Day: September 7, 2023

Cuban authorities said they had arrested 17 people on charges related to a ring of human traffickers that allegedly lured young Cuban men to serve in the Russian military amid the Ukraine conflict.

Cuba earlier this week revealed authorities were working to “neutralize and dismantle” the network, which it said operated both on Cuban soil and in Russia.

“As a result of the investigations, 17 people have been arrested so far, among them the internal organizer of these activities,” Cesar Rodriguez, a colonel with Cuba´s interior ministry, said late on Thursday on a TV program.

Rodriguez did not name any of those accused of participating in the ring, but said the group´s leader relied on two people residing on the island to recruit Cubans to fight for hire on behalf of Russia in Ukraine.

Prosecutor Jose Luis Reyes said those involved in the scandal could be punished with up to 30 years in prison, a life sentence or the death penalty, depending on the severity and type of crimes, which range from human trafficking, fighting as a mercenary and hostile action against a foreign state.

Russia, which has strong political ties with communist-run Cuba, has long been an important destination for Cuban migrants seeking to escape economic stagnation at home.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last year signed a decree allowing foreigners signing up for service in the Russian army to receive citizenship via a fast-track procedure.

Cuba says it has no part in the war in Ukraine, and that it rejects the use of its citizens as mercenaries.

The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Thursday with “The Boy and the Heron” by famed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, the first time an animated feature has taken the coveted spot.

Although there was a dearth of star power on the red carpet due to the Hollywood actors strike, festival goers can look forward to some 50 films over 11 days, including Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” “Lee” which stars Kate Winslet and Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins”.

The festival will also include directorial debuts for Patricia Arquette with “Gonzo Girl” and for Kristin Scott Thomas with “North Star”.

Studio Ghibli executive Junichi Nishioka said it was an honour for “The Boy and the Heron” to have been chosen as the opener for the festival.

“It shows that animation and live-action films don’t need to be differentiated anymore,” he said.

The film, a semi-autobiographical story of a young boy struggling with the death of his mother, is expected to Miyazaki’s swan song. The 82-year-old director, known for works such as “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro”, did not attend the opening.

The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have been on strike since May over pay and the use of artificial intelligence.

“Gonzo Girl” stars Arquette, Camila Morrone and William Dafoe were among the few actors gaining union approval to promote their films.

“I am lucky to be here, but a lot of people are unable to attend the festival,” Morrone told Reuters, calling the strike “essential” and stressing that it was important to be resolved.

Over 150,000 actors and 65,000 writers across the United States have refused to resume shooting or promote films. The 2023 Emmy Awards have also been postponed to January next year due to the strike.

“We will get back to the bargaining table at some point. I hope it’s tomorrow but it may be a little longer than that. And once we do, I’m confident that we will be able to hold the line and make sure that whatever agreement we end up with, is fair, equitable and respectful for our members,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of SAG-AFTRA.

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North Korea has launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine” and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday.

Submarine No. 841 – named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a North Korean historical figure – will be one of the main “underwater offensive means of the naval force” of North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un said at the launch ceremony on Wednesday.

Analysts said the vessel appears to be a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine, which North Korea acquired from China in the 1970s and began producing domestically. Its design, with 10 launch tube hatches, showed it was most likely armed with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, analysts said.

But such weapons won’t add much value to the North’s more robust land-based nuclear forces, because its submarines may not survive as long during a war, said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project in Washington.

“When this thing is field deployed, it’s going to be quite vulnerable to allied anti-submarine warfare,” he said. “So I think from a sort of hard-headed military standpoint this doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

At the launch ceremony, Kim said arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task and promised more underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons for the naval forces, news agency KCNA reported.

“The submarine-launching ceremony heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK,” KCNA said, using the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea plans to turn other existing submarines into nuclear armed vessels, and accelerate its push to eventually build nuclear-powered submarines, Kim said.

“Achieving a rapid development of our naval forces … is a priority that cannot be delayed given … the enemies’ recent aggressive moves and military acts,” the North Korean leader said in a speech, apparently referring to the United States and South Korea.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the submarine launch drew condemnation from South Korea and Japan.

“North Korea’s military activity is posing graver and more imminent threat to our country’s security than before,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a briefing.

The designation as a “tactical” submarine suggests it does not carry submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) that can reach the U.S. mainland, but rather smaller, short-range SLBMs or submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM) capable of striking South Korea, Japan, or other regional targets, said Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain.

The rear of the submarine’s sail – the tower that juts out of the top of the hull – was expanded and 10 vertical launch tubes, 4 large and 6 small, were installed, likely for SLBMs and SLCMs, he said.

North Korea has test-fired both SLBMs and SLCMs.

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed the miniaturised nuclear warheads needed for such missiles. Analysts say that perfecting smaller warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

North Korea has about 20 Romeo-class submarines, which are powered by diesel-electric engines and are obsolete by modern standards, with most other countries operating them only as training vessels.

Analysts first spotted signs that at least one new submarine was being built in 2016, and in 2019 state media showed Kim inspecting a previously unreported submarine built under “his special attention” that would operate off the east coast.

State media at the time did not describe the submarine’s weapons systems or say where and when the inspection took place, but analysts said the apparent size of the new vessel indicated it was designed to carry missiles.

North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is known to have fired a missile.

The launching ceremony comes as North Korea is set to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding day on Saturday and follows reports that Kim plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta, and asked Beijing to do more as a U.N. Security Council member to address North Korea’s nuclear threat.

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BAMAKO, Mali — Two attacks by Islamic insurgents in the restive north of Mali on Thursday killed 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers, according to a provisional death toll given by the country’s military junta.

A passenger boat near the city of Timbuktu on the Niger River and a Malian military position in Bamba further downstream in the Gao region were targeted, according to a statement from the military junta read on state television. It said the attacks have been claimed by Islamic extremist insurgent group JNIM, an umbrella coalition of armed groups aligned with al-Qaida.

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The Malian government announcement said its forces, in responding to the attacks, killed some 50 assailants.

Three days of national mourning to honor the civilians and troops killed begin Friday.

Timbuktu has been blockaded by armed groups since late August, when the Malian army deployed reinforcements to the region. The insurgents are preventing the desert city from being supplied with basic goods.

Over 30,000 residents have fled the city and a nearby region, according to an August report by the United Nations’ humanitarian agency.

The deadly attacks come as the U.N. prepares to withdraw its 17,000-strong peacekeeping mission MINUSMA from Mali at the government’s request. The pullout is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in Mali’s northern cities the following year with the help of a French-led military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies.

The growing insecurity in Mali has increased instability in West Africa’s volatile Sahel region. Mali has had two coups since 2020 in which the military vowed to stop the jihadi violence.

Kurdish-led Syrian forces have announced the end of a weeklong operation in eastern Syria to put down an attempted revolt by elements of a local affiliate, though analysts say the U.S.-backed group still faces major challenges in the Arab-majority region.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, on Wednesday said it had concluded its military campaign in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, while continuing a sweeping operation at a flashpoint town in the restive region. 

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has researchers on the ground, said Thursday that the fighting between the SDF and former members of an allied militia had left at least 90 people dead.

The clashes erupted last week between the SDF and its Arab-led affiliate, the Deir el-Zour Military Council, after the former removed the council’s commander, Ahmed al-Khubail, also known as Abu Khawla, from his post. The SDF accused Abu Khawla and several other local leaders of criminal activity, corruption and having connections with the Syrian government and Iranian-backed militias.

The SDF is a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State terror group. Supported by a U.S.-led global coalition, the SDF has controlled large parts of territory once controlled by IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

US position

Amid last week’s clashes, the U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, or CJTF-OIR, called for an immediate end to the violence.

“It is imperative that all local leaders resist the influence of malign actors who promise many rewards but will deliver only suffering to the peoples of the area,” CJTF-OIR said in a statement. “This poses dire consequences and only allows for a situation that nobody welcomes — the resurgence of our common enemy — Daesh.”

The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, including in Deir el-Zour, as part of continued efforts to combat IS remnants.

Hoshang Hasan, a reporter at the local North Press agency, said the “important thing right now is to return stability to that part of Syria, because IS could take advantage of the recent chaos by regrouping and waging attacks.”

But experts said the recent episode of violence in Deir el-Zour highlighted the precariousness of the coalition’s position.

“It really relies on cohesion between the Kurdish-led portions of the SDF and the Arab tribes in Deir el-Zour,” said Calvin Wilder, an analyst at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington. “If one side or the other breaks away, then the project is going to struggle to stay viable for any length of time.”

Deepened tensions

Deir el-Zour’s residents are primarily ethic Arabs, but the SDF is strongly under the control of Kurdish groups.

“Even the SDF claims about having currently suppressed the uprising, I think the resentment is there, and there is a potential for another round of unrest to happen,” said Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, a Syria researcher at Swansea University in Britain.

“The uprising episode showed that there are locals who just won’t be satisfied with the SDF at all. Their preference is they just want the SDF entirely out of Deir el-Zour,” he told VOA.

Kurdish leaders blamed the Syrian government and Iranian-backed militias, who control parts of Deir el-Zour, for destabilizing the situation in areas under SDF’s control.

“We have evidence that proves fighters from regime-held areas were crossing the Euphrates River into our areas,” said Ilham Ahmed, executive president of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF.

She told VOA that those fighters had been sent by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its main backer, Iran, to target the SDF and U.S. troops.

But Wilder of the New Lines Institute said, “There will be a temptation to believe claims that the uprising is entirely a product of malign Iranian or Assadist influence and use that as a pretext to decisively crush it without listening to or addressing any of the local grievances that fueled the fighting.

“Damascus and Tehran are attempting to foster instability for their own gain, but that doesn’t explain the recent fighting on its own,” Wilder said.

He said the tensions in Deir el-Zour started in 2017 after the consolidation of the SDF as the dominant military force in northeast Syria, noting that such tensions also could be attributed to the SDF’s ideological commitments to secularism, democratic confederalism and a specific understanding of women’s empowerment.

“Tribal leaders in Deir el-Zour chafed at the idea of a new, Kurdish-led government attempting to spread its sociopolitical vision in their territory, even if they had areas of mutual agreement – in particular, strong opposition to both ISIS and the Assad regime,” Wilder said.

“The most important thing for the United States to do is to maintain its position as a mediator and push both sides [the SDF and local leaders] to negotiate actively and in good faith.”

VOA’s Zana Omer contributed to this report from Hasakah, Syria.

Donald Trump is still talking about taking the stand. And he’s decided to do it! Or at least that’s what he told High Hewitt it in a radio interview this week.He was referring to the federal case about classified documents.

Imagine the questions that might be asked! Let’s do a little Q&A. Mr. Trump. Why didn’t you give the classified documents back?

“Because I don’t have to. I can do whatever I want with them. I’m the president of United States! Those documents are mine, and by the way, after this trial, I want them returned to me immediately. This is, this is a witch-hunt, a witch-hunt, and I don’t know where those documents are now, they’re not with me, I mean that’s a crime they stole my classified documents.”

Mr. Trump. Are you aware that stealing classified documents is a crime?

“Yes, yes I am and that’s why you should go after sleepy Joe. I mean he’s just like, look he had them. He had the documents in Chinatown! Thousands and thousands of documents were stolen by sleepy Joe. I mean why isn’t he under arrest? When I get back to being president I’ll make sure he’s under arrest, he stole the documents, I mean he took them, that’s a crime and everyone knows it which is why I’m way ahead in the polls way, way way ahead.

Mr. Trump. When you took the documents…

“Hold on hold on! I didn’t take anything, those were mine you can’t take something that’s yours.

I mean it’s mine right? So it belongs to me your favorite president and they stole the election day.

They took something that wasn’t theirs. It’s all, I mean it’s all, you can see the evidence. I won the race by millions, it’s a very bad thing what they did to me and now they’re talking about documents that are mine to do whatever I want with, because I’m the president. Presidents are special, but why did Biden take documents and Pence? Maybe Mike Pence was in on it? He took some documents and he shouldn’t have. Pence is a very bad man who didn’t tell the truth that day, you should’ve told the truth, your favorite president would never have been arrested if he had but he didn’t.”

It is a pleasure to channel Donald Trump sometimes. But the point is if Trump really is determined to take the stand, there is little that can be done about it. You know he never ever listens to his attorneys. It’s just never happens.

And if he does take the stand, it probably will sound a lot like what I wrote above. That is because Donald Trump is incapable of not incriminating himself. Morning in America? Trump incriminates himself Nighttime? Trump will incriminate himself. I certainly hope that he takes the stand.

And as the audience grabs the popcorn to watch with amusement (and much disgust), it would be awesome to see Donald Trump screw up yet again. That’s the one thing he seems to truly excel at — screwing up.

The post This is Donald Trump’s dumbest idea yet appeared first on Palmer Report.

Revs. Jeff Jones and Dave Dunn at the construction site of Cop City during a direct action in protest of the planned police training compound on Sept. 7, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of The People’s Stop Work Order

Five participants of the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement broke into the construction site of the planned police training compound known as “Cop City” on Thursday morning and chained themselves to a bulldozer. This is by no means the first direct action Stop Cop City protesters have taken to halt construction of the vast facility, but it carries renewed significance just two days after Georgia prosecutors announced extreme and overreaching racketeering charges against 61 other movement activists.

The charges, filed Tuesday under Georgia’s expansive Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, are an effort to chill the movement and paint one of the most resilient anti-racist, environmentalist efforts in history as a criminal enterprise. In response, activists on the ground are choosing solidarity and standing their ground.

The stakes are high. For one, activists want to ensure that Cop City — which would be the largest police training facility in the nation and would decimate crucial forest land in a majority Black community — will never be built. Thursday’s action also makes clear that efforts to criminalize whole social movements will only invite further resistance.

All five protesters, including two Unitarian Universalist clergy members, have been arrested by the DeKalb County Police. “Those five people have been taken into custody and we are working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation regarding charges on these individuals,” the department said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is just the latest example of Georgia law enforcement treating typical acts of civil disobedience with a heavy-handed, multiagency response.

Police also downed and confiscated a drone belonging to a documentary crew attempting to film the construction site protest, in a possible infringement on press freedoms.

“Despite the repressive tactics of authorities who wish to disenfranchise the community and charge protestors with domestic terrorism and RICO, people of faith will continue to act to resist the militarization of our society,” said Rev. Dave Dunn, who was among those arrested, in a statement released by organizers.

Thursday’s action offers a defiant lesson in how movement participants can choose to respond when faced with state repression — and the efforts by police, government leaders, and prosecutors to crush the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement have indeed been extraordinary.

“The domestic terrorism and RICO charges against protesters are meant to scare us, or else to orient all of our energy and resources around supporting protesters who have been arrested,” Darcy, an Atlanta resident and movement participant told me. Darcy, like many others in the movement, withheld their last name for fear of law enforcement retaliation — an understandable choice, given how weak grounds for arrest and serious charges have been.

“By shutting down Cop City construction today, clergy and students showed that everyday people can take bold actions to block this facility from being built,” they said, “and that our biggest protection against repression is a movement that wins.”

The sweeping, 109-page RICO indictment paints the decentralized and diverse movement as a criminal enterprise, citing social justice activities such as “mutual aid,” writing “zines,” and “collectivism” as proof of criminal conspiracy. Dozens of people named in the indictment also face malicious state domestic terrorism charges, based on flimsy grounds.

Others facing RICO and money-laundering charges did little more than raise and distribute donations to support arrestees and provide materials for engaging in First Amendment activities, like making protest signs. Also named in the indictment are individuals previously arrested on felony charges for handing out flyers that named a police officer connected to the killing of Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán, a forest defender who was shot 57 times during a multiagency raid on the Atlanta Forest protest encampment in January.

Whether the RICO, domestic terrorism, or other extreme charges stick, the prosecutions alone are chilling. If the Stop Cop City movement has offered a model for intersectional, abolitionist, environmentalist, and diverse anti-racist struggle, the charges participants now face present a blueprint for a totalizing approach to repression.

It is no accident that the RICO indictment lists the start of the alleged racketeering conspiracy as the date of George Floyd’s murder by police — May 25, 2020 — which predates the announcement of plans for Cop City. The indictment is explicit in tracing the birth of the Stop Cop City movement back to the 2020 Black liberation uprisings in order to treat any involvement in these connected struggles as grounds for criminal prosecution.

The activists involved in Thursday’s action delivered what they called “The People’s Stop Work Order” against Cop City construction. In a statement, they noted that activists who have attempted to use official, democratic routes to oppose Cop City have been consistently stymied by undemocratic government actions.

“The construction of this project and the destruction of the South River Forest have continued despite over 100,000 Atlanta residents signing a ballot initiative calling for a referendum on the issue,” organizers said. “The city of Atlanta has fought the referendum with lawsuits and technical obstructions.”

Participants in Thursday’s action engaged in just the sort of activity that the government is attempting to cast as criminal conspiracy with the RICO indictment: civil disobedience with a civil rights movement legacy, especially in Atlanta. In the face of such authoritarian responses, ongoing and widespread movement action that uses a range of protest tactics undermines government and police efforts to delegitimize a popular movement. Solidarity rallies and marches have already been organized in over a dozen cities and towns nationwide.

“As we see in the indictment, the act of mutual aid, the acts of our connectedness, are seen as a threat,” Mary Hooks, an Atlanta-based organizer and activist in the Movement for Black Lives, told me. “But these things are exactly what we need for our safety and what we need in the face of rising fascism.”

“Hopefully today does give hope,” she said. “Afraid? Yes we are, but we will choose courage over fear every day in the face of repression and oppression.”

The post Defying RICO Indictment, Faith Leaders Chain Themselves to Bulldozer to Stop Cop City appeared first on The Intercept.

(NewsNation) — A COVID-19 outbreak at a Maryland elementary school is causing nationwide controversy.

Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Silver Spring is part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school system in the state. A countywide policy requires masks during an outbreak, which is considered three or more cases in one classroom.

In a letter to parents Wednesday, the medical officer for Montgomery County Public Schools explained that students who can’t safely and consistently wear masks because of their age, a medical condition or developmental disability aren’t required to do so.

The mask policy doesn’t apply to the entire school. Rather, it’s isolated to those who were affected. They’re advised to wear their masks for the shortest period of time based on recommendations from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The position isn’t sitting well with Republican officials across the country, though.

Reacting to the policy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Not going to happen in Texas.”

The news reached Capitol Hill too.

There, Republicans are pushing for a federal bill that would ban mask mandates in schools, on planes and on public transportation.

They’re calling it the “Freedom to Breathe Act.”

“If you want to wear a mask, wear a damn mask,” Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said. “But if you don’t, the government shouldn’t be forcing you to wear a mask. This is ridiculous virtue signaling.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has long defied coronavirus rules, particularly in public schools, took the issue to the campaign trail.

“There will be a reckoning for the harm they’ve done to kids in pursuit of a political agenda,” DeSantis said.

A new COVID–19 booster is expected to be available in the U.S. as soon as next week.

Rosemary Hills Elementary did not respond to NewsNation’s request for comment.

A U.S. Appeals Court on Thursday granted a temporary stay allowing Texas to keep in place floating buoys installed in the middle of the Rio Grande to block migrants from illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as court proceedings move forward, a court filing showed.

A U.S. judge had ordered Texas on Wednesday to move the floating buoys in what was seen as a tentative win for President Joe Biden, whose administration sued the state.

Although that order was not meant to take effect until Sept. 15, Thursday’s ruling could prevent Texas from having to take immediate steps to start moving the barriers to the embankment.

The floating barrier is one of multiple strategies Governor Greg Abbott has launched to deter migrants, including coils of razor wire placed along the riverbank.

Abbott’s border operations came under increased scrutiny in July after an internal trooper email surfaced alleging that Texas authorities had been ordered to push migrant children back into the river and deny water to migrants in extreme heat.

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