https://english.almayadeen.net/news/miscellaneous/bbc-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-at-world-service

BBC to cut hundreds of jobs at World Service

Nearly 400 staff at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service will lose their jobs as part of a cost-cutting program and move to digital platforms, the broadcaster announced on Thursday.

The BBC, which marks its centenary next month, said its international services needed to make savings of £28.5 million ($31 million) as part of wider reductions of £500 million, which unions blamed on the United Kingdom government.

In July, the broadcaster detailed plans to merge BBC World News television and its domestic UK equivalent into a single channel to launch in April next year.

BBC World Service one of the UK's most recognizable global brands currently operates in 41 languages around the world with a weekly audience of some 364 million people.

But the corporation explained that audience habits were changing and more people were accessing news online, which along with a freeze on BBC funding and increased operating costs meant a move to "digital-first" made financial sense.

"Today's proposals entail a net total of around 382 post closures," the public service broadcaster said in an online statement.

Eleven language services Azerbaijani, Brasil, Marathi, Mundo, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese are already digital only.

Under the restructuring plans, they will be joined by seven more: Chinese, Gujarati, Igbo, Indonesian, Pidgin, Urdu, and Yoruba.

Radio services in Arabic, Persian, Kyrgyz, Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Indonesian, Tamil, and Urdu will stop if the proposals are approved by staff and unions.

The broadcaster pointed out that no language services will close, although some production will move out of London and schedules would change.

BBC World Service director Liliane Landor said there was a "compelling case" for expanding digital services, as audiences had more than doubled since 2018.

"The way audiences are accessing news and content is changing and the challenge of reaching and engaging people around the world with quality, trusted journalism is growing," Landor indicated.

Workers hit by the government's poor decisions

On her part, the head of the broadcasting union Bectu, Philippa Childs, expressed the union's disappointment at the proposed changes.

"While we recognize the BBC must adapt to meet the challenges of a changing media landscape, once again it is workers who are hit by the government's poorly judged political decisions," she considered.

Childs highlighted that the government's freezing of the license fee which pays for BBC World Service had created the funding squeeze and the need for cuts.

Bectu will push for staff to be redeployed where possible and to ensure it "mitigates the needs for any compulsory redundancies," she said.

BBC World Service is funded out of the UK license fee – currently £159 for a color TV and payable by every household with a television set.

The UK government announced a freeze on the license fee in January, in what was seen by critics as an attempt to save the then-prime minister Boris Johnson's job.

At the time, Johnson was facing mounting claims of wrongdoing in office, which ultimately forced him to resign.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/cia-used-covert-websites-an-amateur-could-have-caught:-resea

CIA used covert websites an 'amateur' could have caught: Research

One mistake by the US' notorious intelligence hub, the CIA, has exposed intelligence agents operating in China and Iran, as the agency used hundreds of websites for secret communications that were revealed to be defective.

According to new research conducted by security experts at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, the defects could have been easily identified by an "amateur" after the experts investigated the matter following a tip from reporter Joel Schectmann at Reuters that concerned the imprisonment of a CIA asset in Iran after using what Citizen Lab later determined was a “fatally insecure network."

Citizen Lab resorted to just one website and publicly available material to identify “with high confidence” a network of 885 websites reportedly used by the CIA, many of which are concerned with news, weather, and healthcare, adding, “Knowing only one website, it is likely that while the websites were online, a motivated amateur sleuth could have mapped out the CIA network and attributed it to the US government."

Surprisingly, and although the websites were active between 2004 and 2013 and probably not used by the CIA recently, Citizen Lab said a subset of the websites were still linked to active intelligence employees or assets, including a foreign contractor and a current state department employee. As this is considered a significant reveal, Citizen Lab rejected the idea of making details of its findings available to the public to prevent posing a risk to current CIA employees.

The probe could be traced back to 2018 when Yahoo News reporters Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman reported a breach, allegedly by Iran and China, of a communication system used by the agency.

The group's discovery casts doubts on security measures within the agency known as the "first line of defense for the United States" as it describes itself on the official website. Citizen Lab commented that “the reckless construction of this infrastructure by the CIA reportedly led directly to the identification and execution of assets, and undoubtedly risked the lives of countless other individuals. Our hope is that this research and our limited disclosure process will lead to accountability for this reckless behavior.”

In response, CIA spokesperson Tammy Kupperman Thorp said, “CIA takes its obligations to protect the people who work with us extremely seriously and we know that many of them do so bravely, at great personal risk. The notion that CIA would not work as hard as possible to safeguard them is false.”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/egypt-currency-hits-near-record-low:-central-bank

Egypt currency hits near-record low: Central Bank

The Egyptian pound fell to a record low against the US dollar on Thursday, trading at 19.6 pounds per dollar, as per data from the country's central bank.

The exchange rate reached 19.6 pounds per dollar as trading ended, while the selling rate was 19.49 pounds per dollar. The euro traded at around 19.05 pounds when buying and 18.94 pounds when selling, the bank's data showed.

The previous record was set in December 2016 at 19.56 pounds per dollar.

A look back

Egypt's Central Bank raised the key rate for the first time since 2020 in March, to 9.75%, and then to 11.75% in May, causing the Egyptian currency to fall against the dollar. Since March, the pound exchange rate has fallen by 25%.

It is worth noting that Egypt reportedly requested assistance from the International Monetary Fund in late March in order to implement a comprehensive economic program in the country.

Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait stated in August that a total of $22 billion in investments had fled Egypt, complicating debt servicing and further plunging the country into an economic crisis.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/euro-plunders-against-ruble-in-moscow-exchange-reaching-a-20

Euro plunders against Ruble, reaches lowest since 2014

Hitting its lowest rate against the Russian uble since October 2014, the Euro crumbled in the MOEX (the Moscow Exchange) on Friday to reach a value of 52.5 Rubles/Euro after falling 5.1% (2.97 Rubles) from its last closing session, while current trades are recording continuous losses to the Euro against the Ruble at the MOEX.

On the other hand, the Chinese Yuan recorded slight losses against the ruble, falling by 0.2%, while the US dollar fell by 0.5%, to reach values of 8.104 Rubles/Yuan and 56.92 Rubles/USD respectively.

The euro's rate decline in the Russian exchange market is not proportionate to its trading dynamics in the FX markets, experts stated, arguing that while it's crashing against the Ruble in the Moscow local exchange, it is recording a slight increase against the USD (0.983 Euro/USD at the time of the report), meaning that the Euro is hitting a rate 6.2% lower against the Dollar in the Moscow exchange than it is in the global FX market.

According to analysts, this is caused by the absence of demand for the Euro in the MICEX (Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange) and a large plummet of its currency in the domestic foreign exchange market.

Last May, against all Western claims that sanctions will be the end of Russia's economy, the exchange rate of the dollar and the euro fell against the Ruble, and the currency was trading below 69 rubles for the first time since June 2020, while the euro was trading below 73 rubles.

In response to Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would only accept payments in Rubles for gas deliveries to "unfriendly countries" in a nod to all EU members involved in the harsh sanctions imposed on Moscow.

The appreciation of the Ruble against the USD and the Euro is mainly due to Putin's decision, as following his announcement, Russia's Ruble rose in the face of the USD and the Euro, marking a major hike since the currency took a dive against the western currencies due to the sanctions imposed on the country.

The Euro also dropped below the symbolic $1.00 mark last July for the first time since December 2002, as a result of a deteriorating prognosis for the economy of the eurozone and the potential for a total interruption of the Russian gas supply.

Eurozone economic growth has been on a decline and could soon become zero, according to the vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB) on September 27.

“We are seeing that in the third and fourth quarters there is a significant slowdown and we may find ourselves with growth rates close to zero,” said Luis de Guindos at a conference, as reported by Reuters.

Due to the stark increase in energy costs and the loss of Russian gas, economic output has been suffering. This has raised the risk of energy rationing in the next season, which will require a lot of heaters.

Last August, EU energy minister gave the European Commission a mandate to limit gas prices. Surging costs of power linked to gas prices have already stunted the production of various industries, such as fertilizers and aluminum manufacturers, and prompted EU governments, such as Germany, to increase their spending by billions in order to help their citizens.

>>17608608

David versus Goliath. It's going to be biblical.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/uk-implicated-in-bolsonaros-dirty-business-hidden-dealings-e

UK implicated in Bolsonaro's dirty business; hidden dealings exposed

The BBC aired a documentary, in September 2022, titled “The Boys from Brazil: Rise of the Bolsonaros”.

The series, which constitutes of three parts, co-released with PBS in the United States, follows the ascent of Brazil's far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who rose to the position of the country's 2018 presidential election winner from an obscure dictatorship-era military figure.

“Jair Bolsonaro is one of the world’s most controversial leaders”, the documentary begins. “An ardent admirer of Brazil’s military dictatorship, Bolsonaro came to power determined to revive their policies to exploit the Amazon – whatever the cost."

The documentary was released just days before Brazil's presidential election on October 2, with former president and Workers' Party (PT) candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the lead. Concerns are growing about Bolsonaro's willingness to accept electoral defeat if he loses the election.

While the documentary features voices critical of the Bolsonaro dictatorship, it omits one important aspect of obvious importance to the British public: the UK government's hidden dealings with the Bolsonaros.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act illustrate UK engagement with Brazil's far-right and demonstrate how Bolsonaro's Brazil has created a financial opportunity for the UK.

The Bolsonaros

Documents show that British officials met with the Bolsonaros in the months leading up to the 2018 election in Brazil.

The UK Ambassador in Brasilia, Vijay Rangarajan, met with Bolsonaro, his son and congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, and an unnamed advisor on April 10, 2018, just days after Lula was imprisoned. One name has been redacted.

It is worth noting that the then-chief secretary to the Treasury and current Prime Minister Liz Truss arrived in Brazil on April 9 to promote “free trade, free markets, and post-Brexit opportunities."

“British officials met with the Bolsonaros in the months running up to Brazil’s 2018 election.”

Truss met with Rangarajan in the UK Embassy in Brasilia on April 10, the same day Rangarajan met with the Bolsonaros, according to documents obtained by Declassified UK.

However, it remains unclear whether Truss also met Bolsonaro, or if her company with the same people on the same day was an unlikely coincidence. The Treasury did not respond to questions regarding Truss and the Bolsonaros.

The remainder of Truss’ visit to Brazil entailed meetings with ministers and officials on matters including “privatization”. In one of Truss’ briefing notes, it is observed that there is a new “interest in the open market” in Brazil, which “has enormous reserves of oil and gas."

‘Strategic partners’

Two months after Truss' visit, Ambassador Rangarajan sent Bolsonaro a private letter inviting him to his apartment in Brasilia to meet with a group of "Strategic Partners".

Anglo-American, BP, Shell, AstraZeneca, Unilever, and JCB were among the companies that used this word as a euphemism for the directors of Britain's biggest oil, mining, pharmaceutical, and construction enterprises.

“Deputy Bolsonaro”, the letter reads, “it was a great pleasure to meet you and initiate our conversation in April of this year. I would like to invite you for a morning coffee or lunch in my residency with the largest British investors in Brazil, at a time that best suits you”.

The meeting would be attended by “in total no more than 20 people, to allow for a fluid discussion." Rangarajan concluded the letter by telling Bolsonaro: “I hope to meet you again”.

BP and Shell

Britain continued to collaborate with the Bolsonaros following the 2018 election.

Rangarajan and Bolsonaro met again on November 14, that year, along with vice-president elect Hamilton Mouro, General Augusto Heleno, two of Bolsonaro's sons, and unknown "others".

“Rangarajan met with representatives of both companies no less than 20 times during 2018 and 2019.”

The Foreign Office has refused to reveal what was discussed at this discussion, albeit it appears that investment prospects for Britain's biggest multinationals were highlighted once more.

Indeed, the United Kingdom pushed the Brazilian government on behalf of BP and Shell in 2017, and Rangarajan met with representatives from both corporations at least 20 times in 2018 and 2019.

Truss' tour also included a discussion with Shell personnel, who boast of a "prolific… portfolio" of deep-water oil and gas production in Brazil.

"Thatcher's legacy back to life"

UK trade minister Conor Burns traveled in August 2019 to Brazil. There, he met with Bolsonaro’s infrastructure minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, praising the Brazilian government’s “economic reform agenda," which was “reminiscent of Thatcher’s."

Part 1

>>17608652

Burns met with the state governor and former Bolsonaro ally Wilson Witzel in Río de Janeiro, whose police had killed 881 people between January and July of that year – the highest number in nearly two decades.

Alarmingly, Burns “stressed the breadth of UK interests” in Río, adding that the UK “stood ready to work together on a range of issues, including security” matters, citing “facial recognition” as an area of UK “expertise”.

During Bolsonaro's presidency, British trade with Brazil increased significantly. According to a joint statement issued by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Guedes, total trade between the UK and Brazil was valued at £6.5 billion in 2019, representing a 12.6% increase over 2018.

Both governments had taken "the right measures at the right time to protect livelihoods and jobs from the adverse economic effects of the [Covid-19] pandemic," according to the statement.

The then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Bolsonaro in the United Nations Security Council in September 2019 to discuss "trade and security," among other topics, just weeks after the Brazilian leader sparked international concern that he was planning a military coup.

Britain has also provided some military training to Brazil over the past four years, but the Ministry of Defense has refused to disclose the costs, stating that to do so “has the potential to adversely affect relations with our allies."

More recently, Bolsonaro was the only South American political leader to attend the Queen’s funeral.

Part 2 - End

>> Can we trust BBC?

>>17608668

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/progress-in-talks-of-opening-oman-airspace-to-israeli-flight

Progress in talks of opening Oman airspace to Israeli flights: Media

Israeli news website "Israel" Hayom claimed Thursday that progress has been made in recent days between the Israeli occupation and Oman regarding talks to open the Sultanate's airspace to Israeli airlines.

The newspaper said the issue was discussed last week between a high-ranking Israeli official and his Omani counterparts, noting that it appears that talks took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"Israel" Hayom pointed out that it is not absolutely clear whether the talks took place directly between Israeli and Omani officials or through Emirati and Saudi mediation.

Oman refuses to open its airspace to Israeli flights

In mid-August, Israeli media reported that "the Sultanate of Oman refused to open its airspace to Israeli flights," due to "Iranian pressure".

"Israel" Hayom said, "Oman refuses to open its airspace to Israeli travel planes amid intense Iranian pressure."

The newspaper added, "What this means so far is that it is not possible to benefit from opening the Saudi airspace to Israeli aircraft to shorten the flight time to the Far East."

It is worth noting that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Omani counterpart Badr Al-Busaidi had discussed in a phone call "bilateral relations, regional and world issues, and the Vienna nuclear negotiations. "

Last May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the stances of Iran and the Sultanate of Oman were "noticeably consistent on many issues," noting that "good relations between Iran and Oman enhance regional cooperation."

Last year, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi stressed his country's support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and clarified that it supports "the realization of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution."

Simultaneously, Al-Busaidi denied the possibility of Oman being the third Gulf country, after the UAE and Bahrain, to normalize its relations with "Israel".

"Israel" Hayom had reported that it "received internal assurances that the soldiers of the Israeli occupation forces will be allowed to fly over Saudi Arabia."

In July, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in Saudi Arabia announced that the Kingdom was opening its airspace for all civil air carriers for overflying, including Israeli carriers.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-to-follow-us-model-use-armed-drones-in-occupied-west

'Israel' to follow US model, use armed drones in occupied West Bank

The Israeli occupation forces will start using armed drones for targeted killings of what "Tel Aviv" describes as "terrorists" in the occupied West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Israeli newspaper said IOF commanders in the occupied West Bank were permitted by "Tel Aviv" to use armed drones for targeted killings, with the approval of Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi.

The occupation's troops have been granted the "green light" to take matters into their own hands and use drones to conduct offensive strikes on Palestinian resistance groups that "pose an imminent threat to the Israeli military", the Israeli outlet said. Previously, the drones' role was only providing cover and reconnaissance for the IOF.

Through this step, the Israeli occupation is following the model of the United States, which has been conducting air and drone strikes against its targets for years, most prominently under the Obama administration.

Through its arbitrary drone strikes, the United States assassinated the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Al-Quds Brigade, Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani. The assassination stoked tensions between Washington and Tehran and gave rise to fears about a third World War.

Using drone strikes allows the Israeli occupation to evade accountability the same way the US has been for years. Around a year ago, on August 29, the United States in Afghanistan tracked a white Toyota for 8 hours and wrongly identified its owner, Ezmarai Ahmadi, as an ISIS-K militant before targeting the car with a missile and murdering seven children and three adults.

A senior US general admitted the attack was a mistake, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin apologized to the victims' relatives - an act that was seen as "not enough" by Ahamdi's 22-year-old nephew, Farshad Haidari.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he did not know whether the person killed by the US drone strike was an aid worker or an ISIS-K operative when asked about the strike before the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

The arbitrary and brutal execution of 10 civilians took place in the final hours of America's withdrawal from the country after it carried out a very chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw hundreds upon hundreds flocking toward the airport, stampedes, and abandoned allies.

An investigation by the Pentagon concluded that the airstrike was an "honest mistake" and no legal or disciplinary action was recommended afterward. This caused outrage among human rights groups, activists, and the US Congress itself.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/paraguays-benitez-asks-taiwan-for-1bn-to-ally-with-them-over

Paraguay's Benitez asks Taiwan for $1bln to ally with them over China

In an interview with The Financial Times, Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benitez underlined his government's adamance in working with Taiwan to ensure Asunción receives “the real benefits of the strategic alliance”, as he asked the island for an investment of $1 billion in attempt to brush off the pressure to transfer its diplomatic ties to China.

“There is Taiwanese investment of more than $6 billion in countries which don’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we want from that $1 billion to be put in Paraguay,” he added. “That will help us to build the argument about the importance of this strategic alliance with Taiwan.”

According to Dr. Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania, Taiwan was constantly threatened to lose allies, and comments such as those of Benitez would signal a debate about switching. He stated that "following the developments in the Pacific over the last several years, there is a greater awareness in the US and elsewhere that switching recognition from Taipei to Beijing can be the first step to other security and economic links with China, so no doubt there will be diplomatic work underway from a number of countries to understand Asunción’s position on continuing relations with Taiwan.”

With a GDP of about $39 billion, 30% of which comes from agriculture, Paraguay's Abdo Benítez revealed that a sustainable relationship with Taiwan over one with China had come to cost his country, telling The Financial Times that export producers were feeling the heat due to the lack of access to the Chinese market, as was the impediment in the ability to acquire Covid-19 vaccines when they were primarily only available from China.

The US has recently intended to enrich and bolster relations with the Pacific islands while counteracting China’s growing engagement in the region. While the islands sought to address their climate emergency in July, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced in an unprecedented move a fund of $600 million to the islands in order "to counter the Chinese influence in the region."

However, Abdo Benitez's statements were retreated by Paraguay’s foreign affairs minister, Julio César Arriola on Thursday at a press conference by Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs, according to the ministry spokeswoman, Joanne Ou.

Ou commented that Arriola stated, “what President Abdo emphasized in the exclusive interview is that Paraguay has excellent investment conditions and hopes that Taiwanese businessmen can enter the South American market by investing in Paraguay, which is of great significance to the establishment of a strategic partnership between Taiwan and Paraguay”. Ou further asserted that the Taiwanese government would maintain its advocacy for local businesses to invest in Paraguay.

To "clarify" the nature and connotation, Arriola spoke to Taiwan’s ambassador to Paraguay and argued that the bilateral ties between the two countries were “based on common values and ideas” and there was no "this for that" type of relationship.

Paraguay is one of the mere 14 countries holding formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead of China, with most nations concentrated in Latin America and the Pacific. Still, China recently has fortified ties with several, including the Solomon Islands, which signed a security deal with China in April, Panama, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua, that have come with vows of increased trade, loans, and investment.

>> Kek!

>>17608751

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/unsc-to-vote-on-resolution-condemning-russia-accession-refer

UNSC to vote on resolution condemning Russia accession referenda

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will vote Friday on a resolution condemning the referenda on the accession of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to Russia.

The resolution drafted by the United States and Albania has no chance of passing thanks to Moscow's veto power, though it can then be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.

The text, seen by AFP, "condemns the Russian Federation's organization of illegal so-called referenda" in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson, claiming that they "have no validity" and "cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions," including "any purported annexation."

It calls on member states not to recognize any accession to Russia and demands Moscow "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine."

The meeting is set for 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) Friday, ahead of another discussion on the leaks discovered in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to hold a formal ceremony at the Kremlin on the accession.

In the same context, all eyes will be on the responses from India and China. The two countries in February abstained from voting on a resolution condemning Russia's military operation in Ukraine, but China earlier this week called for the "territorial integrity" of all countries to be respected.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the accessions as a "dangerous escalation" that has "no place in the modern world."

On Tuesday, the results of the referenda on the accession of the LPR, DPR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions to Russia were released by Moscow.

The head of the regional electoral committee in the Zaporozhye, Galina Katyushchenko, announced that 93.11% of voters supported accession to Russia, as 100% of ballots have been counted in the region.

In the LPR, 98.42% of voters backed accession to Russia, as per the head of the regional electoral committee, Elena Kravchenko.

In the Kherson region, 87.05% of voters supported the accession, according to the head of the regional election commission, Marina Zakharova.

With all referenda counted, DPR reported 99.23% of voters in favor of becoming part of Russia.

US, NATO, and EU will not recognize results of referenda

It is noteworthy that the United States and NATO had announced that they will not recognize the results of the referenda in the four regions.

"These referenda are an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system," considered US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, adding that "if this does transpire, the United States will never recognize Russia's claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also pointed out that the referenda will be viewed as illegitimate calling on the international community to denounce them.

"Sham referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a further escalation in Putin’s war. The international community must condemn this blatant violation of international law & step up support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg claimed.

On his part, EU foreign policy Chief Josep Borell said that all those involved in referenda to join Russia and other "violations of international law" in Ukraine will be held accountable, saying that "Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these 'referenda' and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered."

>> If they chose to Russia can veto the vote.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-allies-discuss-new-military-aid-package-to-kiev:-austin

US, allies discuss new military aid package to Kiev: Austin

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that the US is exploring a fresh military aid package for Kiev with partners, including training for the Ukrainian military.

"As you've seen us do over time, we have continued to look for ways along with our international partners to provide additional security assistance to Ukraine. Whether this assistance is in the form of actual equipment or other logistical support or training, we continue to evaluate what will be needed and make provisions to provide that security assistance, and so, that will be ongoing," Austin told a joint press conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Jose Faustino in Hawaii.

Austin went on to say that the US will not speculate on how long the situation in Ukraine will last.

"In terms of how long the conflict will last, don't want to speculate either. What I will tell you is that we will continue to support Ukraine, as you've heard our president say, for as long as it takes," Austin said.

US will not speculate on those responsible for incidents at Nord Stream pipelines: Austin

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated on Thursday that the US will not comment on who is to blame for the Nord Stream pipeline catastrophes until an inquiry is completed.

"In terms of the attack or the damage to the pipeline, at this point, I think there is a lot of speculation but quite frankly until a complete investigation is done, no one will be able to really determine what happened for certain," Austin told a joint press conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Jose Faustino in Hawaii.

Austin noted that he discussed the issue with his Danish counterparts on Wednesday, adding that "it will be several days before they will able to get the right team and look at the sites and really try to determine what happened."

"Until we get further information or are able to do further analysis, we won't speculate on who may have been responsible," Austin said.

The Nord Stream AG pipeline operator told Sputnik on Monday that a dispatcher had registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The incident occurred near the Danish island of Bornholm. Later that day, the operator reported a pressure drop on both strings of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Authorities in Sweden and Denmark reported submarine explosions, with the general consensus being that the occurrence was the product of sabotage. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office, as well as authorities in Sweden and Denmark, are looking into the occurrences.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-main-beneficiary-from-nord-stream-leaks:-russian-security

US 'main beneficiary' from Nord Stream leaks: Russian Security Council

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev stated on Friday at a meeting of the heads of intelligence agencies of the CIS countries, after the fourth explosion hit the Nord Stream pipelines, that the United States is the main beneficiary of the emergency situation.

"Literally from the first minutes after reports of explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, the West launched an active campaign to find those responsible. However, it is obvious that the main beneficiary, primarily economic, is the United States," Patrushev said.

The Russian official reminded the meeting of an incident ironically similar to this, which took place in October 1983 in the undermining of an underwater pipeline in the port of Puerto Sandino in Nicaragua, urging the necessity of making "a coordinated effort to expose the customers and perpetrators of this crime, which would be a good example of our effective interaction."

Russia has materials implicating West in Nord Stream explosions: Foreign Intel

In the same context, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin told reporters on Friday that Russia already holds proof that the West is accountable for the pipeline explosions. "We already have some materials that point to the Western footprint in organizing and carrying out this terrorist act," Naryshkin said. He expressed that the West does everything to "hide the true organizers and perpetrators of this international terrorist act."

Swedish police began investigations when the first explosion happened on Tuesday that led to a gas leak in the Baltic Sea. That same day, former Polish minister and member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski tweeted "Thank you USA," along with a picture of the massive gas spill in the Baltic Sea. Off the shore of the Danish island of Bornholm, both pipelines sustained significant damage in what is now largely seen as a premeditated attack. That tweet has been deleted as of Thursday.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed on Wednesday, a day after the explosions, that they were a result of a deliberate attack, adding, "Safety and environmental concerns are of utmost priority. These incidents are not a coincidence and affect us all." Suspicions began arising after reports of US military helicopters habitually and on numerous occasions circling for hours over the site of the Nord Stream pipelines incident near Bornholm Island earlier in September, according to Flightradar24 data.

In response, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the Soloviev Live TV show on Thursday, "Speaking of where [the incident] occurred. <…There have been allegations that those are neutral waters and so on. But that is the exclusive economic zone of Denmark and Sweden, <…> the very NATO-centric countries that are stuffed with US-made weapons and which are fully controlled by American intelligence agencies, <…> who have the entire control of the situation over there." She further added that Russia never declared its intention to cut off its energy resources to Europe despite the West repeatedly imposing sanctions on it.

>>17608811

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/italy-lambasts-germanys-protective-energy-plan

Italy lambasts Germany's protective energy plan

As Germany recently announced earlier its 200 billion euro ($194-billion) plan to help businesses and households from rising energy prices, Italy's outgoing PM Mario Draghi and Giorgia Meloni found fault in the plan while calling for Europe to come together in solidarity.

"Faced with the common threats of our times, we cannot divide ourselves according to the amount of room in our national budgets," said Draghi in a press statement on Thursday.

Yesterday, Germany announced a 200-billion-euro ($194-billion) package with the aim of "protecting households and businesses" from surging energy prices. Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner had told reporters that Germany is in the midst of an "energy war over prosperity and freedom" with Russia, adding that the package is a "crystal clear answer to Putin that… we are strong economically".

Draghi told reporters that "The energy crisis requires a response from Europe to reduce costs for families and businesses, to limit exceptional gains made by producers and importers, to avoid dangerous and unjustified distortions of the internal market, and to keep Europe united once against in the face of an emergency."

On Friday, the Italian Minister for Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani reaffirmed Rome's support for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas.

"Everyone has recognized that there is a priority at the moment, which is to bring down the cost of gas. But there is also a second priority, to avoid in doing so creating a shortage of gas," Cingolani said.

Draghi has likewise been supportive of this proposal. His possible successor, Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party won elections last Sunday, also expressed a similar stance.

Ahead of Friday's meeting, she expressed positive views about the price-cap suggestion. She also criticized Germany and called for a common EU response to the energy crisis.

"We need a common solution at the European level to help firms and families," she said. "No member state can offer effective and long-term solutions on its own in the absence of a common strategy, not even those that appear less financially vulnerable," she said.

According to S&P Global Ratings, Italy and Germany are now the two largest European countries most exposed to a gas supply shock due to their extensive use of natural gas and significant reliance on Russia.

Surging costs of power linked to gas prices have already stunted the production of various industries, such as fertilizers and aluminum manufacturers, and prompted EU governments, such as Germany, to increase their spending by billions in order to help their citizens.

The German Federal Statistical Office Destatis released Thursday provisional data revealing that inflation in Germany is expected to rise to a record high of 10% in annual terms in September, up to 7.9% a month earlier.

On September 10, the General Confederation of Italian Artisans (CGIA), an Italian trade union, revealed that households and companies are losing an extra 82.6 billion euros ($83.8 billion) over the surging electricity and gas prices.

The CGIA also said that the government is likely to pass an $83.8 billion relief package to tackle the soaring costs of energy, the union revealed.

On September 11, Roberto Cingolani told the Italian newspaper la Repubblica that "Capping only Russian gas makes no sense. It is currently delivered to Europe in very small quantities."

"In any case, we should give a signal to all producers. Europe imports three-quarters of pipeline natural gas. It is fair that it, as the world's largest buyer, should help set the price to protect businesses and citizens," he added.

Experts predicted that the energy crisis to further worsen since the G7 agreed in September 3 to impose a price cap on Russian oil.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lavrov-accuses-us-of-having-something-to-hide-on-bio-weapons

Lavrov accuses US of having something to hide on bio-weapons program

Russia demanded under the BWC, during a UNSC meeting that took place on Friday, September 30, that the US come forward with clarifications regarding its biological program, stressing that Washington has to be fully transparent on its military biological program to ensure that it is legitimate, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov told the heads of intelligence agencies of the CIS countries during a meeting on Friday.

Lavrov slammed the US as having "something to hide."

Moscow announced back in May that it will activate Articles 5 and 6 of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) to investigate the Biolabs in Ukraine after it accumulated evidence indicating that the US and Ukraine are both in violation of the BWC.

US admits to bio-activities in Ukraine

On Monday, September 19, Russian MoD presented evidence in Geneva proving that the US has military-biological activity in Ukraine. Chief of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, Igor Kirillov, said, "The participants of the meeting received copies of real documents previously mentioned by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, as well as material evidence confirming the implementation of work on military-biological programs in Ukraine, for consideration."

The US admitted to having carried out biological activities in Ukraine, however, it claimed that it was in support of the BWC, and according to US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, technical experts from the United States worked with Ukrainian delegations and "unambiguously" explained their cooperation. Allegedly, the cooperative effort was conducted as part of the broader US Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and also included US assistance to Ukraine related to public health facilities, biosafety, biosecurity, and disease surveillance.

However, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland refused to cooperate with the Russian parliamentary commission on the operations of US biological laboratories in Ukraine, despite earlier admitting during a senate meeting that, "Ukraine has biological research facilities."

Deputy Speaker of Russia's Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev stated that "we turned to Ms. Nuland. Her office categorically refused to interact with the commission, with some propaganda clichés such as, you'd better take care of yourself and look at yourself - completely unconvincing," adding, "And we have not received, of course, any substantive answers to the questions that we have formulated [to the US side on the activities of facilities]."

In early September, Kirillov stated that the United States is planning on transferring its programs of biological research from Ukraine to post-Soviet republics, as well as Eastern European and Baltic states. "The Pentagon is poised to shortly relocate the programs unfinished in Ukraine to other post-Soviet states, as well as to Eastern European states, such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic states," Kirillov said.

It's noteworthy that back in March, the Defense Ministry Spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov revealed that Kiev was urgently covering up traces of a military biological program carried out in Ukraine and funded by the Pentagon. Konashenkov told reporters that "during the special military operation, [Russia] revealed the facts of an urgent sweep by the Kiev regime of traces of a military biological program being implemented in Ukraine, financed by the US Defense Ministry,” adding that, "the documents received to confirm that the development of biological weapon components was carried out in Ukrainian biological laboratories in the direct vicinity of the territory of Russia."

EU lost its autonomy, suffers enormous losses from what US dragged bloc into: Lavrov

In a different context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday the European Union lost its autonomy and is suffering enormous losses from what the US has dragged the bloc into.

"Pursuing their thoughtless course of 'canceling Russia,' the Anglo-Saxons achieved unconditional subordination of the entire collective West, NATO, as well as the European Union, which finally lost its course towards strategic autonomy," Lavrov said at a meeting of the heads of intelligence agencies of the CIS countries, adding that this causes enormous losses to the bloc.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/france-implicated-in-war-crimes-against-yemen:-investigation

France implicated in war crimes against Yemen: Investigation

The French newspaper OrientXXI published an investigation that revealed the involvement of major French companies in killing children in Yemen, profiting from the war, with the support of the French government, which is - after the United States - the most important arms supplier to the Saudi-Emirati coalition involved in the war on Yemen since 2015.

According to the investigation, the French government authorized, in 2019 alone, 47 export contracts for missiles, guided bombs, and other explosive materials, with a total value of one billion euros (around $974 million) to Saudi Arabia and 3.5 billion euros (around $3.4 million) to the United Arab Emirates. In 2020, these licenses increased by 40% for Saudi Arabia and 25% for the UAE.

The investigation confirmed that three major French companies and their contractors were involved in a conflict that killed 110,000 people in 7 years, including more than 13,000 civilians, namely, the Thales Group, which equips fighter planes and supplies munitions, the French-British missile manufacturer MBDA, and Dassault Aviation, which provides the maintenance of the Mirage 2000 and has landed record-breaking contracts with the Emirates.

Meanwhile, since the start of the military intervention of the Saudi-led coalition against the Yemenis in March 2015, the French government has been trying to deny its involvement. In January 2019, then-Secretary of the Armed Forces Florence Parly assured public radio station France Inter, “We have not recently sold any weapons that might be used in the Yemeni conflict.”

A few months later, on April 15, 2019, an inquiry conducted by Global Investigative Journalism Network, DISCLOSE, proved the opposite, by basing its findings on a report from the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Not only did French planes, helicopters, tanks, and canons take part in the coalition attacks, but these weapons have also been used to target civilian areas.

The investigation stated that the French government still refuses to reveal details of the weapons that have already been supplied to each foreign country. However, its public reports submitted each year to Parliament highlight the importance of trade with two of the most interventionist countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are respectively the third and fifth largest customers of French arms. These reports tell that between 2015 and 2021, France supplied military equipment, munitions, and maintenance services valued at about 9 billion euros to these two countries, which lead the coalition against the Yemenis.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/shots-heard-near-burkina-faso-presidential-palace-national-t

Shots heard near Burkina Faso presidential palace, national TV cut off

Witness statements confirm hearing shots on Friday around Burkina Faso's presidential palace and the headquarters of its military junta currently in power, as troops blocked Ouagadougou's streets and state television broadcasting was cut, AFP reported.

As of now, the reason behind the gunfire and the detonations are not announced, and a resident close to the presidential palace told AFP, "I heard heavy detonations around 4:30 am and now the roads around my home have been sealed off by military vehicles."

Burkina Faso's insurgency in 2015 has witnessed thousands of deaths and the displacement of about two million, and attacks have increased ever since Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba ousted elected leader Roch Marc Christian Kabore and claimed power in January following a military coup.

The attacks have been affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group even after Damiba earlier this month dismissed his defense minister and assumed the position himself. Only one new minister has been introduced into the transitional government, Colonel-Major Silas Keita, who is assigned to be responsible for national defense and was promoted to brigadier general.

On September 28, a convoy carrying supplies was attacked in the town of Djibo, leaving 11 soldiers killed and around 50 civilians missing. More than 40% of the African nation, previously a French colony, is not under government control as most of the Sahel, including Niger and Mali, is suffering from the outcomes of the insurgency, which is beginning to spill over into the Ivory Coast and Togo.

On January 31, Burkina was suspended by the African Union "until the effective restoration of constitutional order." The UN Security Council on February 9 expressed "serious concern" over the country's "unconstitutional change of government" but chose not to describe it as a military coup or even condemn it outright.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries and one of the most volatile in Africa.

Mali witnessed a large presence of French forces for nearly a decade, but French President Emmanuel Macron decided to withdraw his troops and the Malian military took over. The last French troops from Barkhane departed last month.

A report in April by the German think tank, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said, "The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso and Mali has made the north of the coastal countries the new front line against armed groups operating in the Sahel".

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