News Trending War

Pentagon Leaks Reveal Discord Among Russian Officials Over Ukraine War’s Death Toll

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Recently leaked US documents have brought to light that disputes within Russia’s security apparatus have led to the country’s defence ministry being accused of intentionally undercounting the number of casualties resulting from the Ukraine conflict.

Publicly, Russia has been reticent about disclosing the extent of its losses during the conflict. However, according to the leaked files, the FSB security service claimed that officials were neglecting to include the deaths of various groups, including the Russian National Guard and Wagner mercenaries. The Russian government has dismissed the leaks as potentially fabricated and purposely disseminated by the US.

Nevertheless, the documents provide additional evidence to support the already established notion that there have been frequent disagreements between Russia’s military and security entities regarding the management of the Ukraine war and that Russia has refrained from publicising the actual figures regarding deaths and injuries.

The FSB’s estimation of nearly 110,000 casualties in February, as reported in the leaked documents, is still considerably lower than the figures disclosed in previous US leaks this week.

According to those documents, the number of Russian losses ranges between 189,500 and 223,000, with 35,500-43,000 men killed in action. Russia’s most recent official casualty count dates back to September 2022, when officials confirmed the deaths of 5,937 servicemen.

The leaked documents suggest that the military’s reluctance to communicate negative news to higher-ups is demonstrated by its underreporting of casualties within the system. This has led some commentators to speculate that President Vladimir Putin has been shielded from the true extent of Russia’s losses on the battlefield.

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Donald Trump indictment: Ex-US president to be charged over hush money

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Donald Trump, a former US president, will face charges related to payments made to a porn performer right before the 2016 election.

His accusation’s specifics have not yet been made public.After looking into a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in an effort to purchase her silence about an alleged affair, a grand jury decided to prosecute him.

Trump, 76, says he did nothing wrong. He is the first sitting or past president of the US to be accused of a crime. The investigation’s lead prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, acknowledged that his office had gotten in touch with Mr. Trump’s lawyer to “coordinate his surrender” on unnamed allegations.

The ex-president, who lives in Florida, is expected to fly to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

The hearing is scheduled to last roughly 10-15 minutes, and the counts in the indictment will be read to him during that time.

Security for the court appearance will be handled by the US Secret Service, which is responsible for guarding current and previous US presidents.
Stormy Daniels, an actress of adult films, approached media agencies in 2016 and offered to sell them her account of what she claimed to be an adulterous liaison she had with Donald Trump in 2006, the year after he wed Melania.

When Mr. Trump’s team learned of this, his attorney Michael Cohen paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to be silent. There is no crime here.

However, when Mr Trump reimbursed his lawyer, the record for the payment says it was for legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to Mr Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour – a criminal offence – in New York.

Prosecutors could also potentially allege that this breaks election law, because his attempt to hide his payments to Ms Daniels were motivated by not wanting voters to know he had an affair with her.

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Grammy-winning singer Anita Pointer dies aged 74

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Anita Pointer of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters has died at the age of 74, according to her publicist. She died at her home in Beverley Hills, California, surrounded by her family.

Her relatives expressed their grief upon her death. “With Anita there, Heaven is a more kind and beautiful place,” they stated in a statement. Ms Pointer, the second oldest of four sisters, rose to popularity with singles like as Jump (For My Love) and Fire.

In 1973, the trio issued their self-titled debut album, which featured a fusion of funk, soul, and R&B. Yes We Can Can, a funky song that appealed for unity and tolerance during a period of racial strife in the United States, was the album’s breakout success.

And their popular song, Fairytale, earned a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1975. The victory is nevertheless unusual in a category dominated by white acts.

After Bonnie Pointer quit to pursue a solo career in 1979, the surviving sisters reformed and went on to ditch their formerly antiquated image in favour of a current pop sound.

They remained a powerhouse in the US charts throughout the 1980s, and their successes, which included He’s So Shy, Jump (For My Love), and Neutron Dance, have weathered the test of time, and are still regularly streamed to this day.

But Pointer’s personal life was marked by tragedy. In 2003, her only child – Jada Pointer – died from cancer aged just 37. She went on to raise her granddaughter Roxie McKain Pointer.

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Swedish brothers face trial on Russia spy charges

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In what has been referred to as one of Sweden’s worst ever suspected espionage cases, two Swedish brothers who are accused of selling secrets to Russia’s intelligence agencies are on trial. The Kia brothers, Peyman, 42, and Payam, 35, are charged with espionage for Moscow during a ten-year period.

The older brother had previously served in the army and security forces of Sweden. Both men deny culpability, and Peyman Kia’s attorney maintains that there is insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

The case was special, according to the prosecutor, Mats Ljungqvist, who told Sweden’s state network SVT that the nation had not seen anything like it “in over 20 years.”

Due to the sensitivity of the subject being discussed, a large portion of the trial is being held behind closed doors. Everyone present in the Stockholm courthouse has undergone security checks, and press access is restricted.

The suspects had access to a list of every single Sapo employee, according to intelligence specialist Joakim von Braun, who called it the worst case of espionage in Sweden’s history. Russian intelligence concentrates on human sources, therefore just that is a big issue, he told SVT.

Peyman Kia reportedly worked in one of Swedish intelligence’s most top-secret divisions, the Office for Special Acquisition (KSI), at one time in his career.

Investigators seized mobile phones, a shattered hard drive, several other storage devices, and papers outlining cash and gold transactions in the months leading up to his and his brother’s arrest in late 2021.

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News Trending War

Three off-duty Dutch commandos shot outside hotel in Indianapolis

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Three Dutch commandos who were in the US for training were shot and wounded while off duty outside a hotel in Indianapolis. The event happened in the city’s entertainment district on Saturday at at 03:30 local time.

According to Indianapolis police, the three guys were located with gunshot wounds and transferred to surrounding hospitals. One of the guys was listed in critical condition, but the other two were conscious, according to the Dutch defence ministry. It stated that all three belonged to the Commando Corps, one of the Dutch military’s special operations divisions.

The shooting happened in front of the hotel where they were staying during their spare time, the ministry claimed. The males and another person or group may have been involved in an earlier dispute, according to the local police.

An officer from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told FOX59 that the information they were ready to share at the time was that nothing happened inside the hotel. “We suspect there was a prior altercation at another site.”

The men’s families had been informed, according to the Dutch defence ministry, and a local police probe was ongoing. There have been no detentions.

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News Politics Trending

Ukraine Crisis: Biden Declares That “Freedom Will Triumph Over Tyranny”

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US Vice President Joe Biden told Congress that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, miscalculated how the West would respond when he invaded Ukraine.

Mr. Biden promised in a primetime speech that “freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” His State of the Union address comes at a time when pandemic-weary Americans are grappling with skyrocketing inflation. At this point in his presidency, Mr. Biden is almost as unpopular as Donald Trump.

Mr. Biden announced that the United States would prohibit Russian aircraft from flying in American airspace, following similar bans imposed by Canadian and European authorities.

The US president threatened Russia with more economic retaliation, saying, “He has no idea what’s coming.”

Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who was sitting in US First Lady Jill Biden’s VIP box for the event, was also welcomed by the US president.

Mr. Biden’s State of the Union address, an annual event that pushes a president’s agenda, comes at a time when his personal popularity is at an all-time low.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, only 40.6 percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing. Despite the fact that the unemployment rate in the United States has fallen to 4%, inflation has reached a 40-year high.

The homicide rate in the United States has reached a 25-year high.

According to polls, Americans are dissatisfied with Mr. Biden’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.

On Tuesday night, the president attempted to empathise with hard-pressed working families, saying: “Inflation is robbing them [Americans] of gains they thought they would be able to feel otherwise. I understand.”

However, the invasion of Ukraine, his most serious foreign policy crisis, dominated the opening of his speech.

Mr. Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hours before his speech to discuss what US assistance he could provide his country after six days of a Russian assault.

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Art News

Slovenia unveils the rustic sculpture of Melania Trump

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A rustic sculpture of US first lady, Melania Trump was made in her home town in Slovenia. The figure was cut from the trunk of a living linden tree. This was built in a field beside the Sava River in the village of Rozno, near Slovenia.

The sculpture was commissioned by Berlin-based American artist Brad Downey. A local folk artist Ales Zupevc carved the figure with a chainsaw.

The figure cannot actually be said as a perfect sculpture. The face of the sculpture is rough-hewn and unrecognizable.

The figure shows the lady wearing a pale blue dress that Melania wore at Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.

Mr. Brad Downey, who commissioned the sculpture said that he wanted to have a dialogue with his country’s political situation, and highlight Melania Trump’s status as an immigrant married to a president sworn to reduce immigration.

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