Russia

Earlier this month, when the Kremlin told multiple Big Tech companies to suppress political opposition amid nationwide elections in Russia, their answer was unequivocal: no. Yet just two weeks later, Apple and Google deleted from their app stores the Smart Voting app, opposition leader Alexey Navalny and his party’s primary tool for consolidating votes against Vladimir Putin’s regime. Then Telegram and Google-owned YouTube also restricted access to the recommendations for opposition candidates that Navalny was sharing on these platforms. Putin of course was ecstatic . The US tech platforms’ sudden knee-bending didn’t just hurt the opposition’s ability to communicate to the Russian people. It also marked the dangerous effectiveness of a new Kremlin policy: Force foreign tech firms to put employees on the ground, so they can then be coerced and threatened into doing the Kremlin’s bidding. For all that the world’s politicians and analysts discuss internet censorship in …

[Read more...] about In Russia, Apple and Google Staff Get Muscled by the State

RUSSIA is preparing to send its "Barbie cosmonaut" to space for the first time along with a ballerina and an actress for a new movie. The three women will star in a full-length movie to be filmed this year on the International Space Station (ISS). Space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin insisted that Anna Kikina, 36, must be given a place on an imminent mission, and she is also expected to take part in a spacewalk. A new Barbie doll was made in Kikina’s likeness earlier this year - and now her long-awaited place on an ISS mission in 2022 has been confirmed. She is the first female cosmonaut in training since 2016 and overall, only four of 124 Soviet or Russian cosmonauts have been female. But the Russian space agency hopes to attract more women and has launched a recruitment drive at young girls, with the slogan "any dream can come true - you just need to believe in yourself and move forward". Reports say that Roscosmos chief Rogozin personally "ordered the cosmonaut …

[Read more...] about Russia to send ‘Barbie cosmonaut’ to space for the first time along with ballerina and actress for new movie

Russian President Vladimir Putin is waiting for the official results of the US presidential election to be announced before congratulating the winner, a Kremlin spokesperson said Monday. Joe Biden was widely declared to have been elected as US president over the weekend but his victory has been disputed by incumbent Donald Trump. Trump is launching legal challenges against the results in several key battleground states, after making unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud. Biden is taking office in the US, but what does it mean for Europe? Biden seeks to move quickly and build administration "We believe it is correct to wait for the official results of the elections that have taken place. I'd like to remind you that President Putin has repeatedly said that he will respect the choice of the American people whatever it may be," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. The head of the Russian electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, …

[Read more...] about Putin ‘waiting for official results’ to congratulate winner of US election

Brexit: 'Gibraltar wants to STAY part of Britain' blasts Picardo Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Ecologists in Spain have attempted to thwart crucial work to be carried out by experts on HMS Talent in Gibraltar by arguing engineers have no nuclear emergency plan for the repairs. They also complained that the Royal Navy is forcing Gibraltar into becoming “an X port, where the United Kingdom brings its submarines for repair”. The group argued the work they do to nuclear submarines in Gibraltar “puts the population of Campo de Gibraltar at risk”. A wave of complaints have come from the Spanish (Image: GETTY) They claimed in the UK bringing the …

[Read more...] about ‘Gibraltar AT RISK!’ Spain DERAILS crucial repairs on Royal Navy warships

Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again been showing off his macho energy in new images of him parading through the wilds of Siberia. The super-cool photos come amid fears for his health after reports that a member of his inner circle caught Covid. Putin is currently "self-isolating" due to the Covid-19 "outbreak" in his entourage. But the exhilarating videos have been released to coincide with the president's grounding, understood to have been originally filmed around two and a half weeks ago, The Sun reports . Putin can be seen speeding on an off-road vehicle, trekking through mountains and steering a boat on a Siberian river. The strong man Russian is accompanied on the hard-man adventure with his defence minister. On the 72-hour camping trip, the Kremlin leader revealed that he was almost knocked over as he sped through a herd of red maral deer. He said: "Huge marals – I haven't seen anything like that. "Good thing they didn't hit …

[Read more...] about Russian President Vladimir Putin channels action hero in new ‘macho’ camping pics

Germany's Left party (Die Linke) on Sunday adopted a national platform with a focus on social care that also calls for the NATO alliance to be scrapped. Although the party has no realistic chance of forming a government , it could have a say in policy as part of a future coalition . What is the Left party promising? Foreign policy: An end to all foreign deployments of the Germany's military, the Bundeswehr. The party wants to replace NATO with a collective security system involving Russia. In addition, the party advocates an end to all arms exports. Climate change: An energy revamp with a focus on renewable energy. The party also wants to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest and to see Germany climate-neutral by 2035. Transport: The manifesto would commit to a goal of local public transport free of charge, and for rail travel to also become cheaper. There would also be a ban on domestic flights of less than 500 kilometers (310 miles). Germany's …

[Read more...] about Germany’s Left party plans to scrap NATO, end troop deployments

Mikel Arteta hails Arsenal fans ahead of north London derby Sign up HERE for the latest MUFC breaking news and transfer updates SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Gilberto Silva has warned Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta he could lose the dressing room if he doesn't entirely believe in his philosophy. But Silva also praised the Spanish boss' confidence at a young age, stressing the importance of such a trait as a Premier League manager. Related articles Arsenal have new £43m transfer decision to make because of Chelsea Arsenal chief Edu backed over transfer policy with Wenger comparison Buy Arsenal's 2021/22 official home jersey Buy Arsenal's 2021/22 official home jersey Adidas and …

[Read more...] about Mikel Arteta warned against dressing room antics which could cost him Arsenal job

Published 11 February 2019 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Europe migrant crisis Hungarian women with four children or more will be exempted for life from paying income tax, the prime minister has said, unveiling plans designed to boost the number of babies being born. It was a way of defending Hungary's future without depending on immigration, Viktor Orban said. The right-wing nationalist particularly opposes immigration by Muslims. Hungary's population is falling by 32,000 a year. Women there have fewer children than the EU average. As part of the measures, young couples will be offered interest-free loans of 10m forint (£27,400; $36,000), to be cancelled once they have three children. Mr Orban said that "for the West", the answer to falling birth rates in Europe was immigration: "For every missing child, there should be one coming in and …

[Read more...] about Hungary tries for baby boom with tax breaks and loan forgiveness

Published 10 October 2017 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Ukraine conflict Hungary says it will protest to the EU over a new law that limits the teaching of subjects in languages of Ukraine's ethnic minorities, including Hungarian. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he would urge foreign ministers next Monday to revise the EU's partnership deal with the Ukraine. The new law makes Ukrainian-language lessons mandatory in secondary schools. The Transcarpathia region of western Ukraine is home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians. Mr Szijjarto's comments came after he met with Hungarians in the region. The government provides funds for Hungarian-language schools based there. He said the law violated the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement , a deal to remove trade barriers between the two entities which went into force last month. …

[Read more...] about Hungary in language dispute with Ukraine over schools

Published 11 August 2015 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Ukraine conflict Ukraine has banned 38 books published in Russia, alleging that they spread "hate ideology" and "separatism". The ban includes works by Russian nationalists Alexander Dugin, Eduard Limonov and Sergei Glazyev. The blacklist was published by the Ukrainian State Television and Radio Committee. It accused Russia of waging "information warfare" against Ukraine. Ukraine and Western leaders say Russia is fomenting separatism and helping the insurgents in eastern Ukraine. "Information war" is seen as part of Russia's "aggression" against the pro-Western government in Kiev. Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists exchange artillery fire daily in the Donetsk-Luhansk conflict zone. A spokesperson at Amnesty International's Kiev office, Bogdan Ovcharuk, condemned …

[Read more...] about Ukraine bans 38 Russian ‘hate’ books amid culture war