Tag: Region Asias
UK government introduces additional trade sanctions against Russia
On 22 June 2022, the UK government introduced additional trade sanctions on Russia. The new measures introduce prohibitions on the export, supply and delivery, making available and transfer (as well as related technical assistance, financial services, funds and brokering services) of: internal repression goods and technology goods and technology relating to chemical and biological weapons maritime goods and technology additional oil refining goods and technology additional critical industry goods and technology Key aspects of the measures include: Jet fuel…
Are social media companies employing ex-spies?
June 26, 2022. Are Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and other social media platforms hiring from the FBI, military, NATO, CIA and U.S. State Department? It seems they are. This hiring tendency has not been widely reported in mainstream news because the revelation seems to have originated in an investigation by Russian media sources. Much of the evidence for the claim, however, is publicly verifiable. Here are some examples you can verify for yourself.
Germany silences journalist covering Ukraine, threatens prison, freezes family’s bank accounts
June 25, 2022. A criminal investigation has been opened against Alina Lipp, a German journalist based in the Donbass. She has been covering the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as an independent journalist and has fallen out of favor with the German government. Alina faces up to three years in prison.
Ukraine has a kill list, and Canadian Journalist Eva Bartlett is on it
June 15, 2022. Eva K Bartlett: RT had me on yesterday to discuss Ukraine’s kill list & my entry on it. I highlighted Canada’s cozy relationship with Ukraine, including with the Nazi battalions, Chrystia Freeland’s Nazi-collaborating grandpa , and why I feel safer living in Russia than I would were I back in Canada where Ukrainian nationalists & Nazi supporters run rampant and could easily harm or kill me. I also spoke of how while independent Canadian media reached out…
European leaders agree on sixth package of Russia sanctions
Following weeks of negotiations, the European Council has agreed on the sixth package of Russia sanctions. Over the course of the European Council’s “special meeting”, held on the 30 and 31 May 2022, EU leaders agreed to ban most Russian oil imports, including crude oil and petroleum products. On the 2 and 3 June 2022, the legal acts were uploaded to the Official journal (see below). The main elements of the package include: Oil The EU is prohibiting the…
Russia cuts off more gas supplies to Europe
2022-06-01. Russia is cutting off more gas supplies to Europe. On Tuesday, the state energy company Gazprom cut off some gas to the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. This came hours after the EU banned most Russian oil imports. (Democracy Now) Denmark Denmark’s largest energy company said Russia cut off its gas supply Wednesday because it refused to pay in rubles, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine. Russia previously halted natural gas supplies to Finland, Poland…
War Crimes in Ukraine?
May 27, 2022. A supposedly leaked document that has circulated widely on social networks, allegedly showing that a senior Russian general had instructed Russian soldiers to fabricate evidence of Ukrainian war crimes, appears to be a forgery. The Intercept Russian POWs shot in the leg by Ukrainian forces: Video French media documents war crimes by NATO-backed Ukrainian neo-Nazi militias: Wsws.org Ukraine, Donbass: Russian-speaking civilians have been victims of the army for years. In 2015, A.-L. Bonnel, then still a very…
UK announces new Russia sanctions – Part 3
On 19 May 2022, the UK government announced new Russia sanctions, targeting Russian airlines. The measures are said to prevent Russian airlines from selling their unused landing slots at UK airports, said to be worth an estimated £50 million. The sanctioned airlines are: • Aeroflot; • Ural Airlines; and • Rossiya Airlines. The government press release can be found here: UK targets Russian airlines with new sanctions – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2022/05/uk-announces-new-russia-sanctions-2
UK announces new Russia sanctions – Part 2
On 13 May 2022, the UK government announced new Russia sanctions, targeting 12 individuals said to be funding Vladimir Putin’s lifestyle. The measures are said to reflect the difficulties of sanctioning a President whose official assets are comparatively “modest”, including “a small flat in St Petersburg, 2 Soviet-era cars from the 1950s, a trailer, and a small garage”. Those sanctioned include: Alina Kabaeva, a retired Olympic gymnast and Chair of the Board of the National Media Group; Anna Zatseplina,…
Germany to face wave of bankruptcies amid inflation and Ukraine sanctions
May 9, 2022. The future of Commerzbank’s business in Russia will depend, among other things, on Russia’s behavior and further sanctions, according to Handelsblatt report. Germany’s Commerzbank is preparing for more businesses to fail in Europe’s biggest economy amid high inflation and economic perils exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The lender expects provisions for loan losses to rise as it works closely with its clients to minimize the impact of commodities’ super cycle on their businesses, Handelsblatt, a German…
EU drops plans to ban shipping Russian oil
May 9, 2022. Brussels has shelved its plans to ban the EU shipping industry from carrying Russian crude as it struggles to push through its latest sanctions package because of anxiety among some member states about the economic impact of the measures. A proposal targeting shipping that was introduced last week has been dropped by the European Commission following hard lobbying from Malta and Greece, which is home to more than half of the EU flag tonnage, said several people…
Clearview AI settlement: Will stop selling facial recognition tool to private firms and continue working with law enforcement
May 9, 2022. Facial recognition company Clearview AI has agreed to stop its sales to private companies in the United States as part of a landmark settlement reining in a technology criticized as threatening Americans’ privacy rights. The settlement, filed Monday in federal court in Illinois, marks the most significant court action yet against Clearview AI, a company known for downloading billions of people’s photos from social networks and other websites to build a face-search database sold to law enforcement….
More money to Ukraine. What’s your government doing for its own citizens?
May 7, 2022. The U.S. government wants $33 billion more for the War in Ukraine and is telling its people that Russia is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to Americans. The enormous aid package is twice the size of a provision approved by Congress last month. It would eclipse all the spending by the United States so far on the war. -NYT, Apr. 28, 2022 How is the U.S. government working for the people who elected it? It’s…
Data Leak: How Criminals, Officials, and Sanctioned Politicians Poured Money into Dubai Real Estate
May 7, 2022. A new leak of Dubai property data has exposed just how many foreigners have poured their money into apartments and villas there. The data, which dates from 2020, was obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that researches international crime and conflict. It was then shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24, which coordinated an investigation into the real estate. The leak provides the first detailed public overview of…
UK announces new Russia sanctions – Part 1
On the 4th May 2022, the UK government announced further sanctions, restricting Russia’s access to the UK services industry. Under the new sanctions, Russia is barred from accessing the UK’s management consulting, accounting and PR services, which represent 10% of Russian imports in these sectors. The UK government has also announced 63 new sanctions aimed at individuals and entities furthering the Russian narrative on the invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctioned include: Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for the All-Russia…