RT News - July 01 2024 (late)

RT International news and updates; foiled coup in Ukraine, Roger Waters says peace talks are the only way out of the constructed proxy war/conflict in Ukraine. Protests continue in Israel as Ultra-Orthodox Jews are told they are now eligible for the draft. Elections in France have finished for now with Macron suffering hefty defeat.
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Short Take: Ukraine’s Security Service claims it’s foiled a plan by activists to storm the country’s parliament and oust the current leadership. That’s amid questions over Vladimir Zelensky’s legitimacy as his term expired in May. See below.
Peace talks are the only way to end the Ukraine conflict. That’s according to renowned musician and activist Roger Waters, in an exclusive interview with RT. Full interview here: https://rumble.com/v54uq8u-us-and-uk-dont-give-a-f-for-the-rule-of-law-roger-waters-to-rt-exclusive.html
In Israel, large protests continue as Ultra-Orthodox Jews are told they must go for conscription; until now they have not been eligible for the draft.
The latest Going Underground episode deals with the war between Israel and Hezbollah. You can watch it in full here https://rumble.com/v54o3xh-israel-hezbollah-war-nightmare-scenario-israel-is-about-to-make-a-fatal-mis.html - and don't forget to subs. to the channel (although Rumble doesn't seem to be putting out notifications at the moment, don't know why. Joe Biden is rapidly losing support at home, following the debate between him and former Pres. Trump. 72% of people expressed opposition for Pres. Biden to seek another term in office.
Mass protests erupt in France after a right-wing opposition party takes the lead in a decisive parliamentary election. As President Macron’s defeat appears imminent, the current leadership urges the country to vote against the conservative bloc of Marine Le Pen.
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BELOW: A) Ukrainian security service claims it foiled ‘coup attempt’
1) US Supreme Court rules on Trump immunity
2) US and UK ‘don’t give a fig for the rule of law’ – Roger Waters to RT
3) Ukraine could declare default – The Economist
4) Moscow reacts to Ukrainian troops on its ally’s border
5) Russia freezes MMA star Khabib’s bank accounts
6) Israelis warned against visiting Ukraine
7) FEATURE Empire of salt and gold: Where did the richest man in the world come from?
8) Documentaries about Ukraine conflict screened at RT film festival
9) Russian forces capture another Donbass village
10) Kremlin sees ‘trend’ in French election
11) Obama telling people Biden can’t win – Tucker Carlson
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A) Ukrainian security service claims it foiled ‘coup attempt’ 1 Jul, 2024 12:00

A group of “provocateurs” planned to seize the parliament building in Kiev, the SBU has alleged

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) claims to have detained a group of suspects who were allegedly planning to instigate unrest and carry out a coup in Kiev.

An unspecified number of “provocateurs” plotted to organize riots in the Ukrainian capital after Constitution Day on June 28, the agency, which is Kiev’s successor to the Soviet-era KGB, claimed in a Telegram statement on Monday.

According to the SBU, the coup attempt was scheduled for Sunday under the guise of a so-called ‘veche,’ a popular assembly, in central Kiev.

The organizers allegedly planned to announce the removal from power of the current military and political leadership of Ukraine, and then to try to seize the country’s parliament building and block the operations of the Verkhovna Rada, it added.

Ukrainian and foreign news outlets, which the SBU didn’t name, were set to distribute information about the unrest in Kiev, the statement read.

Through these actions, the suspects “hoped to undermine the social and political situation within our state, which would play in Russia’s favor,” the SBU claimed.

The group was allegedly led by “the co-founder of an NGO, which has been known for its anti-Ukrainian actions since 2015.” The unnamed person had accomplices from Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnepr in Ukraine) and other parts of Ukraine, according to the agency.

Weapons, ammunition, computers and communication devices were seized during searches at the properties linked to the suspects, it said.

Those detained have been charged with performing actions and calls aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of power, the SBU stated. The offense carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison with the confiscation of property, it added.

Vladimir Zelensky’s term as president of Ukraine officially ended on May 20 after he opted to scrap the election, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Moscow.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600267-ukraine-sbu-coup-attempt/
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1) US Supreme Court rules on Trump immunity 1 Jul, 2024 14:55

The former president’s “official conduct” is protected from prosecution, the justices said

American presidents have “absolute immunity” for their official actions, the US Supreme Court ruled on Monday, addressing a series of charges against former President Donald Trump.

Federal prosecutors have charged Trump with four criminal counts related to the 2020 presidential election, alleging that he “conspired” to overturn the results by spreading “knowingly false claims” of fraud to obstruct the collection, counting, and certification of the results.

“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” the court said in a 6-3 decision. “And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which saw the six conservative-leaning justices opposed by the three liberal ones.

The decision favors the former president in terms of his tweets to the American public on January 6 and conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence about his presiding over the certification of election results, as both of those clearly fell within the scope of official duties.

However, the verdict allows lower courts to hold evidentiary hearings to determine which actions by Trump may have been unofficial, such as when he contacted state and local election officials about the 2020 vote.

“In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives,” the court warned.

“The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” said the ruling.

The Supreme Court saved the immunity case for the last day of its term. The long-awaited decision puts a dent in the plans for special counsel Jack Smith to prosecute Trump in the federal court in Washington, DC before the November election.

Trump challenged the 2020 election – marked by a series of unusual procedures, ostensibly adopted due to the Covid-19 pandemic – as irregular and possibly tainted by fraud, pointing to delays in counting mail-in votes that suddenly went in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor after the polls closed in a handful of states.

Democrats have insisted that the election was the most secure and legitimate ever and that any questioning of the result is an attack on democracy.
https://www.rt.com/news/600282-us-supreme-court-trump-immunity/
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2) US and UK ‘don’t give a fig for the rule of law’ – Roger Waters to RT 1 Jul, 2024 15:26

Washington and its allies will do anything to conceal their crimes, the Pink Floyd frontman has said

Years of “vicious persecution” of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange show that Washington will go to any lengths to escape justice for its crimes, Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters told RT in an exclusive interview aired on Monday.

His words came as Assange struck a deal with Washington and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information at a US court in Saipan. He was then sentenced to five years – time he has already served in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison – and then set free and allowed to return to his native Australia.

The US also agreed to drop its request for extradition but demanded that Assange instruct WikiLeaks to destroy classified information stored on its servers or devices.

Washington just uses the national security facade to silence journalists, Waters told RT, commenting on the developments. “That’s exactly what it is,” he said. The persecution of Assange had the aim of dissuading other journalists from following in his footsteps and publishing information that Washington would very much like to keep secret, he believes.

“The way that he was treated by both the US and the UK government is absolutely appalling,” the musician said. “What they have done in their treatment of Assange is they have freely and openly admitted to the rest of the world that they don't give a fig for the rule of law,” Waters stated, adding that the “rules-based order” Washington likes to talk about is nothing but the ability of the US to impose its will on others without any resistance.

The Pink Floyd frontman also talked about the Ukraine conflict and said the West’s “saber-rattling” is “insane” as it risks another “world war.” The conflict between Moscow and Kiev could have been avoided entirely if the West had been “prepared to negotiate and listen to both sides of the conversation,” he told RT.

watch the video here: https://rumble.com/v54uq8u-us-and-uk-dont-give-a-f-for-the-rule-of-law-roger-waters-to-rt-exclusive.html
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3) Ukraine could declare default – The Economist 1 Jul, 2024 15:24

Kiev so far has failed to restructure its debt, the outlet has said

Kiev could default as early as next month if it fails to negotiate a debt-restructuring deal with its creditors, The Economist reported on Sunday.

In February 2022, bondholders granted Ukraine a two-year debt freeze in view of its conflict with Russia. But that agreement with foreign bondholders – including US financial giants BlackRock and Pimco, as well as French asset manager Amundi – expires in August, and bondholders are anxious for Kiev to begin paying interest on its debt again.

According to the outlet, the arrangement is worth 15% of Ukraine’s GDP a year, meaning that if payments had been required, they would have been Kiev’s second-biggest category of expenditure after defence.

The conflict with Russia has dealt a heavy blow to the Ukrainian economy, which has shrunk by a quarter since the outbreak of hostilities, the outlet said. Kiev’s debt-to-GDP ratio will approach 94% by the end of the year, despite “impressive” Western backing, although this largely comes in the form of “artillery, tanks and earmarked funds, rather than cash,” the article noted.

“Ukraine has a month to avoid default,” the outlet said, adding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is keen to negotiate a debt-relief plan, but any such deal is unlikely in the time available.

Last month, the Ukrainian government failed to reach agreement with a group of foreign investors on restructuring the country’s $20 billion debt in Eurobonds. Kiev has been urging bondholders to accept a steep writedown of the value of the debt as it tries to meet IMF demands to restructure the bonds in order to retain access to international markets. Ukraine sought to reduce its debt by 60% of its current value, while creditors said 22% was “more reasonable.”

If a new debt-restructuring deal is not reached, Ukraine would end up in default. This would damage the country’s credit rating and complicate its ability to borrow in the future.

Most likely scenarios for Kiev involve an extension on its debt-service freeze until 2027 or the declaration of a default, the outlet said. Either way, Ukraine will not resume payments to its creditors, it added,
https://www.rt.com/business/600269-ukraine-debt-restructuring-default/
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4) Moscow reacts to Ukrainian troops on its ally’s border 1 Jul, 2024 14:47

Kiev has confirmed having reinforced the frontier with Belarus, calling it a source of “danger”

The deployment of Ukrainian troops on the Belarusian border is an alarming sign not only for Minsk but also for Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

On Saturday the deputy commander of Belarusian special operations forces, Colonel Vadim Lukashevich, claimed that Ukraine was amassing troops, including US-made armored vehicles and missile systems, on the 1,000km border with its northern neighbor, despite suffering heavy losses in the fight with Russia.

He noted that while Kiev wants to portray the northern troop concentration as a defensive force, lanes had been created in the minefields for possible incursions. The Belarusian Border Service has also said that it had spotted militants from the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), composed of Russian defectors, operating in the border areas.

The RDK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Moscow, was among the groups that took part in several deadly incursions into Russian territory several months ago, although those attacks were repelled with heavy losses.

On Monday, Andrey Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s Border Service, confirmed that Kiev was boosting its military footprint on the Belarusian border. He explained that Ukraine views this frontier as “dangerous.” “We continue to strengthen it… to prevent any actions that may come from the territory of Belarus,” he explained, while dismissing Minsk’s accusations as an “information operation.”

Meanwhile, Peskov also weighed in on the Belarus-Ukraine border tensions, telling reporters that the deployment by Kiev “is a cause for concern not only for Minsk, but also for Moscow.” Belarus is Russia’s close ally, he stressed, noting that the countries’ military and special services are in contact on the issue. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko could discuss the situation if necessary, he added.

While Belarus is not directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, it allowed Moscow to use its territory for a push towards Kiev early in the conflict. However, Russian troops withdrew from the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital in the spring of 2022, calling the move a “gesture of good will” to propel peace talks in Istanbul.

While the negotiations, which revolved around Ukraine’s neutrality, initially made headway, they later collapsed. Moscow has blamed the failure of the talks on the interference of then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly advised Kiev to keep fighting. Johnson has rejected this claim.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600278-belarus-ukraine-troops-russia-concern/
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5) Russia freezes MMA star Khabib’s bank accounts 1 Jul, 2024 12:45

The former Russian UFC lightweight champion owes nearly $1 million to the country’s tax authorities

Russia’s Federal Tax Service has frozen bank accounts belonging to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov after the MMA star ran up a tax debt with the country’s authorities.

The overdue amount exceeds 79 million rubles ($1 million) as of July 1, RT Russian reported on Monday, citing the Federal Tax Service database. Local news outlet Mash media previously claimed that Nurmagomedov’s debt had amounted to 297 million rubles ($3.4 million).

The Dagestan-born MMA fighter went 29-0 in an unbeaten professional career, defeating the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje before retiring from the sport four years ago. In 2022, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Since calling time on his sporting career, the former UFC lightweight champion has embarked on a number of business ventures, including dietary supplements, a restaurant chain, and hotels.

In May, Mash media claimed that bank accounts belonging to Eagle FC promotion and a charity fund belonging to Nurmagomedov had been blocked due to a $3 million debt. The sportsman reportedly relinquished ownership of several firms, but his relatives and close associates allegedly remained in control of some of them.

These moves were reportedly what attracted the attention of the country’s tax authorities, which launched a probe into the former UFC champion and found irregularities in documents, leading to the closure of some businesses belonging to him or his relatives.

Mash also claimed that Russian authorities had suspected that Nurmagomedov may have used the money he failed to pay into the coffers of the Russian state to purchase hotels and start-ups in Türkiye and the UAE.

Last week, Dagestan security forces raided a training facility owned by Nurmagomedov as part of an investigation into a series of terrorist attacks in the southern Russian republic in June. A former MMA fighter who reportedly trained at Khabib's gym, Gadzhimurad Kagirov, has been identified as one of the terrorists who took part in the coordinated attacks. He was killed in the ensuing counterterrorism operation.

Nurmagomedov denied that Kagirov had been a member of his team, but admitted that the wrestler may have previously trained at his gym.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600259-ufc-nurmagomedov-tax-accounts-block/
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6) Israelis warned against visiting Ukraine 1 Jul, 2024 16:51

An increasing number of dual citizens are being prevented from leaving the war-torn country, the Israeli embassy in Kiev has said

Israelis who also hold Ukrainian passports should avoid traveling to Ukraine due to increasing reports of dual citizens not being allowed to leave the country, the Israeli embassy in Kiev has warned.

The warning comes as the Ukrainian authorities have continued to tighten mobilization laws, which prevent all men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country while it is under martial law. Last month, the Ukrainian border guard announced that the measure now extends even to those who hold a second passport and have permanent residence abroad.

In a message on his official Telegram channel on Monday, the Israeli ambassador to Kiev, Michael Brodsky, wrote that all Israelis with Ukrainian citizenship should “consider the expediency of visiting Ukraine during wartime.”

“In case of detention of the holder of dual citizenship, the Embassy will not be able to provide assistance in the matter of departure from Ukraine,” Brodsky wrote, noting an increase in recent cases of Israeli passport holders being detained at the Ukrainian border.

A similar warning was also issued last month by the US embassy in Kiev, which “strongly” advised dual citizens from outside Ukraine not to travel to the country, noting that there is an “extremely high risk” that they would not be allowed to leave, even with an American passport.. As for those who are already on Ukrainian soil, the embassy advised them to “shelter in place and comply with all local orders.”

Kiev announced a general mobilization shortly after the hostilities with Russia broke out in February 2022, barring most military-aged men from leaving the country. However, this effort has been marred by widespread graft and draft-dodging. More recently, faced with mounting battlefield losses, Vladimir Zelensky passed a law that lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and another that significantly tightened mobilization rules.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian border service has reported that over 100 people have been attempting to flee the country every day using various methods in order to avoid mobilization. Some have even lost their lives in the process. At least 45 Ukrainians are reported to have died in rough terrain trying to flee the country last month, with many drowning in the Tisza River, which flows through southwestern Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600285-israel-warns-dual-citizens/
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7) FEATURE Empire of salt and gold: Where did the richest man in the world come from? 1 Jul, 2024 15:57

In the Middle Ages a single civilization boasting unparalleled riches linked the Sahara to the Arab world and Europe

The pre-colonial history of African countries deserves close attention. The African continent became a place where great trading empires were born and flourished during the Middle Ages. The Sahel zone, the African ‘sandy coast’, which is a belt of land stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, became a kind of civilizational center for the continent. It was here that some of the first African countries arose.

The Mali Empire, which covered the territories of modern Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Niger, and Mauritania, existed from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Originating in the vicinity of West Africa’s main trade and logistics artery, the Niger River, the empire became known throughout the world and reached its peak of prosperity thanks to one of its rulers, Mansa Musa.

According to various studies, Mansa Musa was in power for more than two decades – from 1307/1312 to 1332/1337 – and became the ninth ruler, or mansa, of the empire. Translated from the Maninka language, mansa means ‘king’ or ‘ruler’. Despite his relatively short reign, his rule led to the rapid economic development of the Mali Empire, the expansion of its territory, and a rise in science and culture.

The ruler gained worldwide fame due to his untold wealth – even in the 21st century, Mansa Musa is recognized as the richest man in the history of mankind. In 2014, the publication Celebrity Net Worth estimated that, by modern standards, the ruler’s fortune would amount to $400 billion, which exceeds the capital of the Rothschild family and such figures as American entrepreneur John D. Rockefeller.

Sources of wealth

It is rather difficult to make an accurate assessment of Mansa Musa’s total personal wealth, since in the Middle Ages the concepts of a ruler’s personal wealth and the general state of the empire are generally closely intertwined.

In the 14th century, just as in the 21st, untold wealth was accumulated due to the country’s strategic location. Covering most of the Niger River valley and the surrounding areas of the Sahara Desert, the Mali Empire controlled the main routes along which the lucrative gold and salt trade with both Arab and Mediterranean countries took place. At that time, gold had already become both a symbol of prestige and a settlement currency, while salt was necessary for preserving food. This made these commodities essential for meeting the key needs of that time.

Deposits of basic commodities were also located on the empire’s territory, and Mali’s geographical location allowed its ruler to set taxes and trade duties, as well as to regulate the logistics chains of that time. The former brought the largest revenues to the state coffers.

Thus, the Mali Empire occupied a central position in trans-Saharan trade, connecting West Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Arab world.

Pilgrimage to Mecca and world fame

In 1324, after more than a decade in power, Mansa Musa fulfilled the duty of every wealthy Muslim – he carried out the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. It was through this journey that the world learned about the wealth of both the Mali Empire and the ruler himself.

Mansa Musa went to Mecca accompanied by a large retinue. The size of the entire procession was 60,000 people, while Mansa’s personal escort numbered 12,000 slaves. The most striking part of the procession was 500 slaves, each of whom held an ingot of gold or a staff decorated with gold. In addition, the delegation was accompanied by 80 camels, which were also loaded down with gold. Michael A. Gomez, a professor at New York University and a specialist in the history of West Africa, suggests that the volume of gold taken on the Hajj could have been up to 18 tons.

Such a procession could not go unnoticed. An equally important purpose of the pilgrimage was to demonstrate one’s wealth and power. On the way to Mecca, the delegation passed through the territory of modern Mauritania, Algeria, and Egypt. Throughout the journey, Mansa Musa generously shared his wealth and distributed gold to all the poor and needy he met on the road. Upon his arrival in Cairo, which was capital of the Mamluk Sultanate at that time, the emperor’s huge outlays of gold even drove down its price, disrupting the stability of local markets.

Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage led to unprecedented growth in the power of the empire and increased trade turnover. Gold began to course through the markets of Mediterranean countries, undermining their economies, which only contributed to developing the trans-Saharan trade routes, while elevating the role of the Mali Empire as its main trading center.

Culture and science flourishing

Thanks to its success in the economic sphere and the growing number of foreign traders arriving in Mali, the empire’s territory expanded and developed. New cities emerged, built in accordance with the latest architectural trends. There was active construction of religious buildings – mosques and madrasas, where scientific centers were established.

After the end of Mansa Musa’s Hajj, the port cities of Timbuktu and Gao became part of the Mali Empire. For their construction, the emperor attracted Muslim architects from the Middle East and continental Europe. Among them was Abu Ishaq al-Saheli, a native of the Al-Andalus region, a Muslim territory on the Iberian peninsula now known as the Spanish region of Andalusia.

Under the leadership of al-Saheli, five mosques were built, among them the Djinguereber Mosque, built in Timbuktu in 1327, which has been partially preserved to this day.

Other notable historical and cultural monuments include the Sankore Mosque, which was built in the same period, and the Sidi Yahia Mosque, which was completed after the end of Mansa Musa’s reign. Along with the Jingereber Mosque, these formed a local scientific cluster – the University of Sankore.

Quranic education began to develop in the region in the 11th century. However, during the heyday of the Mali Empire, Muslim scholars began to flock to the region from all over the world, which contributed to the development of a local scientific school. By the end of Mansa Musa’s reign, the University of Sankore had the largest library on the continent, with an extensive collection of books and manuscripts.

The city of Timbuktu became the main Islamic scientific center in West Africa. First and foremost, scientists worked on manuscripts, especially in Arabic, using the Ajami script, which is based on Arabic graphics and adapted to African languages. The collection of manuscripts includes works on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy, as well as religious works and numerous transcriptions of the Quran.

Manuscripts from Timbuktu are still being translated and studied to this day. Over the past decades, a number of international projects have been launched, aimed at preserving and deciphering manuscripts. Three of them have become the most ambitious. These are the Norwegian Timbuktu Manuscripts Project (University of Oslo), Timbuktu Manuscripts (governments of Luxembourg and Mali), and the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project by the University of Cape Town, implemented with the support of the African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the government of South Africa. The entire collection of manuscripts numbers from 400,000 to 500,000 copies.

Legacy and fall of the empire

The reign of Mansa Musa is often called the Golden Age of the Mali Empire. According to estimates by the Oxford Centre for Global History, he ruled over the territories of modern Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, as well as Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Ivory Coast.

Not only the empire’s territorial expansion, but also its cultural flourishing – the rapid development of construction, international relations, and science, which subsequently continued – testify to the high level of Mansa Musa’s managerial and diplomatic abilities.

However, despite the continued growth in the cultural sphere, with the death of Mansa Musa, the political development of the state began to experience a crisis. Under Mansa Musa’s heirs, the power of the empire was significantly reduced, which was facilitated by both internal socio-economic discrepancies and external pressure, which the new leaders were unable to cope with well enough to hold the empire’s vast territory the together.

The territories sought to separate from the center in order to pursue their own economic policies and increase prosperity, and the disorder of the succession led to internal strife and the weakening of the state. The lands in the east of the country and then the cities of Timbuktu and Gao, the main economic and cultural centers, were absorbed by the Songhai people, who were strengthening their power at that time.

By the middle of the 15th century, the Mali Empire had lost most of its territory to the north, suffered frequent attacks on trade routes, and faced pressure from the east from the growing Songhai Empire, which later completely absorbed Mali.

The fall of the Mali Empire as Europe’s main gold supplier led to changes around the world, and to some extent prodded European countries into expanding into both Latin America and Africa’s coastal areas in search of new sources of precious metals.

Portugal, the largest maritime power of the time, was highly dependent on gold coming from Mali through Morocco. It was these funds that were used to explore the lands of the New World. The destruction of the usual trading network and the establishment of colonies in West Africa’s coastal zone after the fall of the Mali Empire allowed the Portuguese to mine gold in the region without the need for intermediaries.

Despite the demise that all great empires come to sooner or later, the period of Mali’s heyday under the leadership of Mansa Musa is enshrined in the material wealth of that era, as well as the collective memory of the Mande peoples that formed the basis of the country’s population.
https://www.rt.com/africa/600253-mansa-musa-africa-sahel/
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8) Documentaries about Ukraine conflict screened at RT film festival 1 Jul, 2024 16:05

The festival was part of the Russia EXPO in Moscow

Riveting stories of soldiers, volunteers and war reporters covering the Ukraine conflict were shown at RT’s three-day documentary film festival in Moscow that concluded on Sunday.

The festival called ‘The Heroes of Our Times’ was part of the Russian EXPO forum held at the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNKh).

The event opened with a film about the Donbass city of Avdeevka, which remained an arena of fierce battles between Ukrainian and local forces for years and was finally wrested from Kiev’s control in February 2024.

Other films screened at the festival include a chronicle of the work of military psychologists who help civilians overcome the traumas of war, and a profile of Spanish anti-fascist volunteers who arrived in Donbass to defend the locals from Ukrainian forces.

On Sunday, the attendees viewed a 25-minute film by veteran war correspondent Aleksandr Sladkov, who filmed interviews with Ukrainian POWs. On the same day, documentarian Maksim Fadeyev and war correspondent Sergey Belous participated in a panel discussion, sharing their first-hand experience about working in the war zone.

RT first launched the festival last year, screening films in Moscow and other cities. “It also came to Donbass. Films were shown to Russian soldiers stationed along the front lines, as well as in the hospital,” RT’s correspondent Roman Rosarev said. “Since the beginning of the festival, it’s already been viewed by over 60,000 people all over the world.”

RTD on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RTDocumentary (sadly it isn't complete but there is enough on that channel to keep you busy in reseach for a few years - maybe more! and it's completely free to watch and share anywhere)
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9) Russian forces capture another Donbass village 1 Jul, 2024 11:08

The settlement of Novopokrovskoye has been liberated from the Ukrainian military, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said

The settlement of Novopokrovskoye in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has been “liberated,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Another village was also captured from the Ukrainian military in Kharkov Region, it added.

Novopokrovskoye was taken under control thanks to “the active actions” of the Center group of forces, the statement read. The development allows the Russian military to “improve its tactical position” in the area, it added.

The village is located in the Yasinovatsky district of the DPR, northwest of the regional capital of Donetsk.

Elsewhere in the DRP, the Russian military “delivered a defeat” to the Ukrainian forces in the area of the villages of Evgenovka, Novgorodskoye, Timofeevka, Sokol, Toretsk, and Progress, the ministry said. Five Ukrainian counterattacks have also been repelled across the region, it added.

During the fighting in the DPR over the past 24 hours, Ukraine lost up to 405 troops and several units of hardware, including a US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, MaxxPro armored vehicle, and an M777 howitzer.
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10) Kremlin sees ‘trend’ in French election 1 Jul, 2024 12:38

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has commented on the first round of voting in the EU nation’s parliamentary elections

French voters on Sunday “confirmed the trend” that has been seen across the EU in recent ballots, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s bloc is in third place following the first round of his country’s snap parliamentary elections. The right-wing National Rally (RN) party led the vote, while the newly-created left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) trailed in second.

The Russian government “certainly pays great attention” to the French elections, Peskov told journalists during a regular briefing on Monday.

“The trends that have emerged earlier in several European nations, including France, have been confirmed,” he added. “We’ll wait for the second round, but the preferences of the French voters are more or less clear to us.”

Moscow considers the Macron government hostile to Russia and as occasionally setting the tone of the West’s confrontation with the country. The French president was the first to declare that it should not be ruled out that NATO nations may eventually send troops to Ukraine to prevent a Russian victory.

Macron has argued that he wants to maintain “strategic ambiguity” regarding Ukraine, supposedly keeping Moscow guessing as to how far NATO would go. Considering that many NATO member states, including the US, responded to Macron’s February remarks by ruling out sending troops to fight for Kiev, critics of the French leader claim he has achieved the opposite of his intentions.

Macron dissolved the National Assembly on June 9, following a European Parliament election in which RN won 30 of the 81 French seats in the EU legislature. Experts have called the move a gamble which has backfired, after left-wing French political groups overcame their differences and campaigned as a single force.

The second round is scheduled for July 7. According to Le Figaro sources, Macron is considering whether to dissolve the freshly-elected parliament.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600272-peskov-french-election-results/
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Tucker's tweet: https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1807682297862172999

11) Obama telling people Biden can’t win – Tucker Carlson 1 Jul, 2024 12:09

The former US president’s public backing of the incumbent was “disingenuous,” according to the journalist

Former US President Barack Obama is telling Democrats that incumbent Joe Biden has no chance of being reelected after his recent debate against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson has claimed. According to Carlson, Obama’s recent public endorsement of Biden was not sincere.

Biden and Trump faced off in an open debate on Thursday night, with the president’s performance widely seen as “incoherent” and “fumbling,” underscoring concerns about his age. Following the showdown, many Democrats and their donors reportedly scrambled to find a replacement for Biden as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Publicly, however, many Democratic heavyweights, including Obama, reaffirmed their support for Biden. While admitting that “bad debate nights happen,” the former president insisted that “this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

Writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Carlson said, citing an “unusually good source,” that Obama’s post had been “disingenuous.”

“In private, Obama is telling people Biden can’t win, and he is therefore in favor of an open convention,” the journalist claimed. He added Obama is not saying whom he supports, but recently met with Biden in person to deliver the message.

Carlson also claimed that relations between Obama and Biden – who served as vice president between 2009 and 2017 – have never been warm, and were at times even “hostile.” According to the journalist, those ties “recently… deteriorated further,” mostly due to First Lady Jill Biden, who allegedly “kept her husband cloistered away from anyone who might convince him to drop out” of the race for the White House after the disastrous debate.

Carlson added that Biden’s wife remains “the driving force behind her husband’s reelection campaign,” echoing a recent NBC report naming her as the only person who could convince the president to “change course.”

However, CNN reported on Monday that Biden’s family, including Jill, had urged him not to end his campaign, blaming his poor performance on his team.

While the Biden-Obama relationship has often been described as a “bromance” to the point of becoming meme material, numerous media reports indicated that things have been much more complicated. An Axios report in March suggested that Biden “often measures himself” against his predecessor, with a rivalry dynamic present in their relations. According to Politico, Obama also shared serious concerns about Biden’s ability to win the 2020 election.
https://www.rt.com/news/600266-biden-cant-win-obama/
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