News of the World

[kyonides]

RUSSIAN NEWS

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Several articles on the Tyrant you love to hate, including alleged war crimes

As the West courts Russia’s neighbors, Putin shows he won’t give up its backyard without a fight

Russia signaled this week that it will not take Western efforts to build ties with Central Asia lying down, with Moscow conducting its own diplomatic push in the region traditionally seen as its own “backyard.”

Keen to maintain Russia’s dwindling sphere of influence in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Kazakhstan Thursday, making his presence felt a week after French president Emmanuel Macron visited the oil- and mineral-rich country, and its neighbor Uzbekistan.

On Thursday, Putin will meet the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Talks are aimed at “the further development of Russian-Kazakh relations, prospects for further interaction within “the Eurasian space, as well as current regional and international problems,” the Kremlin said.

Russia wants to maintain its foothold in Central Asia — a region comprised of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — amid growing economic competition from China, and rising geopolitical interest from the West, much to Russia’s growing disdain and disapproval.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently disparaged the West’s charm offensive in Central Asia —after a number of high-profile meetings between Central Asian leaders and their U.S. and European counterparts this summer — accusing the West of “luring” Russia’s “neighbours, friends and allies” away from it.

Putin, meanwhile, said ahead of his Kazakh trip that a number of countries are acting in a way that is “directly aimed” at weakening power in the post-Soviet space and urged members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — a regional intergovernmental organization made up of Russia and other former Soviet republics — to beef up their collective security.

Putin’s Move to Secure Libya Bases Is New Regional Worry for US

Russia is moving to expand its military presence in eastern Libya, a plan that could lead to a naval base, giving it a significant foothold on Europe’s southern doorstep.

A defense accord is being hammered out between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Libya’s eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar following their meeting in Moscow in late September, according to people briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive issues.

The escalation of Russian activity in Libya represents a fresh challenge to the US and its European allies, which are already locked in a standoff with the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine and the country’s potential role in any wider Middle East conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. Russia has been heavily active in neighboring Syria throughout that country’s decade-long civil war.

The threat is being taken “very seriously” by the US administration, said Jonathan Winer, a former US special envoy to Libya. “Keeping Russia out of the Mediterranean has been a key strategic objective — if Russia gets ports there, that gives it the ability to spy on all of the European Union.”

Russia has had a covert presence in the North African oil exporter for several years via the Wagner mercenary group, which moved in during the power vacuum and civil war that followed the NATO-backed removal of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011...

The groundwork done by Wagner to advance the Kremlin’s interests in Africa and the Middle East has allowed Moscow to quickly ramp up its foreign military assets. It’s also seeking a naval base on the Red Sea in Sudan, which would give it permanent access to the Suez Canal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Peninsula, though a civil conflict in that country may put back those plans.

Libya is divided between dueling administrations in the western capital, Tripoli, and the east, where Haftar holds sway. It’s common for each side to oppose foreign policies and other decisions made by its rival.

Haftar, 79, controls many of the major oil facilities in Libya, an OPEC producer that’s home to some 40% of Africa’s reserves. He’s looking for air-defense systems to protect him against rival forces in Tripoli, who have been backed by Turkey’s military, according to people close to his self-styled Libyan National Army.

Russia's Putin to stay in power past 2024, sources say

Vladimir Putin has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030, as the Kremlin chief feels he must steer Russia through the most perilous period in decades, six sources told Reuters.

After defusing an armed mutiny by the leader of the Wagner mercenary group in June, Putin has moved to shore up support among his core base in the security forces, the armed forces and with regional voters outside Moscow, while Wagner has been brought firmly to heel.

Russian defence, weapons and overall budget spending has soared while Putin has made numerous public appearances, including the regions, over recent months.

"The decision has been made - he will run," said one of the sources who has knowledge of the planning.

Another source, also acquainted with the Kremlin's thinking, confirmed that a decision has been made and that Putin's advisers were preparing for his participation. Three other sources said the decision to run in the March 2024 presidential election had been taken.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of Kremlin politics.

One of them said a choreographed hint was due to come within a few weeks, confirming a Kommersant newspaper report last month.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not yet commented on the issue, adding: "The campaign has not been officially announced yet."

Yeah, the part that worries me sick is the "yet" part indeed.

How Russia is recruiting Wagner fighters to continue war in Ukraine

The Kremlin is moving to absorb former Wagner soldiers into Russia’s military structures as it seeks to take control of battle-tested fighters for its war in Ukraine more than two months after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary group’s founder.
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Weeks after Prigozhin’s death, Putin met Andrei Troshev, a former senior Wagner commander, to discuss how its fighting force could be used in Ukraine. After the meeting, the Kremlin said that Troshev had signed a contract with the defence ministry.

But the regular army is only one of many pathways open to former Wagner soldiers, with Russia’s national guard, known as Rosgvardia, and several state-linked private military groups also poaching Wagner veterans.

The Guardian found that Rosgvardia, a militarised force separate from the army that answers directly to Putin, started to recruit Wagner fighters earlier this month for deployment in Ukraine. Using a Russian phone number, the Guardian called several former Wagner recruitment centres saying, if asked, they were inquiring about recruitment possibilities.

“We are urgently looking for new people this month. You will fight as Wagner but the contracts will be signed with Rosgvardia,” said Andrei Bulgakov, a veteran Wagner soldier who led the group’s office in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

Bulgakov said the Wagner formation at Rosgvardia would be commanded by Prigozhin’s son Pavel, who is little known. “Pavel Yevgenyevich is now in charge,” Bulgakov said, using Pavel’s patronymic as a sign of respect.

Wagner recruiters in Moscow and Volgograd gave similar details about Pavel’s role in the Rosgvardia recruitment process. Not much is known about Pavel Prigozhin, 25, who once featured, along with his sister, Polina, in a 2004 children’s book written by the future warlord.

Ukrainian Prisoners of War being sent to fight their own army, Russian news claims

Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the frontlines of their homeland to fight on Moscow’s side in the war, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti has reported.

Video from RIA Novosti released on Tuesday showed the Ukrainians swearing allegiance to Russia, holding rifles and dressed in military fatigues to fight in a battalion named for medieval nobleman Bogdan Khmelnitsky, seen as a national hero in Russia for bringing parts of Ukraine under Moscow’s control in the 15th century.

The news agency said the battalion entered service last month.

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 623

The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the report or videos released by the news agency, or whether the PoWs were coerced into their actions.

Both Ukrainian military and human rights officials as well as the Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Experts say such actions would be an apparent violation of the Geneva conventions relating to the treatment of PoWs, which forbids them from being exposed to combat or from working in unhealthy or dangerous conditions – coerced or not.

US NEWS

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Former Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby convicted of perjury about Florida retirement homes

A former top prosecutor for the city of Baltimore was convicted on Thursday of charges that she lied about the finances of a side business to improperly access retirement funds during the pandemic, using the money to buy two Florida homes.

A federal jury convicted former Baltimore state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby of two counts of perjury after a trial that started Monday.

Mosby served two terms as state’s attorney for Baltimore. A federal grand jury indicted her on perjury charges before a Democratic primary challenger defeated her last year.
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Mosby gained a national profile for prosecuting Baltimore police officers after Freddie Gray, a Black man, died in police custody in 2015, which was Mosby’s first year in office. His death led to riots and protests in the city. None of the officers were convicted.

Mosby declined to testify before her attorneys rested their case on Wednesday. After the verdict, she said, “I’m blessed. I don’t know what else to say,” as she left the courthouse and entered a waiting car.

Mosby also faces separate charges of mortgage fraud. A trial date for those charges hasn’t been set.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Mosby withdrew $90,000 from Baltimore's deferred compensation plan. She received her full salary, about $250,000 that year.

Speaker Johnson tells NYC to axe sanctuary city status in return for migrant funding: 'Unconscionable'

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday told New York City that if it wanted federal money to help house migrants amid the ongoing crisis there, it would have to axe its sanctuary city status.

In an interview with The New York Post, Johnson expressed confidence that House Republicans would require the heavily Democrat city to get rid of its policies that restrict police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to deport migrants accused of committing crimes.
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Johnson's comments come following a request from the Biden administration for $1.4 billion in funding for state and local governments across the country to fund the care of migrants released into the U.S.

However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and four other big-city mayors have rejected that amount, and instead asked for $5 billion in funding relief.

Johnson also blasted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as "one of the worst cabinet secretaries in the history of the United States," and said his job performance in the role was "inexcusable."

"President Biden can’t help his age. In some ways, he’s not able to control what happens with the economy that they’ve created. But you could change the border policies overnight, and they are unwilling to do it," he said.

MIDDLE EASTERN NEWS

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Turkey's Erdogan, on Israel-Hamas war, says West is 'too weak to even call for a cease-fire'

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the West Thursday of being "too weak to even call for a cease-fire" in the Israel-Hamas war, a report says.

Erdogan, who previously has called Israel a "war criminal" for its military actions against Hamas, made the comment during a meeting of the 10-member Economic Cooperation Organization in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, according to The Associated Press.

Erdogan said Western nations and organizations are observing these "massacres by Israel" from afar but are "too weak to even call for a cease-fire, let alone criticize child murderers."

OK, let's stop here for a moment. Who ever said that Hamas didn't kill kids and even  babies? The terrorists beheaded them as Israel has already demonstrated in the past days. Somehow, Erdogan fails to remember this important fact.  How convenient! Plus, that terrorist organization has used people as human shields ever since Israel declared war on Hamas.

The Economic Cooperation Organization consists of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Erdogan ripped the West on the same day the White House announced the Israeli military has agreed to honor four-hour daily pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the new Israeli policy began "today."