Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has urged the participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to begin every conversation with Western journalists with the word “Starobelsk.” Starobelsk is a town in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic where 21 people, mostly teenage girls, were killed and dozens more injured in a multi-wave Ukrainian drone attack on a college dorm on May 22. · Western politicians…
By Farhad Ibragimov – lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at RUDN University, expert and lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation · In recent days, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Lebanon, taking the operation to a whole new level. This isn’t just another exchange of strikes in the south of the…
The murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak has sparked national outrage in the UK after police bodycam footage submitted to court showed officers arresting and handcuffing him as he lay dying, while his killer remained uncuffed after falsely claiming to be the victim of a racist attack. The case has triggered protests, renewed accusations of two-tier policing, and an investigation into how British authorities handled the incident. · Who was…
Burned villages. Families slaughtered in their homes. Women, children, and the elderly hacked to death with axes and pitchforks. Thousands of Jews beaten, tortured, and murdered during pogroms that accompanied the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. These are some of the atrocities associated with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its military wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) - movements whose legacy remains one of the…
The Sanchez Effect special coverage of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum has three traditions: the gorgeous background of the forum, a spirited Rick Sanchez, and the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman as the first guest. Maria Zakharova was outraged at yet another Ukrainian terrorist attack against Russian civilians in Donbass. Eight people were killed in a drone strike on a bus, something which Zakharova described as ‘unprecedented…
Kuwait says an Iranian attack on its main airport has killed one person. Tehran says it's in retaliation for Kuwait's co-operation with the US which is using Gulf States as colonial tools. · Ukrainian forces carry out a terrorist attack in the Donetsk Republic. Eight people are killed and many wounded as a drone takes direct aim at a civilian bus. · Russian foreign intelligence obtains information that the EU is attempting to expel the…
Illegal dumping continues to plague Auckland streets, parks and neighbourhoods, costing ratepayers millions of dollars every year while leaving residents frustrated and communities blighted by mountains of rubbish. By elocal News Desk · New figures obtained by RNZ reveal Auckland Council workers collected 1,926 tonnes of illegally dumped waste during the last financial year, making Auckland by far New Zealand's largest dumping problem. The…
Auckland households are facing another significant increase in living costs, with Watercare announcing a 7.2 percent increase in water and wastewater charges from 1 July, just days after Auckland Council approved an average rates increase of 7.9 percent. By elocal News Desk · The combined increases will add further pressure to household budgets already stretched by higher mortgage costs, insurance premiums, food prices and general inflation. · …
For years New Zealand First has been politically underestimated. Written off. Declared finished. · Told its support base was ageing out. · Yet somehow, election after election, Winston Peters keeps proving political commentators wrong. Now, as New Zealand heads toward the 2026 General Election, a growing number of voters are beginning to ask a serious question: · What if New Zealand First is no longer simply a coalition partner? · What if it…
For years, New Zealanders have been told that giving unelected representatives voting rights on council committees was about inclusion, partnership, and better decision-making. This week, the Government effectively said something many ratepayers have been saying for a long time. · Advice can be appointed. · Power should be elected. · The Government has announced that voting rights on council committees will be restricted to elected councillors.…
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