RT News - February 28th 2023 LATE

Africa, Nigerian Elections: Both political parties in Nigeria, Labour and the PDP (People's Democratic Party), have held a joint press conference and have have called to nullify the presidential elections, stating that they cannot see the fairness or freeness of the election and the preliminary results are a 'sham' and that the voting process has been manipulated. Election materials have been destroyed, ballot boxes pinched and set fire to. There have been protests across the country. Karabo Letlhatlha reports from Lagos. Adamu Garba discusses with Eunan.

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The Head of 'Russian House' cultural centre in the Central African Republic, who was injured in an assassination attempt in December, talks to RT after local law enforcement publishes details of the attack. CCTV footage shows the alleged culprit of the attack on the centre, a man with Spanish documents. Mourad speaks with Dmitry Syty.

Revelations of war crimes and more: RT speaks exclusively to a former American mercenary in Ukraine who defected to Russia, revealing what he says are war crimes committed by Kiev. John McIntyre also describes the role of US intelligence agencies in the conflict.

Tank Quarrels: After both USA and Germany pledged to send tanks to Kiev, it seems that the agreements arrived at by the parties is being contested. Eunan and Mark Sleboda discuss and detail what was said (and meant? - recall posted articles made on this channel giving the details of the conditions for supplying Kiev as reported by the Whitehouse and by German PM Scholz)
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Below, via RT website -- - -- A) --- Putin accuses West of using ‘extremists’ against Russia
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1) --- Reason for air traffic halt over St. Petersburg revealed
1a) --- Unidentified drone crashes near Moscow
1b) --- Drone wreckage found in Russian city near Ukrainian border
1c) --- Russia reports success against Ukrainian drone incursion
2) --- Sanctions against Russia dubbed ‘poison’ for EU
3) --- US preparing false flag chemical attacks in Ukraine – Moscow
4) --- Kiev’s troops have big Nazi problem – ex-US soldier who escaped Ukraine
5) --- Neighbor of Russia assesses mutual ties
6) --- Blinken issues warning to China
7) --- *** White House pushes to renew controversial spying law ***
8) --- Court orders Siemens to deliver trains to Russia
9) --- NATO a 'distant prospect' for Ukraine – Stoltenberg
10) --- US Air Force sacks nuclear base staff
11) --- Artists refuse to perform at king’s coronation – media
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28 Feb, 2023 16:42

A) --- Putin accuses West of using ‘extremists’ against Russia

The number of terrorist attacks has grown due to the US and Kiev’s willingness to use radicals to its advantage, the president said

The West never shied away from using extremists against Russia and is doing so again during the conflict in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said. He claimed that western intelligence agencies are aiming to restore terrorist cells inside Russia.

Countering this terrorist threat remains “an urgent” task for the country, Putin said while chairing a board meeting of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow on Tuesday.

“Over the past year, the number of such crimes has increased, which is obviously connected to the attempts of the Kiev regime to employ terrorist methods. We are well aware of that. They have been using them in Donbass for a long time,” he said.

The West, which is backing Kiev in the conflict against Moscow, has “never shied away from using both radicals and extremists in their interests, despite all their loud statements about fighting international terrorism,” the president said.

“They always use whatever’s at hand against us. They use everything that’s possible. It was always like this and it remains so,” he said.
Active attempts are currently being made by the Western special services to restore terrorist cells inside Russia, he warned.

It’s essential to intensify counter-intelligence work and keep the Russian-Ukrainian border under extra supervision to prevent the smuggling of weapons and ammunition into Russian territory, Putin told the leadership of Russia’s main security agency.

He praised the FSB’s operatives, who have worked at the frontlines and “behind enemy lines” during the conflict in Ukraine, for their “personal courage, professionalism and determination in ensuring the security of Russia.” The agency, he said, has obtained “priceless experience” that will allow it to execute its duties even more effectively.

Putin has previously blamed Ukraine for using “terrorist tactics” following the explosion on the Crimean Bridge in early October, which Moscow insists was masterminded by Kiev. That led to a major ramping up of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and military targets, causing rolling blackouts across the country and significantly damaging Kiev’s air defense capabilities.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572213-putin-fsb-ukrane-terrorist/

video of address : https://rumble.com/v2ba09m-pres.-putin-meeting-of-the-federal-security-service-board-28th-february-202.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=6
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28 Feb, 2023 14:25

1) --- Reason for air traffic halt over St. Petersburg revealed

Fighter jets were scrambled in area as part of drills, the Defense Ministry says

Russian air defense forces held drills aimed at enhancing cooperation with civilian authorities in the country’s western military district on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry has announced.

Earlier in the day, the airspace over St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city, was closed for around an hour before flights fully resumed. The local authorities confirmed that Pulkovo International Airport had stopped receiving aircraft but did not reveal the reason behind the move.

Meanwhile, reports in the media claimed the restrictions had been introduced after an unidentified flying object was spotted near the city.

The Defense Ministry issued a statement a short time later, saying on-duty air defense units attached to the western military district had been training to identify and intercept a simulated aerial intruder as part of drills in the area.

The other goal of the exercises was to enhance cooperation with civilian security agencies and emergency services in the event of an actual incursion in Russia’s airspace, the statement read.

Fighter jets were scrambled as part of the exercise, the Defense Ministry added, confirming reports by the locals who claimed to have heard warplanes flying overhead.

The western military district, which has its headquarters in St. Petersburg, covers the city itself and the surrounding Leningrad Region.

Also on Tuesday, Governor of Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov said a drone had crashed near the town of Kolomna, some 114km (71 miles) southeast of the capital Moscow. The UAV, which was suspected to be Ukrainian, may have been aiming to attack a gas facility in the area, but failed to reach its target, Vorobyov suggested. There were no injuries or damage as a result of the incident, he added.

Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine had also attempted to use drones to attack civilian infrastructure in the southern region of Krasnodar and the Republic of Adygea. The UAVs were suppressed by electronic warfare units and failed to cause any damage, it added.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572205-petersburg-airspace-closure-drills/
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28 Feb, 2023 11:33

1a) --- Unidentified drone crashes near Moscow

A UAV has reportedly fallen near a gas compression station, says Moscow region governor

An unmanned aerial vehicle has crash-landed close to a Gazprom facility near the city of Kolomna in the Moscow region, Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported on Tuesday. According to the official, the unidentified drone came down near the village of Gubastovo and appears to have been targeting civilian infrastructure, however it failed to cause any damage or casualties.

The governor added that security services and other agencies are investigating the incident and that there is no danger to the population. Earlier media reports also stated that emergency services and bomb squads had been dispatched to the area.

Gazprom has also confirmed the incident, with the management of the Voskresensk gas compressor station telling Russian media that the “drone fell near us, but did not affect our operation at all.” They added that the issue is currently under the jurisdiction of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Photos allegedly depicting the drone in question have started circulating on social media, however there has yet to be any official confirmation of the authenticity of these images.

The news comes after Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday that Kiev attempted to use drones to attack civilian infrastructure in the southern region of Krasnodar and the Republic of Adygea. It’s noteworthy that the UAVs were suppressed by the electronic warfare units of the Russian Armed Forces. According to the ministry, both drones lost control and deviated from their flight paths, failing to cause damage to any civilian infrastructure facilities.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572190-unidentified-drone-crash-moscow/
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28 Feb, 2023 09:39

1b) --- Drone wreckage found in Russian city near Ukrainian border
A UAV has crashed into an apartment block, the mayor said

The wreckage of three drones has been discovered in the Russian city of Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday. The city and the surrounding region, which borders Ukraine, have been repeatedly shelled since Moscow launched its military operation a year ago.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Gladkov said that there were no casualties. He added that some windows were blown out, and cars were “slightly damaged.”

“The special services are handling the situation,” the governor said. Several local media outlets have published photos of wings and other drone parts lying on the ground.

Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov said one UAV had “flown through the window of an apartment,” and the residents were evacuated from the building.

Local media cited a witness as saying a drone crashed into a wall of a residential building.

News website Mash reported that one of the aircraft was a Ukrainian UAV equipped with a “British-made plastic explosive device containing metallic shrapnel.” According to Mash, the drones were flying towards an electrical substation and were downed by local air defense forces.

Gladkov also said Ukrainian forces shelled the village of Stary Khutor on Monday morning, and that eight homes and a power line were damaged.

Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine a year ago, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk peace accords. Russian officials have since accused Ukrainian troops of shelling Russian border territories, including the Bryansk and Kursk regions. The strikes have targeted energy infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in civilian casualties.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572180-belgorod-drone-wreck-found/
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28 Feb, 2023 13:02

1c) --- Russia reports success against Ukrainian drone incursion

The aircraft had targeted civilian infrastructure but the military drove them off course, the Defense Ministry said

Kiev's forces launched drone attacks on Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region and Adygea Republic, but they were successfully repelled by the military, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported. Images of one of the aircraft were apparently shared by a regional head.

The incursions happened in the early hours of Tuesday and targeted civilian infrastructure, according to a statement released by the ministry. Russian forces used electronic warfare to suppress the two drones, causing them to veer off course. One “fell in a field,” while the other “failed to cause any damage” to its target, the ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Adygea head Murat Kumpilov shared images showing the wreckage of an unidentified aircraft, which he said was discovered near the village of Novoye, located to the north of the provincial capital Maykop. The official said the crash resulted in no injuries, but caused minor damage to an outbuilding on a farm.

Meanwhile, there was a fire overnight at an oil refinery in the city of Tuapse in Krasnodar Region. Municipal head Sergey Boyko said the blaze had broken out in a technical building, but did not spread to fuel tanks and was extinguished by firefighters within 30 minutes.

Some Russian media claimed, citing anonymous sources, that the fire was caused by a failed attack involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). According to these reports, as many as two aircraft carrying explosives crashed some 100 meters from the fuel reservoirs, damaging a boiler room instead.

In Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine, three drone wreckages were discovered in the provincial capital on Monday evening. One of the UAVs crashed through the window of an apartment building, prompting evacuation.

Some media claimed the drones were Ukrainian and carried British-made plastic explosives, based on images of the debris.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572199-russia-ukrainian-drones-infrastructure/
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28 Feb, 2023 12:28

2) --- Sanctions against Russia dubbed ‘poison’ for EU

The bloc’s new restrictions only increase its dependence on direct competitors, according to Moscow

EU sanctions against Russia are missing the mark and instead chipping away at the bloc’s economic independence, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

She slammed the tenth package of EU sanctions, which was unveiled on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s military campaign against Ukraine. The measures targeted Russia’s banking sector and sought to curb its access to dual-use and advanced technologies.

"Each consecutive sanctions package clearly demonstrates one thing: anti-Russia restrictions are instruments that did not work."

Zakharova said she agreed with Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, who earlier this month described the restrictions as “slow-acting but certain poison.”

“The only thing is that they, first of all, ‘kill’ the economic sovereignty of the European Union. The EU can slap itself with any number of restrictions regarding trade with Russia; this will only increase its dependence on its direct competitors,” she explained.

Zakharova also blasted the bloc’s crackdown on Russian media, noting that Brussels was “deliberately destroying the foundations of democratic society, undermining the principles and values the EU was built on in the first place.”

The spokeswoman also offered a reminder that “the EU, the US and their satellites found themselves alone” in imposing sanctions on Russia.

“The rest of the world… did not join any of the ‘packages’, rejecting restrictions as illegal, hurting the global economy and undermining food and energy security,” she said, adding that the EU’s threats to punish those who refuse to comply with the sanctions would only strengthen global opposition to what “essentially is the neo-colonial dictatorial policy of the West.”

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, the EU has imposed restrictions on a total of 1,473 individuals and 205 entities that the bloc said undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described this campaign as “a full-blown sanctions war,” adding that it had failed to bring about the collapse of the nation’s economy.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572196-sanctions-russia-eu-poison/
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28 Feb, 2023 09:44

3) --- US preparing false flag chemical attacks in Ukraine – Moscow

The Americans believe a provocation won't be properly investigated due to the fighting, Russian military alleges

The US is preparing to stage false flag chemical attacks in Ukraine to pin the blame on Moscow for the use of banned toxic agents, the chief of Russia’s Nuclear Biological and Chemical Defense troops, Igor Kirillov, has said.

The Americans believe that the international community wouldn’t be able to organize an effective investigation of such “provocations” due to the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, which would allow Washington to escape responsibility, Kirillov said during a briefing on Tuesday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has obtained information that a train with a cargo of chemical substances in one of its cars had apparently arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kramatorsk in Donbass on February 10, the commander said.

The 16 metal boxes with special markings that suggest they contained BZ (3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate) incapacitating agent as well as CS (chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile) and CR (dibenzoxazepine) harassing 'riot-control' agents, were accompanied by the “citizens of foreign nations,” he also alleged.

According to Kirillov, the chemicals were unloaded at a local metallurgical plant under the supervision of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and put on US-supplied armored vehicles that later moved out towards a contact as part of a convoy.

Russia also established that eleven cars with specially marked shrapnel ammunition were unloaded in Kramatorsk on February 19, the commander said. The shells of this type had been previously upgraded in the US to be able to deliver harassing chemical substances, he added.

NATO has also planned a large delivery of means of chemical protection to Ukraine, including hundreds of antidotes for various toxic substances, Kirillov is also alleging.

“The facts of simultaneous delivery of toxic chemicals and means of protection against them indicate an attempt to carry out large-scale provocations using the BZ military-grade psychoactive chemical agent during the conflict,” he said.

Despite announcing the depletion of all of its stocks of BZ back in 1990, the US has preserved samples of the toxic agent, which causes acute psychosis, disorientation, hallucinations and memory impairment. Washington maintains the capability to produce the substance in significant quantities, the commander claimed.

If a provocation using chemical weapons is carried out in Donbass, “the true culprits will be identified and held accountable," Kirillov warned.

Russian forces in the area have all the means to promptly detect the use of toxic agents and to contain such incidents, he assured Tuesday's briefing, adding that they can identify not just the substance being deployed but also the country where it was produced.

Chemical warfare is forbidden under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1997, to which the US, Ukraine and Russia are all signatories. The document bans their militaries from even using riot-control agents or tear gas, despite them being allowed in law enforcement.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572187-ukraine-chemical-attacks-us/
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28 Feb, 2023 17:47

4) --- Kiev’s troops have big Nazi problem – ex-US soldier who escaped Ukraine

John McIntyre, a former US army soldier, spent a year as a mercenary in Ukraine before fleeing to Russia

The Nazi influence in the Ukrainian military is omnipresent, John McIntyre, a former US soldier who served in various Ukrainian military units for a year, has told RT. He defected to Russia after witnessing the actions of the Ukrainian troops amid the ongoing conflict between Kiev and Moscow.

“When I came, I was really surprised. Everybody had tattoos and Nazi symbolism,” the former American soldier-turned-mercenary told RT’s Murad Gazdiev in Moscow. McIntyre also admitted he did not believe Nazi ideology was “that big of a problem” for Ukraine until he saw things on the ground himself.

The soldier also said he had to conceal his own anti-fascist and communist views to fit in with the Ukrainian troops. Some other Western mercenaries also directly told him: “The Russians aren’t the Nazis, we are the Nazis,” according to McIntyre.

The ex-US soldier served with the Ukrainian forces for a year, although now he claims he had always planned to defect to Russia once he gathered enough intelligence. At a certain point, he was “compromised as a whistleblower” after talking to someone about the war crimes committed by the Ukrainian forces. According to McIntyre, whistleblowers are treated in Ukraine even more harshly than spies.

“Anybody who confesses or is known to be about to confess is shot in the back of the head,” he claimed, adding that “a lot of people go missing … including foreigners.” McIntyre himself managed to flee to Russia through Moldova after finding out that Ukraine had snipers hunting down defectors trying to cross the frontlines.

The former soldier, who previously served in Fort Bliss, Texas, for two years, claims the Ukrainian forces actively use civilians as human shields as they station their troops in basements next to residential buildings and then blame Russia if the area gets targeted in a strike. When such attacks happened, news crews covering the incidents “would not show you the houses to the left and right full of soldiers,” he said.

The former mercenary also said he had heard about the Ukrainian nationalists, including the members of the infamous Azov battalion and another military formation called Carpathian Sech, who torture and kill Russian POWs by cutting off their genitalia or cutting their stomachs open and slitting their throats. McIntyre, who served with the Carpathian Sech, said he personally knew people who executed POWs, including foreigners from Portugal, France, and Argentina.

“It’s funny to them. It’s hatred. They hate the Russian people, they want to kill them, they want to genocide them and remove them from their land,” the man said.

“And we're supporting these guys? And these are supposed to be our allies? And we’re supposed to put them in NATO with us? And they can’t even follow Geneva conventions?” the former soldier asked, adding that “this would never fly in America” if it were made known to the public.

The US, however, is directly involved in providing the Ukrainian forces not only with weapons but also intelligence, McIntyre said. The former mercenary revealed he personally knew about a US Navy intelligence officer working with the Ukrainian foreign legion, where McIntyre himself was serving for some time. “He had a satellite phone and computer provided by the CIA. And every day he would call his contacts and he would get information about the positions, troops movements and so on,” the former soldier said.

The weapons and equipment the US sends to Ukraine also often end up on the black market or in the hands of extremists around the world because of rampant corruption there, according to the former mercenary.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572220-ukaine-nazi-problem-us-soldier/
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28 Feb, 2023 17:19

5) --- Neighbor of Russia assesses mutual ties

Kazakh Foreign Minister says his country does not feel or see any threats from Moscow

Kazakhstan sees no risks or threats coming from Russia, the Foreign Minister of the Republic Mukhtar Tileuberdi proclaimed during a joint press conference with US secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

“At the moment, we do not see and do not feel any threats from the Russian Federation,” Tileuberdi said, responding to a question from an American journalist.

The minister noted that his country is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), regional groups that unite several former Soviet states. He said that Kazakhstan considers relations with Russia as “an alliance that functions within the framework of these multilateral structures."

The Kazakh senior diplomat added that Astana continues to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy for mutually beneficial cooperation with countries from all across the world.

Tileuberdi also stressed that Astana was not helping Russian companies evade sanctions put in place by the US and its allies, but noted that the situation was difficult for Kazakhstan, because its economy is closely intertwined with that of its neighbor.

In September, the diplomat explained his country’s stance on the ongoing split between Russia and the West by stating that Kazakhstan does “not need any external enemies or internal strife.” Therefore, Tileuberdi said, Kazakhstan pursues a neutral position in foreign policy and aims to develop strong allied and strategic relations with Russia, China, the US and fraternal Central Asian states.

A similar stance has been taken by other Central Asian nations that are part of the so-called C5+1 group, which includes the US, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Tileuberdi’s comments came after the Biden Administration pledged on Tuesday to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations. That’s while State Secretary Antony Blinken is meeting with top diplomats from these countries in Astana and Tashkent in an effort to convince them to reassess their relations with Russia.

Pointing to the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, Blinken tried to suggest that the C5 countries, which abstained from a UN General Assembly vote to condemn Russia for its actions, could potentially also become the targets of “Russian aggression” if Moscow “sets its sights on them.” Blinken urged the Central Asian states to “stand up and say ‘no, we don’t accept this.'”

Russia, meanwhile, has refused to comment on Blinken’s visit to Kazakhstan, with Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stating that Moscow trusts in its partnerships with CIS nations.
https://www.rt.com/russia/572215-kazakhstan-russia-no-threats/
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28 Feb, 2023 16:28

6) --- Blinken issues warning to China

The top US diplomat said Washington would “not hesitate” to target Chinese companies or individuals who violate its Russia sanctions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has again warned China of “implications and consequences” should it contribute lethal aid to Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. The senior US diplomat made the comments in Kazakhstan on Tuesday as part of a tour of Central Asian nations.

Blinken is meeting representatives of several former Soviet republics this week, including from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“We did very clearly warn China about the implications and consequences of going through with providing such support,” he said at a news conference in Astana, following meetings with Kazakh foreign minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

“We will not hesitate, for example, to target Chinese companies or individuals that violate our sanctions, or are otherwise engaged in supporting the Russian war effort,” he warned, adding that he'd discussed the issue “directly” with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi when they met at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.

CIA Director Bill Burns told CBS News on Friday that the agency was “confident that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment” to Moscow to aid it militarily in its conflict with Ukraine – an accusation which Beijing denies. Last week, China issued a 12-point plan detailing a potential roadmap to peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking on Tuesday, Blinken warned that any Chinese moves to aid Russia would create a “serious problem” for US-China relations, and harm many of China’s political relationships across the globe.

“China can’t have it both ways when it comes to the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Blinken added. “It can’t be putting forward peace proposals on the one hand, while actually feeding the flames of the fire that Russia has started with the other hand.”

Beijing for its part has accused Washington of hypocrisy and of fueling the conflict in Ukraine by sending weapons worth billions of dollars to Kiev.

“The US has no right to dictate China-Russia relations, and we will never accept coercion and pressure from the US,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told journalists during a briefing on Monday.
https://www.rt.com/news/572214-us-blinken-china-russia-aid/
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28 Feb, 2023 15:19

7) --- *** White House pushes to renew controversial spying law ***

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows agencies to spy on anyone, anywhere

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines wrote to Congressional leaders on Tuesday, asking them to renew a post-9/11 law allowing the US to spy on foreign targets anywhere in the world. While the law is explicitly intended to surveil foreigners, it has been used to monitor millions of Americans.

Section 702 of the 2008 amendment to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act legalized the Bush administration’s secret wiretapping program, allowing US intelligence agencies to monitor messages from abroad made through American networks like Google. Set to expire at the end of the year, the White House is already pushing lawmakers toward its renewal.

“The information acquired using Section 702 plays a key role in keeping the United States, its citizens, and its allies safe and secure,” Garland and Haines wrote in their letter, describing the reauthorization of the law as “a top legislative priority for this administration.”

Garland and Haines, the latter of whom served as deputy director of the CIA under Barack Obama, claimed that information gathered using Section 702 was instrumental in foiling cyberattacks on the US, halting the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, and thwarting foreign states’ attempts to recruit spies in the the US.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described Section 702 as a “cornerstone of US national security.”

However, while Garland and Haines stressed that Section 702 cannot be “directed against Americans at home or abroad,” that is not the case. A report last year by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) found that the FBI alone made “fewer than 3,394,053” queries of US citizens between December 2020 and November 2021, based on data obtained under Section 702.

Although the law cannot be used to surveil Americans directly, it allows the US to gather intelligence on any American whom a foreign surveillance target contacts.

This intelligence is stored for five years, during which it can be searched – for example by name, phone number, or email address, by US intelligence agencies.

President Joe Biden will likely face opposition from some Republicans when it comes to renewing Section 270. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said last year that Congress “should not even reauthorize FISA.” Allies of former president Donald Trump previously condemned the FBI for abusing the FISA process to illegally wiretap the ex-president.
https://www.rt.com/news/572211-us-surveillance-act-restoration/
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28 Feb, 2023 16:24

8) --- Court orders Siemens to deliver trains to Russia

The German company has been accused of failing to meet its contractual obligations

The Arbitration Court of Moscow ruled on Tuesday that Siemens Mobility’s refusal to honor a contract signed with Russian Railways is illegal, and ordered the German firm to deliver high-speed trains.

Under the deal signed by the two companies in June 2019, a branch of the German multinational conglomerate focused on rail technology and intelligent traffic systems was to deliver 13 high-speed Sapsan trains from September 2022 to July 2023.

The total value of the supply contract amounted to €513.5 million ($546.2 million), according to Russian Railways.

Siemens was also to provide maintenance and repair for the trains during their entire serviceable life, which is 30 years. The cost of the additional maintenance agreement reportedly amounted to €583.1 million ($620.3 million).

At the time of signing the contract in 2019, Russian Railways operated 16 Sapsan high-speed trains. The company was planning to increase the number of journeys between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, using the new trains.

However, last October, Siemens Mobility notified the Russian company about the termination of the contract “due to the sanctions imposed on Russian legal entities,” the court ruling read.

“The sanctions legislation of the US and the EU contradicts public policy” and cannot be applied in Russia, the court ruled, adding that the defendant did not have a legal basis for terminating the contract unilaterally.

Moreover, the court highlighted that restrictive measures, according to the explanations of the EU, are not applied retroactively.

German concern Siemens and all its subsidiaries announced plans to withdraw from the Russian market last May. The company also said it would withdraw from joint ventures and terminate service contracts for maintenance with Russian Railways.

Siemens also said the decision was due to the inability to further fulfill its contractual obligations because of sanctions and the requirements arising from them.
https://www.rt.com/business/572206-russia-germany-siemens-trains/
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28 Feb, 2023 14:12

9) --- NATO a 'distant prospect' for Ukraine – Stoltenberg

There are more important priorities for Kiev, the bloc's chief said

The member states of NATO have already agreed to accept Ukraine into their ranks, but the issue of membership is not a priority at the moment, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to Finland, the head of the US-led military bloc noted that although Kiev’s membership is welcomed, it is “a distant prospect” because the priority right now is to make sure Ukraine “prevails as a sovereign and independent state.”

He also added that after the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia ends, it is necessary to “ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.” To that end, the NATO chief insisted that the bloc needs to “strengthen the military capabilities of Ukraine” and establish frameworks that would prevent Russia from launching any more attacks against Kiev.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who spoke alongside Stoltenberg, also proclaimed that the future of Ukraine is to be part of the European Union and NATO and stressed the need to continue providing military aid to Kiev. “The faster and the sooner we can give them more heavy weapons, the sooner the war will end,” Marin stated.

Meanwhile, Moscow has once again blasted the collective West for rejecting security talks and insisted that the US and its allies must change their approach to global security and take Moscow’s concerns into consideration.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday that Russia’s relations with the US and Europe “changed radically” when Moscow presented its draft security treaties to Washington, Brussels and Vienna in late 2021, all of whom stated they were “not ready to talk about anything.”

Peskov said the US and Europe “could have sat down at the negotiating table” long before the conflict in Ukraine started. “There would have been very complex, positional, sometimes irreconcilable talks, but they would have been under way. But they refused,” he said.

Now, NATO is fully involved in the hostilities, “their intelligence is working against us 24 hours a day,” and their weapons are supplied to Ukraine for free to shoot at Russia’s military and Ukrainian citizens, he said.

“The moment when NATO de facto became a participant in the conflict in Ukraine, the situation changed,” the spokesman added. “In fact, the NATO bloc is no longer acting as our conditional opponent, but as our enemy.”
https://www.rt.com/news/572207-ukraine-nato-membership-prospects/
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28 Feb, 2023 15:29

10) --- US Air Force sacks nuclear base staff

Six service members, including two commanders, were dismissed due to “loss of confidence”

The US Air Force has dismissed six military service members who were stationed at a key nuclear base, including two commanders. They were sacked over “loss of confidence” in their ability to perform assigned duties, according to an official statement.

The firings occurred at Minot Air Force Base in Ward County, North Dakota, which is the only US military base that hosts two legs of the nuclear triad. Minot is home to 28 B-52H Stratofortress nuclear-capable bombers and 165 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as associated equipment.

Colonel Gregory Mayer, the head of the 5th Mission Support Group, and Major Jonathan Welch, the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander, were the two senior officers whose dismissal was announced on Monday by Air Force Global Strike Command.

“These personnel actions were necessary to maintain the very high standards we demand of those units entrusted with supporting our Nation’s nuclear mission,” Major General Andrew J. Gebara, commander of 8th Air Force, explained.

Four subordinates of the two commanders were axed as well. They held leadership positions but were not identified by either name or rank in the press release.

The Air Force declined to explain what exactly had led to the decision, but Gebara assured the public that the military remained “committed to the success of [its] no-fail mission” of strategic deterrence.

According to Air Force Times, Mayer has a 25-year-long career under his belt, with experience in civil engineering. He arrived at Minot last June and took charge of 1,900 airmen and military assets worth $4.3 billion.

There were several high-level dismissals at the base over the past two decades, the outlet noted. The facility also faced scrutiny over misconduct, including “widespread cheating on the monthly proficiency test for missileers, mishandling of nuclear weapons, unprofessional conduct and drug use,” the report added.

In 2013, Associated Press reported that an inspection of the base unearthed what one commander described as “rot,” including weapons safety-rule violations, possible code compromises and other failings being tolerated. The Air Force removed 17 launch officers from duty at the time.
https://www.rt.com/news/572201-leaders-dismissed-nuclear-base/
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..............OP-ED

28 Feb, 2023 12:48

French military bases in Africa will now self-identify as schools
Emmanuel Macron wants to rebrand Paris’ presence in its former colonies as cultural and economic projects. Rachel Marsden

Since France was dumped by some of its former colonies in Africa in favor of new partners, like Russia and China, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a new plan in an obvious effort to have an excuse to keep hanging out in the hope of winning hearts and minds.

How exactly does Macron plan on doing that? Certainly not by “taking people for imbeciles”, as he said on February 28 while announcing his new African strategy ahead of a tour of the continent this week. “We aren’t going to do common good,” Macron stated, underscoring that France clearly has interests and isn’t going to pretend otherwise. After a remark like that, one might be lulled into believing that everything else that he said would be equally straightforward.

That’s not exactly the case. Rather, Macron is just announcing a different manipulation tactic – because Washington’s model of deploying military shock and awe on resource-rich countries in the hope of ultimately translating it into business deals apparently isn’t getting the job done. Even worse, the West is now worried about being outdone on the security and economic front by Russia and China. And for all the patronizing attempts to warn African countries to avoid dealing with them — most recently by Western officials at the Munich Security Conference — it turns out that treating African leaders like they don’t know what’s in their own best interests isn’t working, either.

The big question in the wake of Mali giving the boot to France’s years-long “counter-terrorism” mission, leading to an exit of the country’s armed forces from the region, was how Paris would justify sticking around. In 2021, there were over 19,000 deaths related to Islamist violence, more than in 2015, when Boko Haram was at its strongest, in the Sahel – the region that France ostensibly sought to stabilize.

So France was fired. For all its time in the region, Paris wasn’t able to parlay its security footprint into the kind of economic and resource deals that it wanted on behalf of both itself and resource-poor Europe.

Macron tipped his hat early in his speech by evoking the Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, as a sort of anchor for the Franco-African cooperation that he’s introducing. The controversial currency, used in 14 African countries and printed in France, is pegged to the Euro. Some consider it a symbol of colonialism and a lack of sovereignty, while the Western establishment generally considers it a source of stability for these countries that attract investment.

Back in 2019 when she was in opposition, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni called it the “colonial currency” to which France “applies seigniorage and by virtue of which it exploits the resources of these nations.” Macron would now like to build on that, s’il vous plaît.

To that end, the French President has a new idea that involves Africans forgetting France’s military presence on the continent. Its bases in Africa are now going to be co-managed with Africans and some will be rebranded “academies”, he said. Apparently, in today’s Western world, if an army base wants to self-identify as a school, that’s now entirely its right.

The move to soften France’s image in Africa after having overseen the proliferation of jihadists under its counter-terrorism missions looks a lot like the Biden administration’s new PR efforts aimed at Africa. “Jill Biden’s visit to Namibia was a big hit with scores of giddy children who crowded around her Thursday as she handed out boxes of White House M&Ms after visiting an organization that gets US support for programs that teach young adults about HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence,” the Associated Press reported on February 23.

Macron is also playing up new French-led cooperative initiatives for Africa in culture, sports, health, digital technology, and education. All backed by a European team, he said — in case there were any doubts as to the European Union using France to wedge open the door to resource heaven. Macron also repeatedly mentioned partnerships with African civil society. Translation: French cash for NGO “influencers”. That’s generally called a “paid partnership” on social media, and the ethical protocol is to disclose that funding relationship. What are the odds that the French-backed NGOs will be doing the same when attempting to influence their fellow citizens?

Macron spoke of France’s network of African diaspora, able to open the doors to increased business cooperation in their countries of origin. It sounded like he was planning to just swoop in and rain cash on African enterprise. But how much of that, in reality, will end up benefiting French companies and their shareholders?

One would think that Macron has discovered “soft power”, and figures that seducing Africans with football, French art, French-style philosophical debate, and French rap will give France faster access to the continent’s riches than pretending to do something useful with guns.

Africa shouldn’t be reduced to a terrain of competition, Macron said, now that France has been eliminated from that particular competition and sent home. “The flaw of France is that it’s too divided, too hard to read and not concrete enough,” he added. If Africans were hoping that France would go home and do some soul searching before attempting a return, they might be disappointed to learn that Macron places much of the blame for the failure to implement his grand vision for Africa on the contradictory debate that French democracy still allows — albeit barely. But now that his failures self-identify as successes, he’s circling back around for another go.
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Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English.
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" ... The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.... "
https://www.rt.com/africa/572192-macron-french-military-africa/
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28 Feb, 2023 12:53

11) --- Artists refuse to perform at king’s coronation – media

Harry Styles is the latest of many in the UK to turn down the royal offer, according to multiple reports

Pop star Harry Styles has reportedly refused an offer to perform at King Charles III’s upcoming coronation. Styles is the latest big name to turn down the gig, apparently due to a busy schedule, with royal experts insisting the British monarch is not being snubbed.

Charles III, who succeeded his late mother Queen Elizabeth II on the British throne after her reign of 70 years, is set to be crowned on May 6, but is reportedly having trouble securing popular musical acts for the ceremony.

According to the Sun newspaper, pop legend Elton John and the Spice Girls have also passed up the opportunity due to prior engagements. Previous reports also suggested Adele and Ed Sheeran had rejected offers to perform.

British band Take That will headline the coronation, but its most famous former member Robbie Williams, who left the group in 1995, has apparently ruled out a return for the event. Australian singers and sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue are also tentatively due to perform.

The Sun’s royal sources claimed Elton John, who performed at Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022 and at Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, was “top of Charles’ list,” but couldn’t make it due to other touring dates.

Royal expert and author Christopher Andersen told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that there was “a long list of American pop stars chomping at the bit to perform.” He claimed artists who previously performed at events for the queen, such as Diana Ross, Alicia Keys and Andrea Bocelli, would likely be invited to do so again.

Another royal expert, Shannon Felton Spence, told Fox that Charles has “a ton of goodwill in the entertainment industry” and stars turning down the invitation likely “doesn’t reflect anything other than scheduling conflicts.”

The king’s start to his reign has been overshadowed by a scandal over his younger son Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir, in which he claimed he was “subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies” by the press. He and his American wife Meghan Markle also accused members of the royal family of making racist comments about their mixed-race child in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/572198-charles-coronation-harry-styles-snub/
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28 Feb, 2023 12:52

12) --- Inflation in France and Spain accelerates

Soaring food and energy prices have dealt a blow to Eurozone’s second and fourth-largest economies

Consumer prices in France and Spain resumed their upward trend in February, driven by higher food and energy costs, official statistics showed on Tuesday.

In France, the consumer price index increased by 6.2%, up from 6.0% in January, according to preliminary data from the statistics bureau Insee.

The report noted that food inflation edged higher to 14.5% from 13.3%, services prices were up to 2.9% from 2.6%, while prices of manufactured goods rose slightly to 4.6% from 4.5%, with the end of winter sales. Energy prices jumped 14.0% on year in February, Insee said.

The EU-harmonized index stood at 7.2% compared to 7% in January.

Meanwhile in Spain, which succeeded in containing price growth in the second half of 2022, inflation has now risen for two consecutive months in annual terms. Consumer prices increased 6.1% year-on-year in February, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reports.

Preliminary data showed that higher electricity and food prices were the key drivers of the increase.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food and energy prices, stood at 7.7% year-on-year, up from 7.5% recorded in January. Consumer prices, harmonized for comparison with other European Union countries, rose to 6.1% in February in annual terms from 5.9% in the previous month.

“The increase in Spain’s headline EU harmonized inflation is another reminder that the path of price growth will be choppy and sticky on its way down, as underlying price pressures remain strong,” Bloomberg economist Ana Andrade said. “While base effects will dominate over the next few months, bringing inflation meaningfully down by the summer, we still expect it to end the year at above 5%,” she added.

Economists project inflation in Spain and France will continue rising in the coming months, prompting more interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank. The ECB has already promised to raise rates by 50 basis points to 3% in March, to get soaring inflation in the 20-nation Eurozone under control. It may still need to raise interest rates significantly beyond March, as inflation remains too high, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel warned earlier.
https://www.rt.com/business/572181-inflation-accelerates-france-spain/
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