Arrest of opposition figures in Russia and Ukraine get different coverage in Western media

Arrest of opposition figures in Russia and Ukraine get different coverage in Western media

    Wednesday, April 13, 2022   No comments

 Arrest of opposition figures in Russia and Ukraine get different coverage in Western media. Here is a sample.

News report 1:

Russian authorities on Monday arrested Vladimir Kara-Murza — a prominent Kremlin critic who has written columns for The Washington Post protesting Russia’s war in Ukraine and violations of human rights.

Kara-Murza was arrested outside his home in Moscow, the same day CNN published an interview in which he called Vladimir Putin’s government “a regime of murderers” and predicted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the Russian president’s downfall.

Source: Washington Post

News report 2: 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday on Telegram that Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and oligarch, had been detained in a "special operation."

Zelensky posted a photo of a handcuffed and disheveled-looking Medvedchuk wearing fatigues, with the caption, "A special operation was carried out thanks to the SBU [the Security Service of Ukraine]. Well done! Details later."

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Medvedchuk had faced allegations of treason in Ukraine and had been under house arrest. His whereabouts had been unknown in the weeks following the invasion. Some observers speculated that Medvedchuk or one of his allies might be the Kremlin's preference to lead a puppet government in Ukraine if the Feb. 24 invasion succeeded in toppling Zelensky. 

 Source: CNN

Qatar, Iran sign aviation agreements; discuss the feasability of tunnel linking the two coutnries

Qatar, Iran sign aviation agreements; discuss the feasability of tunnel linking the two coutnries

    Tuesday, April 12, 2022   No comments

April 12: Qatar and Iran have signed a bilateral agreement for operations to link Doha Flight Information Region (which was established in accordance with ICAO resolution) with the FIR in Iran.

An agreement to increase the number of flights between Qatar and Iran was also signed, in the presence of Minister of Transport HE Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti and Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Rostam Qassemi.

Besides, the meeting looked into all issues that would remove obstacles in a way that supports the promotion and facilitation of transport and trade between the ports of the two countries.

They also reviewed private investment opportunities in ports, in the presence of Al Sulaiti, and Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development.

Tehran and Doha to study the feasibility of the longest tunnel in the world

Iran is planning feasibility studies for what would be the longest tunnel in the world. If built, it would physically connect Iran to Qatar across the Persian Gulf.

The project would link the Iranian port of Bandar-e Deyr to an unspecified location in Qatar. The underwater tunnel would run for 190 km, with both road and railway sections, although the former is more difficult. Earlier this year, President Raisi visited Doha, his first visit to an Arab country, to sign four cooperation agreements, from energy to transport.  

     Possible location of the proposed tunnel linking Iran  and Qatar: 

India: "Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon"; US: "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India"

India: "Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon"; US: "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India"

    Tuesday, April 12, 2022   No comments

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held "frank" video talks, which did not seem to succeed in bringing the two countries closer together on the Russian military operation in Ukraine, which is destabilizing their relationship.

At the beginning of the virtual meeting, the US president praised the "deep relationship" between the two countries, expressing his desire to "continue close consultations" in light of the military operation in Ukraine.

For his part, the Indian Prime Minister described the situation in Ukraine as "extremely worrying", noting that India supports negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, which Washington views with much pessimism.

After the meeting, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters that "it is important to urge all countries, especially those that have influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin, to stop military operations."

"It is also important that democracies speak with one voice to defend the values ​​we share," he added.

On the other hand, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to a journalist who asked him why his country did not condemn the Russian military operation, saying: "Thank you for your advice and suggestion, but I prefer to do it my way."

After the White House said Biden had warned Modi that it would not be "in India's interest to speed up" its purchases of Russian energy exports—something that would partly offset the decline in Western purchases of these exports—the Indian foreign minister's response took a very sharp tone.

"Our purchases in a whole month may be less than what Europe buys in one afternoon," the minister told reporters.

For her part, US presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, later, that "the president has made it clear that he does not believe it is in India's interest to accelerate or increase its imports of Russian energy," which so far represents a very small part of its purchases, or "other raw materials." .

Psaki stressed that Washington is ready to "help" India to "diversify" its energy sources.

The Biden administration wants to strengthen US alliances in the Asia-Pacific region to confront China, especially the re-launch of the so-called "Quad" alliance between the United States, India, Australia and Japan.

The disagreement shifted the conversation to another topic often used as pretext to frame conflict: human rights.

US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced that the United States is monitoring what he described as "an increase in human rights violations by some officials in India," in a rare direct criticism from Washington of the human rights record in the Asian country.

These statements come after US President Joe Biden's video talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, which did not succeed in bringing the two countries' positions on the war in Ukraine closer, and continue to destabilize their relationship.

In a joint press briefing with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar, and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today, Blinken emphasized: “We communicate regularly with our Indian partners on these shared human rights values, and for that, we are monitoring some developments. Alarming situation in India recently, including the increase in human rights violations by some government, police and prison officials.

Blinken did not elaborate. Singh and Jaishankar, who spoke after Blinken at the press briefing, did not comment on the human rights issue.

Mass demonstrations in support of Imran Khan in Pakistan's capital and other cities

Mass demonstrations in support of Imran Khan in Pakistan's capital and other cities

    Sunday, April 10, 2022   No comments

Pakistan is likely to go through a challegning period in the weeks and months ahead, as the country and the world for that matter is adjusting to new circumstances and conditions bound to shape the global order.

The Pakistani Prime Minister, who was ousted yesterday, Imran Khan, posted a video clip on his Twitter page, showing a large demonstration in support of him in a square in the capital, Islamabad, on Sunday evening.

Commenting on the video, Khan wrote: "Never in our history have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers to reject the imported government led by fraudsters."

Al-Mayadeen's correspondent in Pakistan had reported that "supporters of Imran Khan demonstrated in support of him in the capital, Islamabad." Our correspondent added, "Other demonstrations by supporters of Imran Khan took place in the cities of Lahore and Karachi, while calls for demonstrations spread on Tuesday."

Today, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan asserted that his country was "being exposed to a foreign plot aimed at regime change". "Pakistan became an independent country in 1947, but today the struggle for freedom begins again against a foreign plot to change the regime," Khan said on his Twitter account.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Imran Khan was impeached by the Pakistani Parliament. Our correspondent said: "The result of the vote came in favor of the withdrawal of confidence from Prime Minister Imran Khan with 174 votes."

Late last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that he had received a threatening letter from the United States. "The United States threatened to topple my government because I refused to establish military bases for it on our land," he explained.

____________________________

MashaALLAH people have spoken up against IMPORTED GOVERNMENT

IMPORTED Gov……Absolutely NOT !! pic.twitter.com/0T4AHoUjaO

— Ali Muhammad Khan (@Ali_MuhammadPTI) April 10, 2022

Never have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers in our history, rejecting the imported govt led by crooks. pic.twitter.com/YWrvD1u8MM

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 10, 2022

مسيرات تضامنية مع عمران خان في مدينة كراتشي #Karachi#ImranKhan#الدولار #USA #India #ImranKhan #Biden #Pakistan #باكستان #روسيا #بايدن #إنسان#امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور#BajwaSurrender#DGISPR pic.twitter.com/UOMDGRe6CG

— باكستان نيوز (@pakarabnews) April 10, 2022

Is US, UK, and Australia cooperation to develop hypersonic weapons under AUKUS alliance driving China to support Russia in its war in Ukraine?

Is US, UK, and Australia cooperation to develop hypersonic weapons under AUKUS alliance driving China to support Russia in its war in Ukraine?

    Sunday, April 10, 2022   No comments

Is US, UK, and Australia cooperation to develop hypersonic weapons under the framework of the new AUKUS alliance driving China to support Russia in its war in Ukraine?

This analysis seems to make the connection.

As the US, the UK and Australia announced they would cooperate to develop hypersonic weapons under the framework of the new AUKUS alliance and the NATO leaders are set - for the first time ever - to discuss China's influence and "coercive policies" in its next strategic concept, analysts said that the US is making use of the Ukraine crisis to speed up the coordination of NATO and the "Asian version of NATO" to serve its purpose of containing China and keep its global hegemony, which will bring greater harm to both regional and global peace, and risk a regional arms race. 

read the article in its source

China send a fleet of Y-20 transport planes loaded with missiles to Serbia

China send a fleet of Y-20 transport planes loaded with missiles to Serbia

    Sunday, April 10, 2022   No comments

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.

Media and military experts said Sunday that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military.

The Chinese cargo planes with military markings were pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.

The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.

“The Y-20s’ appearance raised eyebrows because they flew en masse as opposed to a series of single-aircraft flights,” wrote The Warzone online magazine. “The Y-20′s presence in Europe in any numbers is also still a fairly new development.”

Serbian military analyst Aleksandar Radic said that “the Chinese carried out their demonstration of force.”

read more from the AP story...

China's major English language online outlet said this about the event:

A fleet of six Y-20 cargo planes of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force was reportedly spotted in Serbia on Saturday, with observers saying on Sunday that it could be the largest overseas operation by the Chinese domestically developed large transport plane yet, displaying the country's strategic transport capabilities.

Citing commercial flight trackers, US news website thedrive.com reported on Saturday that the six Y-20 aircraft were first spotted heading west in Turkish airspace late Friday night, and later local residents took photos of the Y-20s, which allegedly landed in Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia. The aircraft later flew over the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey again on their way back to China.

China has not made an official announcement about the mission as of press time, but the Global Times learned that the Y-20s indeed have carried out such a flight.

Read GT story here...

Analysts have already connected this event to the war in Ukraine.

As the Ukraine war rages on, Serbia is feeling the heat because of its ties with Russia. While in the U.N. General Assembly, Serbia voted in favor of the resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supporting Ukrainian territorial integrity, Belgrade avoided imposing economic sanctions against Russia.

With its partnership with Russia under duress, Serbian ties with Beijing appear carefree in comparison. Indeed, the war in Ukraine provides Serbia with an opportunity to continue and boost the policy, which was already unfolding even before the war, of replacing Russia with China as Serbia’s primary non-Western partner. This policy is even more appealing as Serbia is about to undergo an electoral cycle in April 2022, making China a perfect instrument of domestic promotion for the Serbian leadership.

 

A Shocking 99% of Us Are Now Breathing Unhealthy Air, WHO Warns

A Shocking 99% of Us Are Now Breathing Unhealthy Air, WHO Warns

    Thursday, April 07, 2022   No comments

We often take the air we breathe for granted, but new data reveals that the pollutants behind millions of preventable deaths now taint the air most of us breathe at unhealthy levels.

"Air pollution has an impact at a much lower level than previously thought," says World Health Organization technical officer Sophie Gumy, in reference to WHO's recently updated air quality guidelines.

Based on an analysis of air pollution data covering more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries, WHO says 99 percent of the world's population now breathes air that does not meet the updated safety guidelines. This covers 80 percent of the world's urban areas.

read more ...

Paper: Turkish government exploring plans to "initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government"

Paper: Turkish government exploring plans to "initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government"

    Tuesday, April 05, 2022   No comments

 The Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, reported on Monday that the Turkish authorities are currently in discussions to initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government, which would restore relations between the two countries to normal.

The newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that "the policy of balance recently adopted by Turkey, and the role that Ankara has played in recent months, especially toward resolving the war in Ukraine"... makes the current timing good for resolving Turkey's crisis in Syria.

The sources pointed out that Turkey, "in all its contacts with the Syrian administration," emphasizes 3 indispensable things, namely "preserving the unitary structure and the unity of the Syrian territories, and ensuring the security of refugees returning to their country," in addition to "the activity of the Kurdistan Workers' Party."

According to the newspaper, Ankara conveyed these important messages to Damascus, especially before the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the UAE.

This development is one in many initiated by Erdogan's government to stablaize the economy before the elections. Turkish economy suffered due the the Syrian war, which Erdogan assumed would end fast. That did not. Now the Turkish economy is under stress due the war in Ukraine.

A Reuters poll showed, Monday, that "the annual inflation rate in Turkey is expected to rise to 61.5% in April, and only decrease to 52.2% by the end of the year, due to the country's impact on the crisis in Ukraine and the rise in commodity prices."

The average estimate of 17 institutions for annual inflation in April was 61.5%, with expectations ranging between 58.25% and 62.7%, and the decline of the lira and the rise in food and energy prices pushed inflation in February to its highest level in 20 years, recording 54.4% This is despite tax cuts on basic goods and government support for some electricity bills to ease the burden on household budgets.

Turkey's consumer price index has risen since last fall, with the lira weakening after the central bank in September began the 500 basis point cut cycle that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had long sought.

Economists pointed to "expectations of global consumer price inflation, in the wake of the Russian military operation, with energy prices reaching their highest levels in several years after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow," explaining that "Turkey imports almost all of its energy needs."

A Chicago synagogue officially designates itself 'anti-Zionist'

A Chicago synagogue officially designates itself 'anti-Zionist'

    Tuesday, April 05, 2022   No comments

The Tzedek Chicago membership has voted to add anti-Zionism to the core values of our congregation.

The Tzedek Chicago membership has voted to affirm a unanimous board decision to change “non-Zionism” to “anti-Zionism” in our core values statement. This vote followed on a months-long series of membership meetings and collective discernment - and the Tzedek leadership is immensely grateful to the many members who participated so actively and honestly in this process. Beyond this one decision, we are committed to continuing this important and sacred conversation together as a community -  and how we might create and live out a Judaism beyond Zionism.

We will be putting a committee together to draft a public statement that will explain our decision. We intend to include many of the comments and insights that were shared during our community process, so that the statement may reflect the depth and complexity of our conversation.

Here is the original board Q&A explaining the reason for its decision:

Why Did Tzedek Chicago originally include “Non-Zionism” as part of our core values?

read more from the source... 

See how almost a quarter of humanity ushered in Ramadan, their holiest month

See how almost a quarter of humanity ushered in Ramadan, their holiest month

    Monday, April 04, 2022   No comments

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, began this weekend for the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world. From sun-up to sundown, the physically able among them will fast — abstaining not just from food but also so much as a sip of water.

Read the article...