Category: International Conflict

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.

The United States today announced the unsealing of a warrant for the seizure of a Boeing 737-7JU aircraft owned by PJSC Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft), a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow, Russia, headed by Igor Ivanovich Sechin. According to court documents, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued sanctions against Russia. The sanctions impose export controls and license requirements to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The Russia sanctions expanded prohibitions on the export, reexport or in-country transfer of, among other things, U.S.-manufactured aircraft to or within Russia without a valid license or license exception for aircraft owned or controlled, or under charter or lease, by Russia and/or Russian nationals. In this case, these sanctions bar a plane that was built or manufactured in the United States from entering Russia without a valid license. 

BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned Tuesday that Beijing and Washington are headed for “conflict and confrontation” if the U.S. doesn’t change course, striking a combative tone at a moment when relations between the rivals are at a historic low.

At wide-ranging press conference, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also describes Taiwan as a ‘red line’ in relations with US.

There is no evidence that China is spying on telecom equipment suppliers’ technology. Nevertheless, they are to be banned from the 5G network for fear of dependencies.

  LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defence must rapidly grow local industrial capacity in order speed rebuilding weapon stockpiles, the parliamentary Defence Committee says in a report to be published Mar 7. The committee said at the current rate of progress it will take 10 years to replace weapon stocks gifted to Ukraine and rebuild British weapon numbers to an…

The “Overt Human Intelligence Collection Program” (OHIC) has been in existence since at least 2016, according to Politico, which did not disclose how it obtained the documents.  Run by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), OHIC is intended to gather information about threats such as organized crime and transnational drug trafficking.

LONDON — Britain is to double the number of main battle tanks it is sending to bolster the Ukrainian defenses, the country’s ambassador in London said in a interview with Europe’s Radio Liberty. But the British Ministry of Defence has rowed back on any suggestion Challenger 2 numbers heading for the Ukraine are to be doubled from 14 to 28…

The Prosecutor General’s Office has declared Transparency International unwelcome in Russia, describing the Berlin-based organization on Monday as going beyond its mandate to interfere into the country’s internal affairs. “It has been established that the activities of this organization clearly go beyond its declared goals and objectives,” the office said in a statement. “Formally acting as an organization fighting corruption…

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Central East Correctional Centre in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, February 10, 2021. 
© 2021 Kawartha 411

A coroner’s inquest into the 2015 death of Abdurahman Hassan, a refugee from Somalia, has brought to light shocking details about Canada’s immigration detention system and abusive conditions in provincial jails. In response, 40 organizations have renewed their call on the federal government to stop incarcerating people in provincial jails for administrative immigration purposes.  The letter was also endorsed by former cabinet ministers Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock.

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Our #WelcomeToCanada campaign is going coast to coast. The federal government has contracts with provinces across Canada that allow for immigration detainees to be held in provincial jails. Call on the federal government of Canada to cancel these contracts!

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Abdurahman lived in Canada for two decades before he was placed in immigration detention pending his deportation. He was stripped of his legal status because of several run-ins with the law. Abdurahman had several mental health conditions. After completing his criminal jail sentence, he was incarcerated in immigration detention for three years in a maximum-security provincial jail in Ontario. He was repeatedly subjected to prolonged segregation, in one instance spending 95 consecutive days in isolation.

On top of these punitive and inhumane conditions, Abdurahman’s prolonged detention was unnecessary and arbitrary. His deportation could not be carried out because Somalia was too dangerous for Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers to escort him. There is no legal limit to the duration of immigration detention in Canada, so Abdurahman never knew if or when he would be released.

At the inquest, correctional staff who knew Abdurahman testified that jail was not the right place for him. He could not access the treatment and support he required, and they feared for his safety. Nevertheless, nearly eight years after Abdurahman’s death, CBSA continues to detain people with mental health conditions in provincial jails so they can “access specialized care.”

The inquest counsel recalled the testimony of a correctional officer, one of the last people to spend time with Abdurahman at the hospital. The officer testified they spent the day talking about old times. He helped bathe and feed Abdurahman. “It was a good day,” he said.

Such humane treatment should be the norm. “It should be our goal as a society to ensure that all people, including immigration detainees like Mr. Hassan, be treated with this degree of dignity and care,” the inquest counsel concluded in his closing submissions. “The question is whether there is a will to make that happen.” 

The inquest jury made 53 recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future. Their first is that the federal government should stop using provincial jails for immigration detention in Ontario. Four provinces have already committed to ending this practice, although CBSA insists negotiations are ongoing. It’s time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to finally stand up to CBSA and stop this rights-violating practice across Canada.

The office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said senior military commanders have agreed to hold onto Artyomovsk – a key Donbass city – after German media outlets claimed a top Ukrainian general had encouraged withdrawing from Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine, weeks ago.

Defence minister says Taiwan prepared to ‘fire the first shot’ if Chinese forces enter its territorial space.

“The introduction of independent settlement mechanisms is being successfully carried out, which will help protect cooperation with Cuba from the negative impact of the US trade, economic and financial blockade, as well as establish ties bypassing the financial organizations of unfriendly states,” the Russian diplomat said. In January, the chairman of the Russia-Cuba Business Council, Boris Titov, said that in order to mitigate the effect of Western sanctions, the countries are considering new mechanisms for mutual settlements, including in ruble and cryptocurrencies, as well as clearing schemes.

Moscow has been also promoting its SPFS interbank messaging system as an alternative to SWIFT as the West has ramped up economic restrictions. Nearly 470 participants, including foreign entities from 14 countries, have already joined the SPFS. Russia has also accelerated efforts to move away from the US dollar and euro towards settlements in national currencies.

DAMASCUS (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the Aleppo airport early Tuesday and put it out of service, Syrian state media reported. Citing a military source, the state news agency SANA said Israel “carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo International Airport.” SANA said the strike “caused material damage” to…

The Biden administration has restricted sales of some US technology to 37 companies and organisations, saying that their activity threatened national security. Three-quarters of the companies included in the announcement, which was made on Thursday, are based in China. They include entities that the commerce department said had supported Beijing’s military modernisation or produced technology that risked being diverted for…

Pressure from Russian forces mounted Saturday on Ukrainians hunkered down in Bakhmut, as residents attempted to flee with help from troops who Western analysts say may be preparing…