Author: Latiamsar

It was bitter cold, but I don’t remember freezing or being cold. Hemingway wrote that the air was so cold when you took a breath it was like drinking water. We travelled by train, then we walked through the cold streets, no bus was running, we had to hustle to catch the last ride up the mountain, then it was up to the mountain, bundled up in two thick woolen blankets with the snow showering us. It was warm looking out of the peep hole I created, flying up the mountains sitting on the last ride of the day. The…

In October 2024, China’s first comprehensive regulation to tighten state control over the critical sector of rare earth resources took effect. Coming amid the global transition towards clean energy, the regulation demonstrates China’s increased leverage of its rare earth monopoly to outpace its geopolitical rivals like the United States, which remains far behind China in this sector. Intensified competition for rare earth elements risks overshadowing collaborative efforts to develop clean technology.Mountain Pass, owned by MP Materials, is the only large-scale rare earth mining and processing facility in North America. Image from Wikimedia Commons.In the race to develop clean technology, major…

Washington 6 Nov (50). Russian officials and proxy authorities in Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine are undertaking a monumental effort to “filter” the population as a means of suppressing Ukrainian resistance and enforcing loyalty among the remaining population. The United States condemns Russia’s “filtration” operations, forced deportations, and disappearances in Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine in which Russia’s forces and proxies have interrogated, detained, and forcibly deported Ukrainian, according to a broad range of sources, between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including thousands of children. Ukrainian citizens are being taken to filtration camps in a concerted effort to suppress their resistance.…

Israel’s military said Saturday that it killed Hassan Nasrallah, the overall leader of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, in a Friday airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. The militant group confirmed Nasrallah’s death, saying its longtime leader “has joined his fellow martyrs.” The afternoon strike, carried out by fighter jets, targeted the group’s “central headquarters,” which were “embedded under a residential building” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to the Israel Defense Forces. That region of the city has long been a stronghold of the U.S.-designated terror group. Nasrallah, who only gave speeches via video because of his fear of assassination, led the terrorist group for 30 years…

Moscow (11 September/ 33.33). Russia waged a 2-year war of aggression against its neighbor, the Ukraine. Two years on, hundred thousand of deaths, families destroyed, Russia is no where near its 3-day goals of occupation. The Russian army slugs on, mile for mile, killed for killed. Vladimir Putin and his Siloviki continues a red army model. Heavy artillery, wave of men urging forward. The result, mass casualties. Total loss of life, and equipment. What does Russians do if in trouble. Reversing to its all bag of tricks. Spies and sabotage. Recent Russian sabotage operations across Europe were “reckless”, Moore said,…

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/Vienna/Berlin (10/8 – 45.45)After a tip-off by U.S. intelligence officials and only a few hours left Austrian police made swift arrests. The plot seems too bizarre not to be true. Abul Baraa, aka Ahmad Armih, the German based hate-preacher in Berlin radicalized via Tik-tok or Istagram a 19-year Beran A. to swear the oath of alliance to the Islamic State. After a tip-off by U.S. intelligence officials and only a few hours left Austrian police made swift arrests. The plot seems too bizarre not to be true. Abul Baraa, aka Ahmad Armih, the German based hate-preacher in Berlin radicalized via…

After two days of lengthy negotiations in Doha, Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as its new overall chief, replacing Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran last week. Since 2017, Sinwar has served as the group’s leader inside the Gaza strip. He will now become leader of its political wing. The Hamas leadership unanimously chose Sinwar to lead the movement, a senior Hamas official told the BBC. The announcement comes at a moment of soaring tensions in the Middle East, as Iran and its allies threaten retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh, which they blame on Israel. Israel has not…

Ex-defense minister and head of national security council Sergei Shoigu to meet Pezeshkian, counterparts; Moscow condemned Haniyeh killing, relies on Iranian-made arms in Ukraine Russia’s National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran Monday for a series of meetings with Iranian counterparts, Russian and Iranian news agencies reported, amid fears of a wider war in the region following last week’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Russia’s state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that Shoigu, Russia’s former defense secretary, was scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; the secretary of the Supreme National Security…

MOU on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official and service passports is set to be signed between the two nations Bilateral discussions were held yesterday (19) between President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Vice President of the Republic of Benin Ms. Mariam Chabi Talata, yesterday (19) on the side lines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Kampala, Uganda. Diplomatic ties between Sri Lanka and the Republic of Benin was established in 2012, took centre stage, with a focus on advancing economic and trade connections. Vice President Talata, identified the Republic of Benin as a notable cotton exporter, highlighted investment opportunities for…