World

Russia’s Putin To Visit North Korea In Rare Trip As Anti-West Alignment Deepens

Published

5 months ago

2024-06-17

Kiara Grace

putin | CNN Image

The Kremlin announced that Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for two days beginning on Tuesday. This will be the Russian president’s first visit to the nation in over twenty years and the most recent indication of a growing alignment that has caused great anxiety throughout the world.

Putin is making a rare foreign visit since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has not welcomed a world leader in Pyongyang, one of the most politically isolated cities on Earth, since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The much-awaited visit is predicted to strengthen the already developing relationship between the two countries, which is motivated by Putin’s need for assistance in his continuous war on Ukraine and their common hatred of the West.

Putin is scheduled to visit North Korea on Wednesday and then return to Hanoi for another two days, a show of Communist-ruled Vietnam’s links to Russia that is sure to irritate the US.

“Very eventful” is the agenda for Putin’s visit to North Korea, according to his advisor Yuri Ushakov, who spoke at a news conference on Monday. Ushakov stated that the main events of the visit are set for Wednesday, and both leaders intend to sign a new strategic cooperation.

Assuring more stability in northeast Asia, Ushakov stressed that the agreement is not aggressive or directed against other nations. He said the new pact would supersede the 1961, 2000, and 2001 agreements between Pyongyang and Moscow.

As to the Russian state media RIA, Ushakov stated, “The parties are still working on it, and a final decision regarding its signing will be formed in the coming hours.”

Putin | Reuters Image

Russia’s Putin To Visit North Korea In Rare Trip As Anti-West Alignment Deepens

While some have voiced worries that Moscow may be breaking international sanctions to support Pyongyang’s development of its fledgling military satellite program, the US, South Korea, and other nations have charged North Korea of giving Russia significant military support in recent months. Denied North Korean weaponry exports from both nations.

Putin is making a reciprocal visit to Russia’s far eastern territory, which Kim made last September when he visited a rocket launch facility and a fighter jet manufacturer in his armored train.

In a letter to Putin last week honoring Russia’s national day, June 12, Kim praised the future of the nations’ “meaningful ties and close comradeship.”

As the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported, Kim said, “Our people give full support and solidarity to the successful work of the Russian army and people.”

Russian official media quotes the Kremlin as saying that Russia wants to establish cooperation with North Korea “in all possible areas.”

The gathering occurs only a few days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) developed economies in Italy. At the summit, Western leaders reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine and decided to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to support a $50 billion loan to the war-torn nation.

It also followed a more than 100-nation and organization-attended international peace summit sponsored by Kyiv over the weekend. The summit was intended to mobilize support for Zelensky’s peace plan, which asks for a total withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.

A day before the conference, Putin rejected those attempts by presenting his terms for peace, which included Kyiv’s withdrawal from its NATO application and the removal of Ukrainian forces from four partially occupied areas. Ukraine and its allies considered this to be a nonstarter.

It is widely believed that Putin is using his visit to North Korea to try to win Kim over to his war effort. This objective may become more pressing when long-delayed American military assistance for Ukraine becomes available.

Putin | AP news Image

Russia’s Putin To Visit North Korea In Rare Trip As Anti-West Alignment Deepens

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed US Congress last month that Russian forces had been able to “get back up on their feet” because of the supply of Iranian drones and North Korean missiles.

Pyongyang sent some 6,700 containers to Russia between August and February. The military ministry of South Korea stated earlier this year that these containers could hold up to 500,000 rounds of 122 mm multiple rocket launchers or over 3 million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells.

Pyongyang and Moscow dispute such weapons supplies; a top North Korean official described the claims as an “absurd paradox” last month.

Last week, A Kremlin spokesman addressed worries that Russia is considering giving Pyongyang sensitive technologies in return for those commodities. He said the countries’ “potential for developing bilateral relations” was “profound” and “should not cause concern to anyone and should not and cannot be challenged by anyone.”

Putin in international politics
Putin last paid Kim Jong Il, Kim’s late father, a visit in 2000.

The Russian president is traveling now as he seems eager to re-establish himself on the international scene, removing an impression of isolation following his highly denounced invasion of Ukraine by enlisting like-minded allies.

On a state visit to Beijing last month, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping unequivocally declared their united hostility to what they perceive as a US-led global order.

Foreign ministers from China, Iran, South Africa, and Brazil were in Moscow last week for a conference of the BRICS group of important developing nations.

Putin | BBC Image

Russia’s Putin To Visit North Korea In Rare Trip As Anti-West Alignment Deepens

For Kim, who has not wavered in the face of years of international sanctions over his illicit nuclear weapons program, Putin’s decision to strengthen relations with North Korea has also been beneficial.

It falls during a time when there is growing anxiety among other countries about the intentions of the North Korean leader, who has increased his use of aggressive language and abandoned a long-standing strategy of pursuing a peaceful reunion with South Korea.

Kim’s home audience will receive a signal of his international clout from the head of a permanent member of the UN Security Council and an opportunity to press Moscow for much-needed economic and scientific assistance.

Formerly, Russia supported UN-backed investigations and international sanctions investigating North Korea’s illicit weapons program, which includes tests of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that could theoretically reach the US mainland.

But that relationship seems to have changed as Russia seems to be depending more and more on North Korea and having more problems with the West. Moscow voted against a UN resolution in March that would have allowed impartial monitoring of North Korea’s infractions of Security Council sanctions to resume.

SOURCE – (CNN)

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.