UN asks Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine as US slaps fresh sanctions

News Network
February 24, 2023

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The United Nations General Assembly has asked Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and prioritize on finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the former Soviet state as the US slapped fresh sanctions on Moscow.

A two-thirds majority of the UN body, who met for a special session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday,  voted -- 141 for and 7 against while the rest, including heavyweights China and India, chose abstention --   in favor of a resolution that demanded Russian troops' withdrawal from Ukraine.

The resolution called for Russia to "immediately, completely and unconditionally" pull out its forces from Ukraine, and shift the Russian government’s focus on diplomatic means to establish a lasting peace between Moscow and Kiev.

The non-binding resolution, which was set forth by Germany, carries symbolic weight by signifying Russia's continued isolation on the world stage ahead of Friday's first anniversary of  Russia’s February 24, 2022 start of a special military operation in pro-Russia speaking regions of eastern Ukraine with the aim of de-Nazifying the Donbas and other pro- Moscow areas in the former Soviet country.

Addressing the Assembly, Iran’s UN Ambassador Saeed Iravani said all parties involved in the Ukraine war should abandon military ambitions and prioritize a diplomatic solution to achieve sustainable peace.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Russian campaign an “affront to our collective conscience.”

Guterres described the anniversary of Russia’s military ops as “a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community.”

The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the vote in favor of the anti-Russia resolution as a "historic" event and called on Russian troops to "withdraw immediately, completely and unconditionally from Ukraine's internationally recognized territory.” "Send your troops home."

The White House’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, in related news, told reporters on Thursday that the US aimed to slap more sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.

"The United States will implement sweeping sanctions against key sectors that generate revenue for Putin," she said.

She said at a virtual summit on Friday attended by leaders of the G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- that will also be joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the group will jointly announce their anti-Moscow stance in favor of Kiev.  

"Leaders will discuss how we continue supporting Ukraine," Jean-Pierre said.

However, she would not say whether the new US measures would be mirrored by the G7 partners.

Among the new targets of the fresh anti-Moscow sanctions will be banks and entities that help Moscow evade the waves of sanctions already imposed on Russia.

The United States will target Russian banks and the defense industry, as well as "actors in third-party countries that are attempting to backfill and evade our sanctions," Jean-Pierre said.

"We will also announce new economic energy and security assistance to help the Ukrainians continue to succeed, protect the people from Russian aggression and enable the Ukrainian government to provide basic services such as electricity and heat," she said.

Since the start of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, the US-led Western countries have supplied Kiev with funds, arms and munitions, as well as all-out political support.

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News Network
April 27,2024

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"I always wanted to be in a bar fight," said a US police official after pinning a Black man down on the ground and kneeling on his neck. The man later died at a hospital.

Ohio Police have come under intense scrutiny following the release of body camera footage showing officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar, reminiscent of the events that led to George Floyd's death in 2020.

The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.

In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson's pleas for help and his repeated cries of "I can't breathe," officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, "You're fine." 

Tyson continues to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers notice his lack of responsiveness and proceed to administer CPR. Paramedics arrive on the scene and transport Tyson to a local hospital, where he later dies.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a "bar fight" with one of the patrons of the establishment. 

The circumstances surrounding Tyson's death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd's fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020 which sparked global outrage. 

The officers involved in Tyson's case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

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News Network
May 5,2024

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New Delhi, May 5: Actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut intended to target an opposition leader but mistakenly ended up attacking her BJP colleague instead. 

A similarity in names - Tejashwi and Tejasvi - was behind Ms Ranaut's fumble. "There's a party of spoilt princes... whether it's Rahul Gandhi who wants to grow potatoes on the Moon, or Tejasvi Surya who does hooliganism and eats fish," she had said.

RJD leader and former Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was supposed to be the original target of her diatribe as one of his videos where he was seen eating fish became a major flashpoint between the BJP and the opposition recently.

Tejasvi Surya, incorrectly referred to by Ms Ranaut during an election rally yesterday, is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bengaluru South constituency in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, Mr Yadav has responded to a clip of Kangana Ranaut's statement. "Ye mohtarma kaun hai?" (Who is this lady?), he posted on X.

Kangana Ranaut has been verbally bashing the Congress party since the BJP fielded her as their Lok Sabha candidate from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi. Congress leaders Vikramaditya Singh - her opponent in Mandi - and Rahul Gandhi have been the main targets on her dartboard.

While addressing a public rally in the Sundernagar area of Mandi Parliamentary Constituency yesterday, Ms Ranaut took a jibe at Mr Singh and Mr Gandhi over dynasty politics and said that both of them have a magic stick for development and talk only about non-practical things.

The Congress hit back saying the 37-year-old actor should first check the facts about her party leaders and speak about dynastic politics. National Media Coordinator for the Congress, Amrit Kaur, also questioned her qualifications on which she got a BJP ticket from Mandi.

The Mandi Lok Sabha constituency will go to polls on June 1, in the seventh phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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News Network
May 6,2024

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The Israeli regime is forcibly evacuating Palestinians from the eastern part of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid the prospect of its widely-discouraged ground invasion.

“The estimate is around 100,000 people,” an Israeli military spokesman told journalists on Monday when asked how many people were being evacuated.

International organizations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly warned the regime against invading the city, citing its hosting around 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ground assault on Rafah would “put the final nail in the coffin” for humanitarian aid operations in the Gaza Strip.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said, “Any ground operation would mean more suffering and death,” with an official saying “It could be a slaughter of civilians.”

Multiple aid agencies, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, have likewise warned against a Rafah offensive.

The NRC said such an invasion “would profoundly exacerbate the already catastrophic levels of need and the humanitarian emergency for millions of civilians with nowhere left to go.”

The official alleged Hamas had killed three Israeli forces on Sunday, attacking them from Rafah.

The evacuation order came a sat least 22 people lost their lives in the regime’s airstrikes killed in Rafah earlier on Monday.

Rafah’s evacuation “is part of our plans to dismantle Hamas,” the Israeli spokesman added, referring to the Palestinian resistance movement that has been defending Gaza in the face of the war.

The Palestinians have fled there from the ravages of a war that the regime began waging against Gaza on October 7, following a retaliatory operation by the coastal sliver’s resistance groups.

At least 34,683 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 78,018 others injured so far during the brutal military onslaught.

On Friday, Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on carrying out a ground invasion of Rafah was a key stumbling block in negotiations aimed at a truce agreement.

The Israeli premier has said the regime would go ahead with invading the city “with or without” a truce.

Hamas has, however, asserted that the regime has failed to defeat the resistance during the war.

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