RT News - December 16th 2022 Late

A terror attack on Russia's humanitarian office in the Central African Republic leaves the head of mission seriously wounded. The official heads the local branch of the “Russian House”, a network of cultural centres under the Foreign Ministry. He had reportedly received threats against himself and his family over Russia’s ties with the government of CAR.

A US company built drones used by Ukraine to bomb targets inside Russia, according to RT sources familiar with the matter. Is USA tripping up over it's own statements?

The Russian president and Indian prime minister discuss bilateral ties over the phone, following media rumours that the Indian PM backed out of a meeting with Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin dismissed as a misunderstanding.

Twitter: Elon Musk suspended some prominent accounts from twitter which were doxxing - and they picked on Elon Musk to dox in real time!

Trade wars: The US has "blacklisted" more than 20 Chinese semi-conductor companies citing "national security interests"

The EU announces it's 9th package of sanctions against Russia. The new measures include export controls and restrictions on dual-use goods and technology and on goods and technology that could be used in the defence and security sector. The expanded penalties also include the blacklisting of 168 Russian enterprises, export bans on goods and technology related to the aviation and space sectors, imposition of an asset freeze on two more banks and the recalling of broadcasting licenses from several Russian media outlets. Poland's PM says they aren't enough.
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via RT website 16 Dec, 2022 14:41

Russian injured in Africa expected ‘parcel with son’s head’ – Prigozhin

Dmitry Sytyy, the head of a Russian culture centre in CAR, was wounded in a reported package bomb blast

A Russian official serving in the Central African Republic (CAR), who was injured on Friday, ignored safety precautions because he feared that people threatening his family would send him his son’s head in a box, Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Friday.

Dmitry Sytyy, who heads the local branch of a network of cultural centers under the Russian Foreign Ministry, was rushed to hospital after a parcel bomb reportedly exploded in his hands. Details of the incident were first shared by a Russian officers' organization, which claims to train Central African troops under a Moscow-mediated contract. Prigozhin is linked to the ‘Wagner group’, a private military company, which he claims he created in 2014 to further Russian interests.

The businessman claimed that in November Sytnyy received a note from Togo, which like CAR, is a former French colony. The message included a photo of the man’s son, who lives in France, and a threat to send his severed head “unless the Russians leave the African continent and open the doors to the French”, Prigozhin claimed in a statement published by the press office of his company, Concord.

“Today he received a parcel. Despite all safety instructions, Dmitry Sytyy opened it in a state of anguish, thinking that it contained his son’s head. An explosion followed,” the businessman said.

Prigozhin accused Paris of being behind the blast and urged Russia to investigate it, and potentially designate France a state sponsor of terrorism.

The US has reportedly considered declaring the Wagner group a terrorist organization, in a bid to put more pressure on Russia. Western nations, including France, have been complaining about the group’s activities in other nations, particularly African ones.

French President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at Wagner in February, accusing it of having “predatory intentions” for the continent, specifically in another former French colony, Mali.

This week, Paris pulled out its last 130 soldiers from CAR, its Defence Ministry announced on Thursday. France deployed hundreds of troops in the country in the wake of the 2013 armed coup and civil war, which was the seventh French military mission in the country since it declared its independence in the 1960s. It formally ended Operation Sangaris in 2016, but left a residual military presence.
https://www.rt.com/russia/568378-car-diplomat-prigozhin-head/
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via RT website 16 Dec, 2022 16:05

Russian arms manufacturers switch to six-day working week

Shifts at defence enterprises may also be extended to 12 hours, a trade unions chief says

Arms manufacturers in Sverdlovsk Region in Russia’s Urals are working longer weeks due to the conflict in Ukraine, a trade unions chief has said.

Enterprises that are busy fulfilling government defense orders “are now working six days [a week] instead of five,” Andrey Vetluzhskykh, the head of the federation of local trade unions, said during a press conference in Ekaterinburg on Friday.

Working days could also be increased for employees, Vetluzhskykh added, noting that the Russian law allows for the addition of four hours per shift in the event of “production necessity.” That means “working up to 12 hours daily,” he explained.

Businesses also have the option to recall workers who are on vacation, or deny scheduled paid leave, the unions chief said. However, this only applies to the defence industry and should in no way affect companies producing goods for civilian use, he added.

Employees must be fairly compensated for the additional work, and unions are keeping an eye on employers to ensure that they fulfil their obligations, Vetluzhskykh pointed out.

The measures are being implemented because state defence orders have “significantly expanded” as the conflict in Ukraine continues, he said.

Sverdlovsk Region is a major Russian defense industry hub, hosting more than 100 defence firms. They include the likes of Uralvagonzavod and Uraltransmash, which manufacture armoured vehicles and howitzers, respectively; NPO Avtomatiki, one of the country’s leading producers of control systems and electronic equipment for the space industry; Kalinin Machine-Building Plant, which supplies air defence systems to the Russian military; and many others.
https://www.rt.com/russia/568381-urals-defense-industry-ukraine/
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