Six In The Morning Wednesday 1 February 2023

 

Fighting Wagner is like a ‘zombie movie’ says Ukrainian soldier

By Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen and Konstantin Hak, CNN

Published 9:57 AM EST, Wed February 1, 2023

 

Southwest of the city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers Andriy and Borisych live in a candle-lit bunker cut into the frozen earth. For several weeks they have been confronting hundreds of fighters belonging to the Russian private military contractor Wagner throwing themselves against Ukrainian defenses.

Disguised in a balaclava, Andriy recounts one seemingly endless firefight when they came under attack by a flood of Wagner fighters.

“We were fighting for about 10 hours in a row. And it wasn’t like just waves, it was uninterrupted. So it was just like they didn’t stop coming.”

Their AK-47 rifles became so hot from constant firing, Andriy says, that they had to keep changing them.

Revealed: how world’s biggest fossil fuel firms ‘profited in Myanmar after coup’

Leaked tax records suggest subsidiaries of international gas field contractors continued to make millions after the coup

Dominic Rushe in New York and Nick Mathiason and Diarmid O'Sullivan in London

In the two years since a murderous junta launched a coup in Myanmar, some of the world’s biggest oil and gas service companies continued to make millions of dollars from operations that have helped prop up the military regime, tax documents seen by the Guardian suggest.

The Myanmar military seized power in February 2021 and according to the United Nations special rapporteur on Myanmar, it is “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity daily”. More than 2,940 people, including children, pro-democracy activists and other civilians have been killed, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Amid this violence, leaked Myanmar tax records and other reports appear to show that US, UK and Irish oil and gas field contractors – which provide essential drilling and other services to Myanamar’s gas field operators – have continued to make millions in profit in the country after the coup.

Andrew Tate trial: Why Romania wants to remind the world the toxic influencer is British

Misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate is ‘exploiting’ misogynistic views among young people in Romania, local politicians tell Maya Oppenheim

The world must “remember” misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate is from the UK, a local Romanian politician has said as the country remains gripped by the influencer’s court case.

Oana Toiu, an MP who is president of the labour and social protection committee, told The Independent Tate is “exploiting” misogynistic views among young people in Romania while their “patriarchal” government is ignoring issues around young people being radicalised by misogynistic social media personalities like Tate.

Her comments were echoed by teenage campaigners in Romania who warned the world must not forget Tate is from the UK rather than Romania as they explained most of the boys in their class support Tate and “continuously” discuss him.

Pakistan police arrest suspects over mosque attack

The Peshawar police chief said internal assistance could not be ruled out. The suicide bombing at a highly secure mosque killed more than 100 people and injured 150 more.

Pakistani authorities have made several arrests in connection with the bomb attack at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed 100 people, police sources independently told news agencies.

Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan told Reuters that several suspects had been arrested and police were investigating the possibility that they had received "internal assistance" to get inside the highly fortified compound where the mosque was located.

"We have found some excellent clues, and based on these clues we have made some major arrests," Khan told Reuters. "We can't rule out internal assistance but since the investigation is still in progress, I will not be able to share more details."

NATO chief stresses Indo-Pacific partnership in Keio University speech

By Sakura Murakami

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday stressed the importance of NATO's working closely with partners in the Indo-Pacific, saying Europe could not ignore what happens in East Asia because the global security is interconnected.

"Working with partners around the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific, is part of the answer to a more dangerous and unpredictable world," Stoltenberg said at an event hosted by Keio University.

"The war in Ukraine demonstrates how security is interconnected. It demonstrates that what happens in Europe has a consequence for East Asia, and what happens in East Asia matters to Europe," he said, adding that "the idea China doesn't matter for NATO doesn't work."

Russia in Africa: How disinformation operations target the continent

By Grigor Atanesian

Global Disinformation Team

A large social network that promotes anti-Western and pro-Kremlin ideas is helping Russia expand its influence at the expense of France in some of its former colonies in Africa.

Called Russosphère (Russian Sphere), typical posts accuse France of modern-day "colonialism", eulogise Vladimir Putin, and call the Ukrainian army "Nazis" and "Satanists", echoing the official Russian line.

They also heap praise on Russia's Wagner mercenaries - even sharing recruitment information should followers want to join up.

Experts say that such misinformation drives mistrust between African nations and the West, and contributes to a lack of support for Ukraine on the continent.