Miscellaneous News

baykalov

Senior Member
Registered Member
At approximately 10 p.m Wednesday, two 101st airborne division HH60 Blackhawk helicopters collided in Trigg county, Kentucky. US Military helicopters crash happened during night training involving night vision goggles.


Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Evan Gershkovich was caught “red-handed” trying to obtain Russian state secrets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed. The journalist was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the city of Ekaterinburg on Thursday.

Evan Gershkovich, who previously worked for the Moscow Times and AFP in the Russian capital, has been accused of trying to collect intelligence about a defense industry factory, in violation of Russia’s laws on state secrets, the statement said. If charged with espionage, the journalist could face between 10 and 20 years in prison.

The FSB alleges that Gershkovich, a US citizen who has accreditation from the Foreign Ministry to work in Russia, “acted in the interest of the US government” when he sought to obtain classified information. He was arrested “during an attempt to receive” the intelligence, the statement added.

The WSJ is “deeply concerned for the safety of Mr Gershkovich,” the outlet said in a statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has commented on the detention, stating that whatever Gershkovich was doing, “it had nothing to do with journalism.” Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that the status of a correspondent and journalistic credentials have previously been used as cover by others, and that other Western nationals have been caught in similar situations in the past.
 

duncanidaho

Junior Member
I'm not sure how accurate this article is. March polls show Lai Ching-te having substantial lead over KMT candidate again. I don't know what caused his support to increase so much. Last few weeks have been relatively uneventful, no ?

The march poll was kind of manipulated, because of the way the question was asked. I wouldn't take this poll to serious.

 

plawolf

Lieutenant General
I'm sure the Restrict Act is crazy on purpose. They're going to pretend to debate it, then remove/amend some of the most contentious clauses, and pass through the rest, which is their real aim.

No, that’s needlessly convoluted and illogical. The standard MO is to hype up some imminent terrible Thanos level threat to scare the people into accepting ridiculously repressive laws as the ‘only counter’.

The people are supposed to be so freaked out they wave the bills through with little to no scrutiny. Anyone who objects is a sympathiser or agent of the big bad. There was never supposed to be any serious push back.

It normally works because Washington controls the media, and by extension the narrative. Notice how western MSM or other social media even now isn’t really properly reporting on Restrict. It’s a core reason why Washington is so obsessed and threatened by TikTok. It’s too influential a voice for them to not control.
 

SanWenYu

Captain
Registered Member
The slip down the deep slope picks up speed fast...

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Banks Consider Dropping US Dollar, Euro and Yen, Indonesia Calls for Phasing Out Visa and Mastercard​

An official meeting of all ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors kicked off on Tuesday (March 28) in Indonesia. Top of the agenda are discussions to reduce dependence on the US Dollar, Euro, Yen, and British Pound from financial transactions and move to settlements in local currencies.

The meeting discussed efforts to reduce dependence on major currencies through the Local Currency Transaction (LCT) scheme. This is an extension of the previous Local Currency Settlement (LCS) scheme that has already begun to be implemented between ASEAN members.

This means that an ASEAN cross-border digital payment system would be expanded further and allow ASEAN states to use local currencies for trade. An agreement on such cooperation was reached between Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand in November 2022. This follows from Indonesia’s banking regulator, stating on March 27 that the Bank of Indonesia is preparing to introduce its own domestic payment system.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has urged regional administrations to start using credit cards issued by local banks and gradually stop using foreign payment systems. He argued that Indonesia needed to shield itself from geopolitical disruptions, citing the sanctions targeting Russia’s financial sector from the US, EU, and their allies over the conflict in Ukraine.

Moving away from Western payment systems is necessary to protect transactions from “possible geopolitical repercussions,” Widodo said.

Of the ASEAN nations, just Singapore has enforced sanctions on Russia, while all other ASEAN nations continue to trade with the country. There has been alarm at being caught up in US-led secondary sanctions, as are short to impact Central and South Asia countries involved in
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
, a major industry in the region employing millions of people.

Foreign investors in Asia may wish to consider the amount of US dollars, Euros and Yen held in their accounts in light of a pending ASEAN currency trade decision. Professional discussions should be taken regarding any movement of company funds to alternative currencies.
 

baykalov

Senior Member
Registered Member

baykalov

Senior Member
Registered Member

Forbes analysts believe that in September, at the annual meeting of BRICS members an event of colossal scale will take place. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will officially announce the entry of Saudi Arabia in BRICS. This means that the old order of business in crude oil will cease to exist.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
 
Top