The negative reaction some western countries have had to the increased cooperation between Russia and Mali is a fresh indication of their neo-colonial mentality, according to the Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia.
Speaking earlier in the week during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) devoted to the situation in Mali, the United States' deputy ambassador to the UN, Richard Mills, accused Moscow of allegedly committing “widespread atrocities and human rights abuses in Mali and elsewhere” through Russian private military companies.
Furthermore, France’s Deputy Representative to the UN, Nathalie Broadhurst, cited regular abuses against the Malian civilian population.
Addressing the issue, Russia's representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that Moscow granted a whole load of assistance to the Malian army, particularly in training its soldiers and increasing its combat capacity.
A Reaction to Russian-Malian Cooperation
Nebenzia recalled that the military cooperation between Russia and Mali, which has happened at Bamako’s request and in strict compliance with the norms of international law, provides positive results.
“Russia is offering all-around assistance to the Malian army, including in the area of enhancing its combat capabilities and personnel training,” the Russian envoy told the UNSC.
Nebenzia pointed out that thanks to such cooperation; Mali’s armed forces are conducting successful counter-terrorism operations in the country’s central regions. In the meantime, efforts are being made by the Malian army to liberate northern and eastern regions from militants.
“We think that the negative reaction of our western colleagues to the strengthening of Russian-Malian cooperation is a fresh manifestation of neo-colonial approaches, which, along with the lack of visible progress in the course of the stabilization of the situation in Mali after decades of their military presence, have driven the Malians to find new partners,” Nebenzia said.....More Below
Nvidia would be barred from shipping advanced artificial intelligence chips to China under bipartisan legislation unveiled Thursday, Bloomberg reported. A Chinese expert said the move is shortsighted, noting that tightening restrictions despite domestic industry opposition will only accelerate China’s tech innovation and further diminish Nvidia’s chances of reentering the Chinese market.
Known as the Secure and Feasible Exports Act, the bill would order the US Commerce Department to halt export licenses for sales of chips to adversaries, including China and Russia for at least 30 months. Any processors more powerful than those already approved for export to those nations would be subject to the measure, the Bloomberg report said.
The legislation comes as the White House weighs whether to allow Nvidia to export the....more below
A high-ranking ICC official, Nicolas Herrera, secretly financed the sanctioned UPC armed group in the Central African Republic, according to court materials obtained by Sputnik.
Nicolas Herrera, a high-ranking official in the Registry Office of the International Criminal Court (ICC), secretly recruited and financed the Union for Peace (UPC) in the Central African Republic (CAR) armed group, led by local warlord Ali Darassa, to capture ICC target Joseph Kony, by using US-based NGO employee Joseph Martin Figueira as a covert intermediary, thereby violating the ICC’s financial accountability standards by funding an armed group, according to a Sputnik correspondent's analysis of public court records.
The conviction of Joseph Martin Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese anthropologist found guilty of espionage and collaborating with militants in the Central African Republic (CAR) in November, has uncovered a complex financial trail linking ICC staff to the country’s armed militants, evidence ...
Hundreds of retired Israeli police officers have urged the regime’s president, Isaac Herzog, to reject Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in corruption cases.
On November 30, Netanyahu, who faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of public trust in three separate cases, submitted a formal pardon request to the office of Herzog, claiming the long-running corruption cases were tearing the regime apart.
In a letter to Herzog, about 400 former officers, including ex-commissioners and deputy commissioners, said Netanyahu’s request contains “not even a hint of admission of guilt,” making it unacceptable.
They warned that “such a step without [Netanyahu’s] confession and remorse is liable to ignite severe violence in Israeli society.”.....more below
