Lithium-ion batteries used in electronic bikes and scooters caused more fires in the last two months than in all of 2019, the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) chief fire marshall has told the New York Post. The FDNY recorded 30 fires involving lithium batteries in 2019, a number that …
Read More »Ukraine snatching up millions worth of Russian assets – Zelensky
Ukraine has seized about $765 million worth of Russian assets in the country, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on his Telegram channel on Saturday. “Held a meeting today on sanctions policy, confiscation of Russian assets. As government officials reported, assets worth 28 billion hryvnias {about $765 million} have already been …
Read More »Not worth your sympathy: The story of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov battalion
Ukrainian propaganda has elevated the Azov Battalion’s protracted but ultimately doomed final stand, in Mariupol, to heroic proportions. Adding further pathos to this sentimental story were the desperate calls for help from the commanders of the units entrapped in the bowels of the Azovstal factory and the photogenic young wives …
Read More »Nearly $100 billion worth of deals signed at SPIEF 2022
The 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2022), held from June 15 to 18 in Russia, resulted in 5.6 trillion rubles ($97 billion) worth of agreements, which is 30% more than last year (3.8 trillion rubles). Over 690 deals were signed during the four-day event. Despite the tense political …
Read More »Ukraine not worth nuclear war – former Reagan adviser
The US has nothing to gain from a nuclear-armed Ukraine, and should work to bring the conflict there to a “speedy close,” Doug Bandow, a former assistant to President Ronald Reagan, wrote on Thursday. His warning came after a Polish MEP suggested the West should give Kiev nuclear weapons. Radoslaw …
Read More »US greenlights $95 million-worth arms deal with Taiwan
The US State Department has greenlit a potential deal that would see the US providing Taiwan with equipment and relevant training to support its Patriot air defense systems, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency told the media on Wednesday. According to the Pentagon, the total value of the deal might …
Read More »EU unveils ‘aid & investment’ plan for Ukraine worth billions
The European Union will urgently provide Ukraine with assistance to “address its financing needs due to the conflict,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told journalists on Monday. The Commission plans to allocate an initial €1.2 billion ($1.36 billion) as part of “an emergency macro-financial assistance package,” …
Read More »Democrats celebrate Joe Biden’s victory worth 2 cents
“Thanks Joe Biden,” crowed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on Thursday afternoon, posting a chart showing a dramatic slide in the price of gas. That is, unless one took a look at the actual numbers on the left, which showed the drop going from $3.40 a gallon to… $3.38. In …
Read More »Amnesty says US vows not to torture Assange ‘aren’t worth paper they’re written on’ due to Washington’s dismal human rights record
During the second day of Washington’s appeal in London’s High Court to extradite Assange, Crowther warned that the assurances made by lawyers representing the US should not be trusted, pointing out that the country has a problem with respecting basic human rights. Noting that Amnesty International considers prolonged solitary confinement …
Read More »Amid fresh tensions with NATO states, Belarus to purchase $1bn worth of Russian arms, including S-400 missile defense – Lukashenko
“We are holding talks and are planning S-400 deliveries,” Lukashenko told journalists, on Sunday, as he attended the Zapad-2021 drills held jointly, on a quadrennial basis, by Russia and Belarus. The Belarusian president also said that security was a major issue on the agenda of his talks with Russia’s President …
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