27 Feb, 2023 17:01

UK and EU strike post-Brexit deal

An agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol has reportedly been reached following high-level talks

Britain and the EU have signed off an agreement on a post-Brexit issue regarding Northern Ireland to end trade disputes in the region.

The agreement was struck during high-level talks on Monday in Windsor, England, between UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The pact will determine how border checks are handled in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK but shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. Before Brexit, it was easy to transport goods across that border because both sides followed the same EU rules.

“An agreement has been reached. The deal is done,” a senior UK government source said, as quoted by The Independent.

According to The Guardian, also citing government sources, Sunak said at the meeting that the UK and the EU have had their differences, but they are friends. This is the beginning of a “new chapter,” he reportedly said.

“I’m pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough. Together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“Today’s agreement delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union, and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland,” he added.

Sunak also said he expects Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and other parties to “take time” to evaluate the protocol deal.

Von der Leyen called the result of the negotiations “extraordinary,” noting that the agreement would ensure that all food and medicines available in Britain are accessible in Northern Ireland too.

The historic UK-EU agreement is expected to be formally announced by Sunak and von der Leyen at a joint press conference in Windsor later on Monday.

https://www.rt.com/business/572148-uk-eu-post-brexit-deal/

27 Feb, 2023 16:24

West considers peace talks deadline for Ukraine – Bild

Kiev has until autumn to retake territories seized by Russia or the West will pressure it into talks with Moscow, Bild claims

Global Look Press / Office of the President of Ukraine

Ukraine’s Western backers are considering the imposition of an ultimatum on Kiev in relation to potential talks with Moscow, German tabloid Bild reported on Monday,citing anonymous government sources in Washington and Berlin.

With new arms supplies, the US and its allies want to provide Kiev with an “incentive” to try and recapture territories seized by the Russian forces, Bild claimed, adding that the West wants to see results in this respect by the fall.

“Should the counter-offensive fail, the pressure on Kiev to negotiate with the Kremlin will increase,” the paper reported.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the UK, France and Germany had allegedly offered Kiev weapons and security commitments under a plan aimed at pushing Kiev to negotiate with Moscow. The US media outlet claimed last week that London, Berlin and Paris were supposedly ready to offer security guarantees just short of NATO membership.

According to Bild, however, the conditions were not that generous. “The Europeans and the US cannot and do not want to provide Ukraine with hard security guarantees such as NATO membership at the moment,” German MP Norbert Roettgen, who previously headed the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told the tabloid.

The German Chancellor’s Office also said on Sunday that potential NATO security guarantees played “no role at all” in the discussions between the three bloc members. Berlin neither outright denied nor confirmed the existence of the negotiations plan, Bild added.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also encouraged Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to engage in talks with Moscow earlier in February, according to the media reports.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previously admitted that Moscow was winning the logistical war of attrition. He also said it was unclear how much the bloc could spend on further military support for Kiev.

Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry set out its conditions for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The list included the West halting military aid for Kiev, as well as Ukraine returning to its neutral status after being “demilitarized” and “denazified.” Zelensky rejected any negotiations with Moscow by saying there was “nothing to talk about” and “nobody” to talk with.

https://www.rt.com/news/572144-west-ultimatum-ukraine-bild/

27 Feb, 2023 18:08

Zelensky aide explains why Ukraine won’t let men leave

Human rights take the back seat to obligations to the state, Mikhail Podoliak told German TV

The top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has defended Kiev’s decision to ban men from leaving the country, saying obligations to the state trump human rights. Fleeing the draft means wanting Ukraine to be destroyed, Mikhail Podoliak told the German state outlet DW.

“Let’s be blunt here. No need to speculate. What does the restriction of rights mean? Do people in Ukraine not have obligations also? Or are we just talking about rights?” Podoliak told DW in an interview making the rounds on social media on Monday.

“The state has a duty to provide things, let people travel, let people live as they wish. Yes, in peacetime,” he continued. “But in wartime, that’s not a question to raise. Do you want to cross the border? That means you want Ukraine to stop existing, because you crossed the border.”

“Because when you say ‘Open the borders for men,’ that means opening the border so they can run away from the manly choice. And they want to run away,” Podoliak said.

His comments came as some Western outlets pointed out the “aggressive” mobilization tactics of the Kiev government. A report in The Economist on Sunday referred tothe case of a man who was missing both hands since childhood, but the draft office in Lviv insisted he was fit to serve– until social media uproar forced them to relent.

After the conflict in Donbass escalated last year, Zelensky imposed martial law and banned Ukrainian males aged 18-60 from leaving the country. Since then, there have been several waves of mobilization, as Kiev sought to rebuild units shattered in the fighting.

Recruiters have moved from serving summonses on one’s doorstep to “violently enforcing” them in the streets, at shopping centers, and even at military funerals, according to The Economist.

Meanwhile, there have been reports of people bribing officials to dodge the draft and paying to be smuggled out of the country. Lawyers for some of the “unjustly” mobilized received summonses themselves, preventing them from practicing law.

Kiev is likely to ramp up “recruitment of less-motivated Ukrainians,” the outlet said, as it hopes to launch a massive offensive before the summer, using heavy weapons provided by the US and its allies.

(How is this different than Communism or Nazis? They are telling the world their are dictators, someone should listen.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/572149-ukraine-podoliak-men-draft/

27 Feb, 2023 11:37

White House admits Russia has survived Western sanctions

Washington has acknowledged Moscow’s resilience to severe financial restrictions

The Russian economy has managed to hold up against the massive sanctions imposed by Western countries and their allies over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine,White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby admitted on Friday.

As the conflict enters its second year, Washington revealed more anti-Russia penalties, targeting dozens of companies and individuals linked to the country, and raising tariffs on Russian goods whose imports were still allowed. Meanwhile, the EU approved its tenth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes export limitations on dual-use items and technology, measures against so-called Russian disinformation, and new restrictions against individuals and entities for their alleged support of the Russian military. Western allies Britain, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and New Zealand joined the measures.

Russia’s economy is “showing some resilience,” according to Kirby, who added, however, that it’s not clear whether this “can be sustained for the long haul.”

“He has had to take some drastic measures to prop up his economy, to prop up his currency, including playing pretty aggressively with interest rates, for instance,” Kirby said, commenting on steps approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian statistics service Rosstat reported that GDP of the sanctions-hit nation contracted by just 2.1% in 2022, much less than the 10-15% some had predicted after sanctions hit last March. The Russian economy is actually forecast to increase by 0.3% during the current year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The strength of the Russian economy has been partially attributed to global prices for oil and gas, which saw a dramatic surge shortly after one of the world’s biggest exporters of the two commodities was targeted by Western sanctions. The growth of energy prices has reportedly compensated for the drop in the volume of the country’s exports.

At the same time, Russia managed to re-orient some of its exports, including energy sales, eastwards after Western buyers opted to shun direct shipments under the sanctions pressure.

The Russian national currency, the ruble, has also managed to stay afloat after bouncing back following a dramatic decline seen shortly after the sanctions were imposed last March. This has been attributed to strict capital controls, a dramatic interest-rate hike by the Russian central bank, and the country’s move to trade transactions with allied countries in domestic currencies.

The share of the ruble in Russia's international settlements has doubled compared with December 2021. Last week, President Putin said that Moscow would continue to work with partners to form a stable and secure global payment system independent of the US dollar and of other Western currencies.

The ruble strengthened further after Moscow introduced a new payment mechanism from April 1. This requires nations that impose sanctions on Russia to pay for natural gas in rubles.

President Putin has also attributed Russia’s economic resilience to the country’s strong agricultural sector. According to the latest data provided by Russia’s statistics service, the harvest amounted to 153.8 million tons, a 26.7% increase year-on-year against 2021.

“By the end of the agricultural year, that is, by June 30, 2023, we will be able to bring the total volume of grain exports to 55-60 million tonnes,” he said last week during his annual address to the Federal Assembly.

Meanwhile, parallel imports of non-sanctioned products and flourishing trade with countries that refrained from punishing Moscow had also contributed to the economic resilience. In addition, Russia has been successful in moving a lot of products to Asian markets such as India and China, and to Türkiye.

Additionally, Russia also had several years to prepare for sanctions following its reunification with Crimea in 2014. Moscow succeeded in developing an alternative to SWIFT, the messaging network that underpins global financial transactions. This came in response to Western threats to cut the country off from the international banking system.

The Russian authorities also created a national payment system called Mir as a domestic alternative to Visa and Mastercard, after Crimea-related sanctions were imposed. The Central Bank of Russia has issued some 150 million Mir cards since late 2015.

https://www.rt.com/business/572119-russia-economy-western-sanctions-ukraine/

27 Feb, 2023 15:14

‘Impossible to escape’ prison accepts first inmates

New facility will remain the home for gangsters for decades, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele says

The first 2,000 inmates have been transferred to a mega-prison set up by authorities in El Salvador amid a crackdown on violent street gangs, the Central American nation’s President Nayib Bukele has announced.

Photos and videos made at the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) on Friday showed numerous heavily tattooed men stripped-down to their underpants, arriving at the facility under the supervision of armed guards in full riot gear.

The inmates were filmed crouching down with their hands behind their heads before being positioned on the floor next to each other and chained.

President Bukele said on Twitter that the men were “gang members” and that CECOT will “be their new home,where they’ll stay for decades, mixed up, unable to do any more harm to the population.”

The so-called ‘mega-prison,’ located 74 kilometers (46 miles) southeast of the capital San Salvador, has the capacity to host 40,0000 convicts, according to authorities. It’s said to be the largest penitentiary in the Americas.

The facility, which consists of eight buildings, is reportedly guarded by 600 soldiers and 250 police officers and is fitted with the most modern equipment. Bukele claimed earlier that“it’s impossible” to escape from CECOT.

El Salvador, a nation of around 6.5 million on the Pacific Ocean, introduced a state of emergency in March 2022 amid a major spike in gang violence. Some 64,000 people have been arrested in the country since then on suspicion of being involved in organized crime. The majority of them are currently awaiting trial in custody.

Human rights activists have expressed concerns that the crackdown was carried out in violation of the constitution and saw many suspects detained without warrants.

Bukele, who describes the country’s criminals as “terrorists,” has been mulling prison sentences of up to 30 years for the very fact of being a member of a street gang. According to the head of state, the clampdown has led to asignificant drop in crime in El Salvador in recent months, with the number of killings being reduced to almost zero.

https://www.rt.com/news/572137-salvador-prison-gangs-bukele/

>>18420031

They will never give Ukraine either NATO or EU membership simply because they are money laundering ugly red headed stepsister. Sure will give weapons to you but you’ll never be good enough or be able to hide your crimes as well as us.

>>18420136

I wonder if El Salvador is the only SA country not sending their prisoners to the US border. I hope so because these people are hideously evil

Bannon Live just said alawyer came out and said the Governors or OH and PA approved of controlled release and burn in E. Palestine, and they do not want the rail cars moved. I’ll post the clip when released.