All posts tagged: territory

Ukraine is free to strike Russian territory with weapons we provide – POLITICO

Ukraine is free to strike Russian territory with weapons we provide – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

Ukraine can use weapons provided by Finland to hit targets on Russian soil, senior officials in Helsinki said. Finland’s Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said his country has not set any restrictions on what Ukraine can do with the weapons it provides, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported today. Häkkänen added that blocks have been imposed mainly by countries which have provided Ukraine with long-range weapons systems. “If necessary, Ukraine should also strike military targets on the Russian side. It is a completely legitimate defensive battle that Ukraine is waging. The U.N. Charter allows military targets to be attacked across land borders,” said Jukka Kopra, chair of the Finnish parliamentary defense committee. Source link

When Costa-Gavras’ ‘Z’ Ventured Into New Oscar Territory

When Costa-Gavras’ ‘Z’ Ventured Into New Oscar Territory

Published by Sam

“Any resemblance to real events and dead or living people is not a coincidence. It is INTENTIONAL.” So reads a title card at the beginning of Costa-Gavras’ Z, set in an unnamed Mediterranean country that could stand in for any number of police states torn between Russian and American influence at the height of the Cold War. The 1969 Franco-Algerian production was fittingly international: While the dialogue (by Spanish writer Jorge Semprún) is in French, the plot itself, based on a book by Greek author Vassilis Vassilikos, adheres to events in Greece following the 1963 assassination of a popular pacifist candidate (whose counterpart is played by Yves Montand) who’d dared to oppose the ruling junta. The titular letter, painted across the street in a climactic scene, was a protest slogan that meant “He lives.” “Here is the new Hitchcock we have been awaiting,” crowed THR about the Greek director. “Whatever the political commitments of its makers, Z is a slick, knockout of a political thriller, the fictional anonymity of its real life setting and characters …

Latest Israel-Hamas war news: ICJ to hold hearings on Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory

Latest Israel-Hamas war news: ICJ to hold hearings on Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory

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The top U.N. court is set to begin public hearings Monday into the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. The six-day hearing could add to the political pressure on Israel over the war in Gaza, though its focus is on a broader issue: control of the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The United States is among the countries set to participate, on Wednesday, along with Egypt, Russia and France. Chinese officials are scheduled to appear Thursday. Israel will not attend. Israel does not consider that it “occupies” Gaza, arguing that it ceded control over the enclave in 2005, when it unilaterally withdrew. However, human rights groups say that Israel has maintained control over Gaza in other ways, including through a blockade, which Israel and Egypt imposed when the militant group Hamas took power in 2007. The Biden administration has said there must be no “reoccupation” of Gaza as a result of the current conflict. It is not the first time the matter has been raised. In 2022, the U.N. …

Vince Staples Redirects Offbeat Impulses From Familiar Territory of Rap to New Netflix Series

Vince Staples Redirects Offbeat Impulses From Familiar Territory of Rap to New Netflix Series

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although Vince Staples has been in the limelight for more than a decade, he still thinks fame is a weird thing. And while the Southern California rapper isn’t necessarily concerned with “making the best thing” or reaping critical praise, he’s willing to endure the publicity machine if it means he can continue to find creative fulfillment through whatever art form calls to him. That’s what propelled the 30-year-old to make his first foray into filmmaking with “The Vince Staples Show,” a kind of autobiographical, genre-bending, dark comedy series, hitting Netflix on Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press, the artist talked about his love of surrealism, religious references and why he misses kids messing up his restaurant orders. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: One of the things I loved about the show were the elements of surrealism that you have in it. I was curious if that’s something you’ve always been into? Photos You Should See STAPLES: My first couple I guess, introductions to cinema, …

Ukraine Drone Reaches Deep Into Russian Territory, Damaging One Of Its Largest Refineries

Ukraine Drone Reaches Deep Into Russian Territory, Damaging One Of Its Largest Refineries

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There’s been yet another major attack against a Russian oil refinery. In this fresh Saturday incident, a drone launched by Ukraine’s SBU security service slammed into Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, which is among the country’s largest refineries. Regional reports say two drones in total hit the primary refining unit, “without which the plant will lose a significant part of its production capacity.” Fire at Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery in Volgograd, Russia, as a result of a drone attack on Feb. 3 Ukrainian sources declared that the “The SBU continues to systematically destroy the infrastructure used by Russia to wage war in Ukraine.” A large fire at the plant resulted. “By attacking oil refineries that support Russia’s military-industrial complex, we not only disrupt fuel logistics for enemy vehicles but also reduce funds flowing into the Russian budget,” the SBU said.  The extensive fire has since been extinguished, but not before doing significant damage, apparently: The fire has already been extinguished, but at its peak, it spread over 300 square meters. Despite this, the governor of Volgograd Oblast, …

U.S. war plans for Ukraine don’t foresee retaking lost territory

U.S. war plans for Ukraine don’t foresee retaking lost territory

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Still smarting from last year’s failed counteroffensive in Ukraine, the Biden administration is putting together a new strategy that will de-emphasize winning back territory and focus instead on helping Ukraine fend off new Russian advances while moving toward a long-term goal of strengthening its fighting force and economy. The emerging plan is a sharp change from last year, when the U.S. and allied militaries rushed training and sophisticated equipment to Kyiv in hopes that it could quickly push back Russian forces occupying eastern and southern Ukraine. That effort foundered, largely on Russia’s heavily fortified minefields and front line trenches. “It’s pretty clear that it will be difficult for them to try to mount the same kind of major push on all fronts that they tried to do last year,” a senior administration official said. The idea now is to position Ukraine to hold its position on the battlefield for now, but “put them on a different trajectory to be much stronger by the end of 2024 … and get them on a more sustainable path,” …

`This Is Philippine Territory. Go Away’

`This Is Philippine Territory. Go Away’

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Filipino fishing boat captain protested on Tuesday the Chinese coast guard’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea, where he asserted that Chinese officers drove him and his men away from a disputed shoal and ordered them to dump their catch in the sea. The face-to-face confrontation on Jan. 12, which Joely Saligan and his men reported to Manila’s coast guard after returning from the voyage, is testing efforts by China and the Philippines to deescalate tensions around a potential Asian flashpoint. At a Jan. 17 meeting in Shanghai, Beijing and Manila agreed to take steps to ease tensions after a year of high-seas confrontations between their ships in one of the world’s busiest seas. The hostilities have sparked fears of a major armed conflict that could involve Washington, Manila’s longtime treaty ally. The fishermen, led by Saligan, reported to the Philippine coast guard that Chinese coast guard personnel drove them away from the disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines and ordered them to dump their catch of fish …

Ukraine must give up territory to end Russian invasion – POLITICO

Ukraine must give up territory to end Russian invasion – POLITICO

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday the only way to end Russia’s war against Ukraine is for Kyiv to give up some of its territory to the invaders, and reiterated his opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine. “There has to be some kind of compromise,” Fico told Slovak public broadcaster RTVS on Saturday, according to media reports. “What do they expect, that the Russians will leave Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk? That’s unrealistic.” The pro-Russia prime minister took power in December after his leftist-populist Smer party won September’s election with promises to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, to block Kyiv’s potential NATO membership, and to oppose sanctions on Russia. Fico reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s bid to join NATO in Saturday’s interview, which came ahead of a planned meeting between the Slovak leader and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday. “I will tell him that I am against the membership of Ukraine in NATO and that I will veto it,” Fico said, referring to Shmyhal. “It would merely be a basis for World …

Canada signs over control of Arctic lands to Inuit territory

Canada signs over control of Arctic lands to Inuit territory

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Nunavut Premier P. J. Akeegok holds the signed Nunavut devolution agreement beside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the ceremony at the Aqsarniit Hotel & Conference Centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, on January 18, 2024. NATALIE MAERZLUFT / REUTERS Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a devolution agreement on Thursday, January 18, with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok, giving the territorial government of Nunavut responsibility over its lands and resources and the right to collect royalties that would otherwise go to the federal government. It comes after decades of negotiations between Nunavut and the federal government and is to be fully implemented over the next three years. Nunavut, at more than 2 million square kilometers, is almost three times the size of the US state of Texas and is believed to hold some of the richest resource deposits in the country including gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals, as well as oil and gas. With global warming, the Arctic territory is becoming more accessible for mining and shipping. “Inuit have hunted and fished and lived on …

Pakistan says ‘innocent children’ killed in ‘completely unacceptable’ Iranian strikes on its territory

Pakistan says ‘innocent children’ killed in ‘completely unacceptable’ Iranian strikes on its territory

Published by Sam

Pakistan has said two “innocent children” were killed and three others wounded in strikes by neighbouring Iran in an “unprovoked violation of its airspace”. Pakistan’s foreign ministry issued a strongly worded statement confirming and condemning Tuesday’s attack on its Baluchistan province – which according to Iranian media reports (that were later withdrawn) were aimed at a Sunni militant group. “This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences,” the foreign ministry statement said. It added: “Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. “Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.” Media confusion about strikes on mosque Two Pakistani security officials said the Iranian strikes damaged a mosque in Baluchistan’s Panjgur district, about 30 miles inside Pakistan from the Iranian border. Iran‘s state-run IRNA news agency and state television had said the attacks, using missiles and drones, targeted bases linked to the militant group Jaish al Adl. However, confusion …