Russian attacks continue after ICC arrest warrant for Putin

"Widespread Russian attacks have continued in Ukraine following the International Criminal
Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.....The Ukrainian Air Force said in the early hours that Ukraine was attacked by 16 Russian drones.....Among the areas targeted were the capital, Kyiv, and the western Lviv province." AlJazeera

North Korea simulates tactical nuclear strike

"North Korea says it fired a missile “tipped with a test warhead simulating nuclear payload”
as part of a two-day drill over the weekend, demonstrating the country’s firepower and readiness to respond to any “reckless moves,” amid joint military exercises on the peninsula by South Korean and US forces." RT

Putin makes surprise visit to Donbass

"Russsian President Vladimir Putin has made an unannounced “working trip” to Mariupol.
The surprise visit is the first time Putin has visted the Donbass region, since it de facto broke away from Ukraine nine years ago." RT

Is The US Funding An Experiment In Digital Control In Ukraine?

".....early February 2020, the Ukrainian government launched its Diia app for smartphones.  Developed by volunteers from EPAM Systems, Diia has been touted as a way to streamline government services.  By 2021 it had allowed Ukraine to become the first European nation to accord digital passports and one of the first to issue digital drivers’ licenses.  

Federov reported in 2021 that about one-fourth of the Ukrainian population was using it, and it was gaining in popularity.  As of January 2023, about half the adult Ukrainian

population was using it.

Within a year of its launch, millions of Ukrainians found that their personal data, such as driver’s licenses, social media information, and banking information, were being traded online.  There’s always been the risk of losing your wallet and your driver’s license, but with everything online, the risks of fraud and identity theft increase astronomically.

Early on in his presidency, Zelensky talked about streamlining the voting process via the app.  Aside from the fact that experts have never agreed about the safety of online voting, by July 2022, Zelensky had banned political opposition parties and shut down media companies with alternative views. Having one central app that controls everyone’s important documents makes it far easier for any ruling party to maintain its power. Controlling elections is only the beginning.  Diia launched in February 2020, and by March 2020, Diia was helping the Ukrainian government enforce its lockdown policies.

Shortly after the Russian invasion, Diia added all kinds of new wartime features.  Ukrainians can report Russian troop movements through Diia’s chatbot, eVorog (eEnemy).  Ukrainians can receive government payments even if they’re displaced.  But Diia doesn’t stop there.Diia encourages citizens to snitch on their neighbors.  The wartime features allow any citizen to anonymously accuse any other citizen of being a Russian collaborator.  Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union demonstrated how wrong this can go.  Ukrainians hate Stalin, and rightfully so.  But using cutting-edge technology to encourage the exact same kind of community-destroying snitching is a page right out of his playbook." ZeroHedge

Indian Official: World Needs to ‘Move On’ from Ukraine

"Amitabh Kant, India’s

negotiator at the G20 summit, said on Wednesday that the world is too preoccupied with Russia’s war in Ukraine, and should “move on” to deal with issues such as global poverty. India currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20 and seems frustrated that the war in Ukraine is consuming all attention during its tenure. India has not condemned the war, as it buys a great deal of oil and military equipment from Russia and wishes to maintain good relations with both Moscow and the West." Breitbart

Romania counters Ukraine’s claim over straying Russian missiles

"Bucharest has denied that Russian missiles flew over Romania, countering Kyiv’s claims that two of Moscow’s rockets crossed the NATO member’s airspace on their way to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several Russian missiles had flown over Moldova and Romania, and that they were a challenge to the military alliance and collective security....Romania said authorities had detected an “aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation” but “at no point did it intersect with Romania’s airspace.” AlJazeera

International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Vladimir Putin

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered an arrest warrant for Russian President
Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, but the warrant is unenforceable — for now." Breitbart

Declassified Video Shows Russian Fighter Jet Collides with US Reaper Drone After Attempted Fuel Spray

"The U.S. has released declassified footage of the U.S. Reaper drone that crashed after
colliding with Russian jets. It was reported that the two Russian Su-27 jets were toying with the unmanned drone. ....you can see the Russian fighter planes dumping jet fuel on the MQ-9 reaper drone." TP

 

Russia, China, Iran Launch Naval Drills

"Russia, China and Iran launched the active phase of joint naval exercises near the Islamic
republic’s southernmost city.

“Maritime Security Belt 2023” will run from March 15-18 in three stages, including an active phase on March 16-17, in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian port city of Chabahar." MT

Russian Opposition Ex-Mayor Roizman Jailed Over Social Media Post

"Russian opposition politician and former Yekaterinburg Mayor Yevgeny Roizman has been jailed over a social media post in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Roizman was accused of posting a video clip that briefly showed the logo of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was outlawed as an "extremist" organization in 2021, on social media platform VKontakte last February, according to police." MT

Russia Sentences Soldier Who Admitted to War Crimes in Ukraine

"A Russian court has sentenced a soldier who admitted to committing war crimes in Ukraine
to a 5.5-year suspended sentence.

The Khabarovsk Garrison Court Martial in Russia's Far East found Daniil Frolkin, 21, guilty of spreading ake news about the Russian military’s activities in Ukraine.

Frolkin is one of four Russian servicemen suspected of robberies, looting and murder of civilians in the Ukrainian village of Andriivka who iStories identified last year by using photos the soldiers took on a phone stolen from a resident.

When contacted by iStories, Frolkin confessed to the murder of a male resident of Andriivka who was identified as 47-year-old Ruslan Yaremchuk." MT

Israel nearing civil war

"Israeli President Isaac Herzog has warned that the Jewish state stands on the brink of civil
war over proposed judicial reforms by the newly-elected government. Amid nationwide protests, he presented a set of alternate reforms, which have been rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

These legal changes would allow Israel’s parliament to override Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority vote, would grant the government more power in appointing judges, and would limit the ability of the court to review legislation it deems “unreasonable.” RT

Le Pen calls on French PM to resign

"The French right-wing National Rally party said that it intends to file a no-confidence motion against the government, after President Emmanuel Macron opted to push through controversial pension reform without a parliamentary vote.

Party leader Marine Le Pen also called on Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to leave her post.

The reform, which would see France change its retirement age to 64 from 62 and which would require workers to contribute to the system for 43 years before receiving a full pension, has proven deeply unpopular, and has triggered weeks of protests and strikes across the country." RT

Chinese naval base in Africa a threat to US

"The head of US Africa Command, General Michael Langley, has insisted that China cannot
be allowed open a naval base in the west of the continent. 

China established its first overseas naval base in 2017, opening a facility in the east African nation of Djibouti. US officials have since claimed that Beijing is planning similar bases in 14 countries, including two – Equatorial Guinea and Angola – on Africa’s west coast." RT

Dutch food prices soar

"Food inflation has accelerated in the Netherlands with prices surging 18.4% year-on-year in
February from a 17.6% January reading. An economist at the third-largest Dutch bank ABN Amro, Aggie van Huisseling, said that unusually high energy prices continued to fuel inflation in the country. The increase in food prices stems mainly from the soaring costs of fresh vegetables, as products like tomatoes currently come mainly from greenhouses that are heated with gas, Van Huisseling explained." RT