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Poisoning, FSB, Putin… The video of the posthumous interview with Alexei Navalny

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

On December 17, 2020, a month before his return to Russia and his arrest, the Russian opponent met parliamentarian Jacques Maire, then appointed by the Council of Europe as rapporteur for the investigation into the poisoning of which he was a victim four months ago. In collaboration with LCI, Libération is publishing excerpts from this hearing.

If you don't see the video, click here

On December 17, 2020, Alexei Navalny met Jacques Maire, then a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in Berlin, exactly one month to the day before his return to Russia and his arrest. The elected European official has been appointed rapporteur for the investigation into the poisoning that almost cost the enemy his life, the aim of which is to “clarify the facts legally” and establish the responsibility of the Russian authorities. In a statement filmed in a hotel conference room, Navalny addressed in English the circumstances of the attack in the summer of 2020 and the role of the secret services in his life since his decision to run for office. Russian presidency and what he thinks Vladimir Putin, who has never mentioned his name publicly. Only four months after he came close to death, the enemy has regained all his splendor and enthusiasm. “We expected someone to be a little depressed. We saw a fighter, we saw a hyper-determined character, very physically present, very empathetic, accessible,” testifies Jacques Maire, who had “a block of granite” in front of him and was ready “not to make any concessions in his fight”.

With the consent of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Jacques Maire is publishing today, through Libération and LCI, the video of this hearing for public debate, “even if this was not intended”. “Documents of public interest for history,” comments the former MP, “also an opportunity for appreciation.” [à Navalny]. Because everyone who sees this video sees this man leaving the hospital who has just been poisoned and who says to himself: “Tomorrow I'll go into battle again.”

Three weeks after the death of Alexei Navalny in a prison beyond the Russian Arctic Circle, and as the flow of Muscovites paying their respects to him at the cemetery where he has rested since March 1 continues, the question remains work towards his future. On March 15, 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia slammed the door on the Council of Europe, of which it had been a member since 1996. “All appeals from Navalny and the Russian political prisoners, all identified crimes” until March 15, 2022 and still valid a year later, are still being processed, emphasizes Jacques Maire. It is not because we are leaving the Council of Europe that these bodies will be suspended or dissolved.” Unfortunately, it is no longer about working for the security or survival of Vladimir Putin's main opponent, but “for justice and justice, for him as well as for them Others, a certain number of procedures can be completed.” with or without the participation of the Russians. So that justice and especially European justice is done before history, before the Russians.”

To watch the interview in full, click here.

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Unconventional Giordano39s attack They are leading us into a nuclear

Unconventional, Giordano's attack: “They are leading us into a nuclear war”

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

War in Ukraine, what will happen? Mario Giordano speaks about this in his editorial at the beginning of the program “Fuori dal coro”, broadcast on March 6th on Rete4.

“These are crazy people. They are leading us into a world war, into a nuclear war. They only talk about missiles, about invasion. There is never anyone who talks about peace. The other day, French President Macron hypothesized that there is a NATO.” “Troops in Ukraine, but NATO troops in Ukraine represent a decisive step towards a world war and therefore towards the risk of nuclear war, a risk “That we cannot rule out,” said the President of the European Commission, who said we would have to run as we bought weapons and vaccines.”

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Latin America and the Caribbean reaffirm their commitment to gender equality ahead of CSW68

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Ministers and senior authorities of the mechanisms for the advancement of women from Latin America and the Caribbean attended on February 28 an information meeting on the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 68), organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and UN Women virtual.

CSW 68 will take place from March 11 to 22 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and has the primary theme “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by combating poverty and strengthening institutions and Financing.” a gender perspective.”

The briefing aimed to share progress and information from the region to support government participation in the CSW. The focus was on the Declaration of the Ministers and High Authorities of the National Mechanisms for the Advancement of Latin American and Caribbean Women for the CSW68, adopted at the 65th Session of the Chairpersons of the Regional Conference for Women, as a regional contribution to the global deliberations at the next CSW carried.

The meeting was attended by ministers and representatives from 25 countries in the region. At the beginning there were welcoming remarks by Ana Güezmes García, Director of the Gender Division of ECLAC, and María Florencia González, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations and Vice President-designate of the Group of American States of Latin America and the Caribbean, which represents the organization the work and negotiation process of the agreed conclusions, the intergovernmental agreement resulting from the CSW meetings.

María Noel Vaeza, UN Women's regional director for the Americas and the Caribbean, emphasized that “funding gender policies and institutions is very important for the region, especially after the pandemic, as poverty and inequality have increased.” We face the challenge “To address the issue from expanding fiscal space to creating and strengthening comprehensive care systems to consolidating gender institutions to address all challenges.”

The joint document was presented during the briefing session The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the regional gender agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean. Gender indicators until 2023, created by ECLAC and UN Women. The aim is to provide a reference report to promote decision-making that accelerates the achievement of equality and the full exercise of the rights of women, young people and girls in their diversity.

During the presentation, Ana Güezmes García emphasized that “it is a document that helps us break the statistical silence.” This is a region that is making progress in achieving gender equality but needs to accelerate it. To make these efforts a reality, we need better statistics and of course more and better institutions and funding for gender equality. For every 100 men in a similar situation, there are 118 women in poverty and 120 women in extreme poverty,” adding that “gender inequality and the feminization of poverty are a structural problem for countries and require transformative responses.”

Finally, Cecilia Alemany, Deputy Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, returned to some figures from the joint document and warned: “Gender institutionality is advancing, but it has not yet been consistently consolidated at the ministerial level.” Region, and there are still huge gaps that require policies and funding with a gender perspective. In the region, almost 14% of young people between 15 and 24 years old are neither studying nor working, and for young women this figure doubles to almost 27%, which also affects their chances of earning their own income than theirs possible work integration over the course of their lives.”

The primary theme of CSW68 also serves as a framework for the commemoration of International Women's Day, defined as “Accelerating the financing of women's rights” in the Latin American and Caribbean region under the theme “Investing in women, accelerating progress. Equality” takes place every year on March 8th. Sufficient, regular and timely funding is crucial to strengthen gender institutions, women's and civil society organizations and so that women and girls, especially those facing multiple forms of discrimination, can exercise their rights and lead a better life without violence.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women within the United Nations. The meeting takes place every year in the second half of March in New York and brings together thousands of representatives of states, civil society, particularly feminist and women's organizations, and United Nations organizations from around the world.

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Hamas x Israel: The fight for another “survival”

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Both sides accuse each other of trying to prevent an agreement. It is difficult to reconstruct exactly what goes on behind the scenes during negotiations, and what becomes public always has a “spin” – real or invented details are leaked to indirectly influence negotiations.

The negotiations are not only complicated in terms of content, but also in terms of communication technology: Israel and Hamas do not speak directly to each other. As a general rule, negotiations are carried out first with Israel and then with Egypt and Qatar, which have greater influence over Hamas, negotiate with the terrorist organization on this basis. Only if there is some prospect of agreement will both parties send a negotiating team to Cairo or Doha. During the first hostage agreement, delegations from both warring parties were in Doha at the same time. This is not the case in Cairo.

Is Ramadan no longer a factor?

Time is of the essence: not only for the sake of the lives of the Israeli hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, but also because the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan begins on Sunday, during which the conflict in the Middle East has repeatedly escalated dangerously for many years . Unlike the first hostage agreement – when Hamas agreed quickly because it wanted to get rid of the children among the hostages and needed time to reorganize as much as possible – this time Hamas is apparently in no rush. There is practically no consideration for the civilian population, although the requirement to fast between sunrise and sunset could further worsen the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. On the contrary: the immense suffering of Gaza residents and the growing international pressure on Israel are serving as Hamas's trump card in the negotiations.

Portal/Mahmoud Issa People in the practically destroyed city of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza

And there is speculation in Israel that Hamas sees the continuation of the war during Ramadan as an opportunity to spark an uprising in the Israeli-occupied areas of East Jerusalem and the West Bank – and perhaps even among Israeli Arabs. This could happen especially if access to the Temple Mount is severely restricted to Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from the occupied territories, as demanded by right-wing extremist Interior Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Hamas's overall objective at this time is clear: to do everything possible to ensure that the terrorist organization remains politically, administratively and militarily incapable of action. So she is fighting for her own political survival. Israeli hostages are by far the most important bargaining chip here.

Netanyahu emerges as a strong man

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to fight for political survival after the state's failure in the Hamas attack on October 7, even if he is now back in command more firmly than immediately afterwards. The longer the war lasts, the better for Netanyahu, as he postpones the political reckoning. For Netanyahu, destroying Hamas is a priority, especially for his right-wing coalition partners and right-wing extremists.

Netanyahu has long resumed one of his favorite roles, that of a negotiator with international experience, who is supposedly the only one who can resist US pressure. Many relatives accuse Netanyahu of actually handing over the hostages. The fact is that the security cabinet is divided on this issue.

Portal/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Relatives of the hostages ask US President Biden for help

Israel as an “open book” for Hamas

Former generals Benni Ganz and Gadi Eisenkot, who joined the cabinet from the opposition after the Hamas attack, are pushing harder for a hostage deal and are prepared to make more concessions. But they also reject family members' demands for a hostage agreement at any price. Since this would become the basis for future negotiations in the event of new kidnappings and wars.

Internal divisions and internal political chaos – temporarily overshadowed by the tragedy of the Hamas attack, but now actually exacerbating it – also mean that many strategically important considerations often occur publicly rather than behind the scenes. This makes Israel easier to read for Hamas than ever before.

Impossible conditions

Both sides have set conditions that are unacceptable to the other side: Netanyahu demanded in advance a list of hostages who would be released – in fact, one of the last steps after there had already been an agreement in principle. Hamas demands the right of the population – and therefore Hamas – to return to northern Gaza.

From his perspective, both sides also have opportunities for escalation: Hamas could publish videos of hostages; The suffering of the people of Gaza also constantly increases pressure on Israel. Israel, in turn, could attack Rafah in particular. However, the completed military plans have not yet received the green light from the government.

Limiting factors for the US

From the current perspective, only significantly greater pressure from the US – on Israel, as well as on the mediators Qatar and Egypt, which have strong “levers” against Hamas (money, political immunity or geographic connection with the world) – could do so. move things forward. lead to rigid negotiation fronts. US President Joe Biden maintains his plan to use the Hamas attack and the war in Gaza as an opportunity to reorganize the Middle East.

For this geostrategic alliance to neutralize Iran, which will supposedly extend from Egypt, through Israel, to Saudi Arabia, Biden depends on Cairo and Doha. This, in turn, means that he cannot threaten both countries with the withdrawal of financial or military aid, but must treat them as partners and can only exert pressure in diplomatic doses.

Internal political traps for Biden

Biden has already increased pressure on Israel, specifically Netanyahu, to several levels. On Monday, Ganz was received in Washington, but Netanyahu was not. If there is criticism of insufficient US pressure, it is often not taken into account that Israel has been by far the US's most important regional partner for decades – with correspondingly close economic, political and military ties.

At the same time, concluding a ceasefire and hostage agreement is increasingly becoming a matter of survival for Biden himself in terms of domestic politics: given the deep divisions in the US democratic electorate over the issue of the Middle East, he must try the almost impossible and find a middle ground to improve his own chances of re-election. November must not be put in danger.

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Russia and China want to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Yuri Borissov, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, announced that Russia and China are considering installing a nuclear power plant on the lunar surface by 2035. The initiative, according to Borissov, aims to enable the construction of human settlements on the satellite, which would represent a significant advance in space exploration.

Borisov emphasized that cooperation between the two countries on the lunar program will be strengthened by “Russian expertise in nuclear space energy.” He argued that solar panels would be insufficient to meet the energy needs of future lunar settlements, while nuclear energy proved to be a viable solution.

“Today we are seriously thinking about a project sometime between 2033 and 2035 to deliver and install a power plant on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said, according to Portal.

The project, described by Borisov as a “very serious challenge,” must be carried out in automatic mode and without human presence due to the “complexity and risks involved.” In addition, the head of Roscosmos mentioned plans to build a nuclearpowered cargo spacecraft that could “carry large payloads between orbits and collect space debris.”

Despite the optimism, Russia's space program has suffered setbacks in recent years, including the failure of the Luna25 mission, which lost control and crashed in 2023. However, Moscow is sticking to its ambitious plans, including further lunar missions and exploring a possible RussianChinese manned mission and even a lunar base.

Meanwhile, China expressed its intention to send the first Chinese astronaut to the moon in February, reinforcing the communist regime's interest in space exploration.

Against this backdrop, the US accused Russia in February of developing a new antisatellite weapon that could threaten satellites of allied countries. According to information from American media, the weapon could be even more dangerous because it could be part of a spacerelated nuclear system.

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A whale that “shouldn’t exist” has rarely been seen in the Atlantic in 200 years

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

A species of whale that scientists thought had not existed in the Atlantic Ocean for 200 years has been spotted on the US coast of Massachusetts.

A team of researchers captured footage of a gray whale off the coast of Nantucket Island while conducting overhead photography.

This species is usually found exclusively in the North Pacific.

“My brain was trying to understand what I was seeing because this animal shouldn't exist in these waters,” says Kate Laemmle, a research technician at the New England Aquarium. We laughed because it was so exciting to see an animal that had disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago.”

Gray whales are particularly notable for their lack of a dorsal fin and their mottled gray-white color.

This is the fifth time in 15 years that this species has been observed in the Atlantic or Mediterranean.

According to scientists at the New England Aquarium, climate change could explain why this specimen ended up on the other side of the world.

Since the sea passage in Canada that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is no longer icy for longer periods of time in the summer, the gray whale may have taken advantage of this to move towards the American east coast.

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1709762988 The future amnesty law excludes crimes classified as terrorism under

The future amnesty law excludes crimes classified as terrorism under the European directive | Spain

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Carles Puigdemont, José Manuel Albares and Pedro Sánchez, in a plenary session in Strasbourg. RONALD WITTEK (EFE)

The transactional amendment agreed by PSOE, Junts and ERC to give final approval to the proposed amnesty law for all those accused in the trial excludes from the clemency measure “acts that, by virtue of their purpose, can be classified as terrorism in accordance with the European Directive.” of 2017” and in turn “deliberately caused serious violations of the human rights regulated by Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights”, which relate to the right to life and the prohibition of torture, respectively.

This Directive classifies as terrorist offenses if they are committed for any of the following purposes: “a) attacks on the life of a person which may result in death; b) attacks on the physical integrity of a person; c) kidnapping or hostage-taking; d) massive destruction of government or public facilities, transportation systems, infrastructure, including computer systems, fixed platforms on the continental shelf, public places or private properties, which may endanger human life or cause great economic damage; e) the unauthorized seizure of aircraft and ships or other collective means of transport or goods; f) the manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply or use of explosives or firearms, including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, as well as the research and development of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons; g) releasing dangerous substances or causing fires, floods or explosions resulting in endangerment of human life; (h) the disruption or interruption of the supply of water, electricity or other essential natural resources, resulting in endangerment of human life.”

The agreed text, which will be approved tomorrow in the Judiciary Commission of Congress, is similar to the text rejected by the seven Junts deputies just over a month ago, although references to the Spanish Criminal Code have since been deleted in the chapter dedicated to terrorism. This cannot be amnesty.

The negotiators emphasize that the agreement reached “is in line with the endorsement of the Venice Commission and reaffirms the full compliance of the standard with the Constitution, European law and international jurisprudence, in order to make it an impeccable standard”. Also exempt from the amnesty are “crimes of torture, treason and corruption with personal gain”. The bill also rejects amnesty for any crime “resulting in a violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

More information

According to the authors, the agreed wording should facilitate the inclusion of all people involved in the independence process in the amnesty. To this end, the scope will be extended and brought forward to November 2011, as Junts claimed, so that all claims related to the Court of Auditors will also be covered (the text rejected by the independents in January covered a period starting on). January 1, 2012 and ended November 13, 2023).

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The new text will pass through the Judiciary Committee filter this Thursday and will be approved in the plenary session of Congress next week and then by the Senate over the next two months. The government hopes that the adoption of the law will finally bring to an end “a phase that has dominated political life in Catalonia and all of Spain for too long.”

In addition, in the administrative area, the return of the sanctions imposed remains excluded, although there will be exceptions for less serious sanctions imposed in matters of citizens' security and “which will be returned by the administration that imposed them, if there are grounds for it.” “Proportionality.”

The three groups of signatories to the agreement, which announced it at eight o'clock in the afternoon without revealing the formula reached, have decided to withdraw the remaining amendments to the text that they had submitted.

A complex procedure

The proposal for the amnesty law registered by the Socialist Group on November 24th was amended for final approval in plenary on January 30th, removing the reference to the fact that terrorist crimes would be amnesty without a final verdict. However, the Junts group, with its seven deputies, which demanded amnesty in return for supporting the inauguration of socialist Pedro Sánchez, rejected the final text of the law, which was sent back to the Justice Commission.

Junts then presented 11 amendments, which were again rejected in the plenary session with dissenting votes from PSOE and Sumar, among others. The two coalition parties in the government have defended that the text registered in Congress is “entirely constitutional” and that the text adopted by the Cortes will be “equally constitutional”. However, in the first trial, due to doubts about the constitutionality, they had to delete the reference to the fact that terrorist offenses that had not yet been legally convicted were eligible for amnesty. This elimination filled Junts with doubts, whose votes are crucial to the implementation of the initiative.

Among the amendments presented by Junts, those related to Article 2 of the bill, which regulates crimes that cannot be amnestied, stood out. The text, agreed by all factions of the investiture bloc except the Junts, excluded terrorist crimes from amnesty as long as they “manifestly and with direct intent caused serious human rights violations, in particular those provided for in Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.” and fundamental freedoms and international humanitarian law.

Two days before the vote on this text, Judge Manuel García-Castellón, who has been studying the summary on the violent protests of the Democratic Tsunami Movement for more than four years, responded to the appeal of a person concerned and specified this in a decision that examined a in the Territorial terrorist crime that could not be amnesty according to the draft law.

Junts gave two reasons to defend the deletion of this section on terrorist offenses: “There is no legal obligation requiring the exclusion from amnesty of acts classified as terrorist offenses (…) and, moreover, this would “the abusive “Use” prevent the Criminal Code and the tools of the state to persecute the Catalan independents.” “As soon as the proposed amnesty law was published, procedures thought to be aimed at dismissals were reactivated,” recalled the change in the context of the summary the Tsunami Democràtic, where Judge García Castellón stood trial four years after the opening of the investigation – and has now achieved in the Supreme Court that former President Carles Puigdemont be charged with a crime of terrorism.

The Catalan separatists fear that after the opening of a criminal case for terrorism in the Supreme Court against Puigdemont, who has been a fugitive from justice since 2017, the courts will refuse to apply the future amnesty law intended to benefit all those accused or convicted of the illegal ones Independence challenges – both the so-called participatory consultation of 2014 and the referendum of 2017. The Supreme Court, contrary to the opinion of the Prosecutor of the National Court and the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, has itself decided to support the reasoned statement of Judge García-Castellón to investigate , whether Puigdemont committed a terrorist crime as the alleged perpetrator of the protest movements that took place in Barcelona following the sentencing of nine independence leaders to prison terms. “During the entire period covered by the bill,” Junts emphasized in his amendment, “there is no act that can be classified as a terrorist crime. However, we note that there are at least two procedures (the tsunami crime). Democràtic and the Committees for the Defense of the Republic), in which Catalan independence fighters are arbitrarily and unjustifiably investigated and prosecuted for acts that should not be classified as such, but are classified as such.”

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GDP growth expectations and CPI control: the three key announcements from China's “two sessions”.

Latest News / By Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

The so-called “Two Sessions”, China's highest political event, took place last Monday and Tuesday, March 4th and 5th, in the city of Beijing. The event opened the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference and the 14th People's Congress of China. He took part in the latter Chinese Premier Li Qiangwho announced important measures for the national economy for 2024.

Quiang explained in detail the Chinese government's 2023 work report and announced the GDP growth target for the next 12 months, the job creation target, controlling the increase in producer price index (CPI) and more.

What important announcements were made at the 14th China NPC Session 2024?

Setting the GDP target for 2024

Premier Li Qiang emphasized that China achieved a GDP of 5.2% last year. The Chinese politician also said that the country will continue to offer growth opportunities but also challenges in this new year period.

On Monday, March 4th and Tuesday, March 5th, the opening of the “Two Sessions” took place at the People’s Palace. Photo: Francisco Claros/La República

Qiang announced that the country aims to achieve gross domestic product growth of around 5% by 2024. “It meets the requirements of the objectives of the XIV Five-Year Plan (…) and at the same time contributes to accelerating the optimization of the economic structure,” he explained about this decision.

To achieve this, he explained that one of the measures will be to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. This includes increasing grain production capacity by 50 million tons, reducing rural poverty rates through access to education and housing security, and creating rural brands, among others.

Creating more than 12 million jobs by 2024

According to Li Qiang's report submitted to the NPC, China will create 12 million jobs in urban areas in 2023. The plan for the new year is to at least exceed this value.

“We have adjusted the target, which was around 12 million in 2023, to over 12 million by 2024, which meets the current objective requirements in terms of employment stabilization, structural adjustment and increased confidence,” he said.

China's National People's Congress gathered more than 2,000 deputies. Photo: Francisco Claros/La República

Controlling the increase in CPI by about 3%

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the main indicator of inflation in the Asian country. For this year, Prime Minister Li Qiang said the plan is to limit the increase to about 3%.

“Comprehensively analyzing both the remaining impact of price changes in 2023 and the new factors of the increase in 2024, a moderate increase in the CPI is foreseeable this year,” he added during his speech to the APN.

GDP growth expectations and CPI control: the three key announcements from China's “two sessions”. Read More »