Monday, May 29, 2023

Tweets Of The Day

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Tensions Rise Between Serbs And Kosovo Authorities

Reuters: NATO soldiers deploy around Kosovo town halls in standoff with Serb protesters 

LEPOSAVIC, Kosovo (Reuters) - NATO peacekeeping soldiers formed security cordons around three town halls in Kosovo on Monday to keep back Serbs protesting at ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in a Serb majority area after elections they boycotted. 

In Zvecan, one of the towns, Kosovo state police - staffed entirely by ethnic Albanians after all Serbs quit the force last year - sprayed pepper gas to repel a crowd of Serbs who broke through a security barricade and tried to force their way into the municipality building, witnesses said. 

In Leposavic, close to the border with Serbia, U.S. peacekeeping troops in anti-riot gear placed barbed wire around the municipality building to protect it from hundreds of angry Serbs gathering nearby.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The clashes are getting intense (see video below).

 

Tensions Rise Between Serbs And Kosovo Authorities  

25 NAT0-led peacekeepers injured in Kosovo in clashes with Serbs outside municipal building -- AP  

NATO-Led Force Moves To Disperse Crowds As Tensions Rise In Standoffs With Serbs In Northern Kosovo -- RFE  

25 NAT0-led peacekeepers injured in Kosovo in clashes with Serbs outside municipal building -- San Diego Tribune  

Kosovo: Fresh clashes as Nato troops called in to northern towns -- BBC  

Kosovo: NATO-led peacekeepers clash with Serb protesters -- DW  

NATO troops form security cordons in Kosovo as Serbs protest -- Al Jazeera

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Japan Warns It Will Destroy Any North Korean Missile That Enters Its Territory After North Korea Warns Of Satellite Launch

 

Reuters: Japan puts missile defense on alert as North Korea warns of satellite launch 

Japan on Monday put its ballistic missile defenses on alert and warned that it would shoot down any projectile that threatened its territory after North Korea notified it of a satellite launch between May 31 and June 11. 

Nuclear-armed North Korea says it has completed its first military spy satellite and leader Kim Jong Un has approved final preparations for the launch. 

“The government recognizes that there is a possibility that the satellite may pass through our country’s territory,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, told a regular briefing after North Korea informed the Japanese coast guard of the planned launch.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Japan is reacting to this .... North Korea tells neighboring Japan of plans to launch satellite, safety warning issued (FOX News). 

Japan Warns It Will Destroy Any North Korean Missile That Enters Its Territory After North Korea Warns Of Satellite Launch 

Japan on standby for falling missile debris as North Korea announces plans to launch satellite -- AP  

Japan warns it will destroy any North Korean missile that enters its territory after Pyongyang signals satellite launch imminent -- CNN 

Japan condemns North Korea over launch plans -- NHK WORLD 

Japan Denounces North Korea’s Plans to Launch Satellite into Orbit -- VOA  

Japan Calls on North Korea to Refrain From 'Satellite' Launch -- Bloomberg 

Japan on standby for N Korea ‘satellite’ launch in next two weeks -- Al Jazeera

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U.S., Philippines, Japan To Hold First-Ever Joint Coast Guard Exercise

U.S. cutter arrives at Manila port for joint coast guard drills  

Bloomberg: US, Japan, Philippines to Hold Drills Amid China Tensions 

The US will hold joint exercises with Coast Guards from Japan and the Philippines for the first time starting this week amid elevated tensions with China in the region. 

The trilateral drills will be done off Bataan province that’s facing the South China Sea from June 1 to 7, according to a Philippine Coast Guard statement Monday. The exercises will “strengthen interoperability” and will include maritime law enforcement training and maneuvering drills, it said. 

The exercises are unrelated to Manila’s sea dispute with Beijing, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo told reporters. “This is a routine exercise between Coast Guards,” he said, adding that the US and Japan both requested the joint drills. 

Read more .... 

U.S., Philippines, Japan To Hold First-Ever Joint Coast Guard Exercise  

Philippines, U.S., Japan to hold first-ever joint coast guard exercise -- Reuters  

Philippines, U.S., Japan coast guards to hold first joint drills -- Nikkei Asia  

PCG to hold joint drills with US, Japan coast guards off Bataan -- Philstar

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Polish President Signs 'Tusk Law' To Probe Russian Influence

Poland's President Andrzej Duda speaks during the press conference, as part of his two day visit to Britain, in London, Britain, May 24, 2023, REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo  

Politico: Polish opposition denounces new commission to probe Russian influence 

Opponents fear the Law and Justice party is trying to eliminate opposition leader Donald Tusk from national politics. 

Poland’s parliament narrowly passed a law setting up a commission to investigate Russian political influence in the country, but the opposition denounces the effort as a political witch hunt aimed at hurting it before this fall’s parliamentary election. 

After a stormy debate, parliament passed the bill late Friday, overturning the upper house Senate’s rejection of the legislation. 

The ostensible goal is to examine the Kremlin’s influence from 2007 to 2022 — a period covering the 2007-2015 governments of the Civic Platform party led by Donald Tusk as well as the current Law and Justice (PiS) party government. 

But the concern is that the current government, embroiled in a battle with the European Commission over accusations that it’s backsliding on rule of law and democracy, will use it as a bludgeon against its political foes. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: This new law to probe Russian influence in the past administration has just been passed .... Polish president signs 'Tusk Law' on undue Russian influence (Reuters). 

Update: The panel for the probe has already been approved .... Polish President Approves Panel That May Probe Opposition Leader (Bloomberg). 

Polish President Signs 'Tusk Law' To Probe Russian Influence  

Poland's Duda approves controversial Russian influence bill -- DW  

Poland Adopts Contested Inquiry Into Russian Influence -- Barrons  

Political uproar in Poland after Duda pledges to sign Kremlin commission law -- Politico

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Poll: Americans Continue To Support Sending Arms To Ukraine

Airmen and civilians from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron pack ammunition, weapons and other equipment bound for Ukraine at Dover Air Force Base, in Delaware. U.S. AIR FORCE/MAURICIO CAMPINO  

The Hill: Half in new poll support sending weapons to Ukraine 

Half of the respondents in a new poll said they support the U.S. sending weapons to Ukraine as the country’s war with Russia continues to rage on. 

A new University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and NORC poll, published Wednesday, found that 50 percent of respondents said they support the U.S. ongoing supply of weapons to Ukraine for its defense against Russia’s invading forces. 

About a quarter of respondents said they are opposed to the ongoing U.S. supply lifeline to Ukraine, which has topped more than $37 billion in aid.  

Read more ....  

Update: Half of U.S. public approves of Washington's arms deliveries to Ukraine in 2nd year of Russia's war (AP)  

WNU Editor: The arms flow to Ukraine is speeding up .... Arms Flow 30% Faster to Ukraine as US Relearns Cold-War Skills (Defense One).

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Sudan Civil War News Updates -- May 29, 2023

 

France 24: Fighting rages in Sudan ahead of truce expiration 

Gunshots and artillery fire rocked the Sudanese capital Monday, the last day of a frequently breached ceasefire, as calls to arms stoked fears the six-week war will intensify. 

Residents told AFP they could hear street battles in northern Khartoum, as well as artillery fire in the south of the capital of over five million people which has been turned into a deadly war zone. 

Since the truce began a week ago, frightened residents have ventured out to try and get food or water, the costs of which have doubled since the start of the war. 

But thousands of families continue to shelter in place, rationing water and electricity while trying desperately to avoid stray gunfire.

In Darfur, on the western border with Chad, continued fighting "blatantly disregards ceasefire commitments", according to Toby Harward, of the United Nations refugee agency. 

Read more .... 

Sudan Civil War News Updates -- May 29, 2023  

Saudi Arabia, US say Sudan factions posturing for escalation -- Reuters  

US, Saudi Arabia call for Sudan cease-fire to be extended -- The Hill  

Sudan crisis: Darfur governor issues call to arms -- DW  

Sudan Darfur crisis: 'Everything civilians can use has been burned or destroyed' -- BBC 

Nearly 1.4 million people displaced in Sudan since civil war erupted, UN report says -- CNN  

U.N. warns more than one million may flee Sudan bloodshed -- Reuters  

The World is at Risk as War in Sudan Threatens to Spread, U.N. Forces Warn -- Newsweek

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US-Led Coalition Building New Military Base in Northern Syria

New Arab: US-led coalition against Islamic State building new base in northern Syria 

The US-led coalition against the Islamic State group will build a new base in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa, sources close to a coalition partner force have said. 

The US-led global coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria has started to build a new military base in the northern province of Raqqa as the militant group continues to carry out attacks in the country. 

The base will be in the Al-Suwaidiyeh area west of the city of Tabqa, a source close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a local partner of the coalition, told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. 

Plans for the new base come as coalition forces began a few weeks ago to equip a base just south of the city of Raqqa, the source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.  

Read more ....  

Update: US Building New Base in Northern Syria (Antiwar.com)  

WNU Editor: More proof that the US has no plans to leave Syria.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Calls A Snap General Election After Losing Key Local And Regional Elections

 

The Guardian: Spain’s PM calls snap election after opposition triumphs in local polls  

Pedro Sánchez says Spaniards need to clarify what they want after gains by conservative and far-right parties 

Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has responded to the triumph of the rightwing opposition in Sunday’s regional and municipal elections by calling a risky snap general election that will determine his political future and that of his minority coalition government. 

The conservative People’s party (PP) – which used the votes as a de facto referendum on Sánchez’s coalition with the far-left, anti-austerity Unidas Podemos alliance – scored an emphatic win, far exceeding expectations and building on its momentum in the polls. 

As well as securing absolute majorities in the Madrid region and the city council, it took regions including Aragón, Valencia and the Balearic islands from the prime minister’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE).  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The election will be held on July 23. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Calls A Snap General Election After Losing Key Local And Regional Elections  

Spanish prime minister calls early general election after battering in regional vote -- AP  

Spain government calls snap election after regional ballot rout -- Reuters  

Spanish prime minister calls for early general election -- CNBC 

Spanish PM Sánchez calls snap general election after disastrous local polls -- Politico

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Pentagon Says China Is Continuing To Rebuff All Contacts With The US Military

Taipei Times: Communication vital to peace: official  

US officials have proposed telephone calls, meetings and dialogue, but China has repeatedly rebuffed them, a US vice defense secretary said  

Open communication channels between the US and China are important in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs Ely Ratner said on Thursday. 

Ratner made the remark at an event held by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss the US’ role in Indo-Pacific security.  

Read more .... 

Pentagon Says China Is Continuing To Rebuff All Contacts With The US Military

China rejecting contact with US military – Pentagon -- RT 

China not responding to US requests for open lines of communication, says Pentagon official -- Hindustan Times 

Pentagon: China ignores calls from US armyPentagon: China ignores calls from US army -- MENAFN  

China Rebuffing All Contact With US Military: Pentagon -- Zero Hedge

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