Cincunri Sakia: Februari 2023

Selasa, 28 Februari 2023

Russia says military drone attempted to strike gas facility near Moscow - The Guardian

A military drone attempted to strike a gas facility in the Moscow region, according to a senior Russian official, and photos of the wreckage suggested it was Ukrainian-made, indicating a rare attempted strike hundreds of miles behind Russian lines.

The alleged attack was one of several reports of successful or attempted unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes in at least four regions of Russia.

The Moscow region governor, Andrei Vorobyov, on Monday confirmed a UAV crash-landed in the village of Gubastovo near the capital and was apparently aiming for a “civilian infrastructure site”.

The target was a Gazprom gas compression station in the Moscow suburbs, just over 50 miles south-east of the Kremlin. Photographs of the drone posted to social media indicate it was a Ukrainian-made UJ-22.

Ukraine does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks inside Russia.

The UAV apparently clipped trees just before its target and landed 10 metres from the outer fence of the gas compression station, a Gazprom representative confirmed to Russian media.

Ukrjet, the producer of the UJ-22, claims the drone can fly 500 miles (800km) and is armed with an interchangeable payload.

If the strike, along with others on Tuesday, were launched from Ukrainian territory, then it would make them some of the most ambitious since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion last February.

Drone strikes launched in December targeted several airfields used by Russian bombers but it was not immediately clear if they were launched from inside or outside Russian territory.

The strikes caused a nervous day in Russia, where airspace was closed over St Petersburg and hackers managed to broadcast a “missile strike threat” over several TV channels and radio stations in the Moscow and St Petersburg regions, as well as areas closer to the border with Ukraine, Voronezh and Belgorod.

“Attention: an air alert is in effect,” a voice read. “Proceed to shelters immediately. Attention, attention, missile strike threat.” A similar incident occurred late last week.

In at least one case, the drones appeared to have struck their targets. Early Tuesday morning, drones armed with explosives also slammed into a Rosneft oil depot in the Krasnodar region, Russian media reported, sparking a fire that required the Russian emergencies ministry to extinguish. Video published on Telegram also appeared to show UAVs flying over the city shortly before the attack.

The drone strikes hit the boiler room of the depot, the Astra news outlet reported. But the city administration of Tuapse, where the facility is located, claimed the drones did not strike the oil tanks. “There is no oil spill. There are no victims,” the city administration said.

Tuapse is about 300 miles from Ukrainian territory and close to the large Russian port of Novorossiysk and the Black Sea city of Sochi.

Unsuccessful drone strikes were also reported in Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions, both on the border with Ukraine. And the head of Russia’s Adigeya also reported that a drone was downed in the region last night.

As regional heads confirmed the drone strikes, Russia closed its airspace over St Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city, in what the government claimed was a drill to simulate the discovery of an enemy UAV flying over the region.

Dozens of flights were cancelled or turned back as St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport was closed to arriving and departing flights. Some early reports said a drone had also been spotted near St Petersburg, but those have not been confirmed.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC8yMDIzL2ZlYi8yOC9ydXNzaWEtbWlsaXRhcnktZHJvbmUtYXR0ZW1wdGVkLXN0cmlrZS1nYXMtZmFjaWxpdHktbW9zY293LXVhdi11a3JhaW5l0gF0aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjMvZmViLzI4L3J1c3NpYS1taWxpdGFyeS1kcm9uZS1hdHRlbXB0ZWQtc3RyaWtlLWdhcy1mYWNpbGl0eS1tb3Njb3ctdWF2LXVrcmFpbmU?oc=5

2023-02-28 18:00:00Z
CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC8yMDIzL2ZlYi8yOC9ydXNzaWEtbWlsaXRhcnktZHJvbmUtYXR0ZW1wdGVkLXN0cmlrZS1nYXMtZmFjaWxpdHktbW9zY293LXVhdi11a3JhaW5l0gF0aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkLzIwMjMvZmViLzI4L3J1c3NpYS1taWxpdGFyeS1kcm9uZS1hdHRlbXB0ZWQtc3RyaWtlLWdhcy1mYWNpbGl0eS1tb3Njb3ctdWF2LXVrcmFpbmU

China hits out at US over TikTok ban on federal devices - BBC

Getty Images

By Matt Murphy

BBC News

China has accused the US of overreacting after federal employees were ordered to remove the video app TikTok from government-issued phones.

On Monday, the White House gave government agencies 30 days to ensure that employees did not have the Chinese-owned app on federal devices.

The order follows similar moves by the EU and Canada in recent weeks.

A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry accused the US of abusing state power to suppress foreign firms.

"We firmly oppose those wrong actions," spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters during a news briefing on Tuesday. "The US government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, stop suppressing the companies and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies in the US."

"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower like the US be to fear young people's favourite app like that," she added.

Western officials have become increasingly concerned about the popular video sharing app - which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance - in recent months.

TikTok has faced allegations that it harvests users' data and hands it to the Chinese government, with some intelligence agencies worried that sensitive information could be exposed when the app is downloaded to government devices.

The company insists it operates no differently to other social media companies and says it would never comply with an order to transfer data.

On Monday, the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young told agencies they had to scrub the app from all state-issued phones to protect confidential data.

The agency said the guidance marked a "critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data".

Some federal offices - including the White House and the Departments of Defence, Homeland Security and State - have already banned TikTok from their devices.

The US Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said the move emphasised the Biden administration's "ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people's security and privacy".

Tuesday's announcement follows the passage of legislation by the US House of Representatives in December which banned the use of TikTok on state-issued phones and gave the White House 60 days to issue agency directives.

And congressional Republicans are expected to pass further legislation in the coming weeks which would give President Joe Biden the power to ban the app nationally.

"We hope that when it comes to addressing national security concerns about TikTok beyond government devices, Congress will explore solutions that won't have the effect of censoring the voices of millions of Americans," a TikTok spokesperson told the BBC.

Canada has also imposed a new ban on the app on government devices starting from Tuesday. The decision followed a review conducted by the country's chief information officer, who ruled the app presented "an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security".

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was enough concern about security around the app to require the change.

"This may the first step, this may be the only step we need to take," he said on Monday at a press conference near Toronto.

And the European Parliament also approved a ban on the app on staff phones, following the European Commission's move last week.

A TikTok spokesperson told the BBC that the bans had been adopted "without any deliberation" and amounted to "little more than political theatre".

Senin, 27 Februari 2023

62 people are dead off the coast of Italy. How many more will anti-migrant policies kill? - The Guardian

The photograph of the body of two-year-old Alan Kurdi lying on Turkish shores made headlines in 2015. “Never again,” cried an outraged international press, after Kurdi and his Syrian family drowned attempting to reach safety in Europe.

The latest tragedy in the Mediterranean, claiming the lives of at least 62 individuals, including children, is a stark reminder that nothing has changed. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed “deep sorrow”. The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, warned that the tragedy should leave “no one indifferent” and appealed to the European Union. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, promised to “redouble the efforts”.

There is no doubting their personal sincerity. And yet, the institutions they preside over bear responsibility for the continuing loss of life in the Mediterranean sea. European migration policy continues to condemn more than 2,000 men, women and children to death in the Mediterranean each and every year.

Meloni’s government has actively sabotaged the NGO-led search and rescue missions attempting to save lives at sea. Under her government’s new legislation, boats that have rescued migrants onboard cannot remain at sea to continue their mission. They must go to assigned ports based in northern Italy by Italian authorities, days of sailing away from the main theatre of operations. This has resulted in a drastic reduction of the time the vessels can engage in saving lives, and surely a corresponding increase in the death rate.

Europe, however, has a deeper responsibility for the loss of lives in the Mediterranean sea. The boat that capsized off the coast of Calabria was coming from distant Turkey. Why did it not try to dock in much closer Greece? The reason is twofold. In 2016 the German government, then presided over by Angela Merkel, agreed a migration deal with Turkey that, to this day, showers Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s illiberal regime with European money in exchange for allowing any refugee who arrives in Greece irregularly from Turkey to be sent back there.

In addition, the European Union has been busy helping Balkan countries to invest in policing and border management. Taken together, the routes to Europe via Turkey, Greece or the Balkans have been sealed off, encouraging migrants to travel farther west towards Italy.

Meloni, astutely, claims she merely wishes to replicate in northern Africa what Europe has already agreed with Turkey and the Balkans. Europe, she says, should seal agreements to lock migrants in before they make their journey.

This system is partly already in place: hundreds of thousands of migrants are illegally detained in makeshift concentration camps in Libya run by militias, where torture and rape are well documented. This measure was agreed in 2017 by the social-democratic Italian government of Paolo Gentiloni, currently the EU commissioner for economic affairs. However immoral Meloni’s policies may be, their immorality is shared by Italian and European institutions alike.

Could things be different? Yes. Hundreds of NGOs, civil platforms and municipalities have for years gathered proposals for a different European approach to migration. A European search and rescue mission should take matters in public hands and run regular operations in the Mediterranean sea.

Migrants saved at sea should be redistributed across the EU and agreements between states should be accompanied by a greater role for municipalities. Why is it that France should block, say, Montpellier from welcoming rescued migrants?

As the Italian search and rescue mission Mediterranea argues, illegal human trafficking exists only because there are no legal channels for migration to Europe. The EU needs to define yearly quotas for job-seeking visas and arrange for the paperwork to be handled by its consulates across the world. Germany, with its recent steps towards extending work visas directly in Ghana, shows the way. Many will prefer a waiting list, however long, to a life-threatening two-year crossing of desert and sea.

Finally, circular migration schemes need to be drastically increased. Migration is never a good solution for countries of origin, leading to a brain drain and breaking up communities. Circularity of labour enables migrants to come to the EU for a limited period on a regular basis. Spain, for instance, plans to train and employ a group of Moroccan truck drivers, expanding on tried and tested schemes in the agricultural sector.

The latest migration tragedy causes grief and anger to any human being and represents another stain on the conscience of any European. We should, however, look with suspicion to any politician offering empathy as a response. We don’t need any more tears. We need policies to change.

Lorenzo Marsili is a philosopher, activist and founder of European Alternatives and Fondazione Studio Rizoma. He is the author of Planetary Politics: a Manifesto
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9jb21tZW50aXNmcmVlLzIwMjMvZmViLzI3L2dpb3JnaWEtbWVsb25pLWV1LW1pZ3JhbnQtc2hpcHdyZWNrLWNydWVsLWxlZ2FsLWdyZWVjZS1iYWxrYW5z0gF0aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2NvbW1lbnRpc2ZyZWUvMjAyMy9mZWIvMjcvZ2lvcmdpYS1tZWxvbmktZXUtbWlncmFudC1zaGlwd3JlY2stY3J1ZWwtbGVnYWwtZ3JlZWNlLWJhbGthbnM?oc=5

2023-02-27 16:45:00Z
1806094390

Nigeria election: outsider Peter Obi wins in Lagos - The Times

Peter Obi, the anti-corruption outsider who may become Nigeria’s president, has won in Lagos, defeating the ruling party candidate known as the “godfather” of a city he ran as his personal fiefdom for two decades.

In a result that will shake up what is already Nigeria’s least predictable presidential election in a generation, Obi took more than 582,000 votes in the city, according to provisional results. He eclipsed Bola Tinubu by fewer than 10,000.

It will be seen as evidence that Obi, 61, has converted social media momentum and youth popularity into success on the ground for his Labour party. He and his followers, known as Obidients, offer the first major challenge to the two parties that have governed Nigeria since the return of

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXRpbWVzLmNvLnVrL2FydGljbGUvbmlnZXJpYS1lbGVjdGlvbnMtY29ycnVwdGlvbi1jbGFpbXMtcHV0LWNvdW50cnktb24tYS1rbmlmZS1lZGdlLThuYzk4OThubdIBAA?oc=5

2023-02-27 14:00:00Z
1805966791

Italy migrant boat shipwreck: More than 100 people feared dead - BBC

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

By Davide Ghiglione & Alexandra Fouché

In Rome and in London

There are fears that more than 100 people, including children, have died after their boat sank in rough seas off southern Italy.

At least 62 migrants are confirmed to have died, with 12 children said to be among the victims, including a baby.

The vessel, thought to have carried some 200 people, broke apart while trying to land near Crotone on Sunday.

People from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran were said to be on board.

Bodies were recovered from the beach at a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region.

The coastguard said 80 people had been found alive, "including some who managed to reach the shore after the sinking", meaning many more remain unaccounted for.

One survivor was arrested on migrant trafficking charges, customs police said.

Many of those on board were thought to be from Pakistan. Its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said more than two dozen Pakistanis were believed to have been among the dead.

As assistance and relocation operations continue, a group of survivors of the deadly shipwreck are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

At a temporary reception centre in the town of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, some of them were crying without speaking, some were just staring into the void, wrapped in blankets.

"They are heavily traumatised," said Sergio Di Dato, from charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). "Some children have lost their whole family. We are offering them all the support we can."

A 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan lost his 28-year-old sister, who died on the beach next to him. He can't find the strength to tell his parents.

A 43-year-old man from Afghanistan survived with his 14-year-old son, but his wife and his three other children, who were 13, nine, and five did not make it. Another Afghan woman in tears would not move from the beach after losing her husband.

"This is yet another tragedy happening near our shores. It reminds us all that the Mediterranean is a giant mass grave, with tens of thousands of souls in it, and it continues to widen," said Francesco Creazzo, from SOS Méditerranée, an NGO engaged in rescue operations in the central Mediterranean.

"There is no end in sight; in 2013, people said 'never again' to the little white coffins of Lampedusa, in 2015, they said 'never again' in front of the lifeless body of a two-year-old Syrian child on a beach.

"Now the words 'never again' are not even pronounced any more. We only hear 'no more departures', but unfortunately people keep venturing on this journey and they keep dying," he added.

A shipwrecked boat that washed up on the coast of Calabria

Speaking at the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday morning, Secretary General António Guterres called on countries to do more to help refugees and migrants, and for safer travel routes and strengthened rescue operations.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - elected last year partly on a pledge to stem the flow of migrants into Italy - on Sunday expressed "deep sorrow" and blamed the deaths on traffickers.

"It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of the 'ticket' they paid in the false perspective of a safe journey," she said.

"The government is committed to preventing departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so."

Ms Meloni's right-wing government has vowed to stop migrants reaching Italy's shores and in the last few days pushed through a tough new law tightening the rules on rescues.

The vessel, which had sailed from Turkey several days ago, is reported to have sunk after it crashed against rocks during rough weather.

Video footage shows timber from the wreckage washing up on the beach, along with parts of the hull.

According to monitoring groups, more than 20,000 people have died or gone missing at sea in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

Graphic showing number of deaths in the Mediterranean since 2014

A map of the Mediterranean showing the location of Crotone on the Calabrian coast of Italy where the migrant boat was shipwrecked.

Minggu, 26 Februari 2023

Migrant boat breaks apart off southern coast of Italy; dozens dead - euronews

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CCAiC0dXU1BpWkhGYUlzmAEB?oc=5

2023-02-26 13:22:10Z
1806094390

Sabtu, 25 Februari 2023

China refuses to condemn Russia's Ukraine invasion during G20 deadlock - BBC

Delegates ride in a buggy at G20 finance officials meeting venue near Bengaluru, India

By Oliver Slow

BBC News

Finance ministers of the world's largest economies have failed to agree on a closing statement following a summit in India, after China refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing declined to accept parts of a G20 statement that deplored Russia's aggression "in the strongest terms".

Moscow said "anti-Russian" Western countries had "destabilised" the G20.

It comes after China this week published a plan to end the conflict that was viewed by some as pro-Russian.

India, which hosted this week's G20 talks in the southern city of Bengaluru, issued a wide-ranging "chair's summary" from the meeting, noting there were "different assessments of the situation" in Ukraine, and on sanctions imposed on Russia.

A footnote said that two paragraphs summarising the war were "agreed to by all member countries except Russia and China". The paragraphs were adapted from the G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration in November, and criticised "in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine".

After taking a back seat since the invasion a year ago, Beijing has stepped up its diplomacy efforts surrounding the conflict in recent weeks. Its top diplomat Wang Yi toured Europe this week, culminating in a warm welcome by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

China also this week published a 12-point plan for ending the war in Ukraine, in which it called for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty. However, the 12-point document did not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, and did not condemn Russia's invasion.

The Chinese document was welcomed by Russia, prompting US President Joe Biden to comment: "[President] Putin's applauding it, so how could it be any good?"

After the G20 meeting, Ajay Seth, a senior Indian official, said in a press conference that Russian and Chinese representatives did not agree to the wording on Ukraine because "their mandate is to deal with economic and financial issues".

"On the other hand, all the other 18 countries felt that the war has got implications for the global economy" and needed to be mentioned, he added.

The 17-paragraph summary of the summit also referenced the recent earthquake in Turkey, debt in low- and middle-income countries, global tax policy, and food insecurity.

Russia's foreign ministry said it regretted the fact that "the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilised by the Western collective and used in an anti-Russian... way".

It accused the United States, European Union and G7 nations of "clear blackmail", urging them to "acknowledge the objective realities of a multipolar world".

But German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said: "This is a war. And this war has a cause, has one cause, and that is Russia and Vladimir Putin. That must be expressed clearly at this G20 finance meeting."

Previous meetings of G20 members have also failed to produce a joint statement since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.

On Thursday, the UN General Assembly in New York overwhelmingly backed a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The motion was backed by 141 nations with 32 abstaining and seven - including Russia - voting against.