The warning by the former Russian president came after Tokyo protested Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit to the archipelago The Kuril Islands will forever remain Russian land, with Japan looking for trouble by continuing to stick to its claim over the archipelago, former Russian President Dmitry Medvdev has said. The Kuril archipelago came under Soviet control at the end of World War II following Japan’s defeat and was subsequently incorporated into the USSR. Tokyo, however, continues to claim the four southernmost islands – Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai islets – which it calls its “Northern Territories.” The dispute has been the main obstacle to Moscow and Tokyo signing a formal peace treaty in the eight decades since the conflict. On Thursday, Tokyo lodged a strong protest over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit to the Kurils, with Prime ...
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The immigration agency plans to spend up to $20 million on what the DHS calls “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to equip its officers with special gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks to people resisting arrest, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notice. Known as G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), the devices are made by Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies and have already been used by some US prisons and police departments. ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million on what the DHS calls “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices,” under a contract running through March 2027. The manufacturer does not publicly disclose the price of the gloves, but AP reported that ICE plans to purchase thousands of the devices. The DHS plans to award the contract to ...
Warsaw’s response to the billionaire’s roaming restrictions could have implications for Ukraine’s military communications Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has threatened to reconsider Warsaw’s $50 million annual spending on Elon Musk’s Starlink after the satellite internet provider excluded Polish customers from its European roaming region. Starlink’s new roaming system groups 36 European countries and territories into a single region, allowing customers to use the service across participating states. Poland, however, has been specifically left outside the zone. “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, stop discriminating Polish users of Starlink or we might re-think paying you $50 million p.a. for your services,” Sikorski wrote on X on Wednesday. The “big man” jab appeared to revive a public spat between Sikorski and Musk last year. After the Polish minister suggested W...
Washington was unhappy with Kiev launching drone attacks on vessels carrying oil to a terminal co-owned by US companies, the article says The US called Ukraine to heel for targeting oil tankers in the Black Sea after Kiev began launching drone attacks on vessels sailing to a partly US-owned Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in Russia, the Financial Times reported. The CPC funnels Kazakh crude across southern Russia to a marine terminal near Novorossiysk, where tankers carry it onward to Europe and Asia. The route includes an unusual combination of Russian, Kazakh, and Western interests, with Chevron and ExxonMobil among the heavyweight US shareholders. Ukrainian drone raids targeting the terminal and oil tankers bound for it tested Washington’s patience, prompting US Vice-President JD Vance to press Vladimir Zelensky to shut down the attacks during a July 31 phone call, unidentified Ukrainia...
The celestial event will be visible across much of Europe and northwestern Russia A rare solar eclipse will sweep across parts of Russia and Europe on Wednesday, with the Moon set to completely block the Sun in some areas and obscure much of it across a wider region. The event will be livestreamed on RT starting at 19:50 Moscow time (16:50 GMT). The broadcast will take place from the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg, the tallest building in Russia and Europe. Where and when can the solar eclipse be seen? The event will be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999. Totality will pass through Greenland, Iceland, and parts of Spain, where the Moon will completely cover the Sun, briefly darkening the sky and revealing its outer atmosphere, known as the corona. What else is happening? Several other notable astronomical events are also taking place around the same time, including t...
Octopus Energy has asked customers to avoid using dishwashers and washing machines Britain’s biggest household power supplier, Octopus Energy, has asked customers to cut electricity use for two hours on Wednesday to cope with a solar eclipse during peak demand. A total eclipse of the Sun – the first visible from mainland Europe since 1999 – will occur on August 12 from 15:00 to 19:00 GMT (4-8 PM London time). The UK is expected to experience a deep partial eclipse, with around 90% to 96% of the Sun obscured. The National Energy System Operator (NESO), which runs Britain’s grid, estimates solar generation could fall by up to 1.3 gigawatts – equivalent to the power used by around 1 million homes. With the eclipse partly coinciding with peak evening demand, Octopus Energy asked its roughly 8 million UK customers on Monday to avoid using appliances and devices such as dishwashers...