Category: World

NATO spokesperson Farah Dahlalla said that the new type of ballistic missile from Russia will not affect the course of the conflict. The Alliance will continue to support Ukraine despite Russia's attempts to intimidate its allies.

Russia's use of a new type of ballistic missile against Ukraine yesterday "will not change the course of the conflict and will not deter" NATO's support for Kyiv, NATO spokeswoman Farah Dahlalla said, UNN reports citing the BBC.

Details

Farah Dahlallah said that Russia is trying to "terrorize" the civilian population and intimidate Ukraine's allies by using medium-range ballistic missiles.

"The deployment of these capabilities will not change the course of the conflict and will not deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine," she said.

NATO and Ukraine to discuss launch of new Russian missile on November 26 – AFPNov 22 2024, 09:15 AM • 14136 views

Financier Stephen Lynch is asking for US permission to participate in the Nord Stream 2 auction. He plans to use the pipeline as leverage against russia in peace talks over Ukraine.

American billionaire and financier Stephen Lynch has asked the US government to grant him permission to participate in the auction for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if it is put up for auction in the Swiss bankruptcy process. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Wall Street Journal.

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Lynch, who spent two decades doing business in Moscow, now wants to buy the pipeline that connects Russia to Germany. He has argued to U.S. officials and lawmakers that American ownership of the pipeline would be leverage in any peace talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and serve U.S. long-term interests.

This is a unique opportunity for America and Europe to control European energy resources before the end of the fossil fuel era

– Lynch said in an interview.

According to a letter written by his lawyers at WilmerHale and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Lynch applied for the license from the US Treasury Department in February. The license would allow him to negotiate the construction of the pipeline with entities that are currently under US sanctions.

The letter says that the Swiss bankruptcy proceedings for Nord Stream 2 have set a hard deadline of January for Nord Stream 2 to restructure its debt (which the letter says is unlikely) or face liquidation. Lynch argues that when the war is over, both Russia and its former customers in Germany and Europe will be tempted to turn on the pipeline, regardless of who owns it.

Sources report that Lynch said he thinks he could buy Nord Stream 2, which is estimated to be worth about $11 billion, for a dollar. He said that many investors would not bid because of the complex geopolitics surrounding the pipeline, and that other bidders would likely include Russian proxies, Chinese entities, or others who are against US interests.

A group of U.S. senators, as well as officials from the Treasury and State Departments, were briefed on Lynch's plan.

During the last election, Lynch gave more than $300,000 to Trump's committees and the Republican National Committee.

Add

A series of explosions occurred on the Nord Stream pipelines – Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which transport gas under the Baltic Sea, suffered a series of explosions in September 2022. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched an investigation, and the Swedes found traces of explosives on several items recovered from the explosion site, confirming that the explosions were deliberate acts.

Podoliak on the Nord Stream case pointed the finger at Russia – ReutersAug 15 2024, 09:58 AM • 35156 views

Russian forces attacked the Dniprovskiy district of the city of Dnipro on 22 November, causing damage to urban infrastructure.

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration

Quote: "The Russian army attacked the Dniprovskiy district. Infrastructure has been damaged. We are currently clarifying all the details."

Details: Lysak urged residents of the oblast to heed air-raid warnings.

Background:

• On 21 November, the Russians attacked Dnipro, damaging an industrial facility, a rehabilitation centre, residential buildings and garages. Two people were injured as a result of the strike.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and guarantees him safety from the ICC warrant. Orban called the ICC's decision “wrong” and promised not to execute it in Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary and promised not to comply with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant.

UNN reports this with reference to Reuters.

Orban, whose country holds the European Union presidency for six months, said on state radio that the ICC arrest warrant was “wrong” and said the Israeli leader would be able to hold talks in Hungary “in proper security.

Today I will invite the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, to visit Hungary, and in this invitation I guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC decision will not be valid in Hungary, and we will not follow its content

– Orban said.

Since Orbán and his nationalist Fidesz party came to power in 2010, he and Netanyahu have developed a close political relationship. Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017.

Israeli leaders and the White House strongly condemned the ICC's decision, while EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said that the warrants are not political and that all EU member states must respect and comply with the court's decision.

Addendum [1

On November 21 , the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

The NATO-Ukraine Council will meet next Tuesday in connection with Russia's first use of an experimental ballistic missile on Ukrainian territory.

Source: French news agency AFP, citing officials familiar with the matter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council is being convened on 26 November in Brussels at Ukraine's initiative to discuss Russia's use of a medium-range ballistic missile in an attack on the city of Dnipro. Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin presented the Oreshnik missile as an experimental weapon derived from the older RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile, which has the potential to carry a nuclear warhead.

Background:

• Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile during the attack on Dnipro on the morning of 21 November. Ukrainska Pravda sources suggested that the weapon in question could have been a Rubezh missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
• Subsequently, Russian leader Vladimir Putin stated that a medium-range Oreshnik missile had been used in Ukraine.
• The United States confirmed that it had received a warning from Russia about the planned launch half an hour before the very launch took place.

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Brazil's Federal Police have charged former President Bolsonaro and 36 others with attempting a coup after the 2022 elections. The case was referred to the Supreme Court for further consideration.

Brazil's federal police said on Thursday that they have charged former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others with an alleged coup attempt to keep him in power after his defeat in the 2022 elections, AP reports, UNN writes.

Details

Police said their sealed findings will be submitted on Thursday to Brazil's Supreme Court, which will forward them to Attorney General Paulo Gonet, who will decide either to formally charge Bolsonaro and take the case to court or to drop the investigation.

Bolsonaro told the Metropoles website that he was waiting for his lawyer to review the indictment, which is about 700 pages long. But he said he would fight the case and dismissed the investigation, calling it the result of “creativity.

The former right-wing president denies all allegations that he tried to stay in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections by his rival, left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Since then, Bolsonaro has faced a number of legal threats.

The police said in a brief statement that the Supreme Court had agreed to disclose the names of all 37 people charged “to avoid the spread of false news.

Other investigations have led to charges against Bolsonaro for smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring it and instructing a subordinate to falsify his and others' COVID-19 vaccination status. Bolsonaro denies any involvement in either case.

Another investigation found that he had abused his powers to question the country's electoral system, and judges banned him from running again until 2030.

Nevertheless, he has insisted that he will run in 2026, and many in his circle have been encouraged by Donald Trump's recent victory in the US election.

Argentina orders the arrest of Bolsonaro's supportersNov 16 2024, 09:29 AM • 19668 views

Bolsonaro's allies in Congress are negotiating a bill to pardon those who stormed the Brazilian capital and staged riots on January 8, 2023, in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the former president in power. Analysts suggest that lawmakers want to extend the legislation to the former president.

On Tuesday, federal police arrested four soldiers and a federal police officer accused of conspiring to assassinate Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes with the aim of overthrowing the government after the 2022 elections.

Last week, a man set off an explosion in the Brazilian capital. He tried to enter the Supreme Court and threw the explosives outside, killing him.

Powerful explosions near the Supreme Court of Brazil: there are deadNov 14 2024, 12:51 AM • 17567 views

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský arrived in Kyiv on a visit on the morning of 22 November.

Source: European Pravda, citing Lipavský on X (Twitter)

Details: Lipavský stated that during his visit, he aims to assess "how the Ukrainians are coping with the bombings, how Czech projects are working on the ground and how to better target international aid in the coming months".

"I will discuss all of this here," the Czech foreign minister tweeted.

Background:

• Lipavský previously said that no one knows whether US President-elect Donald Trump would cut off aid to Ukraine but that even if he did, he would not do so abruptly.
• In August, he suggested that Russia's military plans were not limited to invading Ukraine.

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Elon Musk has criticized Australia's bill to ban social media for children under 16. The owner of social network X considers it a covert way of controlling the Internet and threatens fines of up to $32 million for violations.

American billionaire and owner of the social platform X Elon Musk has sharply criticized Australia's proposed law banning the use of social media for children under 16. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.

Details

The bill also provides for fines of up to AU$49.5 million (USD32 million) for companies that systematically violate the ban.

It seems to be a covert way to control Internet access for all Australians,

Musk wrote in response to a post by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the social network X.

The draft law envisages the introduction of an age verification system to restrict access to social media, which could become one of the strictest in the world. It does not provide for any exceptions, even with parental consent, and applies to existing accounts.

Addendum

In France, last year, it was proposed to ban social media for people under 15, but with the possibility of parental permission. The US has a rule that requires parental consent to collect data from children under 13, but there is no complete ban.

This is not the first time Musk, who positions himself as a defender of free speech, has clashed with the Australian government. Earlier, he called the Labor Party government "fascist" over their disinformation law.

In April, X filed a lawsuit against the Australian cyberspace regulator for demanding the removal of posts about the attack on a bishop in Sydney. This angered Albanizi, who called Musk an "arrogant billionaire.

Recall

The Australian government has introduced a bill to ban social media for people under 16. Violators face fines of up to $32 million and the introduction of biometric verification.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's announcement about the use of an Oreshnik medium-range missile against Ukraine.

Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

Quote: "Today, Putin has admitted taking the second step this year towards escalating and expanding this war. A new ballistic missile was used. Putin struck our city of Dnipro – one of the largest cities in Ukraine. This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war – a cynical violation of the UN Charter by Russia. Let me emphasise: this is already Russia’s second step towards escalation this year. The first such step was involving North Korea in the war against Ukraine with a contingent of at least 11,000 soldiers."

Details: The president said that Putin has taken both of these steps while ignoring global calls to avoid escalation. "He disregards calls from China, Brazil, European countries, the US and other countries," Zelenskyy stated.

The president also recalled that Ukraine has used long-range weapons before, which is not a new development.

Quote: "And we have every right to do so under international law. Our right to self-defence is the same as that of any other nation. When Russian missiles hit our cities, when Iranian-made Shahed drones attack Ukraine every night, when a North Korean contingent is deployed on our border, Putin is not only prolonging the war—he is spitting in the face of those in the world who genuinely want peace to be restored.

The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world. Putin is very sensitive to such reactions. He is testing you, dear partners. It is clear to everyone who the sole culprit of this war is – who started it on 24 February and who continues to pour all resources into its continuation. He must be stopped.

A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable. This is what Putin is doing."

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