#chemical-weapons
#chemical-weapons

Russia accused of using chemical gas attacks against Ukrainian soldiers

Russia accused of using illegal chemical attacks against Ukrainian soldiers using small drones dropping tear gas and CS chemicals.

Ukrainian troops facing almost daily gas attacks, with evidence presented by an American combat medic describing the attacks as systematic. [ more ]

New York Post

2 months ago

Russia intensifying chemical attacks on the battlefield, Ukraine says

Ukraine accuses Russia of using toxic chemicals in over 200 attacks in January alone.

Both Russia and Ukraine have denied each other's allegations of chemical weapon use. [ more ]

www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine's Zelenskyy accuses Russia of planning to destroy dam

Ukrainian president says Russian forces planted explosives inside the Nova Kahkhovka dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir.

www.france24.com

Live: Biden warns of the the risk of nuclear 'Armageddon'

HOUR BY HOUR 01:29 File photo: A member of the Ukrainian National Guard prepares a D-30 howitzer for a fire towards Russian troops in Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 5, 2022.

New York Daily News

Biden warns of 'Armageddon' risk as Putin threatens to use nukes

Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought the world closer to nuclear Armageddon than at any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Biden warned Thursday night.

Los Angeles Times

Prominent AI leaders warn of 'risk of extinction' from new technology

(Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

As artificial intelligence races toward everyday adoption, experts have come together - again - to express worry over technology's potential power to harm - or even end - human life.Months after Elon Musk and numerous others working in the field signed a letter in March seeking a pause in AI development, another group consisting of hundreds of AI-involved business leaders and academics signed on to a new statement from the Center for AI Safety that serves to "voice concerns about some of advanced AI's most severe risks."

Washington Post

Analysis | Abandoning the Middle East? Navy's AI Drone Fleet Says Otherwise

For more than a decade, Washington's Arab partners in the Persian Gulf have feared that the US is slowly abandoning the region.This view ignores strong evidence that the American security commitment remains high, even given the recent US-Saudi Arabia quarreling over oil prices.Nonetheless, the 50-year-old Carter Doctrine, the basis of the US security commitment in the Gulf region, needs to be updated and reaffirmed.

time.com

What the West Should Do If Putin Uses a Nuclear Weapon

As Vladimir Putin becomes more desperate in Ukraine, watching his killed-in-action tally rise weekly alongside the butcher's bill of destroyed equipment, his thoughts will turn to other options.We've already seen him launch a significant bombing campaign directed against critical Ukrainian infrastructureprimarily the electric gridjust in time to threaten civilians with blackouts and freezing home temperatures.

Washington Post

Ukraine live briefing: Major Russian supply bridge that symbolized Putin's occupation catches fire

Parts of a key bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula appeared to be on fire Saturday morning, Russian and Ukrainian media reported.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia accuses Ukraine of chemical terrorism' using toxin

Kyiv dismisses the allegations of poisoning Russian soldiers with botulinum toxin and says invading troops likely ate expired canned food.

Nytimes

Zelensky says Ukraine takes 'as seriously as possible' an apparent threat of Russian chemical weapon use.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in his latest address seized on an apparent Russian threat to use chemical weapons against the remaining defenders of Mariupol, as they prepare for what he called a "new stage of terror against Ukraine."

moreimmediately

www.nytimes.com

11 months ago

Syria's Assad to Attend Arab League Summit After Yearslong Suspension

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria plans to attend a gathering of Arab leaders on Friday for the first time since he violently suppressed an anti-government uprising that morphed into a civil war, torturing and using chemical weapons on his own people.Syria's membership in the Arab League, suspended since 2011, was restored this month ahead of the leaders' summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

www.dw.com

Tony Blair: Putin can't use Iraq to justify Ukraine invasion DW 03/18/2023

Russia's invasion of Ukraine cannot be equated with the US-led invasion of Iraq, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the conflict that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.Blair said Moscow's forces had invaded "a country that has a democratically elected president who, to my knowledge, has never started a regional conflict or committed any aggression against its neighbours."

www.theguardian.com

UK politics

The Thick of It was fuelled by my anger at the Iraq war and the way it left truth for dead | Armando Iannucci

Shortly before George W Bush and Tony Blair launched their war, the Arab League issued a statement declaring that invading Iraq would open the gates of hell.Of all the pieces of intelligence that the CIA and British agents were gathering at the time, this turned out to be the only accurate one.The invasion was launched on evidence about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that consisted mostly of whatever it was Iraqi informants knew our intelligence agencies most wanted to hear and would happily pay for.

www.nytimes.com

New Earthquake Strikes Turkey, Rattling an Already Devastated Region

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey on Monday, killing at least one person and trapping others in collapsed buildings three weeks after a devastating quake struck the same region, leaving more than 50,000 people dead in the country and in neighboring Syria.The latest quake struck just after noon on Monday, south of the city of Malatya, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Washington Post

Analysis | Ukraine's Coming Attack Could Win or Lose the War

The Ukraine war is entering its third phase, and this one could well be decisive.

Phase one was Russia's failed blitzkrieg, meant to destroy the Ukrainian state.

Washington Post

Analysis | If AI Ever Becomes Sentient, It Will Let Us Know

Blake Lemoine, a senior software engineer in Google's Responsible AI organization, recently made claims that one of the company's products was a sentient being with consciousness and a soul.

www.aljazeera.com

Iran blacklists more European officials as tensions rise

The foreign ministry in Tehran blacklists three entities and 22 individuals from the EU as well as a think tank and eight officials in the UK.Tehran, Iran Tehran has introduced more sanctions on European officials and entities for supporting terrorism and fomenting unrest in Iran.Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday blacklisted three entities and 22 individuals from the European Union in addition to one entity and eight officials from the United Kingdom.

Washington Post

Analysis | All About the YPG, the Syrian Kurds Dividing Turkey and the US

For the US, the group was a critical ally in the campaign to defeat Islamic State in Syria and remains an important force keeping the jihadists from rising up again.Turkey, a US ally within NATO, views it as a terrorist threat.The group is the People's Protection Units, or YPG, a militia in Syria made up mostly of fighters representing the minority Kurdish community.

Washington Post

U.S. limits export of fentanyl to Russia, calling it a potential weapon

It slapped new controls on the export of quantum computing technology to Russia.

Washington Post

Analysis | Europe Shouldn't Let Ukraine Go Into Default

The European Union cannot let Ukraine default.

Washington Post

Analysis | Don't Stop Ukraine Funding Because of Summer Vacation

The European Union cannot let Ukraine default.

Washington Post

Analysis | Why the Kurdish YPG Is an Issue in Sweden's NATO Bid

As Sweden and Finland moved toward applying for membership in NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they had expected no resistance.

www.nytimes.com

Girls

Opinion | What 1940 Can Teach Us About 2022

On June 18, 1940, Churchill delivered his celebrated Finest Hour speech.The British Army had been evacuated from Dunkirk.France, under Petain, had decided to surrender.Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war, Churchill told the House of Commons.If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.

Portland Mercury

Portland

YOUR SUNDAY READING LIST: Mayor's Sweeping Confused Plan, Naming that Adopted Kitten, and Let's VOTE, Mothereffers!

Plus, how our critic rated the mosh pit!
Suzette Smith
Portland-raised director Todd Field was best known, before now, for his acclaimed "In the Bedroom," but with Cate Blanchett as the central character in his new work "Tár," Field has made his most formally disciplined, ultimately enigmatic work to date.

Politics NY

Brooklyn

Sheinkopf Speaks: NYC progressives voiceless on Iran Morality Police

City streets clogged.Traffic-well we always have traffic.Not even a taxi cab driver honking.

the Guardian

Pentagon spokesperson tamps down concerns over nuclear 'armageddon'

The US military's top spokesperson tamped down concerns of an imminent nuclear threat from Russia, days after Joe Biden warned of a potential nuclear "armageddon".

www.aljazeera.com

Chemical weapons watchdog concerned' by Mariupol reports

Reports first emerged Ukraine's far-right Azov battalion that a Russian drone had dropped a poisonous substance' on troops and civilians.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia's invasion of Ukraine: List of key events on day 48

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 48th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Monday, April 11.

Get the latest updates here.

Independent

More than 10,000 civilians dead in Mariupol, mayor says

Corpses are now "carpeted through the streets" of Mariupol after Russian troops killed more than 10,000 civilians over the past six weeks in their unsuccessful fight to capture the strategic southern port, the mayor said.

Washington Post

Russia-Ukraine live updates: U.S. expects 'same brutal tactics' as Russian troops pivot to Donbas

Russia is resupplying and reinforcing its troops positioned in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, with the town of Izyum, some 70 miles southeast of Kharkiv, likely to become a staging point for further attacks on southern cities, the Pentagon said Monday.

Nytimes

Biden calls the 'prospect of Armageddon' the highest since the Cuban missile crisis.

President Biden delivered a striking warning on Thursday night that recent threats from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could devolve into a nuclear conflict, telling supporters at a fund-raiser in New York City that the risk of atomic war had not been so high since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nytimes

Biden calls the 'prospect of Armageddon' the highest since the Cuban missile crisis.

Nytimes

Thousands of civilians are holed up with Ukrainian troops in a steel plant in Mariupol, officials say.

April 18, 2022, 2:58 p.m. ET

www.aljazeera.com

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 209

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 209th day, we take a look at the main developments.

www.aljazeera.com

Don't, don't don't': Biden presses Putin on nuclear weapons

US leader warns any response will depend on the extent of what they do' in Ukraine.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 207

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 207th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here is the situation as it stands on Sunday, September 18.

the Guardian

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Joe Biden urges Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear weapons after setbacks - live

Russia has reacted to its military setbacks in the past week by increasing its missile attacks on civilian infrastructure even if it does not have any military impact, according to the latest intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defence.

the Guardian

'I think he will': Zelenskiy hopeful President Biden will visit Ukraine

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged US president Joe Biden to visit Ukraine and reiterated that he is not willing to cede territory in the country's east to end war with Russia, during an extended interview with CNN broadcast on Sunday.

www.aljazeera.com

Pentagon to meet largest US arms makers over Ukraine: Reports

The top eight defence contractors are invited to the meeting, which is reportedly aimed at upping assistance to Ukraine.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia's invasion of Ukraine: List of key events on day 49

As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 49th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Here are the key events so far on Wednesday, April 13.

Get the latest updates here.

Washington Post

Analysis | Ukraine's Wins Make Russian War More Dangerous

Ukrainian forces have reconquered over 3,000 square kilometers of territory over the past week - more than all the territory Russia had added to its occupation in the six months since the start of the war.

Washington Post

Analysis | Who Are the Syrian Kurds the U.S. Has Abandoned?

As Sweden and Finland moved toward applying for membership in NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they had expected no resistance.

Washington Post

Analysis | Bucha's Atrocities Are Not Russia's First. They Must Be the Last

It's hard to read the reports emerging from Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs, and nearly impossible to look at the images.Retreating Russian soldiers have left evidence of unthinkable brutality.

Washington Post

Putin blasts US 'hegemony,' predicts end to 'unipolar' world

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of trying to encourage extended hostilities in Ukraine as part of what he described Tuesday as Washington's alleged efforts to maintain its global hegemony.

www.npr.org

Books

'The Facemaker' profiles the British surgeon who treated WWI's disfigured soldiers

There were no textbooks.

That's the one detail, amidst all the other revelations that Lindsey Fitzharris offers in The Facemaker, that continues to take me aback.

New York Daily News

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny appeals 9-year prison sentence

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has launched the appeals process for a sentence that will keep him prisoner at a brutal Russian penal colony for the next nine years.

the Guardian

Trial by fire: volunteer medics brave Russian shells in Donbas

The call came at about midday on Wednesday.There had been "chemical poisoning" after a blast and patients needed collecting.

the Guardian

Prospect of Russia using nuclear arms in Ukraine fuels Finland's Nato debate

The prospect of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine is a key factor behind Finland's debate over whether to join Nato, the country's foreign minister has said.

the Guardian

Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 48 of the invasion

Unconfirmed reports of Russia using chemical weapons in Mariupol, where Ukrainian authorities say more than 10,000 civilians have been killed

The Independent

UK news

Ukraine fate hangs 'in balance', Truss warns in call for boost to military spending

The fate of Ukraine remains "in the balance", foreign secretary Liz Truss has warned as she called for allies to increase defence spending and supply tanks and warplanes to Kyiv.

The Independent

UK news

UK says 'all options on table' if Russians used chemical weapons in Ukraine

Boris Johnson's government has said "all possible options" are on the table to respond to Russia if Vladimir Putin's forces are found to have used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The Independent

UK news

Use of chemical weapons by Russia would be 'beyond the pale', minister warns

The West will have "all options on the table" if Vladimir Putin's forces are found to have used chemical weapons in an assault on the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, a UK defence minister said.

www.aljazeera.com

Former Ukraine president calls for weapons, sanctions on Russia

Petro Poroshenko tells Al Jazeera the shortest way to peace' is to provide Kyiv with weapons.

www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine: Russia-backed separatist stirs fears of chemical weapons

A Donetsk official appears to have called on Russia to use chemical weapons on Ukrainian fighters.

the Guardian

UK politics

Sunak no longer the Tory antidote to Johnson's leadership chaos

Has Rishi Sunak's week from hell saved his neighbour in No 10?

The Hill

Coronavirus

DC mayor tests positive for COVID-19

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Thursday announced she has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest high-profile figure in the nation's capital to contract the virus.

Independent

Nato chief says Finland and Sweden are welcome to apply to join

Nato would quickly welcome Finland and Sweden into its ranks if they decide to apply, the military alliance's top civilian official has said.

www.aljazeera.com

Russia-Ukraine live news: UN seeking humanitarian ceasefire'

Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian affairs chief, will visit Moscow on Sunday as fighting in Ukraine continues.

time.com

What It Will Take For Ukraine To Win the War

While Russian forces have faced stiff resistance in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is attempting to turn the tide of the war through a long and brutal military campaign.

www.aljazeera.com

Abramovich suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning: Reports

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reports.

the Guardian