31 Jul, 2022 05:02

Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea attacked by Ukraine – governor

Six people were injured in an apparent drone strike, the official said

Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol has been attacked by Ukraine, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev claimed on his Telegram channel on Sunday morning. Six people were injured in a strike presumably carried out by a drone, he said.

The incident took place as Russia celebrates Navy Day. Razvozhayev said that all local celebrations have been canceled for safety reasons. The holiday sees military parades and other events across the country.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly voiced plans to take back Crimea, which voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov said this month that the Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea poses “a permanent threat” to Ukraine.

Moreover, when asked about the use of US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, Vadim Skibitsky, the spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told reporters this month that military sites in Crimea were “among the targets that must be struck in order to ensure the safety of our citizens, sites and Ukraine in general.” Crimea has “become a hub for the movement of all equipment and weapons that come from the Russian Federation,” he said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/559922-black-sea-fleet-hq-sevastopol-attack-ukraine/

(War at sea soon)

https://www.rt.com/russia/559922-black-sea-fleet-hq-sevastopol-attack-ukraine/

(Maritime war coming)

31 Jul, 2022 05:02

Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea attacked by Ukraine – governor

Six people were injured in an apparent drone strike, the official said

Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol has been attacked by Ukraine, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev claimed on his Telegram channel on Sunday morning. Six people were injured in a strike presumably carried out by a drone, he said.

The incident took place as Russia celebrates Navy Day. Razvozhayev said that all local celebrations have been canceled for safety reasons. The holiday sees military parades and other events across the country.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly voiced plans to take back Crimea, which voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Gavrilov said this month that the Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea poses “a permanent threat” to Ukraine.

Moreover, when asked about the use of US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, Vadim Skibitsky, the spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told reporters this month that military sites in Crimea were “among the targets that must be struck in order to ensure the safety of our citizens, sites and Ukraine in general.” Crimea has “become a hub for the movement of all equipment and weapons that come from the Russian Federation,” he said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/559922-black-sea-fleet-hq-sevastopol-attack-ukraine/

(Maritime war)

https://www.rt.com/russia/559922-black-sea-fleet-hq-sevastopol-attack-ukraine/

(Maritime war coming)

>>16942250

Ok Debbie where’s your downer buddies. You have no idea on how many people are realizing the scam

31 Jul, 2022 21:38

NATO force on alert amid Kosovo tensions

Units of the NATO-led KFOR have been spotted in the north of Kosovo region amid tensions between Belgrade and Pristina

The NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeepers were spotted late on Saturday in the city of Kosovska Mitrovica, located in the north of Serbia’s breakaway region of Kosovo.

The force, apparently Italian carabinieri units, were spotted guarding a bridge across the Ibar river, footage from the scene circulated by local media shows. The bridge splits the city into the northern Serb-populated part, and the southern one, inhabited predominantly by ethnic Albanians.

KFOR, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on Sunday evening that it was “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized.”

The KFOR has been reportedly placed on high alert, with a large military convoy of some 30-40 vehicles spotted heading towards the frontier between the breakaway region and the rest of Serbia. Kosovo special police has been spotted actively moving its equipment and personnel as well.

KFOR said it would “take whatever measures are necessary to keep a safe and secure environment in Kosovo at all times, in line with its UN mandate.”

Ethnic Serbs have reportedly set up barricades on several roads in Kosovska Mitrovica and its vicinity. At least one Serb has been reportedly beaten up by Kosovo police units as he tried to get through the barricades. The injured man reportedly ended up hospitalized.

The tensions come as the ethnic Albanian government of the breakaway region moved forward with its controversial plan to ban Serb license plates and identification documents. Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti claimed the move was about equal justice and law in all the territories his government claims.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused Kosovo authorities of seeking to “impose on the people in northern Kosovo-Metohija things they have no right to impose,” warning that Belgrade will not stand by idly.

“The atmosphere has been heated up, and the Serbs will not suffer any more atrocities,” Vucic said.

Earlier, Serbian president alleged the controversial registration plan was a part of an effort to force the remaining ethnic Serbs out of Kosovo.

Caroline Ziadeh, head of the UN mission in the province UNMIK, urged both sides “to address issues in good faith through the EU-facilitated dialogue, to strengthen stability and security for all.”

NATO occupied Kosovo in 1999, after a 78-day air war against what was then Yugoslavia. The province unilaterally declared independence in 2008 with support of the US and most of its allies. The breakaway region, however, has not received universal support, with Serbia Russia, China and the UN as a whole not recognizing it.

https://www.rt.com/news/559962-nato-kfor-kosovo-serbia/

Clinton’s unnecessary wars to get rid if the evidence. EU and US strategy divide and conquer. There is no such thing as UN peacekeepers

31 Jul, 2022 19:23

Hezbollah issues warning to Israel

The militant group has warned Israeli leaders against ‘playing with time’ in their offshore territorial dispute with Lebanon

(Israel the master of all fake narratives)

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has posted a video suggesting that Israel’s offshore natural gas industry will come under attack unless the Jewish state resolves a maritime border dispute with Beirut.

The group posted a video on Sunday showing drone footage of vessels and production platforms involved in tapping Israel’s massive offshore gas deposits. The video also showed coordinates for each location featured. It began with words from a recent speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, warning that “playing with time is not useful” in the territorial dispute.

According to the video, the footage was shot on Saturday and on June 9. The images were reportedly captured at Karish, a field in disputed waters where London-based upstream firm Energean plans to start pumping gas under a contract with the Israeli government later this year.

The territorial dispute escalated after Energean’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel arrived at Karish in June. The field is located about 90km west of Haifa, near Israel’s larger Leviathan and Tamar gas developments, and it’s estimated to hold upward of 1.8 trillion cubic feet of the fuel.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun warned at the time that any attempt to tap gas deposits in the contested area without first resolving the dispute would be seen as a “provocation and an aggressive action.” West Jerusalem has insisted that the Karish block is located entirely within Israel’s exclusive economic zone, as recognized by the United Nations, and isn't subject to the maritime dispute between the countries.

The US is mediating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. In fact, the Hezbollah video was issued hours before US envoy Amos Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Lebanese leaders in Beirut. “Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy,” the US State Department said on Saturday in a statement.

The stakes are high for Lebanon. Getting in on the Levant Basin gas boom would potentially help the country ease an energy crisis that has led to frequent blackouts. Revenue generated by contracts with gas producers might also help speed Lebanon’s recovery from its financial collapse, which has dragged on since 2019.

Israel, which was previously thought to be poor in hydrocarbon deposits, went from being a net importer of fossil fuels to self-sufficient after US upstream firm Noble Energy and other explorers began striking gas in the Levant in 2000. Leviathan is estimated to hold 18 trillion cubic feet of gas, and its development allowed Israel to become a significant fuel exporter in 2019.

https://www.rt.com/news/559957-hezbollah-threatens-israel-over-gas-dispute/

(The beast of war, MIC and Israel leadership must be fed)

31 Jul, 2022 18:32

Ex-Tokyo 2020 board member received extra payments from Olympic sponsor

Haruyuki Takahashi insists he has done nothing wrong

A company operated by an ex-Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing Committee member was paid over $1 million from a sponsor, AOKI Holdings Inc, in addition to payments made by the suit retailer that are already being investigated by Tokyo prosecutors according to Japanese media.

The Nikkei business daily newspaper detailed how AOKI paid around 230 million Japanese yen ($1.7 million) to a subsidiary company of advertising agency Dentsu in 2017, which was then transferred to a company operated by former Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee board member Haruyuki Takahashi.

Though tens of millions of yen were transferred to a pair of sports organizations, Takahashi's firm kept the leftover 150 million yen ($1.1 million), the Nikkei claims.

The same outlet reported how Takahashi and ex-AOKI chairman Hironori Aoki insist there was nothing illegal about the money, with the Yomiuri newspaper putting the initial payment at 250 million yen ($1.9 million).

The Nikkei quoted a source explaining how Takahashi told Tokyo prosecutors the money was paid in exchange for consulting work he had carried out since 2009, as opposed to something he received while acting as an Organizing Committee Director.

Last week, Japanese media showed prosecutors raiding Takahashi's home and the AOKI headquarters. According to reports, prosecutors were investigating suspected inappropriate payments of 45 million yen ($340,000) to Takahashi and are said to be receiving cooperation from advertising giant Dentsu.

Reuters approached Takahashi, AOKI, Dentsu and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office for comment but has thus far not had any success.

In March 2020, Reuters reported how Takahashi received over $8 million in 2013 and 2014 from the Tokyo Olympic bid committee for undisclosed activities that he later told Reuters included lobbying members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IOC chief Thomas Bach insisted those payments didn't break the organization's rules, and Takahashi also maintained there was nothing improper about the payments or the way he used them.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic, went ahead last summer to a backdrop of public discontent and protests in Japan.

https://www.rt.com/sport/559953-tokyo2020-payments-takahashi-aoki/

Did Shinso Abe find out about this?

31 Jul, 2022 09:09

Severing ties with Russia is ‘absurd and dangerous’ – German official

Saxony’s prime minister calls for ‘pragmatism’ in relations with Russia

Isolating Russia and ending economic cooperation with Moscow is dangerous for Germany, Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer told Die Zeit newspaper this week, reiterating his call for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

“I think the idea of isolating Russia permanently or never again cooperating economicallyis absurd and dangerous… A Russia that is oriented towards China and has no ties to Europe is much more dangerous for us,” Kretschmer told the news outlet.

The official said he was concerned with the impact of the sanctions on Russia on the German economy and energy security. He called for “pragmatism” in relations with Moscow and for the EU to facilitate peace talks and a “freeze” of the conflict in Ukraine, adding that a ceasefire would not only end the deaths, but “create an opportunity for the supply of raw materials,” most notably fossil fuels and grains.

Roughly half of German households rely on gas for electricity and heating, and around a third of the energy for German industry comes from gas. Prior to the conflict in Ukraine, up to one half of that gas was supplied by Russia. However, deliveries have dropped in recent weeks due to either technical or political reasons.

According to Kretschmer, despite ambitious energy transition plans and political agendas, Germany will need gas supplies from Russia for the next five years at least.

“If we realize that we cannot for now give up on Russian gas, then it is bitter but it is the reality, and we must act accordingly,” Kretschmer said, adding that apart from ordinary residents who will not be able to heat their homes in the winter, German industry is at risk if Russian gas supplies are lost.

“Our entire economic system is in danger of collapsing. If we are not careful,Germany could become de-industrialised,” he stated. Last month, Kretschmer said that Germany needs to ensure reliable fuel supplies before slapping Russia with sanctions.

https://www.rt.com/business/559924-germany-russia-severing-ties-dangerous/

31 Jul, 2022 07:59

Navy Day warship parade in St. Petersburg (VIDEO)

Military vessels are sailing through the Neva River in Russia’s second-largest city

Russia is celebrating Navy Day with a warship parade on the Neva River in St. Petersburg.

A total of 40 vessels of different types and more than 3,000 servicemen are slated to participate in Sunday’s main event.

President Vladimir Putin is attending the event with other high-ranking officials. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov noted that this year also marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, the Russian ruler who founded the city and established a powerful naval force during an 18th-century war with Sweden.

A naval parade was held earlier inVladivostokin Russia’s Far East, and similar events are held in other port cities across the country.

Navy Day is celebrated in Russia on the last Sunday of July.

https://www.rt.com/news/559927-russia-2022-navy-parade/

(Kek, my 7rh grade teacher made sure we knew about Vladivostok was in geographry, and how important it was on far west end of Russia right about China. She was a brilliant woman and teacher)

31 Jul, 2022 07:37

Major buyer cancels Ukrainian wheat deal– Reuters

Egypt has reportedly found alternative grain suppliers

Egypt has cancelled an order for 240,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat that was earlier booked for delivery last February and March but not shipped due to the conflict in Ukraine, Reuters reported this week. This comes as Kiev prepares to resume grain exports via the Black Sea following an agreement with Moscow.

Egypt’s procurement authority released the suppliers from their contractual obligations this week, Reuters said citing its sources, adding that it was unclear whether the contracts were cancelled before or after the internationally-brokered deal was reached.

After being unable to receive its supply from Ukraine, Egypt, one of the world’s biggest wheat importers, bought the grain elsewhere. According to media reports, in June the country purchased more than a million tons of wheat from Romania, Bulgaria, France and Russia. Bloomberg reports that Egypt now has more than seven months of wheat stockpiles.

Moscow and Kiev agreed to restart grain exports via the Black Sea last Friday with the first ship expected to set sail within days. An estimated 20 million tons of grain are awaiting shipping from Ukrainian ports.

The deal was hailed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as “a beacon of hope and relief” and was widely described as a diplomatic breakthrough that would do much to alleviate the global food crisis.

Ukraine’s main grain export, corn, accounts for over 15% of the global supply. The biggest buyer is the EU, which uses it mainly as animal fodder. Ukraine’s share of the world’s wheat exports in 2021 stood at 10% with Egypt and Indonesia its main customers. The eastern European country ranks fifth among global wheat exporters after the US, Canada, Russia and the EU. Ukraine produces just 3% of the total global wheat output, according to data from the economy and business branch of the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper. Among the country’s other grain exports are barley, millet, oats and rye.

https://www.rt.com/business/559806-egypt-ukraine-grain-supplies/

(ME and Africa will not be held hostage by Ukraine, they need to feed their people)