Friday, March 11, 2022

Six In The Morning Friday 11 March 2022

 

The 40-mile-long Russian convoy near Kyiv has moved. Here's what it means for the Ukrainian capital

Updated 1325 GMT (2125 HKT) March 11, 2022


A 40-mile-long (64km) Russian military convoy, composed of tanks, armored vehicles and towed artillery, has sparked dread among defending Ukrainians as it lumbered towards their capital, Kyiv.

The column has been stalled for a week, but now the forces appear to be regrouping, according to Maxar Technologies satellite imagery taken on Thursday, which showed parts of the convoy had "largely dispersed and redeployed."
Russia is regrouping for a possible attack on Kyiv, say UK defense officials, after initially making limited progress in its advancement towards the capital.



Iran nuclear talks on hold over last-minute Russian demands

Moscow is insisting that Washington pledge not to sanction trade between it and Tehran over Ukraine

 Diplomatic editor


Talks on the revival of the Iran nuclear deal have become a casualty of the war in Ukraine after an indefinite pause was announced over last-minute Russian demands.

An agreement on the nuclear deal to bring the US and Iran back into compliance would have led to a swathe of US sanctions on Iran being lifted, including Iranian crude oil exports and petrochemicals, in return for limits on Tehran’s nuclear activity.

In the past week, however, Moscow has insisted Washington pledge not to sanction any trade between Russia and Iran once an agreement is signed.


Russia moves to ban Instagram as it designates Meta an ‘extremist organisation’

Meta recently changed its hate speech policy to allow for posts calling for violence again the Russian military

Adam Smith

Russia has moved to ban Instagram, as well as designating Meta an “extremist organisation”.

The new restrictions come shortly after Meta – which owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook – announced that it would be breaking with existing policy and allowing users to call for the death of Russian armed forces.

The designation for the technology giant came from the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, according to a report from Interfax.


Joining the war: Foreign nationals flock to Ukraine

It's estimated that thousands of foreigners have answered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call to defend Ukraine. What ramifications could that have?

On February 27, three days into the war in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, took to Twitter to echo a statement from the president's office and launch an appeal for foreign citizens to join Ukrainians in the fight against the Russian army.

Later, on March 5, the president's office announced that a website had been launched to guide foreign nationals through the application process to join the International Defense Legion of Ukraine.


Chile's millennial president Boric takes office


 Leftist former student leader Gabriel Boric, 36, was sworn in Friday as Chile's youngest-ever president.

"Before the people of Chile, I do swear," Boric said as he took the oath in Valparaiso, the seat of Congress, for a four-year term replacing conservative leader Sebastian Pinera.

Boric takes over the reins of a country clamoring for change following mass protests in 2019, which he supported, against deep-rooted inequality in income, healthcare, education and pensions.

The revolt, which left dozens dead and hundreds injured, was the catalyst for a process now under way to rewrite Chile's dictatorship-era constitution.

India says it accidentally fired missile into Pakistan

India in a statement said a technical malfunction led to the missile being fired into neighbouring Pakistan.

India said it accidentally fired a missile into neighbouring Pakistan this week due to a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance, after Pakistan warned the incident could have “unpleasant consequences”.

“On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the Indian ministry of defence said in a statement on Friday.






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