Category: Western Media

JERUSALEM — Elbit Systems will supply the Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds with its Iron Fist Active Protection System for CV90s in a deal worth $109 million, the Israeli firm announced Tuesday. Elbit noted the systems are intended for a European country, but declined to identify it. Based on previous publications by BAE, it is likely the client is Slovakia. BAE Systems announced in December it has been awarded a $1.37 billion contract by Slovakia to manufacture 152 CV90 infantry fighting…

An unprecedented tribal protest in the province of Deir ez-Zor is putting the Kurdish forces administering northeastern Syria to the test. After 11 days of clashes with tribal fighters in this predominantly Arab region, which killed at least 90 people, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Wednesday, September 6, that they had regained control of the few villages that had fallen into the hands of the protesters. On Thursday evening, the head of the FDS, Mazloum Abdi, pledged…

  NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Countries must refrain from use of force to seize territories, G20 countries said in a joint declaration at their summit in New Delhi on Saturday, avoiding any direct mention of Russia for the war in Ukraine. “In line with the U.N. Charter, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state,” the leaders said in…

Western allies kicked off a major naval exercise in the Baltic Sea on Saturday amid rising tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. About 3,200 soldiers from 14 countries are taking part in the German-led Northern Coasts 23 exercise, the German navy said in a statement. The exercise will involve 30 ships, submarines, up to 19 aircraft, and various landing units, it said. Other countries taking part include Italy, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,…

The Pentagon announced a new $600 million package of long-term aid to Ukraine on Thursday, providing funding for an array of weapons and other equipment just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the country and pledged $1 billion in new military and humanitarian aid. The Defense Department said the latest package will come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides money for long-term contracts for weapons systems that need to be built or modified by defense companies. Included…

Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was found guilty Thursday of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A federal jury deliberated for less than four hours before issuing its verdict. Navarro, 74, is now the second former aide to the former president to be prosecuted for not cooperating with the select committee. Navarro, who served as director of the Office of…

The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean in a routine test early Wednesday, the service said in a release. The missile was fired from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, around 1:30 a.m. local time, and traveled about 4,200 miles to the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has conducted nuclear weapons tests for decades. Test launches ensure America’s land-based nuclear missiles are still viable after more than 50 years, and are a chance…

  The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken legal action against Paypal Australia Pty Limited, alleging that the company’s standard form of contracts with small business owners contains an unfair term. According to ASIC, business account holders are given 60 days to notify Paypal of any errors or discrepancies in fees that Paypal has charged them, or else accept those fees as accurate. ASIC alleges such a term is considered unfair. “ASIC has commenced this action to protect…

Britain is to ban Russian mercenary outfit the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, media reports said on Tuesday, quoting Home Secretary Suella Braverman. The UK was set to make the Wagner Group a “proscribed” organization under anti-terror laws, putting it on a par with Islamic State and al-Qaeda, a report in the Daily Mail said. “Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin‘s Russia overseas,” the newspaper quoted Braverman as…

  The University of Sydney (USYD) announced that a breach at a third-party service provider exposed personal information of recently applied and enrolled international applicants. The public university started operations in 1850 and has nearly 70,000 students and about 8,500 academic and administrative personnel. It is considered one of Australia’s most important educational institutes. In the data breach announcement, the university says that incident had a limited impact and the preliminary investigation found no evidence that local students, staff, or…

Emmanuel Macron has opted to organize a type of forum dear to his predecessor, but for which he has had little taste, until now. During the long discussions with political party leaders and the presidents of the chambers of Parliament on Wednesday, August 30, the president committed to holding a “social conference.” The notion is reminiscent of several conclaves held during François Hollande’s presidency (2012-2017). The goal is to provide new solutions for workers whose cost of living has increased…

PARIS – French prosecutors announced on Friday that they had opened an investigation into Binance, adding to the legal woes of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The probe, led by the Paris prosecutor’s office, will look into allegations that the French arm of Binance traded illegally in digital assets as well as a separate charge of “aggravated money laundering”, a statement said. Le Monde newspaper, which first reported the probe, said the company is suspected of failing to respect obligations…

DES MOINES, Iowa — The harassment started to intensify as TV meteorologist Chris Gloninger did more reporting on climate change during local newscasts — outraged emails and even a threat to show up at his house. Gloninger said he had been recruited, in part, to “shake things up” at the Iowa station where he worked, but backlash was building. The man who sent him a series of threatening emails was charged with third-degree harassment. The Des Moines station asked him…

Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 19, 2023. SAUDI PRESS AGENCY / VIA REUTERS Among the various grotesque punishments that have become a trademark of Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, this one has reached a new level. In July, a 54-year-old retired teacher named Mohammed al-Ghamdi was sentenced to death for sending messages on social media denouncing human rights violations in the kingdom. The verdict, so harsh you would be forgiven for…

Russian paramilitary fighters will have to swear an oath to the Russian flag, a presidential decree signed Friday stipulates, two days after the presumed death of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. The measure is aimed at “forming the spiritual and moral foundations for the defence of the Russian Federation” and… applies to members of volunteer formations — a term usually describing mercenary groups — according to the decree. It also applies to groups “contributing to the execution of tasks given to…

Russia on Thursday, August 24, extended the detention of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in March on spying charges that he denies and held in a Moscow prison since, by three months. Gershkovich, a Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, had continued to report from Russia during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. “The time of detention has been extended by three months… Until November 30, 2023,” a spokesperson for Moscow’s Lefortovsky court said. The hearing was held behind closed doors,…