Finnish defense forces

Video allegedly shows a Russian multiple rocket launcher vehicle that can shoot thermobaric warheads. Russia showed off the weapon with video footage allegedly showing it in action somewhere in Ukraine. Russia claimed that it destroyed Ukrainian targets. The images, obtained Thursday from the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), show the weapon firing a salvo of missiles, with the footage then cutting to explosions. The MoD said the images show "the combat work of Western Military District personnel operating a heavy TOS-1A 'Solntsepek' missile system." The Russian MoD also claimed: "Heavy TOS-1A 'Solntsepyok' systems are designed for fire support of infantry, tanks, the destruction of open and closed firing positions in various types of offensive and defensive combat, as well as for disabling lightly armored vehicles." A thermobaric weapon is a kind of explosive that, using oxygen from the air, generates a very high temperature that can reach 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,400 … [Read more...] about Russia video shows vehicle that can shoot thermobaric warheads

Ukrainian troops blitzed a Russian base and reportedly destroyed their headquarters, a warehouse and armored vehicles, as can be seen in footage released by the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian military said they used British-made M777 howitzers to destroy the Russian base. The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) said Wednesday: "Three howitzers (M777) on the occupiers' armored vehicles, headquarters and warehouse." Manufactured by the Global Combat Systems division of BAE Systems, the M777 is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. Zenger News contacted the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications for further comment, as well as the Russian Defense Ministry, but had not received a reply at the time of writing. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a "special military operation." Friday marks the 127th day of the invasion. The General Staff of the Armed … [Read more...] about Watch: Ukrainian troops blast Russian HQ with British-made M777 howitzers

MEXICO CITY — Erick Razo Casales says he mastered patience during the countless hours he spent locked up in a Mexican cell subjected to multiple physical and psychological abuses. After he was arrested in 2011, he remained behind bars for 11 years under informal preventive detention — that is, without being tried — accused of kidnapping and organized crime. “Since I didn’t tell them anything, they beat me and began to torture me,” said Razo, who was released in the early hours of May 28. “It was 26 hours of torture,” he said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo, recalling his first days in custody. “They didn’t let me sleep for 26 hours.” According to official documents by a United Nations human rights task force, recently released by the Mexican government, Razo Casales was severely beaten and received electric shocks to his genitals and other parts of his body. Years later, he still has intense pain in his knees, is blind from one eye and can only hear from one ear. … [Read more...] about Torture is a widespread practice in Mexico, say activists, victims

LONDON — Permanent American forces stationed in Poland , hundreds of thousands of troops on high alert, and a formal invite for two new Nordic members : If Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in part to ward off NATO, Wednesday made clear his war has achieved the opposite. NATO has now officially invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, a sign of just how dramatically the Kremlin's war has upended the previous military landscape in Europe . Earlier in the day, at the start of a summit in Madrid, President Joe Biden announced an increased U.S. military presence in Europe headlined by the first permanent American forces on NATO’s eastern flank and more rotating troops in the Baltic states . The Western alliance also called Russia its "most significant and direct threat" in a joint statement, a notable shift from its description of Moscow as a "strategic partner" a decade ago. Jonathan Eyal, an associate director at the Royal United … [Read more...] about NATO invites Finland, Sweden to join as alliance eyes ‘direct threat’ from Putin

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. is enhancing its military presence in Europe for the long haul to bolster regional security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . Meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Madrid at the opening of the alliance’s annual leaders summit, Mr. Biden said “NATO is strong and united" and that steps to be taken during the gathering will "further augment our collective strength.” Mr. Biden opened his participation in the summit by announcing that the U.S. is establishing a permanent headquarters in Poland, sending two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the U.K. and will send more air defense and other capabilities to Germany and Italy. “Today I’m announcing the United States will enhance our force posture in Europe and respond to the changing security environment as well as strengthening our collective security,” he said. Mr. Stoltenberg, who earlier on Wednesday said the alliance was facing its biggest challenge … [Read more...] about U.S. to bolster its military in Europe

The Israeli parliament voted to disband itself on Thursday morning, thereby forcing a new national election—Israel's fifth in three years. This vote brings an end to the government led by Naftali Bennett , who has been replaced by Yair Lapid, serving as interim Prime Minister. This is a sad day in Israel. The current government has been competent, with ministers working diligently at their portfolios, exhibiting a collegiality not seen in Israeli politics for decades. Mutual cooperation for the common good was nurtured and realized in this government, even though this coalition was the broadest in Israel's history, spanning from the right-wing Yemina Party to the Arab Islamist Ra'am Party. Prime Minister Bennett was an excellent, albeit uncharismatic leader. So why did the government fall? Both the extreme Right and the extreme Left are toxic to governing. True believers make compromise difficult, and actively undermine any attempt at a centrist government that reflects the needs … [Read more...] about Israel is heading to its 5th election in 3 years. Our government is broken | Opinion

Culture Films Robots Hugh Jackman Watching Chappie , the latest sci-fi-film-with-a-moral by South African director Neill Blomkamp, will be a disorienting experience for some viewers. Superhero Hugh Jackman stomps through scenes as a baddie with cargo shorts, a thick Australian accent and a thicker mullet. South African rap-hip-hop band Die Antwoord play musicians-gangsters. And the film's title character is an eerily life-like robot who makes E.T. look like a hardass. Bring on the weird. But Chappie also touches on a few issues that give it an air of seriousness, including crime, automated warfare, police brutality and artificial intelligence. Beneath the film's explosive visual effects, comic elements and frenetic pace, lies a disillusionment with how cruel humanity can be. As Blomkamp puts it, are robots "capable of being more human than the humans around them?" Chappie , which opens in theaters March 6, depicts a dystopian Johannesburg driven to desperation … [Read more...] about Director Neill Blomkamp Wants to Break Your Heart With Sweet, Gun-Toting Robot Chappie

Three men who are alleged to have attempted to slow down the Russian military advance through Belarus at the beginning of Vladimir Putin 's invasion of Ukraine are set to face the death penalty for high treason. The three men, who have become known as the "rail partisans", have not been named but are said to be aged 29, 33, and 51. They have been labeled "terrorists" and "traitors" by Belarusian prosecutors. They stand accused by the Belarusian regime—often referred to as the last dictatorship in Europe—of high treason for having allegedly damaged a railway line in a bid to stop supplies of Russian weaponry and equipment from transiting through Belarus to Ukraine. They currently face treason and terrorism charges from the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, even allowing Russia to use Belarus as a staging area for some of the Russian forces at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, when … [Read more...] about Men who allegedly blew up rail lines to slow Russia face death in Belarus

Vladimir Putin could be poised to unleash carnage with a new bombing campaign - and a Syrian doctor has warned the devices can tear human bodies apart. More than 50 'barrel bomb specialists' have been deployed to Russia to work alongside officials from Russian President Vladimir Putin's army, European intelligence officers told the Guardian. Barrel bombs are oil drums, fuel tanks or gas cylinders filled with explosives, shrapnel and sometimes even chlorine. They are cheap weapons typically dropped off helicopters and have killed more than 11,000 civilians in Syria since 2012. Walid Tamer, a doctor in Syria's capital Aleppo, has treated victims of barrel bombs by the Syrian government, or its ally Russia, while also surviving attacks himself. He told the Mirror that the best name for Putin is "barrel bomb president." Dr Walid said: "He does not distinguish between civilians, soldiers, children and women and spreads the ugliest face of death. It is a disgrace what he has … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin’s evil next move predicted as Syrian doctor issues horror warning

Russian troops withdrawing from Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea, after repeated bombardments, could have wide-ranging significance, current and former Ukrainian officials have said. Snake Island became globally famous thanks to the now-legendary "go f*** yourself" response of the defending garrison when told to surrender to a Russian warship. Moscow has explained the withdrawal as a "gesture of goodwill" that shows Russia is "not impeding [United Nations] efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to ship agricultural products from Ukraine," and avoid catastrophic global food shortages. But Ukrainian officials have dismissed Russia's explanation and declared the regaining of the island after 127 days of occupation as a significant strategic and symbolic victory. Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine's former defense minister, told Newsweek the forced Russian withdrawal denies Moscow use of what was essentially an "unsinkable ship." The island hosted Russian … [Read more...] about Ukraine “big victory” at Snake Island could be a turning point