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Russia is waging a disinformation war in the Middle East

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

H.A. Hellyer, a Carnegie Endowment scholar, is a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Cambridge University.The concept of a Russian disinformation campaign — saturating social media with Kremlin talking points and undermining opposition figures — might sound familiar.Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union all took quick and decisive action to counteract Russian propaganda, banning its state-sponsored television channels — Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik — from the airwaves, with YouTube also blocking their channels.In the Arabic-speaking world, however, Russian disinformation still hasn’t received the same attention — and as a result, Russia is doing a lot better on that front in the wider Middle East.Kick the hornets’ nest of Russian propaganda, and one will find familiar narratives working overtime to warp public perception.Just scanning social media sites like Twitter will throw up numer...

I am a political prisoner in Georgia, and I am dying

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

Mikheil Saakashvili served as president of the Republic of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and from to 2008 to2013. Since February marked the one-year anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maniacal and unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in the region have continued sliding toward the Kremlin. Georgia’s democratic regression was again highlighted with the release of the United States State Department’s Human Rights Report, while the global threat to democracy was showcased during a meeting between Putin and President Xi Jinping of China last month.  At the same time, however, people of Georgia confirmed their commitment to democracy and the fight against such tyranny by protesting in the streets in front of the parliament building in downtown Tbilisi.  The people of Georgia — who overwhelmingly want to join the European Union and NATO — were protesting against a newly promulgated “foreign agents” law, which...

Tony Blair urges DUP to show ‘leadership’ and restore power-sharing at Stormont

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

Tony Blair has urged DUP chief Jeffrey Donaldson to show “political leadership” and bring his party back to Stormont to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.Speaking to POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast, Blair described the decision over whether to return to power-sharing with Sinn Féin as “a test” for Donaldson, but said he believes the DUP chief can show the leadership required. In a special episode to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violent conflict, the former U.K. prime minister said there were lessons for today’s crop of Stormont leaders to draw from the fraught 1998 negotiations.“There is a lesson — and it’s a lesson in political leadership,” Blair said. “In the end, politics only makes progress when political leaders lead, and that usually means persuading your own support of something they don’t want to be persuaded of. And instead of playing...

Experts share tips for pet owners ahead of ‘unprecedented tick season’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

Experts with the Animal Rescue League of Boston shared a warning this week, providing tips and urging pet owners to brace for an “unprecedented tick season.”“While many embrace the mild winter New England has experienced this year, one of the downsides to a winter filled with above-average temperatures is an explosion in the tick population in Massachusetts,” the Animal Rescue League said in a statement. Among other tips, experts said pet owners should keep an eye out for ticks, especially after taking their pets outside. Experts said pet owners can also consider vaccinating their pets with the Lyme disease vaccine. “It really takes about 24 hours for the tick to feed before transmitting any diseases, so if you can take a quick look over yourself and your dog and get those ticks before they start feeding, you can decrease the transmission of a lot of the tick borne diseases, as well,” Dr. NIcole Brenda at the Animal Rescue League told 7NEWS.

Gophers score 4 goals in 3rd, advance past BU in Frozen Four

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Freshman Luke Mittelstadt scored two third-period goals in two-and-a-half minutes and top-ranked Minnesota beat Boston University 6-2 on Thursday night in the opening game of the NCAA Frozen Four.Mittelstadt gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead on a power play with 18:20 left in the third period and his second came from the same spot at the left circle for his fifth goal of the season — and third in the NCAA Tournament.Logan Cooley added two empty-net goals to reach 22 on the season.The five-time national champion Gophers (29-9-1) will play in the title game on Saturday, seeking their first title since 2003. Minnesota has outscored its opponents 19-5 in the NCAA Tournament.Minnesota took a 2-1 lead late in the first period on back-to-back goals in 50 seconds by Mike Koster and Rhett Pitlick. Koster scored his sixth goal of the year on a blast from the circle to extend Cooley’s point streak to 16 straight games. Pitlick finished a between-the-legs pass from Aar...

Heat assure themselves of home postseason appearance with 129-101 rout of 76ers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

There will be postseason basketball on the Miami Heat’s homecourt, no matter what name the facility goes by these days.That part was assured with Thursday night’s 129-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, the Heat’s most lopsided victory of the season.“I just know we’re gaining some confidence,” coach Erik Spoelsrta said. “And we’re getting healthy at the right time,”Assured now of no worse than a seventh-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the Heat, at the least, if they cannot make a further gain, will host a play-in game Tuesday night at the Kaseya Center, against either the Atlanta Hawks or the Toronto Raptors.There also remains a highly remote chance of the Heat moving to No. 6 in the East and facing the No. 3 76ers in the first round, which would give them the week off and spare them from the play-in round.With far more to play for, with Philadelphia locked into No. 3 entering the night, the Hea...

Winderman’s view: But will the 76ers still crush Heat hope?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 129-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers:– Yes, the victory keeps the Heat alive for No. 6 in the East.– And direct entry into the best-of-seven first round of the playoffs.– And the victory probably doesn’t matter.– Because regardless of any other results going forward from the Heat or the Nets, if the 76ers lose Sunday in Brooklyn, then the Nets are Philadelphia’s first-round opponent.– And the Heat are in the play-in, where one or two losses and the season is over.– In other words, expect to see Dewayne Dedmon starting at point guard for Philadelphia in Brooklyn at Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon, if that is what is needed for the 76ers to avoid the Heat.– Yes, stranger has happened.– And, yes, a Nets win before Sunday (on Friday at home over Orlando) or a Heat loss in their final two (at Washington, home against the Magic), would make SundayR...

China sanctions groups, Taiwan official in US as retaliation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China announced sanctions Friday against two Asia-based organizations and Taiwan’s representative in the U.S. in response to the closely watched meeting this week between the U.S. House Speaker and Taiwan’s president. The Prospect Foundation and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats were being sanctioned for their involvement in promoting Taiwan independence “under the guise of academic and research exchanges,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian, said. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held talks with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California this week in a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on U.S. soil. The meeting came as U.S.-China relations have sunk to historic lows and as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen. China views any official exchanges between foreign governments and Taiwan as an attempt to raise Taipei’s global status, and thus an infringement on Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the...

Israel stages rare strikes in Lebanon, also hits Gaza Strip

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon early Friday and resumed air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said, marking a further escalation in the region following violence this week at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The military said it targeted installations of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen reported explosions in the southern port city of Tyre.The strikes in southern Lebanon came after militants from Lebanon fired nearly three dozen rockets at Israel on Thursday. Meanwhile, Gaza militants resumed rocket fire toward southern Israel early Friday following Israeli attacks there.The fighting comes during a delicate time — when Jews are celebrating the Passover holiday and Muslims are marking the Ramadan holy month. Similar tensions spilled over into an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers in 2021.The current round of violence began Wednesday after Israeli police twice rai...

In India, mangrove trees make way for booming city of Kochi

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:09:19 GMT

KOCHI, India (AP) — Burrowed between mangroves and a bustling skyline, 70-year-old Rajan, who only uses one name, reminisces about his old home.For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees in Mangalavanam forest in India’s southern Kerala state. In the last two decades, the surrounding city of Kochi has boomed as the state’s financial capital and swallowed up once-protected green areas, including Rajan’s former home. He was forced to sell his land to a local private realtor when the area was bought up for construction about 15 years ago. He moved into a makeshift dwelling on the edge of a protected bird sanctuary.“Now there are buildings all around and no wind,” said Rajan, adding that the towering concrete has made the city and forest stifling hot.Government buildings, private offices and homes have sprung up at pace, cutting deep into the forest known as the “green lung of Kochi.” The trees are now squeezed on all sides by buildings, construction and s...