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☆ Putin is 'stockpiling Americans' in Russian jails to use as currency, The Wall Street Journal's editor says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Emma Tucker accused Russia of "stockpiling Americans in its jails" to trade them. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe editor of The Wall Street Journal accused Russia of "stockpiling Americans in its jails in order to be able to trade them at a later date." The Wall Street Journal issued a statement denying the allegations and demanding Gershkovich's immediate release.

Persons: Emma Tucker, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, —, Evan Gershkovich's Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Street, Business Locations: Russia

☆ Israeli Negotiators Head to Qatar for Cease-Fire Talks, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Adam Rasgon | More About Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli negotiators were traveling to Qatar on Monday to participate in a new round of in-person talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants, according to a senior Israeli official and another official briefed on the negotiations. The Israeli delegation’s trip to Doha, Qatar, comes after Israel and Hamas failed to reach an agreement ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week. The Israeli delegation includes the head of Mossad, the foreign intelligence agency; the director of the Shin Bet, the internal security service; and a representative of the Israeli Army, said the Israeli official. For months, Hamas leaders have been publicly calling for a comprehensive cease-fire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected the demands and indicated that they would be open to only a temporary pause.

Persons: Shin, Israel Organizations: Palestinian, Israeli Army, Hamas Locations: Qatar, Gaza, Israeli, Doha, Israel

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. plans to announce a "major sanctions package" on Friday, seeking to hold Russia responsible for the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said the country, which borders Russia, successfully thwarted a "hybrid operation" by Russia's security services on its territory. Russia's Federal Security Service has reportedly detained a woman with dual Russian-U.S. citizenship on suspicion of treason, Russian media reported Tuesday. The woman, believed to be a 33 year-old resident of Los Angeles, was arrested in the Urals mountain city of Yekaterinburg. She was reportedly arrested on suspicion of treason for raising funds for Ukraine's armed forces.

Persons: John Kirby, Alexei Navalny, Kaja Kallas Organizations: White, Russia, Internal Security Service, ISS, Federal Security Service Locations: U.S, Estonia, Russia, Los Angeles, Yekaterinburg

☆ Estonia thwarts ‘shadow war’ attack, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tells CNN
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Estonia has thwarted a Russian-directed influence operation on its territory, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has told CNN. The Estonian Internal Security Service arrested 10 individuals, including both Russian and Estonian nationals. “There’s a shadow war going on against our societies,” Prime Minister Kallas told CNN. “The aim of Russia’s influence operations is to influence our democratic decision making. The Kremlin is also directly involved in shaping Russian influence operations in neighboring countries, according to Presidential Administration documents leaked last year.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, ” Kallas Organizations: CNN, Estonian, Estonian Internal Security Service, ”, Intelligence, SVR, Administration, Moldovan, NATO, European Union Locations: Estonia, Russian, Russia, –, NATO, Europe, Baltic States, Moldova

☆ Israeli settler attacks fuel the fire as Gaza war rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( John Davison | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Ben-Gvir's office did not respond to a request for comment about whether guns had already been distributed in the West Bank. At least eight of those were since Oct 7. alone, worrying ordinary Palestinians, Israeli security experts and Western officials. Washington has condemned settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank while the European Union on Tuesday denounced "settler terrorism" that risked a "dangerous escalation of the conflict." Hamas cited Israeli actions in the West Bank, core to a would-be Palestinian state, in waging its killing spree. 'GREAT DANGER'Settler-related violence is becoming harder to stem with the ongoing Gaza war and the augmented power of far-right politicians, Israeli security experts say.

Persons: Ammar Awad, Father, QUSRA, Mourning, Mohammed Wadi, Israel hurtled, Wadi's, Shira Liebman, Itamar Ben, Mohammed's, Ahmed, Ibrahim, Abdullah Abu Rahma, Liebman, We've, Lior Akerman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben, Ariel Danino, Akerman, Den, Wadi, I'm, Emily Rose, Ali Sawafta, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, Yesha, National, Twitter, Humanitarian Affairs Office, OCHA, European Union, Wall Resistance Commission, Hamas, United Nations, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Nablus, West, Bank, Gaza, Qusra, Yesha Council, Lebanon, Washington, Israel's, Israel, Lebanese, Wadi, Abdullah, Jerusalem, Ramallah

☆ West Bank a Possible 'Third Front' for Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

Israel still occupies the West Bank, captured with Gaza in a 1967 Middle East war. More than 70 Palestinians have been killed in West Bank violence since Oct. 7 and Israel has arrested more than 800 people. Hamas cited attacks on West Bank Palestinians and arrests this year as part of its reason for attacking on Oct. 7. But the arrests have also limited West Bank violence, said Mustafa al-Khawaja, a 52-year-old anti-settlement activist. WEST BANK A COMPLEX PATCHWORKWhile Hamas tightly controls besieged Gaza, the West Bank is a complex patchwork of hillside cities, Israeli settlements and army checkpoints that split Palestinian communities.

Persons: Ali Sawafta, John Davison, Israel, Jonathan Conricus, Salah, Mowafaq Sehweel, Nizar Mughrabi, Netanyahu, Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Mustafa al, Khawaja, Mughrabi, Mahmoud Abbas's PA, Abbas, Israel's, Fatah, Hadi al, Masri, Lior Akerman, Shin, Akerman, Howard Goller Organizations: West Bank, Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Reuters, Fatah, Bank, Palestinian, UN Locations: John Davison RAMALLAH, JERUSALEM, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, West Bank, Lebanese, Ramallah, Jerusalem

Persons: Mohammed Torokman, Israel, Jonathan Conricus, Salah, Mowafaq Sehweel, Nizar Mughrabi, Netanyahu, Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Mustafa al, Khawaja, Mughrabi, Mahmoud Abbas's PA, Abbas, Israel's, Fatah, Hadi al, Masri, Lior Akerman, Shin, Akerman, Ali Sawafta, John Davison, Howard Goller Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Reuters, Fatah, Bank, Palestinian, UN, Thomson Locations: Ramallah, RAMALLAH, JERUSALEM, Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, West Bank, Lebanese, Jerusalem

☆ Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in Poland Kills 16
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sixteen people have died and over 150 have been hospitalized in southeastern Poland in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe strain of bacterial pneumonia, local health authorities said Wednesday. The outbreak has been concentrated in the southeastern city of Rzeszow, which lies about 60 miles from the border with neighboring Ukraine, although some cases have been registered elsewhere. The Polish health ministry said this week that the most likely source of infection was Rzeszow’s municipal water network. Once relatively quiet, Rzeszow has become an important hub for the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hosting American soldiers and thousands of Ukrainian refugees. The deaths, which have occurred over the past week, sparked unfounded rumors in Poland of Russian responsibility for the outbreak that the authorities have tried to tamp down.

Persons: Stanislaw Zaryn, ” Locations: Poland, Rzeszow, Ukraine, Polish

Multiple sea drone attack carried out on Russian assets in Crimea and the Black Sea have grabbed recent headlines, with dramatic videos posted online. These sea drones are targeting the Russians in the Black Sea. “The speed of these drones exceeds any sea craft in the Black Sea region at the moment.”The speed and difficulties in detection may go some way to explaining how the drones that attacked the bridge traveled undetected in the dark across the Black Sea to the bridge. Especially since the Admiral Makarov was newly installed as the Black Sea flagship after the Moskva was famously sunk by Ukrainian forces in April 2022. Russia claimed it was responding to an area it says was housing sea drones.

Persons: Makarov, Putin, ”, menacingly, Admiral Makarov, “ Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, Boston Whaler, CNN, “, UNESCO, Heritage Locations: Ukraine, Boston, Crimean, Russia, Crimea, Kerch, Crimea’s Sevastopol, Sevastopol, Moskva, Russian

☆ The Kremlin is open to discussions over a potential prisoner swap for detained Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin has expressed openness to a potential prisoner swap that could involve Evan Gershkovich. Gershkovich, a WSJ reporter, was detained by Russian officials in March on suspicion of espionage. The Journal and the US government have vehemently denied the allegations against Gershkovich. Russia's internal security service at the time said that it had detained Gershkovich, accusing him of "espionage in the interests of the American government." The US has told the Kremlin that Gershkovich is not a spy and is not a government official.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, —, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Gershkovich, Joe Biden, Evan, Biden, Gershkovich's, …, Roger Carstens, We've, Carstens, They're, Paul Whelan — Organizations: Gershkovich, Service, Street, Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow —, White House, Kremlin, Aspen Ideas, US State Department, US Marine Locations: Russia, United States, Yekaterinburg —, Moscow, Russian, Colorado

☆ Ukraine posts video of rare drone-on-drone warfare where it slams its own unmanned aircraft into a Russian one
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Video posted by Ukraine's security agency showed an odd facet of drone warfare. This clip showed a Ukrainian drone smashing into an enemy drone in flight. A video posted Wednesday by Ukraine's internal security service, the SBU, deviated from that norm. The rest of the video shows more conventional drone operations, aimed at what appear to be Russian military supply trucks. A Ukrainian exploding drone closes in on a truck as two people dive for cover in a video published in May 2023 by Ukraine's SBU security agency.

☆ Russia arrests WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian FSB says it arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter. The reporter, Evan Gershkovich, has been accused of espionage. The Wall Street Journal issued a statement denying the allegations and demanding Gershkovich's immediate release. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural mountains. The headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in central Moscow on February 25, 2021.

☆ Former Wagner commander seeks asylum in Norway after fleeing Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded Wagner, said that Medvedev had worked in a Norwegian unit of Wagner but had "mistreated prisoners". In interviews with Gulagu, Medvedev said he grew disaffected after his contract was repeatedly extended by Wagner without his consent. He said he had witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners who were brought to the front by Wagner. Medvedev said losses were very high after Wagner began sending large numbers of prisoners to the front in the second half of 2022. The Wagner statement did not address Medvedev's accounts of punishment and of battlefield losses, or that his contract was repeatedly extended.

☆ Latvia cancels licence of exiled Russian television station TV Rain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Russian TV station moved to Latvia after Ukraine invasionLatvian regulator says it poses security threatTV Rain calls accusation "absurd"VILNIUS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Latvia has cancelled the licence of Russian independent television station TV Rain after the company was branded a threat to national security, the state broadcasting regulator said on Tuesday. TV Rain said it programmes could still be seen on YouTube. Abolins said the regulator was convinced TV Rain did not understand "the essence and gravity" of its alleged violations. TV Rain apologized to its viewers and fired a presenter on Friday after Latvia's State Security Service launched an investigation into comments he made on air. TV Rain editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko called the comments "misleading", tweeting last Friday: "TV Rain did not, does not, and will not act to help supply the Russian army".

☆ Protests leave China facing a terrible trilemma
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Such behaviour undermines arguments that abandoning Xi’s zero-Covid policy will instantly stimulate economic activity. Even before factoring in Beijing’s response to the unrest, the International Monetary Fund expects a measly 3.2% GDP growth for China this year. Covid-19 cases began spiking in China in early November following a week-long public holiday. The government reported 40,347 new infections for Nov. 27 in an update issued Nov. 28. Beijing announced 20 relaxations of the country’s pandemic policy on Nov. 11, including shorter quarantine periods and more narrowly targeted lockdowns.

☆ Breakingviews: Protests leave China facing a terrible trilemma
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HONG KONG, Nov 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Officials’ muddled response to spiking Covid cases has set off three consecutive days of demonstrations spanning cities and social classes. Such behaviour undermines arguments that abandoning Xi’s zero-Covid policy will instantly stimulate economic activity. Covid-19 cases began spiking in China in early November following a week-long public holiday. The government reported 40,347 new infections for Nov. 27 in an update issued Nov. 28. Beijing announced 20 relaxations of the country’s pandemic policy on Nov. 11, including shorter quarantine periods and more narrowly targeted lockdowns.

☆ German authorities looking into reports of illegal Chinese police in Frankfurt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in Germany are investigating whether China maintains an illegal extraterritorial police station in Frankfurt, a spokesperson said, a week before Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads on an already contested visit to the economic giant. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Confirming an earlier report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, the spokesperson said they so far had no indications such facilities existed in Frankfurt. Dutch authorities on Wednesday said they were investigating Chinese offices that were operating illegally in the Netherlands, carrying out tasks like renewing driving licences. That followed allegations, denied by the Chinese embassy in The Hague, that the office had also harassed a Chinese dissident living in the Netherlands.

☆ A Ukrainian woman said she carved details of her rape and torture at the hands of Russian troops into the walls of the shed she was held in so others would know what happened to her
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian woman told The Washington Post she was raped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Izium. Her account adds to many reports of rape, torture, and other alleged war crimes by Russian troops. Her story follows reports of rape and torture committed by Russian troops that have poured out of Ukraine nearly since the war began in February. After Russian troops retreated from Izium in September, an Associated Press investigation identified 10 sites across the city in which Russian soldiers had tortured Ukrainian service members and civilians. The investigation found Russian soldiers committed rape and torture, including against children, and in some cases made families of the victims watch.

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