Category: x.RT

The court ruled that the initial money laundering suspicions were insufficient to warrant the searches at Usmanov’s premises in the first place. The judges also pointed to some “serious deficiencies” in the search warrants requested by Frankfurt’s Public Prosecutor’s Office at the time. Suspicions against Usmanov were based on allegations that were too vague, the court declared. The assumption that his assets – which are worth billions of dollars – were the result of some “crimes committed in Russia,” coupled…

In March, Der Spiegel claimed a yacht called ‘Andromeda’ had allegedly been used by a team of divers to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines. The publication cited the discovery of traces of explosives in the cabin of the vessel and fake identification documents that were used in the hiring of the boat.  The outlet’s most recent report indicates that metadata from an email sent to enquire about the renting of the yacht “leads to Ukraine.” The president of a presumed…

European Union officials are considering whether to send Ukraine profits generated from Russian assets frozen within the bloc, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. EU member states and European Commission officials convened on Wednesday to examine how they might move funds held at Euroclear, the world’s largest settlement house, over to Ukraine, as Russian-owned assets there have accrued interest since they were first frozen. Targeted under an unprecedented Western sanctions campaign, the Russian assets stuck at…

The international community will not fall in line with the pro-Western rules pushed by the G7 and not allow the US-led group to dominate world affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.  “China will never accept the so-called rules imposed by the few. The international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values,” the statement read. The Foreign Ministry went on to…

Shenderovich then confirmed on Facebook he was “barred from his own performance in London” but still did not explain the reasons behind the incident. He also mockingly thanked “all the idiots” responsible “for such an incredible promotion.”  The author eventually moved to nearby Regent’s Park together with his would-be audience, where he held an impromptu performance “in the natural setting,” Shenderovich himself said in his Facebook statement. The author called the event “one of his best performances” and said that…

Indonesia is launching the flight because “Russia is now looking to the East, so we are also looking towards Russia,” Helmi explained. Also on Friday, the first Russian plane landed in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi after a four-year hiatus. The arrival was met by a small group of anti-Russia protesters at the airport. On Saturday, meanwhile, the first Georgian Airways plane arrived in Moscow, with its pilot saying on social media that “direct flights are profitable and the right thing to…

The Pentagon has so far refused to name the target of the attack. However, relatives and neighbors of the victim claim he had no affiliation with the Islamist militants.  Two unnamed officials cited by the Post raised doubts about the strike, which occurred in a rural area of Idlib Province on May 3. “We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official,” one of the officials said, referring to Al-Qaeda. The second official added that “though we believe…

The office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined the measures in a statement on Thursday, voicing hopes that new restrictions would curtail Russia’s multi-billion dollar diamond trade and a range of other exports, including copper, aluminum and nickel.  “Alongside these trade measures, the government is also preparing new individual designations – targeting an additional 86 people and companies from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s military industrial complex, and those involved in key revenue streams such as energy, metals, and shipping,” the…

A cache of classified US documents online last month has shed light on American intelligence gathered about other countries. The documents consist of an elaborate timeline, dozens of military acronyms, including some items marked “top secret,” which give a detailed picture of the conflict in Ukraine, raging since February 24, 2022. “Top secret” is the highest level of classification. Some documents also contain the marking NOFORN, or “Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals,” meaning they cannot be shared with foreign intelligence…

Without approval from Washington, the best that Ukrainian airmen can hope for are lessons on technical language and tactical training on the ground, the outlet said on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been pressing his Western backers for fourth generation F-16 warplanes for months, arguing they are crucial for defending the country’s airspace amid a massive Russian missile campaign targeting military facilities and energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian leader appeared to achieve limited progress during a recent European tour, with…

The US is attacking Chinese companies and scientists as part of its efforts to foil the technological development of other countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin claimed on Wednesday.  During his regular press conference, Wang argued that the Disruptive Technology Strike Force set up by the US Justice Department (DOJ) in February was designed to “abuse export control regimes.”  “The US has politicized, instrumentalized and weaponized tech issues, and sought to thwart other countries’ technological advancement,” Wang said. The…

The platform’s Global Government Affairs account issued a statement on Monday outlining its recent decisions in light of the Turkish court orders, saying it was forced to take action against four accounts and 409 individual tweets.  “We received what we believed to be a final threat to throttle the service – after several such warnings,” it said, adding that it deleted the accounts and posts “in order to keep Twitter available over the election weekend.”

“Following a complaint, an investigation was opened in December 2022 into deceptive marketing practices and programmed obsolescence,” the office said in a statement on Monday, adding that the complaint was filed by an activist group called ‘Halte a L’Obsolescence Programmee’ (HOP).  The group’s complaint centers around the practice of ‘serialization’, whereby spare parts like microchips or speakers are matched with serial numbers to a specific generation of iPhone. This prevents third-party repairers from using generic parts, and as models are phased out by Apple, so too are the associated spares, forcing customers to shell out for a newer model.

In an article on Sunday, Politico quoted an anonymous official from Macron’s office as saying that “what Ukraine needs is combat equipment, armored vehicles, tanks, artillery.” In addition, Paris will heed Kiev’s calls to supply more air defense systems, the source stated.

When asked whether France was considering sending fighter jets to Ukraine, the official dismissed the issue as “a bit premature,” stressing that the focus should currently be on land operations and air defense.

Demonstrators demanded the closure of the US’ Okinawa bases. The island’s inhabitants are weary of the pollution – both chemical and aural – produced by Washington’s military outposts, as well as the high number of crimes committed by American servicemembers, from petty theft and drunk driving to rape and murder.  Governor Denny Tamaki has urged the Japanese and US governments to reduce the Pentagon’s footprint on the island, which hosts 70% of all US military facilities in Japan despite comprising just 1% of the country’s total land area. 

Western media seems to be actively trying to create an “information tsunami” about the topic, according to Pushilin, who suggested it could mean the leaks may have been deliberate.

“Who knows, this could be the preparation of the global community for a possible reduction in support for Ukraine on the eve of the highly publicized counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Pushilin wrote. He also said, however, that regardless of the content of the leaked documents or the true intentions of the West, Russia’s task is to continue working and not respond to provocations.