Category: All News
Twitter Files expose ‘censorship-industrial complex’ – journalist
Matt Taibbi presented the US Congress with evidence of corporate, NGO and government collusion: Social media platforms colluded with non-governmental organizations and the US government to suppress information they did not like. During the hearing, multiple Democrats tried to pressure Taibbi into revealing his sources, insinuating Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, was behind the disclosures.
Inside Indo-Pacific Command’s $87 billion wish list to deter China
WASHINGTON ― U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has outlined new spending requirements to boost deterrence against China, including billions of dollars in new weapons, new construction and closer military-to-military collaboration with America’s allies in the region.
The command’s congressionally-ordered assessment delivered Wednesday calls for more than $87 billion in spending between 2024 and 2028; with $15.4 billion for fiscal year 2024 alone. That represents a significant jump from last year’s $9 billion request for FY23 and five-year projected spend of $77 billion.
With China competition a bipartisan priority on Capitol Hill, the Indo-Pacific Command assessment of its needs offers a blueprint for China hawks to add to President Joe Biden’s $842 billion defense budget for FY24, which requests $9.1 billion for the Pentagon’s Pacific Deterrence Initiative.
Top crypto exchange bans dollar and euro transfers for Russians
The company attributed the decision to the latest round of Western sanctions against Russia, saying that transactions in dollars and euros will be unavailable to any individuals residing in Russia regardless of nationality.
The exchange also banned users based in the EU from making transfers in Russian rubles via the platform, according to media reports. When trying to make a transaction in rubles, the platform prompts users to select a ‘local currency’ for P2P.
“In order to continue using Binance P2P, users can choose other available fiat currencies,” a representative of the exchange told Forbes Russia.
Russia takes East Bakhmut
Ukrainian troops eased out of their most precarious defences in Bakhmut. Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the conquest of the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, known collectively as the Donbas region, as one of his goals – and Bakhmut in Donetsk is key to that. “We understand that after Bakhmut, they could go farther,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN. “They could go to Kramatorsk. They could go to Sloviansk. It would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine in the Donetsk direction.”
US Congress health data hacked: For sale on dark web
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also learned from the agency that the data is now being offered for sale on the dark web. Leading lawmakers were informed of a “significant data breach” at the DC Health Link marketplace potentially affecting all members of the House and their families in a letter from the Chief Administrative Office of the House on Wednesday. CAO Catherine Szpindor promised a full list of the individuals affected but advised members to secure their finances “out of an abundance of caution” as their data may have been compromised.
Malaysia asked to reopen MH370 probe after claims of new evidence
The Boeing 777 was en route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing with 239 passengers on board on March 8, 2014, when it vanished from the grid less than an hour into its journey. For three years, Malaysia, China, and Australia searched for the plane in the Indian Ocean, where it was believed to have crashed, only to come up empty-handed. The search was officially called off in January 2017, with no conclusion made about what could have happened…
Pentagon blocking information on alleged war crimes in Ukraine – NYT
Pentagon chiefs reportedly blocking Washington from sharing evidence of alleged war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. The US Department of Defense is reportedly at odds with the administration of President Joe Biden over helping the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Australia to buy as many as five nuclear subs from United States
Submarines are part of the AUKUS pact with the UK, which may also jointly develop a vessel with Australia.
Okinawa governor wants more power to prosecute US troops
A recent controversy has called into question the agreement that decides who prosecutes U.S. troops in Japan.
House votes down Gaetz bill to withdraw troops from Syria
The House rejected Matt Gaetz’s war powers resolutions to pull 900 U.S. troops from Syria days after a visit from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.
Lawmakers revisit ‘breakdown’ of Afghanistan evacuations
House lawmakers reexamined shortfalls from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Opposition besieges Georgian parliament
Thousands of demonstrators surrounded the legislature in Tbilisi in protest against the “foreign agents” law Read Full Article at RT.com
Switzerland clarifies stance on military aid to Ukraine
Switzerland won’t break its constitutional neutrality to assist in the supply of military aid to Ukraine, its president has said Read Full Article at RT.com
Nord Stream attack: Leaked US intel. suggests pro-Ukrainian group behind sabotage + Corruption Ledger #RealityCheck
The new intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested the perpetrators behind the sabotage were “opponents of President Vladimir V Putin of Russia”, the Times reported, but did not specify the members of the group and who organised and paid for the operation, which would have required skilled divers and explosives experts.
India tightens control of crypto
India has imposed money-laundering regulations on trade in cryptocurrencies, according to a government release published on Tuesday, in the latest step to tighten control of the sector. A range of crypto transactions, namely the exchange, transfer, safekeeping and administration of virtual assets, now fall under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), the notification from the Ministry of Finance published by The Gazette of India states. The PMLA obliges financial institutions to keep a record of all transactions for ten years, provide the records to officials in necessary, and to verify clients’ identity.
Navy veteran convicted of obstruction in Capitol riot
A military veteran accused of telling an undercover FBI agent about a plan to “wipe out” the nation’s Jewish population was convicted on Tuesday of storming the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. A federal judge heard trial testimony without a jury before convicting Virginia resident Hatchet Speed, a former Navy reservist who was assigned to an agency that operates spy satellites. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to sentence Speed on May 8 for his role in a mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. McFadden convicted Speed of all five charges.