Author: Benjamin Franklin

Frankfurt, Paris (18/8 – 62.50) Ukraine has scored a series of victories in more than a week since launching a lightning offensive into Russian territory. Now the stakes are rising as its forces prepare to defend their gains and Russia begins to regain its footing. Last week, Ukraine deployed thousands of troops to the Kursk region in western Russia, removing Russian flags from captured towns and taking the initiative from Moscow for the first time in months. On Wednesday, officials in Kyiv said Ukraine would use seized Russian territory as a “buffer zone” to shield its north from Russian strikes.…

Washington/Paris/Berlin (12/8 – 28.57). Today is the twenty-anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk. A painful experience. A true shocker. All hands are lost, the shortcomings of the Russian system fully exposed. But today is another experience. Kursk, the region. After ceremonial pageantry by the military commander, it is clear the great Red Army was ambushed. Hoodwinked by the Ukrainians who pulled off a surprise attack, a classic attack which has all the elements of a successful deception operation. Overwhelming strength, speed and first and foremost silence. Deception played a role keeping the Russian pre-occupied. Daily the news a filled…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and allies are scrambling to pull together a complex system that will move tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza by sea. Nearly two months after President Joe Biden gave the order, U.S. Army and Navy troops are assembling a large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast that will be the launching pad for deliveries. But any eventual aid distribution — which could start as soon as early May — will rely on a complicated logistical and security plan with many moving parts and details that are not yet finalized. The relief is desperately needed, with the U.N.…

President Joe Biden was only told that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was being treated for cancer on Tuesday, the White House has said. Mr Austin, 70, was admitted to hospital on 1 January and then to the intensive care unit for complications following surgery in December. He has faced criticism for not telling senior officials about it for days. He has since apologised for not “ensuring the public was appropriately informed”. The lag in notifying the White House raised potential national security concerns and issues of transparency within the Biden administration. The defence secretary sits just below the president…

More than a month into its bombardment of Gaza, the Israeli military issued a warning: Ground troops had surrounded the largest hospital in the Palestinian enclave, al-Shifa. A raid would be launched “in minutes”. The impending siege of the Gaza City health complex sparked panic among the thousands of injured patients, medical staff and displaced Palestinians sheltering there. But amid urgent international pleas to protect Gaza’s hospitals, much of the focus in Canada was on the tougher tone of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “I have been clear: The price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have…

Go-Go music, the official soundtrack of D.C., is getting a new swing and wheels, with the Mobile Go-Go Museum.  The Mobile Go-Go Museum will be the first of its kind in the country. This groundbreaking museum is set to honor Go-Go music and its four-decade history.  The Go-Go museum will be located in the historic Anacostia neighborhood, and will open in the spring of 2024. The museum will also feature a café that will offer foods blending African, Caribbean, Latin, and Mumbo sauce dishes. The fusion aims to represent funk, salsa, and jazz, all the elements that make up Go-Go music. Community Leader, Activist, and Entrepreneur, Ronald…

Lai’s comments come as China urges the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan. Taiwanese vice president and presidential hopeful William Lai Ching-te has underlined Taiwan’s status as a sovereign nation and said that the world knows that China is to blame for a recent rise in tensions. At a press conference for foreign journalists on Friday, ruling Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai said that the island has proven its status as a country through its democratic actions. “Taiwan holds regular elections for our president, vice president, legislators, officials, mayors and local government leaders, and they serve the people, so…

The recent ‘Qatargate’ scandal in the European Parliament, which has seen MEPs & at least one former former MEP languishing in Belgian jail cells, has re-opened another serious issue – one that is institutionalised in Brussels – that of the “fake NGO”. The fake NGO is becoming a major problem in Brussels. Typically, such a body would purport to represent human rights interests: it is always going to be difficult for a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), for example, to say “no” to an approach by a human rights NGO – but easy for NGO to use the cover…

Investors digested a rush of economic data on Thursday which showed the economy continues to perform better than feared, particularly when it comes to consumer spending. Thursday’s rush of news comes just a day after the Federal Reserve paused its aggressive rate hikes but signaled two more increases would be needed this year. The weekly report on initial jobless claims showed some softening in the labor market, while retail sales beat expectations and manufacturing activity showed signs of resilience. “There was a little for everyone, but more signs of strength than weakness,” strategists at Bespoke Investment Group wrote in a note early…

Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates met China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday as tensions remain high between Washington and Beijing. Mr Xi told Mr Gates that he was “the first American friend” he had met in Beijing this year, according to Chinese state media. Mr Gates is the latest high-profile US business leader to visit China since it reopened its borders. This weekend, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also visit China. “I often say that the foundation of Sino-US relations is among the people, and we always look to the American people and hope that the two peoples…