News of the World

[kyonides]

Russia Suspends Ukraine Grain Deal Over Ship Attack Claim

Russia announced Saturday that it will immediately suspend its implementation of a U.N.-brokered grain deal.

The Russian Defense Ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that the Russians mishandled their own weapons.

The Russian declaration came one day after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the grain export deal, which was scheduled to expire on Nov. 19. Guterres also urged other countries, mainly in the West, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports.
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U.N. officials were in touch with Russian authorities over the announced suspension.
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Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused British specialists of being involved in the alleged attack by drones on Russian ships in Crimea. Britain’s Defense Ministry had no immediate comment on the claim.
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Russia also requested a meeting Monday of the U.N. Security Council because of the alleged attack on the Black Sea Fleet and the security of the grain corridor, said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s first deputy representative to the U.N.

Russia’s agriculture minister said Moscow stands ready to “fully replace Ukrainian grain and deliver supplies at affordable prices to all interested countries.” In remarks carried by the state Rossiya 24 TV channel, Dmitry Patrushev said Moscow was prepared to “supply up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries free of charge in the next four months,” with the help of Turkey.

 It's clear the Russians want to control the grain and wheat markets. Otherwise they wouldn't tell people they wouldn't give them away for free!

At Least 151 Dead in South Korea’s Capital After Crowd Surge at Halloween Event

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declares a period of national mourning

At least 151 people are dead after an outdoors Halloween event in South Korean capital Seoul turned into a crowd surge on Saturday night, emergency officials said.

Huge crowds at the event surged into a narrow downhill alley in a nightlife area near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in Seoul. The incident trapped and crushed hundreds of people in Seoul’s leisure district of Itaewon.

Emergency workers and pedestrians were seen performing first aid and CPR on people lying in the streets amid ensuing chaos.

Officials say at least 151 have died and about 150 others are injured. The fire service said most victims were teenagers and young adults.

Yeap,     Halloween is a dangerous time of the year indeed.

US Releases Oldest Detainee From Guantánamo Bay After 17 Years With No Charges

The United States announced it has released its oldest detainee at Guantánamo Bay detention camp and repatriated him to Pakistan.

Pakistani national Saifullah Paracha, 75, was first detained at the facility in 2003. He was said to have provided substantive financial support to the al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist groups in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and was also alleged to have been in contact with prominent terrorists, including Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. His son was found guilty of laundering $200,000 into America from Pakistan for al-Qaeda.

He has never been charged before a military commission or any other tribunal with a crime against the United States. He was held as a law of war detainee.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Saturday that it “completed the requirements for responsible transfer” in consultation with its Pakistani partners.

“The United States appreciates the willingness of Pakistan and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantánamo Bay facility,” it added.

FBI Asks Court for 66 Years to Release Information From Seth Rich’s Computer

The FBI is asking a U.S. court to reverse its order that it produce information from Seth Rich’s laptop computer.

If the court does not, the bureau wants 66 years to produce the information.

Rich was a Democratic National Committee staffer when he was killed on a street in Washington in mid-2016. No person has ever been arrested in connection to the murder.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, an Obama appointee, ruled in September that the bureau must hand over information from the computer to Brian Huddleston, a Texas man who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the info.

The FBI’s assertion that the privacy interest Rich’s family members hold outweighed the public interest was rejected by Mazzant, who noted the bureau cited no relevant case law supporting the argument.

But the ruling was erroneous, U.S. lawyers said in a new filing.
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“Given the Court’s findings that except for the information related to Seth Rich’s laptop withheld pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7© based on privacy interests, the FBI properly withheld or redacted all other information responsive to Huddleston’s requests, the production order seems inconsistent with the rest of the order,” the motion stated.

The FBI, after claiming it never possessed Rich’s laptop or any information from it, acknowledged in 2020 that it had thousands of files from the computer.

Yes, people. That  laptop never existed.  As if you could still trust the FBI after reading my latest story.