Saturday, April 27, 2024

US intelligence believe Putin may not have ordered Navalny killed, says WSJ


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US intelligence believe Putin may not have ordered Navalny killed, says WSJ

Reuters-

The assessment was based on a range of information, including classified intelligence and an analysis of public facts.

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Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said last month that he had been ready to hand Alexei Navalny over to the West in a prisoner exchange. (Pool/AP pic)

NEW YORK: US intelligence agencies have determined that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin probably did not order opposition politician Alexei Navalny killed at an Arctic prison camp in February, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Navalny, 47 when he died, was Putin’s fiercest domestic critic. His allies, branded extremists by the authorities, accused Putin of having him murdered and have said they will provide proof to back their allegation.

The Kremlin has denied any state involvement. Last month, Putin called Navalny’s demise “sad” and said he had been ready to hand the jailed politician over to the West in a prisoner exchange provided Navalny never returned to Russia. Navalny’s allies said such talks had been underway.

The Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said on Saturday that US intelligence agencies had concluded that Putin probably did not order Navalny to be killed in February.

It said Washington had not absolved the Russian leader of overall responsibility for Navalny’s death however, given the opposition politician had been targeted by Russian authorities for years, jailed on charges the West said were politically motivated, and had been poisoned in 2020 with a nerve agent.

The Kremlin denies state involvement in the 2020 poisoning.

Reuters could not independently verify the Journal report, which cited sources as saying the finding had been “broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit.”

The US assessment was based on a range of information, including some classified intelligence, and an analysis of public facts, including the timing of Navalny’s death and how it overshadowed Putin’s re-election in March, the paper cited some of its sources as saying.

It cited Leonid Volkov, a senior Navalny aide, as calling the US findings naive and ridiculous.

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Russia hits Ukrainian energy facilities in three regions, says Kyiv





Russia hits Ukrainian energy facilities in three regions, says Kyiv




An employee walks in front of a thermal power plant damaged by recent Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine April 12, 2024. Ukraine has lost about 80 per cent of its thermal generation and about 35 per cent of its hydropower capacity, officials aid. — Reuters pic

Saturday, 27 Apr 2024 2:45 PM MYT


KYIV, April 27 — Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities in three regions today, damaging equipment and injuring at least one energy worker, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

Galushchenko said on the Telegram messaging app that the Russian strikes targeted the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine and the western regions of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk.


DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its four thermal power stations were hit.

“The enemy again massively shelled the Ukrainian energy facilities,” DTEK said in a statement. “The company’s equipment was seriously damaged. At this very moment, energy workers are trying to eliminate the consequences of the attack.”


The company said there were casualties but provided no other details.


Since March 22, the Russian forces have ramped up their bombardments of the Ukrainian power sector, attacking thermal and hydropower stations and other energy infrastructure almost daily.

Ukraine has lost about 80 per cent of its thermal generation and about 35 per cent of its hydropower capacity, officials aid. Its energy system was already weakened by a Russian air campaign in the first winter of the war that Russia launched in February 2022.

Despite mild spring weather in recent weeks, Ukraine has faced an electricity deficit and the government had to introduce scheduled electricity cut-offs in several regions and turn to emergency electricity imports.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian air defence shot down 13 Russian missiles, said Governor Serhiy Lysak.

“Unfortunately, we could not avoid the consequences. Energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk and Kryvyi Rih regions were damaged, fires broke out.”

Lysak said the water supply was disrupted in the city of Kryvyi Rih. — Reuters
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Craig Murray: Worse Than You Can Imagine





Volume 29, Number 116 — Saturday, April 27, 2024


Craig Murray: Worse Than You Can Imagine

The author has no doubt the Western political elite are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians at a much deeper level than the people have yet understood.




Sunak and Netanyahu in Israel, Oct. 19, 2023. (No. 10/Wikimedia Commons)

By Craig Murray
CraigMurray.org.uk




Governments cannot take big decisions extremely quickly except in the most extreme of circumstances.

There are mechanisms in all states that consider policy decisions, weigh them up, involve the various departments of the state whose activities are affected by that decision, and arrive at a conclusion, though not necessarily a good one.

The decision to stop aid funding to UNRWA, the specialized U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians, was not taken by numerous Western states in a single day.

In the U.K., several different government ministries had to coordinate.

Even within only a single ministry, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO,), views would have to be coordinated through written submissions and interdepartmental meetings between the departments dealing with the Middle East, with the United Nations, with the United States, with Europe and then of course between the diplomatic and development wings of the ministry.

That process would include seeking the views of British ambassadors to Tel Aviv, Doha, Cairo, Riyadh, Istanbul and Washington and to the United Nations in Geneva and in New York.

It is not necessarily a lengthy process but it is not a day’s work, and nor would it need to be. There was no practical impact to making the announcement of cutting UNRWA funding a day sooner or a day later.

Consider that the parallel process had to be completed in the United States, in Canada, in Germany, in Australia and in all the other Western powers that contributed to starvation in Gaza by cutting aid to UNRWA.

All of these countries had to go through their procedures, and it could only be by prior coordination – weeks in advance – between these states that they announced all on the same day the destruction of the life support system for Palestinians, then in absolute need.

And then consider that we now know for certain that the Israelis had produced no evidence whatsoever of UNRWA complicity in Hamas resistance, on which these decisions in all those states were allegedly based.

I have no doubt at all that the Western political elite, paid tools of the zionist machine, are complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and ethnic cleansing of Gaza at a much deeper level than the people have yet understood.

The refusal by Labour leader Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to contemplate ending arms sales and military support to Israel is not due to inertia or concern for the arms industry. It is that they actively support the destruction of the Palestinians.


Within an Hour



British barrister Malcom Shaw arguing for Israel before the World Court on Jan 12, 2024. (UN TV Screenshot)


The coordinated decision of the Western nations to fast track famine by stopping UNRWA funding was announced within an hour of the ICJ ruling that Gazans were at immediate risk of genocide, driving from the headlines that adverse ruling against Israel.

This sent the clearest signal in response that the Western powers would not be stopped from genocide by international law or institutions.

The Western powers give not a fig for 16,000 massacred Palestinian infants. No evidence of mass graves in hospitals will move them. They knew genocide was happening and continued actively to arm and abet it.

This genocide is the desired goal of the West. No other explanation is remotely plausible.

I have never believed the spin that Joe Biden is trying to restrain Benjamin Netanyahu, while simultaneously arming and funding Netanyahu and using U.S. forces to fight alongside him.

Biden is making no effort to restrain Netanyahu. Biden fully supports the genocide.

My reading of this was reinforced when I was looking back at the Israeli murders on the Mavi Mamara in 2010, when they killed ten unarmed aid workers attempting a Freedom Flotilla aid delivery to Gaza.

Israel’s actions were clearly both murderous and in breach of international law. Biden as vice president defended Israel staunchly then. It is essential to understand that Genocide Joe has always been Genocide Joe. I wrote:


“Joe Biden took the lead in defending the raid to the U.S. public. In an interview with PBS, he described the raid as ‘legitimate’ and argued that the flotilla organizers could have disembarked elsewhere before transferring the aid to Gaza.

‘So what’s the big deal here? What’s the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza?’ Biden asked about the humanitarian mission. ‘Well, it’s legitimate for Israel to say, ‘I don’t know what’s on that ship. These guys are dropping eight — 3,000 rockets on my people.’”

Biden is not being outplayed by Netanyahu. He is actively abetting Netanyahu and shares with him the objective of full Israeli occupation of Gaza after the Palestinian people are killed or expelled into Sinai.

He also shares with Netanyahu the aim of a wider regional conflict in which the U.S. and Gulf states ally with Israel against Iran, Syria, Yemen and Hezbollah. This is their joint vision of the Middle East – Greater Israel, and U.S. hegemony operating through the Sunni monarchies.

“This genocide is the desired goal of the West. No other explanation is remotely plausible.”

If you believe all the spin from the White House about Biden trying to restrain Netanyahu, I suggest you look instead at the White House and State Department spokesmen refusing to accept any single instance of Israeli atrocity and deferring to Israel on every single crime.

I am currently in Pakistan, and I must say it has been a great refreshment to be in a country where everybody understands why ISIS, Al Nusra etc. never attacked Israeli interests, and sees precisely what Western governments are doing over Gaza. What is understood by developing nations is thankfully understood by Gen Z in the West as well.

The Arab regimes of the Gulf and Jordan are dependent upon Israeli and U.S. security services and surveillance for protection from their own people.

The lack of really massive street protest against their own regimes by Arab peoples is a direct testimony to the effectiveness of that vicious repression, particularly when states like Jordan actually fight alongside Israel against Iranian weapons.

The anti-Iranian card is of course the trick both Biden and Netanyahu have left to play. By promoting an escalation with Iran, Western politicians were able to default to a position of claiming the case for arming Israel was proven – and I think were genuinely perplexed to find the public did not buy it.

The political class, across the Western world and the Arab world, is utterly divorced from its people over Gaza.

We are seeing worldwide repression, as peaceful conferences are stormed by police in Germany, students are beaten by police on American campuses, and in the U.K. old white people like me suffer the kind of continual harassment long suffered by young Muslim men.

This is not the work of Netanyahu operating as a rogue. It is the result of the machinations of a professional political class across the Western world welded to zionism, with the supremacy of Israel as an article of fundamental belief.

Times are not this dark by accident. They were designed to be this dark.



Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. His coverage is entirely dependent on reader support. Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.

This article is from CraigMurray.org.uk


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Chow wants to meet Guan Eng over ‘missed investment’ remarks


theVibes.com:

Chow wants to meet Guan Eng over ‘missed investment’ remarks

The Penang CM said the state remains entrenched in its reputation as the "Silicon Valley of the East".

Published on 27 Apr 2024 3:52PM



Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state remains entrenched in its reputation as the 'Silicon Valley of the East'. – The Vibes file pic, April 27, 2024.



BY Ian McIntyre


PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow is keen to meet his predecessor over the state of manufacturing in the state after the latter criticised him for allegedly missing out on investments.

Chow said he can meet Lim Guan Eng, who is his party's chairman over the issue and he would rather it not involve the media.

He said this after outlining that the issue of hi-tech manufacturers relocating out of Penang was far-fetched.

Chow explained that there are more than 10 manufacturers with integrated circuit (IC) design capabilities in Penang.

"We may not have a park but we have factories with capabilities to produce such technology."

Chow said the state remains entrenched in its reputation as the "Silicon Valley of the East," despite fears expressed by others over an exodus of manufacturers from the state to Selangor.

Lim reportedly was quoted as saying that the state was losing out on hi-tech investments, so Chow needs to be proactive in seeking out such high value investors.

Earlier, Chow told a media briefing that three hi-tech China manufacturers - China Wafer Level CSP Co, Ningbo SJ Electronics Co and Wuxi AMTE Inc, were keen to invest up to USD$100 million to expand their operations to Penang.

Their arrival would likely see job creations in the hundreds as well as a platform for more transfer of technology.

The China-based manufacturers in trying to deal with the prolonged tech trade war between USA and China, are lured into Penang through their venture capitalists.

The three China manufacturers were brought in by Tim Chen, the Taiwanese, who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Blue Chip VC, a venture capitalist.

At the media briefing, Chow was flanked by Chen, Gallizul Capital founder Steven Hsieh and Oriza PE managing partner Yao Hua.

They are now part of a growing number of China or Taiwan - based capitalists - scouring the world to locate suitable partners and sites for their China manufacturer clientele.

Chow said that the three companies were in the last stage of inking a deal to invest in Penang, and they will focus on IC design, wafers, image sensor and advanced packaging.

"Usually, they will deal with MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) who will finalise their commitments to invest in the country (Penang)."

He added that the arrival of such firms means they can tap the small medium enterprises, who in turn can grow into large local companies.

He cited an example of a local start-up called Infinite Systems Sdn Bhd, who has become an offshore provider of IC designs to multinationals such as Intel Corporation.

Chen said many of the jobs would also be in the research and development areas. - The Vibes, April 27, 2024.
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Defence minister says govt not suspending service of Fennec, HOM helicopters




Defence minister says govt not suspending service of Fennec, HOM helicopters




Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin speaks to reporters after completing the handover of ‘Rumah Kasih Ihsan’ at Kampung Dusun Tembakau in Manir, Kuala Terengganu April 27, 2024. — Bernama pic

Saturday, 27 Apr 2024 3:06 PM MYT


KUALA TERENGGANU, April 27 — Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the government has no plans to temporarily suspend the service of Fennec and HOM helicopters.

“So far it’s not in that direction (temporary suspension),” he told reporters after completing the handover of ‘Rumah Kasih Ihsan’ at Kampung Dusun Tembakau in Manir, near here today.


Mohamed Khaled said this when asked if there was a need to suspend the services of both types of helicopters following the crash on Tuesday morning involving the Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM-AW139) and Fennec helicopter (M502-6) at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base in Lumut, Perak which killed 10 RMN officers and personnel including three women.

All the remains of the crew who died in the crash had been laid to rest with the last body, Lieutenant T Sivasutan, 31, cremated at the Manjung Hindu Sabha Sanathana Dharma Ashram Crematorium Centre in Sitiawan at 12.15pm on Thursday.


In the meantime, Mohamed Khaled confirmed that the wreckage of the two aircraft, including the black box, had already been removed from the scene of the incident, on Thursday.


“I was informed that everything has been moved to the place where the investigation is being carried out,” he said.

Mohamed Khaled said the investigation into the incident conducted by an Investigation Board established by RMN will also involve the Royal Malaysian Air Force and other experts including the helicopter manufacturers.

In addition, he also did not rule out the possibility that the investigation would involve external experts. — Bernama
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CM: Three new semiconductor firms keen to invest a total of RM476m in Penang





CM: Three new semiconductor firms keen to invest a total of RM476m in Penang




Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said three new semiconductor companies are keen to invest in Penang with total investments of US$100 million (RM476 million). — Bernama pic

Saturday, 27 Apr 2024 5:46 PM MYT


GEORGE TOWN, April 27 — Three new semiconductor companies are keen to invest in Penang with total investments of US$100 million (RM476 million), said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

He said the three companies are China Wafer Level CSP Co (WLCSP), Ningbo SJ Electronics Co (SJE) and Wuxi AMTE Inc (AMTE).

Chow said the US$100 million investment, according to Blue Chip Venture Capital (BCVC) which played a pivotal role in attracting these strategic investments to the state, is set to bolster Penang’s growing integrated circuit (IC) design and advanced packaging ecosystem.


“WLCSP has revolutionised the semiconductor industry by developing innovative technologies and assist its customers in implementing high-volume manufacturing of semiconductor packages.


“SJE has extensive experience in materials and equipment as well as exceptional research and development capabilities, while AMTE is a leading provider of produced semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in China with its main products focalising on etching and film process equipment which is widely used in the front-end of semiconductor processing,” he said in press conference here, today.

Chow noted that signing of the Memoranda of Understanding with the semiconductor companies during KL20 Summit last week had laid the groundwork for this intention.

Responding to a call by former Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for the state to conduct a post-mortem after losing the IC design park to Selangor, Chow said Penang remains attractive to investors and he welcomed a meeting with Lim to discuss the matter.

Meanwhile, Blue Chip VC co-founder and chief executive officer Tim Chen said these collaborations mark another milestone in Penang’s semiconductor industry and they would take several months before they taking off.

“Together, they would create hundreds of job opportunities,” he said.

Also present were Oriza PE managing director Yao Hua, Gallizul Capital founder Steven Hsieh and Rigol Technologies chief executive officer Wang Ning. — Bernama


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Las Vegas teen whose family was ridiculed for calling 911 to report alien in backyard speaks out

 

Independent:


Las Vegas teen whose family was ridiculed for calling 911 to report alien in backyard speaks out

Angel Kenmore insists that he is telling the truth about the extraterrestrial encounter that left him ‘paralysed by fear’

Dan Gooding
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Related video: UFO expert talks UFO Files

A teenager who was ridiculed after his family called 911 to report seeing a 10-foot-tall alien in their backyard has spoken out a year on – and is sticking by the story.

Angel Kenmore, 17, claimed that he was with his family in the yard of their Las Vegas home on the night of 30 April 2023, when a bright light came crashing into the ground and he saw a “giant creature”.

Other witnesses reported seeing the bright light, which was captured on a police officer’s body camera footage.

The family called 911, with the caller telling the dispatcher: “I swear to God this is not a joke, this is actually... we’re terrified”.

Multiple family members corroborated the story to police officers with one heard on bodycam recordings saying he saw a “shooting star and now these people say there are aliens in their backyard”.

The Kenmore family went public with their story last year and Angel revealed that he could make out a tall, very thin creature between 8ft and 10ft tall.

The Kenmores even created drawings of what they claimed to have seen, showing off the bizarre sketches to the media.

The family was relentlessly mocked for their claims by some but their story also brought UFO hunters to their home, forcing them to put “no trespassing” signs around the property.

The Kenmore family released this drawing in 2023 of the ‘alien’
The Kenmore family released this drawing in 2023 of the ‘alien’ (Inside edition)

Now, almost one year on, Angel has spoken again to insist that he was telling the truth. He said this week that he was left “paralysed by fear” by the apparent extraterrestrial encounter.

“It was moving and breathing. It was p***ed off, like it wanted to do something looking at me. I remember he was growling,” he told NewsNation this week.

While Angel originally said the creature was an alien, he said he now believes it was a “demon”.

“I couldn’t move,” he told the outlet, explaining how he looked at the creature for around 30 seconds.

Angel also hit out at the family’s critics, saying: “They can think whatever they want.”

Angel Kenmore insists that ‘non-human’ creatures landed in his Las Vegas backyard in April 2023
Angel Kenmore insists that ‘non-human’ creatures landed in his Las Vegas backyard in April 2023 (NewsNation)

“If I was doing it for fame, I would be on YouTube. I made no money off this. I don’t need money. It was a really bad and traumatising experience,” he said.

The Independent has contacted the American Meteor Society for comment but is yet to receive a response.

The organisation told NewsNation that it is certain the bright light seen that night was a meteor, because of the brief nature of the event.

While the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department initially investigated the family’s claim, it closed the case a few days later.

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