At the beginning of the ceremony, a minute’s silence was observed to pay respect to the memory of all the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation and to express sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the tragic terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22.

Twenty-six freedom fighters from different districts of Bangladesh were felicitated with commemorative gifts and certificates in the programme.

The freedom fighters expressed gratitude and thanks to the organizers for this honor.

In his welcome speech, the director of Russian House in Dhaka Pavel Dvoychenkov highlighted the historically friendly role of Russia in the great liberation war of Bangladesh and the overall development of post-war Bangladesh.

Land Minister Narayan Chandra Chand and the Director General of the Bangladesh National Museum Md. Kamruzzaman gratefully recalled the humanitarian and economic assistance in the reconstruction of war-torn Bangladesh, including the struggle for independence of Bangladesh.

They also said that the independence of Bangladesh would never have been possible without the cooperation of Russia.

Source: UNB

The post Independence Day event: Russian House honours freedom fighters, highlights Moscow’s key role in emergence of Bangladesh appeared first on The Victoria Post.

Kiev is being bombed by the Russians, but despite the dangers the indiscriminate bombing brings, Ukrainians have their humor, and a bit of the “so what” attitude. 

Let’s call her Maria, because we don’t know her correct name and we don’t want to endanger the young coffee aficionado to targeted Russian attacks targeting the Ukrainian spirit of everything can be fixed with a good cup of coffee. 

The young Ukrainian barista keeps working despite today’s Russian missile strike destroying large parts of her cafe. “They won’t be able to break us,” Maria tells the reporter with a smile pouring the coffee in the morning. 

The front window was broken by the blast and the shop a bit in a mess, but Maria worked cheerfully away. 

Putin’s terror campaign against the civilian population becomes more and more like Hitler’s war machine. And if the Russians must waste a million-dollar missile for taking out a window of a coffee shop they become more desperate. 

Maria serves the cup of black gold with a smile. She goes about the business of geopolitics just with no worries. They can’t break us is their way of living. Slava Ukrainia. 

The post Ukraine: They Won’t be Able to Break Us! appeared first on The Victoria Post.

This is how Alexei Navalny described the cell in which he spent 308 out of 1125 days in solitary confinement. His imprisonment amounted to both physical and mental torture of a political opponent. The fact that this tragedy occurred in FKU IK-3, known as one of the harshest prisons in Russia with direct ties to the gulag system, is more than symbolic. In other words, Alexei Navalny’s death is not just a personal tragedy, it is also a manifestation of the true nature of the Putin regime: arbitrary, harsh, brutal, and unforgiving.

Alexei Navalny was acutely aware of the risks involved, yet he made the decision to return to Russia following his treatment for poisoning inflicted by Russia’s secret forces. Regardless of one’s opinion on Navalny’s legacy – acknowledging his nationalist views and well-known stance on Crimea – his return stands as an act of unparalleled courage. It’s a profound and enigmatic gesture that many struggle to comprehend, reserved for a select few: individuals of exceptional courage facing extraordinary circumstances.

Even if we may never know the exact circumstances surrounding Navalny’s death, it is clear that President Putin bears direct responsibility. Let us not forget other opponents who have died in mysterious circumstances – remember Anna Politkovskaya and Boris Nemtsov – and the many still imprisoned by Putin’s arbitrary system – remember Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evan Gershkovich, and many others. I wonder what Western propagandists in favor of the Kremlin have to say about this. Aren’t they also complicit?

The question remains if Navalny’s death may signify the so-called black swan that announces the unexpected, yet significant event that may irreversibly change the state of affairs in Russia. Unfortunately, we do not expect that Navalny’s death will cause major upheaval in Russian society. Most probably, we will see an asymmetric response: Russian society – with exception of the absolute minority who saw in Mr. Navalny a source of hope and an alternative for Putin’s reign – will remain indifferent. Two arguments may underscore this statement:

We know that a minority of about 15 to 20 percent of the Russia population is eager for major political change in Russia, that a cohort of about the same strength is supporting the regime in the most fanatical way, leaving about 60 to 70 percent of the population that support the regime conditionally. Moreover, since the start of the war, February 2022, we have witnessed an increased and ruthless repression, first and foremost, against those who oppose the regime even through the most innocent expression. What is left for Putin’s opposition is fear, isolation and depression. It is clear, in an authoritarian regime, courage is required for those who resist. Currently, it is but a flower in the snow on a sidewalk in Moscow.

Western observers may also not forget that Navalny’s political impact is very low, mostly due to his isolation from society. Liberal candidates against Putin are not only systematically silenced or suppressed, they have in most general terms no large appeal to the general public. In the case of Navalny, people were interested in his anti-corruption campaign against the elite, except for Putin himself. Indeed, the Russian elite is most despised by the Russian people, with the exception of the ultimate leader. Seemingly, this is a Russian cultural topos still valid in contemporary Russia. As a result, in public opinion research, Navalny could count on the support of about 1 percent of the population and has not appeared in the ratings of trustworthy politicians lately.

Many questions remain unanswered in Russia’s political labyrinth. Firstly, how will Navalny’s death be interpreted within the presidential administration – often referred to as Putin’s shadow government – given its occurrence amidst the backdrop of the upcoming presidential elections in March? Beyond the veil of political window-dressing, which is essentially a façade for deception, this event is likely to evoke unease. It certainly cannot be construed as ‘good news’ for the political strategists and election managers, with Mr. Sergey Kiriyenko at the forefront, who are keen to ensure a smooth path for Putin’s re-election. Secondly, and closely tied to this, the way the Kremlin navigates Navalny’s demise remains uncertain. How will the Kremlin portray Navalny’s death? What arrangements will be made for his funeral? Ultimately, despite Western condemnation and outrage, the Russian regime holds the key to its own destiny. The only glimmer of hope lies in the possibility that Navalny’s death – and the bravery he exhibited – will not be in vain.

Source: Egmont Institute

The post Courage in the Face of Tyranny – Remembering Alexei Navalny appeared first on The Victoria Post.

Researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have unveiled a groundbreaking study with the potential to transform bladder cancer treatment. 

Their innovation? Tiny nanorobots, almost science-fictional in nature, which have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in reducing bladder tumors by a staggering 90% in mice. 

The team has published their findings in the peer-reviewed science journal Nature Nanotechnology. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the details.

A NEW HOPE FOR BLADDER CANCER PATIENTS

Bladder cancer, a prevalent disease especially among men, has long been a challenge for medical professionals. While not as deadly as some cancers, its tendency to reappear makes treatment expensive and stressful for patients. Now, hope glimmers on the horizon with the advent of these microscopic marvels.

HOW DO THESE NANOROBOTS WORK?

Imagine tiny machines, no bigger than a grain of sand, traveling inside the body. These nanorobots are powered by urea, a substance found in urine, allowing them to move precisely to their target – the cancerous tumor. What’s more, they carry a special type of radiation that directly attacks the tumor cells.

This innovative approach is not only more effective but also less invasive compared to traditional treatments. Currently, bladder cancer patients often undergo multiple treatments involving direct drug administration into the bladder. This new method could significantly reduce hospital visits and the overall cost of treatment.

FROM LAB MICE TO HUMAN TRIALS

The research, led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, has achieved remarkable results in mice. With just a single dose of these nanorobots, bladder tumors were reduced by 90%. The next step is to see if this success can be replicated in human trials.

These nanorobots have an edge over current treatments: they can reach every part of the bladder, ensuring no area is left untreated. This is a significant improvement, as current treatments require patients to frequently change positions to ensure the medicine reaches the entire bladder.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

This study isn’t just a scientific triumph; it’s a launchpad for practical applications. The technology behind these nanorobots has led to the creation of Nanobots Therapeutics, a company dedicated to bringing this innovation to the public. With substantial funding already secured, the future looks bright for this life-changing technology.

While there’s still a road ahead before this treatment becomes widely available, the potential is enormous. This research is not just about battling bladder cancer; it’s a beacon of hope in the ongoing fight against all cancers. As science and technology continue to advance, we edge ever closer to a world where cancer could be a thing of the past.

We have placed a link to the publication in Nature Nanotechnology below this article for those interested in more details about the underlying research.

Source: Universal-Sci

The post Nanorobots Successfully Tested in Combating Cancer appeared first on The Victoria Post.

In the Pacific port of Vladivostok, some 3,000 people were left in the bitter cold after an above-ground heating pipeline ruptured, spewing similar volumes of steaming water.

And nine hours to the west, in a string of Moscow suburbs, more than 150,000 people shivered — and complained vociferously — when another municipal heating pipe broke down, with engineers rushing to dig up the frozen ground.

Since January 1, amid a two-week period spanning various holidays, a growing number of towns and cities have reported major problems with heat and hot water.

Russia’s winters are cold. This is not news. Russia’s municipal infrastructure, much of which is Soviet-era and sporadically maintained, is aging. This is not news.

What is news this winter is that it is a presidential election season, in which the incumbent Vladimir Putin is less worried about winning than he is about getting a credible mandate from a Russian populace already anxious about the Ukraine invasion, which will be more than 2 years old at the time of the election.

Anything less than a 75 percent victory in the March vote, with 70 percent of the voting population participating, will be seen as problematic by Kremlin officials, according to multiple press reports.

Voters annoyed by the soaring price of eggs and bananas are likely to be unenthused. A population freezing due to decrepit housing stock and poorly managed municipal infrastructure even less so.

“Unfortunately, the collapse (of municipal services) that occurs in Russia every winter is not news,” Fyodor Krasheninnikov, a journalist and a political analyst, told RFE/RL’s Russian Service. “The only news is that the deterioration in the quality of infrastructure is only accumulating.”

“In a sense, every nation has the government it deserves,” Vladimir Pastukhov, a former Russian lawyer and political scientist, said in a January 10 podcast.

“So generally speaking, I don’t expect that we’ll have any sort of communal riot,” he said, referring to the communal services — heating, trash collection, electricity supply — provided by local governments.

‘A Rather Dilapidated State’

Central to Putin’s intention to seek a sixth term as president in the March election — with the possibility of staying in power until 2034 — is his command of the Ukraine war, which hits its second anniversary on February 24. Public-opinion polling shows Russians continue to support Putin, but there are signs of slipping enthusiasm for, and growing impatience with, the war.

With Russia’s economy shifting focus toward producing more guns and less butter, there’s also growing alarm over domestic pocketbook issues.

Prior to Putin’s nationally televised question-and-answer session in December, skyrocketing egg prices were stoking worries; in some Russian regions, particularly in poorer, far-flung locations, egg prices jumped by more than 40 percent. Putin himself touched on the issue briefly, suggesting poultry farmers were manipulating supplies to net higher profits.

To what degree the Kremlin is worried about exploding hot-water pipes is unclear.

Tatyana Stanovaya, a veteran Russian political observer, said officials in the powerful presidential administration — which oversees much of domestic policy — are paying close attention.

“Any elections (including those awaiting us in March) highlight shifts in relations between government and society,” she wrote in a commentary for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “And now, in wartime, the stakes are so high that the Kremlin has to scrupulously take into account any manifestation of mass discontent. If it, of course, corresponds to the authorities’ ideas about legitimacy.”

A much-reviled legacy of Soviet central planning, heating and hot water are provided to the vast majority of Russian residences around the nation from municipal heating plants through a network of pipes that frequently rupture and need constant repair.

On January 9, after days of mounting complaints in the Moscow region district of Podolsk and videos of ice-encrusted radiators and gas cooking stoves turned on full blast circulating on social media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke out, blaming “anomalous” cold for the exploding pipes, but also pointed to the aging infrastructure.

“Of course, despite titanic efforts to update all housing and communal-services systems, some of them remain in a rather dilapidated state,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “These programs will continue. But it is impossible to update all pipes and all housing and communal services systems in 10 or 15 years.”

On January 10, Putin, who last year pledged billions of dollars of investments in municipal services, traveled to Chukotka, the remote northeastern Pacific region that is nine time zones east of Moscow.

The region was coping with minus 30 degree Celsius temperatures when Putin visited, touring local tomato-growing greenhouses and meeting with officials and veterans of the Ukraine war. But he made no public comments about the snowballing heating problems.

A day before leaving, however, Putin spoke with the Moscow regional governor, who had declared a state of emergency after being harangued by angry residents of Podolsk, according to a Kremlin release.

“In reality, I believe the authorities don’t have a big problem here yet; if we are talking about a political problem, and not about the problem of specific individuals, or about a media problem,” Pastukhov said in the podcast, hosted by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a strident Kremlin critic and exiled oil tycoon who was jailed for nearly a decade under Putin.

“The government is reacting completely normally so far,” Pastukhov added. “That is, at first it simply ignored this topic, not allowing it to break into the national information agenda and spoil people’s holiday mood.”

While social issues such as inflation, pension reforms, and military mobilization are keenly felt by the Russian public, the Kremlin normally deals with them by casting blame on lower-level officials and portraying Putin as the solution to the problem — the latest iteration of an age-old Russian political myth of the good tsar and the bad noblemen.

Putin has also called for the nationalization of a Podolsk factory, the Klimovsky Specialized Cartridge Plant, whose boiler plant provided heat to local apartments, hospitals, and other buildings. which is a common arrangement for large industrial facilities around Russia. Law enforcement officials on January 9 detained two top executives at the factory.

The names of the factory executives who were detained were not released. But the investigative website Agentsvo reported the plant had been headed by a former Putin bodyguard named Igor Rudyka, along with Igor Kushnikov, a former top officer in the Federal Security Service, or FSB, who has been accused of involvement in a Moscow organized crime group in the 1990s.

Putin himself was a longtime FSB officer and headed the agency in the 1990s before becoming president.

The plant’s owners, meanwhile, include a Russian-Mexican crime boss as well as the state industrial conglomerate Rostec, according to Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit. Rostec’s chief executive officer is Sergei Chemezov, who served with Putin when the two were KGB agents stationed in East Germany.

For many Russians, the revelations about the facility’s ownership structure, and the failure of its heating plant, was a reminder of how opaque and insider business deals frequently leads to crumbling public infrastructure.

‘We Aren’t Living; We’re Just Surviving’

The flooding in Novosibirsk, a major Siberian city located 3,100 kilometers east of Moscow, was just one of the more dramatic example of major infrastructure collapse. The flood swamped cars and apartment building entrances, with steam drifting over frozen streets and parking lots.

Closer to the capital, a group of older Russians in the Moscow region town of Voskresensk took to the social media platform VK on January 8 to make a desperate appeal to Putin.

“We aren’t living; we’re only surviving! We’re freezing!” the group complained. “It feels like they want to wipe our Voskresensk from the face of the Earth.”

Farther away from Moscow, where governors, mayors, and administrative heads are more sensitive to local discontents, several officials rushed to respond, some pledging criminal investigation into the pipeline ruptures. In Petrozavodsk, a northern city not far from the border with Finland, the chairman of the city’s Housing and Communal Services Committee and several other high-ranking members resigned a day after burst pipes left the City Hall freezing.

In the town of Elektrostal, about 60 kilometers east of Moscow, residents kindled a fire in a city park and complained on video of the lack of heat and hot water.

“It’s impossible to stay in our houses,” the women chanted. “We’re freezing!”

In the Tver region, about 170 kilometers northwest of Moscow, residents of the village of Novozavidovsky also published a desperate video.

“We’re dying from the cold,” one woman said. Another woman, complaining about the cold, noted that her husband was serving in the military, fighting in Ukraine “defending our country.”

In the Pacific port of Nakhodka, just northeast of Vladivostok, more than 6,000 people have suffered from plummeting indoor temperatures — on top of recurring problems, locals said.

“Do you think this just happened today? We’ve been complaining about interruptions since December!” one Nakhodka resident, who gave his name only as Sergei, told RFE/RL’s Siberia Realities.

“Everywhere there are constant outages or insufficient heat supplies,” he said. “The prosecutor’s office has already opened 10 investigations against the provider, but so what?”

Source: Radio Libery

The post First It Was Eggs. Now Exploding Hot-Water Pipes. The Domestic Headaches Overshadowing Putin’s Reelection Messaging appeared first on The Victoria Post.

Top U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have urged Israel publicly to conduct a more surgical offensive in the south to avoid the heavy civilian casualties inflicted by its attacks in the north.

About 900 people in Gaza were killed in Israeli airstrikes between Friday when a truce ended and Monday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, about the same number killed in strikes in Gaza over the four days following the Hamas cross-border raid on Israel on Oct. 7, though fewer than the 1,199 who died in the four days following the start of Israel’s ground offensive on northern Gaza Oct 28.

Washington is for now ruling out withholding delivery of weapons or harshly criticizing Israel as a means of changing its tactics because the U.S. believes the existing strategy of privately negotiating is effective, according to two U.S. officials.

“We think what we’re doing is moving them” a senior U.S. official said, citing how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shifted from refusing to allow aid into Gaza to allowing nearly 200 trucks of assistance a day, saying those improvements were the result of intense diplomacy, not threats.

The U.S. official spoke after three days of resumed aerial bombardments of southern Gaza left residents pulling the bodies of children and adults from the rubble.

But the U.S. official said reducing military support to Israel would carry major risks.

“You start lessening aid to Israel, you start encouraging other parties to come into the conflict, you weaken the deterrence effect and you encourage Israel’s other enemies,” the official said.

The United States has called its support unwavering. The Israeli government appears unmoved by international demands to change its strategy.

“I must admit I sense that the prime minister feels zero pressure, and that we will do whatever it takes to achieve our military goals,” Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk told Reuters last week when asked about the international pressure on Israel.

SIGNIFICANT U.S. LEVERAGE

The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in military aid annually, ranging from fighter jets to powerful bombs that could destroy Hamas tunnels, and the Biden administration has asked Congress to approve an additional $14 billion.

Such support gives Washington “significant leverage” over how the war against Hamas is conducted, said Seth Binder, director of advocacy at The Project on Middle East Democracy.

“Withholding certain types of equipment or delaying refilling stockpiles of various arms would force the Israeli government to adjust strategies and tactics because they would not be guaranteed to have more in the pipeline,” said Binder. “To date, the administration has demonstrated an unwillingness to use that leverage.”

Weighing on Biden is the 2024 presidential election, even as senior aides have stepped up calls for Israeli restraint. Any attempt to cut aid could hurt the Democratic president with pro-Israel independent voters as he seeks re-election.

Biden also faces pressure from a faction of progressive Democrats who want the U.S. to set conditions on military aid to its closest Middle East ally, and for the president to support calls for an immediate ceasefire.

A senior Israeli security source said that so far there has been no change in U.S. support for Israel. “At the moment there is an understanding and there is continued coordination,” said the source. “If the U.S. shifts course, Israel will have to speed up its operations and wrap things up quickly.”

Fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed on Friday after a seven-day pause to exchange hostages and prisoners and deliver humanitarian aid. Israel is retaliating for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants that it says killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages.

Gaza’s health ministry, whose data the U.N. has deemed broadly reliable, said on Monday that at least 15,899 Palestinians, 70% of them women or people under 18 whom it defines as children, have been killed in Israeli bombardments over eight weeks of warfare.

SEEING ‘EYE TO EYE’ WITH ISRAEL

The Israeli military’s offensive in northern Gaza began with intense aerial bombardment, then a large-scale ground incursion that ultimately saw Israeli forces surround and enter Gaza City, the largest settlement in the enclave.

Israeli officials say they are conducting operations in the south differently, allowing more time for non-combatants in combat areas to evacuate, but can’t promise to eliminate civilian casualties.

“We are going to continue with our campaign to destroy Hamas, a campaign that the United States sees eye to eye with us about,” Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said on Tuesday. He repeated Israeli accusations that Hamas uses woman and children as human shields.

On Friday, Israel’s military began posting grid-based maps online ordering Palestinians to leave parts of southern Gaza, directing them towards the Mediterranean coast and Rafah, near the Egyptian border. Some residents said the so-called “safe areas” where they told to go also came under fire that caused casualties.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Monday that Washington expects the Israelis to follow through on not attacking those areas.

A second U.S. official said the fact that Israel was being more deliberate in saying what areas civilians should avoid was a sign U.S. pressure was working. The official said the U.S. wants Israel to be more precise with its strikes in southern Gaza, but it was too early to tell whether Israel had taken this advice on board.

Residents and journalists on the ground said intense Israeli airstrikes hit southern Gaza on Monday, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians.

“All indications and reports suggest that the same pattern – of dropping heavy duty bombs and using artillery in densely populated areas – is continuing” since Israel’s offensive resumed, said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International said it had found that U.S.-made munitions had killed 43 civilians in two Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

Source: Reuters

The post Despite Gaza Death Toll Soaring, U.S. Unlikely to Rethink Weapons Supplies to Israel appeared first on The Victoria Post.

The group phase of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League is to conclude this month. Names of the sixteen clubs who will compete in the knock-out phase have been released. On Monday, 18 December 2023, UEFA conducted the draw for the last-16 round, at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Defending champion Manchester City came out from the draw with the biggest smile as they will face off with the arguably easiest opponent. Pep Guardiola’s team will Danish champion Copenhagen, who were down at 37th in the UEFA club coefficient ranking. As the current title holder, Manchester City is Number One in that ranking. This means a pairing of Manchester City vs. Copenhagen is the most lopsided one in the draw.

“It’s the most difficult draw possible,” admitted Copenhagen Coach Jacob Neestrup. “Manchester City are a team that is complete in their collective play and armed with great individuals. They are the best club team in the world.”

With a team worth 1.26 billion Euro in market value, Manchester City is the priciest team of the last 16. That number is nearly 20 times higher than that of the Copenhagen squad, which only shows a modest worth of 66.35 million Euro. Add that to the fact that Manchester City has progressed from the round of 16 in each of the last six seasons in the Champions League.

The last time Copenhagen played in the last-16 in the Champions League was in the 2010-2011 season. They were beaten by Chelsea, with a 0-2 aggregate. That was also their best season in the UEFA competition.

Nielsen’s Gracenote has been analyzing the data since the Champions League last-16 draw was made. They give Manchester City a 97% chance of reaching the quarter-finals while Copenhagen has just a 3% chance of advancing. Compared to Manchester City, other seeded teams in the draw will face tougher opponents.

Unlucky Atletico Madrid, who ranked 13 in UEFA, draws a black ball to face Inter Milan (ranked 6 in UEFA), last season’s runner-up.  “We know how complicated the Champions League is; every match presents new challenges and different issues,” Atletico’s coach, Diego Simeone, mused. “Last year Inter went on a great journey in this competition. It will be a very difficult match.”

Inter Milan also recognized that a tough challenge awaits them. “Atletico are a difficult team to face. There were so many great teams; we knew it could be a complicated draw,” admitted Inter vice-president, Javier Zanetti.” “We have great respect for Atletico: we know their history and their culture. They will be difficult to beat.”

Bayern Munich (2) paired with Lazio (35). Barcelona (12) will clash with Italian champion Napoli (17), in one of the most heart-stopping matches in the round of 16. Arsenal (21) got a favorable draw against Porto (19) but must be careful, because their opponent has a strong tradition in the competition.

Real Sociedad (38) is the surprise team in the group phase, as they finished above Inter Milan and Benfica in Group D. But in the round of 16, they oppose a very difficult Paris Saint-Germain (4). Borussia Dortmund (11) will face PSV Eindhoven (31) and Real Madrid (3) could step on a potential banana skin in the form of RB Leipzig (7).

The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on 13, 14, 20, and 21 February, and the second legs will be played on 5, 6, 12, and 13 March 2024.

The post Easiest Opponent for Title Holder Manchester City in UEFA Champions League “Last-16 Draw” appeared first on The Victoria Post.

Colombo Supreme Court rules that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda, were among several government officials whose conduct contributed to Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Sri Lanka’s top court says ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former PM Mahinda are amongst those who contributed to the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The court was ruling on a petition filed against 13 former officials by rights group Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) which said the Rajapaksa brothers and others were responsible for the crisis. “Their actions, omissions and conduct contributed to the crisis,” the ruling said. The court did not order any punishment, according to a statement by TISL.

The two Rajapaksa brothers, two former central bank governors and President Ranil Wickremesinghe were among those named in the landmark TISL petition. Wickremesinghe was prime minister at the time of the crisis.

“Looking forward, we hope that this acts as a warning to elected representatives and public officials as they make critical decisions that have serious implications on the lives of citizens,” said Nadishani Perera, TISL Executive Director.

Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed as it shrank 7.8% last year, pummelled by long power cuts, soaring inflation, a plunging rupee and record high interest rates caused by the worst financial crisis in over seven decades.

Source : Reuters

The post Sri Lanka Court Found Ex-President Contributed to Economic Crisis appeared first on The Victoria Post.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Ukraine is “light years away” from joining the EU.

The comments came as he was reelected as the president of the right-wing nationalist Fidesz party for the 11th consecutive time in Budapest on Saturday.

“Our task will be to correct the mistaken promise to start negotiations with Ukraine since Ukraine is now light years away from the European Union,” Orban said.   

Hungary’s Prime Minister argued that the EU’s promise to start admission talks with Kyiv was a “mistake,” adding he and his government would “resist” EU talks scheduled for mid-December on whether to formally extend an invitation to Kyiv to join. 

Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the EU, giving Orban a powerful veto. 

The EU’s executive earlier this month recommended the beginning of accession talks with Ukraine, saying that its government “has shown a remarkable level of institutional strength, determination and ability to function.”

But Orban, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s only EU allies, has argued that negotiations should not begin with a country that is at war, and that Ukraine’s accession would reorient the EU’s system of distributing funds to member countries.

Some critics have speculated that Hungary, which has also threatened to block an EU plan to provide a four-year, €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, is using its resistance to leverage concessions from the EU.

Billions in funding have been withheld from Budapest over concerns that the government has failed to uphold rule-of-law and human rights standards.

Source: Euronews

The post Ukraine ‘Light Years Away’ From Joining EU, Says Hungarian PM Viktor Orban appeared first on The Victoria Post.

“Europe has castrated itself in bloody fashion and without anaesthesia by walking away from energy cooperation with our country,” Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev, now Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, as saying on social media.

“This cooperation is either spoiled or frozen for some time.”

Medvedev, president from 2008 to 2012, has positioned himself as one of Russia’s most vocal hardliners.

Source: Reuters

The post Russia’s Medvedev: Energy Cooperation With EU is Pointless appeared first on The Victoria Post.