating in fictitious "resignations" to fight in Ukraine said Nicolas Cinquini, a veteran of France's counter-terrorism intelligence service, to Sputnik.
Cinquini is currently searching for information about French nationals who fight in the conflict on the side of Kiev. According to his findings, French state agents may have been in Ukraine since the start of the special military operation in February 2022 along with ordinary French civilians who went to fight for the Kiev regime on their own.
France had already begun training a contingent to be sent to the conflict zone; at the first stage it would amount to about 2,000 military personnel. Later, the SVR, citing Naryshkin, said a French military unit, should it be in Ukraine, would become a priority legitimate target for the Russian military. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu by phone that sending French troops to Ukraine would create problems for France itself." Sputnik
France had already begun training a contingent to be sent to the conflict zone; at the first stage it would amount to about 2,000 military personnel. Later, the SVR, citing Naryshkin, said a French military unit, should it be in Ukraine, would become a priority legitimate target for the Russian military. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu by phone that sending French troops to Ukraine would create problems for France itself." Sputnik
Zelensky’s top rival has gone missing: Where is General Zaluzhny?
"Zelensky and the general hate each other’s guts; there is really no milder way of putting it. But Zelensky’s main motive was a belated attempt to kneecap a very dangerous potential rival. Especially because Zaluzhny is, of course, well-connected in three directions: with parts of the Ukrainian military leadership and many lower-ranking officers, too, with
Ukraine’s very well-armed far right (which overlaps with parts of its army), and with Zelensky’s other main rival, former President Pyotr Poroshenko. the plan was to send the 50-year-old off as ambassador to Britain. According to Dmitry Kuleba, Kiev’s foreign minister, one of Zelensky’s reasons for picking London for Zaluzhny’s golden exile is that the British capital features many diplomatic representatives of the Global South.
However, Zaluzhny has not yet left for the UK. In recent days, two things happened. First, there have been rumors, which have remained unsubstantiated, that, in reality, he was under some form of house arrest. Then the Ukrainian authorities rushed to announce that he is, finally, about to leave and that, of course, there was nothing odd about the long delay: The general the president loves to hate – and to fear – took a breather, formalities with the British needed time and, finally, the bulky general is now undergoing a crash course in diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry – another intriguingly comical idea.
We may never know why exactly it has taken so long to send off Zaluzhny. Some observers have speculated that the West was blackmailing Zelensky: First, you pass a new mobilization law to feed more Ukrainian cannon fodder into the proxy war, then we release $61 billion in US aid for you and let you ship off your nemesis to London. Again, mere rumors, at this point.
Less than a month ago, Politico published a long article based on statements by anonymous Ukrainian officers close to the former commander-in-chief. Their quintessence was that Ukraine’s military situation is desperate and that even the release of the US aid package – then mired on Capitol Hill and facing an uncertain future – would not turn things around.
As one of them put it, there is “nothing that can help Ukraine now because there are no serious technologies able to compensate Ukraine for the large mass of troops Russia is likely to hurl at us. We don’t have those technologies, and the West doesn’t have them as well in sufficient numbers.” Others acknowledged Russian sophistication and adaptation and were explicit about the fact that Ukraine’s crisis is not only military but also political.
Zelensky has no way of really stopping Zaluzhny. He’s dangerous to him in Ukraine and anywhere else as well. The president can try to sideline him but, even when he does, the ambitious, popular general remains very much in play. The more so when the war is going badly for Ukraine." RT
However, Zaluzhny has not yet left for the UK. In recent days, two things happened. First, there have been rumors, which have remained unsubstantiated, that, in reality, he was under some form of house arrest. Then the Ukrainian authorities rushed to announce that he is, finally, about to leave and that, of course, there was nothing odd about the long delay: The general the president loves to hate – and to fear – took a breather, formalities with the British needed time and, finally, the bulky general is now undergoing a crash course in diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry – another intriguingly comical idea.
We may never know why exactly it has taken so long to send off Zaluzhny. Some observers have speculated that the West was blackmailing Zelensky: First, you pass a new mobilization law to feed more Ukrainian cannon fodder into the proxy war, then we release $61 billion in US aid for you and let you ship off your nemesis to London. Again, mere rumors, at this point.
Less than a month ago, Politico published a long article based on statements by anonymous Ukrainian officers close to the former commander-in-chief. Their quintessence was that Ukraine’s military situation is desperate and that even the release of the US aid package – then mired on Capitol Hill and facing an uncertain future – would not turn things around.
As one of them put it, there is “nothing that can help Ukraine now because there are no serious technologies able to compensate Ukraine for the large mass of troops Russia is likely to hurl at us. We don’t have those technologies, and the West doesn’t have them as well in sufficient numbers.” Others acknowledged Russian sophistication and adaptation and were explicit about the fact that Ukraine’s crisis is not only military but also political.
Zelensky has no way of really stopping Zaluzhny. He’s dangerous to him in Ukraine and anywhere else as well. The president can try to sideline him but, even when he does, the ambitious, popular general remains very much in play. The more so when the war is going badly for Ukraine." RT
Oil Facility Blaze in Omsk
Burkina Faso soldiers massacred over 200 civilians in a day
"Human Rights Watch has documented a staggering toll of civilian deaths in a single day in Burkina Faso this year. According to their investigation, more than 220 civilians, among them at least 56 children, fell victim to atrocities allegedly committed by the country's military.
The events unfolded on February 25th, with the village of Soro bearing witness to the loss of 179 lives, while 44 others perished in the neighboring village of Nondin. Human Rights Watch has labelled these mass killings as some of the most egregious abuses by the army in nearly ten years.
Burkina Faso authorities have remained silent on the matter. Eyewitness testimonies provided a chilling account of the military's assault. Survivors recounted how a convoy of over 100 soldiers descended upon Nondin village shortly after Islamist fighters had passed through the area. The soldiers systematically forced villagers from their homes, gathered them in groups, and mercilessly opened fire, leaving no one spared, even those attempting to seek refuge.
The brutality extended to Soro village, located just 5 kilometers away, where the military repeated their deadly actions, shooting indiscriminately at villagers and those attempting to flee.
The military has justified these heinous acts as retaliation against villagers accused of aiding Islamist fighters, following an attack on a nearby military camp by insurgent forces in the northern Yatenga province.
Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the massacres, citing them as the latest in a series of civilian atrocities committed by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency efforts.
Burkina Faso, governed by a military junta since a coup in 2022, had promised to quell the insurgency. However, the violence has persisted, with jihadist groups now controlling over a third of the country." AfricaNews
Burkina Faso authorities have remained silent on the matter. Eyewitness testimonies provided a chilling account of the military's assault. Survivors recounted how a convoy of over 100 soldiers descended upon Nondin village shortly after Islamist fighters had passed through the area. The soldiers systematically forced villagers from their homes, gathered them in groups, and mercilessly opened fire, leaving no one spared, even those attempting to seek refuge.
The brutality extended to Soro village, located just 5 kilometers away, where the military repeated their deadly actions, shooting indiscriminately at villagers and those attempting to flee.
The military has justified these heinous acts as retaliation against villagers accused of aiding Islamist fighters, following an attack on a nearby military camp by insurgent forces in the northern Yatenga province.
Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, condemned the massacres, citing them as the latest in a series of civilian atrocities committed by the Burkina Faso military in their counterinsurgency efforts.
Burkina Faso, governed by a military junta since a coup in 2022, had promised to quell the insurgency. However, the violence has persisted, with jihadist groups now controlling over a third of the country." AfricaNews
Journalist, soldier Alla Pushkarchuk killed in war
In a comment to IMI, he clarified that Alla died in Donetsk region as a result of the Russian strike." Ukrin
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