MTQ News

© Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine   Newsweek: Russia, Ukraine Pull Off Humongous Prisoner Swap as Fierce Battles Continue   The Ukrainian military remained locked in fierce battles with invading forces while the countries exchanged a total of over 280 soldiers in the war's largest prisoner swap.  The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, also known as HUR, announced that 144 Ukrainian soldiers had been released as part of the exchange on Wednesday. The same number of Russian soldiers were released by Ukraine, according to a post to the Telegram account of Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian separatist government in Ukraine's Donetsk region.   Read more ....   WNU Editor: According to Russian sources Ukraine gave a list of 15,000 names that they believe are being held as prisoners of war by Russia and the two Donetsk republics. Apparently the real number is higher!!!!! Last...

Axios: Fresh round of Iran nuclear talks ends with no progress   A new round of indirect nuclear talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal ended Wednesday without any progress, a senior U.S. official said.   Why it matters: These talks might be the last chance for the parties to reach an agreement before the nuclear deal becomes irrelevant, as Iran has taken steps to advance its nuclear program and limit the work of UN inspectors.   What they're saying: "The Iranians have not demonstrated any sense of urgency, raised old issues that have been settled for months, and even raised new issues that are unrelated to the 2015 nuclear agreement. A deal has been available for some time," the senior U.S. official said.  * "If there is a side that needs to take a decision, it’s them — and it’s been them for months," the official added.   Read more ....   Update: U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations in Qatar end without breakthrough (NBC News)  ...

A COVID testing site in Beijing   The Guardian: Alarm in Beijing after announcement zero-Covid policy may last five years   Communist party official posts notice saying mass mandatory testing and travel curbs will continue Authorities in Beijing have sparked confusion and alarm after announcing the strict zero-Covid policy could be in place for the next five years, including mass mandatory testing and travel restrictions.  The notice, published on Monday afternoon, was attributed to Cai Qi, the Beijing secretary of the Chinese Communist party.  The original text said: “In the next five years, Beijing will unremittingly grasp the normalisation of epidemic prevention and control.”   Read more ....   Update #1: Quote from Beijing official on '5 years' of COVID-19 restrictions causes stir (UPI)  Update #2: Beijing chief says city to 'maintain zero-COVID policy for next five years' - before time reference removed (SKY News)   WNU Editor:...

  CNBC: China’s Xi arrives in Hong Kong in his first trip off the mainland since the onset of the pandemic   * Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in the special administrative region of Hong Kong, state media said.  * The trip is for the 25th anniversary on Friday of Hong Kong’s handover to China from British colonial rule.  * The visit marks Xi’s first travel off mainland China since the pandemic began more than two years ago.  BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in the special administrative region of Hong Kong, state media said.  The trip is for the 25th anniversary on Friday of Hong Kong’s handover to China from British colonial rule.  The visit marks Xi’s first travel off mainland China since the pandemic began more than two years ago.   Read more ....  Chinese President Xi Visits Hong Kong To Mark 25th Anniversary Of Handover  China's President Xi rails against Hong Kong pro-democracy ac...

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Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 30 June 2022 Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/e6OC5lhAxv 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/RkEw9ka5F9 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 30, 2022 Frontlines in Ukraine are hot today. Ukrainian sources stated that Russian forces are systematically shelling the entire frontline in Donetsk Oblast and the Kherson area. NASA FIRMS data gives one an idea what that looks like. pic.twitter.com/WPzeOAzHRT — George Barros (@georgewbarros) June 29, 2022 What is the overall strategy to help Ukraine? asks @ChrisMasonBBC "It's for Volodymyr Zelensky, his people, to decide what they want to do, whether they want to cut a deal with Russia... of course that's entirely a matter for them," says PM Boris Johnson https://t.co/lrrxmjKMgQ pic.twitter.com/G8vo02qBF2 — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 30, 2022 UK pledges an extra £1bn of military aid ...

REPORTER: "How long is it fair to expect American drivers...to pay that premium for this war?" BIDEN: "As long as it takes." pic.twitter.com/ewlUvFyoZK — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 30, 2022 The OPEC oil cartel and allied producing nations decided Thursday to boost production of crude by an amount that will likely do little to relieve high gasoline prices at the pump and energy-fueled inflation plaguing the global economy. https://t.co/4QP4YpHvYv — The Associated Press (@AP) June 30, 2022 Germany is working to expand its military capabilities as fast as it can in light of Russia's threat to the international order, Chancellor Scholz said at the NATO summit in Madrid. https://t.co/FrefGIBO8v — DW News (@dwnews) June 30, 2022 The number of new coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million cases reported globally, according to the World Health Organization. https://t.co/52PcHGjz3s — The Associated Press (@AP) June 30...

A remark by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday created new uncertainty over President Biden's reelection plans. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)   L.A. Times: Vice President Harris says Biden 'intends' to run for reelection in 2024   Vice President Kamala Harris created new uncertainty Wednesday about President Biden's intentions to run for reelection in 2024, pulling back from a definitive statement she had made earlier in the week.   “The president intends to run and if he does, I will be his ticket mate. We will run together,” Harris told a Times reporter Wednesday as she prepared to depart for California aboard Air Force Two.  Advisors had told the reporter that Harris wanted to come to the back of the plane to clarify what she told CNN on Monday. In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, Harris was asked about speculation that Biden would not run and about her own potential candidacy.  "Joe Biden is running for reelection, and I will be his...

A mysterious rocket crashed into the moon on March 4, leaving behind a 'double crater,' NASA reported. NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University   Chron.com: 'Mystery rocket' that crashed into the Moon baffles NASA scientists   So far, no space exploring nations have claimed responsibility for the rocket.   NASA has discovered the crash site of a "mystery rocket body" that collided with the Moon's surface earlier this year. The impact left behind a widespread "double crater," meaning it wasn't the average rocket.  However, since its crash landing, none of Earth's space-exploring nations have claimed responsibility for the mysterious projectile, leaving NASA scientists baffled as to who was behind its launch. New images shared on June 24 by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the unusual impact site.   Read more ....   WNU Editor: I love a good mystery. More from NASA . from War News Updates https://ift.tt/TecdSjt via I...

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett delivers a statement to the media, telling reporters he will not be running in Israel’s next election, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem. © Reuters/RONEN ZVULUN   Reuters: With Israel's Knesset set to dissolve, PM Bennett says he will not seek re-election   JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel on Wednesday moved closer toward its fifth election in less than four years, plunging it deeper into political uncertainty as it grapples with rising living costs amid renewed international efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.  Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced he would not run in the upcoming election but would retain his position as alternate prime minister after his coalition partner Yair Lapid takes over as head of the caretaker government.  "I leave behind a thriving, strong and secure country," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We proved this year that people with very different opinions can work together...

So next time when they talk about "international society", you know what they mean... pic.twitter.com/3sV23dxLCp — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) June 28, 2022 WNU Editor: And BRICS is growing .... Iran, Argentina apply to join BRICS bloc after recent summit: Report (Business Standard). from War News Updates https://ift.tt/pVoTFGE via IFTTT

RT: Russia warns Norway over conflict in Arctic   Moscow says the blockade of supplies for miners is “unacceptable”   Moscow has summoned, on Wednesday, Norway’s charge d’affaires Solveig Rossebo over the “unacceptable” ban on the delivery of supplies to a Russian Arctic mining operation in the Svalbard Islands, the Foreign Ministry has announced.  Norwegian media outlets had previously cited the authorities as confirming that the Russians on Svalbard were denied an exemption from sanctions that were imposed on Moscow over its conflict with Ukraine.   Read more ....   WNU Editor: Svalbard is a group of islands located midway between Norway’s north coast and the North Pole. It is a part of Norway, but Russia has the right to exploit the archipelago’s natural resources under a treaty signed in 1920. A number of the settlements on the archipelago are populated mainly by Russians.  Norway Blocks Supplies To Russian Settlements In The Svalbard Island...

  Forbes: ‘Has Ukraine Not Paid Enough?’: Zelensky Urges NATO For Security Guarantees As Sweden And Finland Invited To Join Alliance   In what appears to be a shift in diplomatic strategy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO on Wednesday whether Ukraine has “not paid enough” to join the alliance—one day after Finland and Sweden reached a deal with Turkey that paves the way for the Scandinavian countries to join NATO.  * Speaking at NATO’s summit in Madrid Wednesday morning, Zelensky said Ukraine needs “security guarantees” and that NATO needs “to find a place for Ukraine in the common security space.”  * Zelensky’s comments are a shift from a statement he made in March that he had “cooled down” on talks to join the alliance.  * The Ukrainian president’s statement follows an agreement between Finland, Sweden and Turkey on Tuesday to allow the two Scandinavian countries into NATO, in return for their cooperation on counter-terrorism initatives...

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, talks with a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Jun. 12, 2022. Germany was Hokanson’s second stop on a five-nation trip to recognize and strengthen National Guard relationships with European allies and partners.   AFP: US To Announce 'Long-term' Military Reinforcements In Europe: Official   The United States will announce new long-term military deployments across Europe in response to the threat from Russia while at the NATO summit in Madrid, a US official said Tuesday.  National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said there would be "specific announcements tomorrow on land, sea and air of additional force posture commitments over the long term".  The forces will be focused on the Baltics, Balkans and NATO's eastern flank bordering Russia, he said.   Read more ....   WNU Editor : I expect a lot of these type of announcements in the coming weeks and months .... Bi...

John Lepp seeds wet spots in a field with canola by airplane, while daughter Cassandra Lepp plants the crop with a tractor, near Rivers. © Reuters/Stefanie Lepp   Reuters: From war to wild weather, global crop problems point to years of high food prices   (Reuters) - Eric Broten had planned to sow about 5,000 acres of corn this year on his farm in North Dakota, but persistent springtime rains limited him to just 3,500 in a state where a quarter or more of the planned corn could remain unsown this year.  The difficulty planting corn, the single largest grain crop in the world, in the northern United States adds to a string of troubled crop harvests worldwide that point to multiple years of tight supplies and high food costs.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, sent prices of wheat, soy and corn to near records earlier this year.  Poor weather has also reduced grain harvests in China, India, South America and parts of Europe. Ferti...

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov © Mikhail Japaridze/TASS   TASS: Hostilities to end if Kiev orders nationalists to lay down weapons — Kremlin spokesman   Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky remarked that he would like to end the hostilities before the cold comes  MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Hostilities in Ukraine may end "before the end of today," if Kiev orders the nationalists to lay down their weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday.  "The Ukrainian side can end all this before the end of this day; an order is necessary for the nationalist units to lay down their weapons, an order is necessary for the Ukrainian military to lay down their weapons; and they must fulfill all Russia’s demands.  Then everything will be over before the day ends," the spokesman said, commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s remark that he would like to end the hostilities before the cold comes.   Read more .... ...

Oxfam International: G7 failure to tackle hunger crisis will leave millions to starve   Responding to news of the $4.5 billion pledge made by the G7 leaders to tackle global hunger, Max Lawson, Head of Inequality Policy at Oxfam said:  “Faced with the worst hunger crisis in a generation, the G7 have simply failed to take the action that is needed. Many millions will face terrible hunger and starvation as a result.”  “Instead of doing what is needed, the G7 are leaving millions to starve and cooking the planet.”   Read more ....   Update #1: Oxfam condemns G7 for ‘leaving millions to starve’ (RT)   Update #2: Oxfam Condemns G7 for Leaving 'Millions to Starve' as Global Hunger Surges (Common Dreams)   WNU Editor: Oxfam has a point. With the exception of the Russia - Ukraine war, this G7 summit ignored a number of global issues/crisis that need to be addressed right now.  Inflation, food shortages and high prices, energy shortages an...

  CNBC/Reuters: Scottish government seeks independence vote in October 2023   * Scotland is to seek an independence vote in October 2023, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Tuesday.  * Sturgeon said she would be writing to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for permission to hold a consultative referendum.  * Johnson and his ruling Conservative Party strongly oppose a referendum, saying the issue was settled in a 2014 referendum.  Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday that the Scottish parliament would publish an independence referendum bill with a planned date for a vote on secession to take place on Oct. 19, 2023.  Sturgeon said she would be writing to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for permission to hold a consultative referendum, saying it was vital the vote was legal.  She said the issue would be referred to the UK Supreme Court.   Read more ....   WNU Editor : Too soon to call and independence vote...

Zero Hedge: White House Desperate To Make New Oil Deals As Gas Prices Crush Biden   There are two schools of thought when it comes to the stagflation crisis: Those that think inflation in necessities is part of a deliberate agenda of national sabotage, and those that think the whole disaster is a product of pure stupidity. There is certainly enough evidence to suggest that the establishment benefits to a degree from prices skyrocketing, but they also face massive risks if the crisis unfolds too quickly.  A stagflation event is like an avalanche, it's going to come rushing down the mountain and there's no slowing it once it gets moving. Such a crisis can be deliberately created through central bank fiat money printing and hiking interest rates into economic weakness, but are the banks and politicians so foolish as to believe they can control its path of destruction once it starts?   Read more ....   WNU Editor: There is no extra oil "out there" to get for the ...

  The Guardian: Turkey lifts objections to Finland and Sweden’s Nato bid   Ankara had previously blocked the Nordic countries from joining the alliance over concerns about arms exports and terrorism  A last minute agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become Nato members on the eve of the military alliance’s summit in Madrid.  Nato said a trilateral deal had been reached at a meeting between Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, in the Spanish capital.  After a period of intensive negotiations, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said on Tuesday evening: “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join Nato.”   Read more ....  WNU Editor : Wow!!!! They must have given Turkey quite a deal to make them agree to drop their opposit...

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not mention Saudi Arabia during a Sunday press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, but further direct talks between Tehran and Riyadh look likely [President's Website/WANA/Handout via Reuters]   Al Jazeera: Iran claims Saudi Arabia is ready for more direct bilateral talks   The last direct talks between Riyadh and Tehran were held in April, as the two sides mull over a rapprochement.  Tehran, Iran – Iran’s foreign ministry says Saudi Arabia is ready to hold more direct bilateral talks, one day after the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi travelled to Tehran to mediate between the two regional rivals.  Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters during a press conference on Monday that Riyadh is ready to “continue negotiations in Baghdad on a diplomatic level” without commenting on a possible date.   Read more ....   WNU Editor : The distrust between Saudi Arabia and Iran ...

The head of one hospital said: "In the coming weeks, it will be impossible for many public or private medical centers to provide hot meals, especially protein-rich foods, to hospitalized patients because this increase in food prices was not seen in any hospital budget." (file photo)   RFE: Iranian Institutions Facing Food Shortages As Prices Skyrocket   Local media in Iran say public institutions such as hospital, prisons, and child-care centers are facing possible food shortages due to skyrocketing prices.  The Tehran-based Etemad newspaper reported on June 15 that the impending "problem" could hit in "the coming weeks" and that "food supplies will be disrupted not only in hospitals but also in other government facilities such as barracks, prisons, nursing homes, and even student dormitories."  Etemad quoted the head of a private hospital as saying that a sharp rise in food prices has affected the quality of hospital food to such an extent...

Three-wheeler drivers wait in a queue to buy petrol due to fuel shortage, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Reuters image)    CNBC/Reuters: Sri Lanka stops fuel supply to non-essential services as crisis worsens   * Sri Lanka will shut schools and only allow fuel supplies to services deemed essential like health, trains and buses for two weeks starting Tuesday.  * Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis, with foreign exchange reserves at a record low and the island of 22 million struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and, most critically, fuel.  * The government is talks with the International Monetary Fund on a possible bailout, but many people can’t wait that long.  Sri Lanka will shut schools and only allow fuel supplies to services deemed essential like health, trains and buses for two weeks starting Tuesday, a minister said, in a desperate attempt to deal with a severe shortage.  Sri L...

Indigenous people take part in an anti-government protest amid a stalemate between the government of President Guillermo Lasso and demanding an end to emergency measures, in Quito, Ecuador June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado  The Guardian: Ecuador: Indigenous protesters agree to meet president to discuss demands   President Guillermo Lasso announces cut to gas prices in effort to quell protests demanding lower fuel and food prices  Ecuadorian Indigenous organizations have said they will meet with the government to discuss demands for lower fuel and food prices which have sparked two weeks of protests, hitting the country’s weakened economy and threatening its oil production.  President Guillermo Lasso late on Sunday announced a 10-cent per gallon cut to gasoline and diesel prices, the latest concession to try to quell the sometimes-violent demonstrations, which began on 13 June.  Read more ....   WNU Editor : I am skeptical that these talks be...

  Daily Mail: Boris Johnson says 'the price of freedom is worth paying' and declares WWII was 'very expensive' but delivered 'long-term stability' as G7 pledge support for Ukraine   * Boris Johnson today declared 'the price of freedom is worth paying' as he was challenged over the cost of his support for Ukraine  * Compared repelling Russia's invasion to defeat of the Nazis in World War Two  * Beating Hitler 'was expensive' but ushered in decades of prosperity, he argued  * G7 leaders pledged fresh sanctions and more military support for Kyiv  Boris Johnson today declared 'the price of freedom is worth paying' as he compared defeating Russia in Ukraine to beating the Nazis in the Second World War.  The Prime Minister, attending the G7 summit in Germany, said victory over Hitler was 'very expensive' but delivered 'long-term stability' as he joined other leaders in pledging to support Kyiv for 'as long as it ...

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  Reuters: A 'default' when flush with cash: Five signs Russia ain't sinking yet   LONDON (Reuters) - Russia may have defaulted for the first time on foreign bonds since the Bolsheviks refused to pay on a vast debt pile after the 1917 Revolution, but its $1.8 trillion economy is showing no sign of sinking just yet.  The sanctions imposed by the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine delivered the biggest external shock to Russia's economy since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, but the economy has - so far - been remarkably resilient.  Russia's 2022 "default", announced by the United States on Monday but rejected by the Kremlin, is very different to debt crises of previous years: in 1918 the Bolsheviks didn't want to pay and in 1998 Russia could not pay its domestic debts.  This time, Moscow can pay and says it is ready to but the West is preventing it.   Read more ....   Update : Russia’s economy holds up in the face of sanctions – but ...

  Daily Mail : Ukraine's President Zelensky appeals to Biden to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism during video conference with G7 leaders as he asks for urgent help to end the war by winter   * Zelensky will warn G7 leaders Monday that they cannot delay weapons deliveries  * His forces are outgunned by Russian troops in the east of Ukraine  * It also emerged that the U.S. has bought an advanced missile defense system  * The Norwegian NASAMS would provide medium to long-range defense  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used a video call with G7 leaders on Monday to demand that the U.S. declare Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism for its war in Ukraine, according to his office.  The war in Ukraine dominated several sessions of the G7 summit in southern Germany. And the Ukrainian president appealed directly to President Joe Biden and his fellow leaders in their first session on Monday morning, asking for their help in ending th...

  CNBC: British PM Boris Johnson warns Russian takeover of Ukraine would be ‘absolutely catastrophic’ for the world   * British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that if Russia succeeds in its takeover of Ukraine, the global results would be “absolutely catastrophic.”  * If Putin succeeds in his takeover, “we’re legitimizing further acquisition by him by violence of other parts of the Soviet Union,” Johnson said.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that if Russia succeeds in its takeover of Ukraine, the global results would be “absolutely catastrophic.”  Russia has been continuing its relentless attacks on Ukraine that started in late February. On Sunday, Russian forces unleashed a round of missiles on Kyiv, its first attack on the capital in weeks.  Several view the strikes as a show of defiance against the Group of Seven leaders that were meeting the same day to discuss efforts to restrict and pressure the Kremlin. Still, ...

Bloomberg: Russia Defaults on Foreign Debt for First Time Since 1918   (Bloomberg) -- Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors.  For months, the country found paths around the penalties imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on Sunday, the grace period on about $100 million of snared interest payments due May 27 expired, a deadline considered an event of default if missed. It’s a grim marker in the country’s rapid transformation into an economic, financial and political outcast. The nation’s eurobonds have traded at distressed levels since the start of March, the central bank’s foreign reserves remain frozen, and the biggest banks are severed from the global financial system.   Read more ....  WNU Editor: This default is mostly symbolic. Russia has more than enough funds that...

Depositors protest in front of the Henan branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, demanding their money back after their funds were frozen. From Lan Nuo Nuo in February   CNN : Small banks in China are running into trouble. Savers could lose everything   Peter had put his life savings of about $6 million into accounts at three small banks in China’s central Henan province. He says he hasn’t been able to access them since April.  The 45-year-old entrepreneur asked us to call him Peter for security reasons. He’s from the eastern city of Wenzhou and is just one of thousands of depositors who have been fighting to recover their savings from at least six banks in rural provinces in central China.  “I’m close to having a nervous breakdown. I can’t sleep,” Peter told CNN Business.  When he tried to access his accounts online, a statement would pop up on the homepage informing him that the website was under maintenance and services would ...