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Russia warns of nuclear deployment if Sweden, Finland join NATO

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Russia warns of nuclear deployment if Sweden, Finland join NATO

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in an exclave in the heart of Europe.

Finland, which shares a 1,300km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that, should Sweden and Finland join NATO, then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea.

Medvedev also explicitly raised the nuclear threat on Thursday by saying that there could be no more talk of a “nuclear-free” Baltic – where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

“There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic – the balance must be restored,” said Medvedev, who was Russian president from 2008 to 2012.

Medvedev said he hoped Finland and Sweden would see sense. If not, he said, they would have to live with nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles close to home.

Russia has the world’s biggest arsenal of nuclear warheads and, along with China and the United States, is one of the global leaders in hypersonic missile technology.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about Medvedev’s comments by journalists, said that “this has been talked about many times” and President Vladimir Putin has issued an order on “reinforcing our western flank” due to NATO’s growing military potential.

Asked if this reinforcement would include nuclear weapons, Peskov said, “I can’t say … There will be a whole list of measures, necessary steps. This will be covered at a separate meeting by the president.”

Lithuania said Russia’s threats were nothing new and that Moscow had deployed nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine.

AL JAZEERA

WHO warns coronavirus is far from settling into endemic situation

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WHO warns coronavirus is far from settling into endemic situation

COVID-19 is far from becoming an endemic disease and could still trigger large outbreaks around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

WHO Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan said on Thursday that it was wrong to think that if COVID-19 settles down and becomes endemic, it will mean the end of the problem.

“I certainly do not believe we’ve reached anything close to an endemic situation with this virus,” Ryan told a question-and-answer session on the WHO’s social media channels.

“That is not an endemic disease yet,” he said.

Ryan said the coronavirus has not yet settled into any seasonal or transmission pattern, and remained capable of causing huge epidemics.

“Don’t believe that endemic equals it’s over, it’s mild or not a problem. That’s not the case at all,” Ryan said, citing tuberculosis and malaria as endemic diseases that still killed millions of people per year.

WHO’s COVID-19 Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove, who herself has caught the disease and is isolating in the United States, said the virus continued to circulate at a high level, causing “huge amounts of death and devastation”.

“We’re still in the middle of this pandemic. We all wish that we weren’t. But we are not in an endemic stage,” she said.

Last week saw the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths recorded since the first days of the pandemic in early 2020.

However, more than 20,000 deaths were reported, which Ryan said was “still too many… we should be happy but we shouldn’t be satisfied”.

He explained that once epidemic diseases settle down into an endemic pattern, they can often become childhood diseases, such as measles and diphtheria, because “as new children are born, they are susceptible”.

But if vaccination levels drop, as has happened with measles, epidemics can break out again.

AL JAZEERA

Elon Musk ‘not sure’ his takeover bid for Twitter will be successful

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Elon Musk ‘not sure’ his takeover bid for Twitter will be successful

Tesla boss Elon Musk has said he is “not sure” his takeover bid for social media firm Twitter will be successful.

He made the comments at a conference just hours after revealing that he had offered to buy the company for $54.20 a share, or more than $40bn (£30.6bn).

Also on Thursday, Twitter’s chief executive told employees that the company was evaluating the approach.

Parag Agrawal also reportedly said at the staff meeting that the company was not being “held hostage” by the offer.

Speaking at the TED2022 conference in Vancouver, Mr Musk said: “I am not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it.”

He added that he had a Plan B if his bid for Twitter was rejected, but gave no further details of what that could mean.

Mr Musk also said at the event that Twitter should be more open and transparent.

“I think it’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, he revealed his offer to buy all the shares in Twitter that he does not already own.
In an official filing to US regulators, Mr Musk said he was the right person to “unlock” the company’s “extraordinary potential” and that if his offer was not accepted, “I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”

He also said that if Twitter’s board of directors chose to reject the offer, it would be “utterly indefensible not to put this offer to a shareholder vote”.

Twitter confirmed that it had received the bid, but said its board must still review the “unsolicited, non-binding” offer, which values its shares at well below the level of more than $70 that they reached last summer.

Mr Musk already owns more than 9% of the social media platform, but he is no longer its biggest shareholder.

Asset management firm Vanguard Group disclosed on 8 April that its funds now own a 10.3% stake, bumping him off the top spot.

BBC

Russian warship Moskva has sunk

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Russian warship Moskva has sunk

A Russian warship that was damaged by an explosion on Wednesday has sunk, Russia’s defence ministry has said.

Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was being towed to port when “stormy seas” caused it to sink, according to a ministry message.

The 510-crew missile cruiser was a symbol of Russia’s military power, leading its naval assault on Ukraine.

Kyiv says its missiles hit the warship. Moscow has not reported any attack. It says the vessel sank after a fire.

The blaze caused the explosion of the warship’s ammunition, Russia says, adding that the entire crew were later evacuated to nearby Russian vessels in the Black Sea. It provided no further details.

“While being towed… towards the destined port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded. Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank,” state news agency Tass quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying.

Ukrainian military officials said they struck the Moskva with Ukrainian-made Neptune missiles – a weapon designed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the naval threat to Ukraine in the Black Sea grew.

A senior Ukrainian official said as many as 510 crew could have been on board the Moskva.

On the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Moskva gained notoriety after calling on a small garrison of Ukrainian border troops defending Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender – to which they memorably radioed an expletive-laden message of refusal. 

Originally built in the Soviet-era, the Moskva entered service in the early 1980s. The vessel was actually laid down in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv, which has been heavily bombed by Russia in recent days.

The guided missile cruiser was previously deployed by Moscow in the Syria conflict where it supplied Russian forces in the country with naval protection.

It reportedly had 16 Vulkan anti-ship missiles and an array of anti-submarine and mine-torpedo weapons.

If the Ukrainian attack is confirmed, the 12,490-tonne Moskva would be the biggest warship to be sunk by enemy action since World War Two. 

It is the second major vessel Russia has lost since the start of its invasion. In March, the Saratov landing ship was destroyed by a Ukrainian attack in the harbour of Berdyansk, a Sea of Azov Ukrainian port seized by Russia.

BBC

Dhammika Prasad launches satyagraha amidst the Galleface protests

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Dhammika Prasad launches satyagraha amidst the Galleface protests

Cricketer Dhammika Prasad has commenced a 24 hour satyagraha today (15) at the Galle Face Protest Center.

It has been three years since the Easter attack, and he has started a satyagraha demanding justice for the situation and the current situation in the country.

He emphasizes that the people are in a very miserable situation and justice should be done to them.

He also states that this was due to the fact that he too wants to support the ongoing struggle of the youth community at the Galle Face Green.

With problems of his own, Xi hesitates on bailing out SL, Pak as debt soars

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With problems of his own, Xi hesitates on bailing out SL, Pak as debt soars

Over the past few years, the US has accused China of using “debt diplomacy” to make developing nations across the world more dependent on Beijing.

Yet the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan — both friends of China facing dire financial situations as inflation soars — show that President Xi Jinping’s government is becoming more reluctant to pull out the checkbook. China still hasn’t made good on a pledge to re-issue loans totalling $4 billion that Pakistan repaid in late March, and it hasn’t responded to Sri Lanka’s pleas for $2.5 billion in credit support.

While China has pledged to help both countries, the more cautious approach reflects both a refining of Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative as well as a hesitancy to be seen interfering in messy domestic political situations. Pakistan got a new prime minister on Monday after parliament booted out former cricket star Imran Khan, and Sri Lanka’s leader is facing pressure from protesters to step down.

“Beijing has for the past couple of years been rethinking its external lending because their banks realised they were carrying a lot of debt with countries whose prospects of paying back were quite limited,” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University. “This came on top of a tightening economic situation at home which also required a lot of spending, so there was less appetite to just throw money around wantonly.”

China is currently facing its own economic troubles, with lockdowns to contain the country’s worst Covid outbreak since early 2020 shutting down the technology and financial hubs of Shanghai and Shenzhen. Premier Li Keqiang on Monday told local authorities they should “add a sense of urgency” when implementing policies as analysts warn the official growth target of a 5.5% is now in jeopardy.

China has become the world’s largest government creditor over the past decade, with its state-owned policy banks lending more to developing countries than the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank in some recent years. The opacity around the terms and scale of some of that lending has been criticised, especially as the pandemic exacerbates debt problems in poorer countries.

Sri Lanka’s top diplomat in Beijing this week said he was “very confident” that China will come through with credit support, including $1 billion for the country to repay existing Chinese loans due in July. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ambassador Palitha Kohona said the process often takes months and he didn’t see any delay.

“Given the current circumstances, there aren’t that many countries that can step out to the pitch and do something,” he said. “China is one of those countries that can do something very quickly.”

A meeting between Ranil and the World Bank representative in Sri Lanka

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A meeting between Ranil and the World Bank representative in Sri Lanka

It is reported that a meeting between the UNP leader, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the World Bank representative in Sri Lanka was held on the 10th.

It is said that the current economic situation of the country as well as the public protests in the country were discussed at length.

It is noteworthy that Ranil Wickremesinghe had met the World Bank representative before holding discussions with government officials.

Protests near the house of the new Minister of State Shantha Bandara (VIDEO)

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Protests near the house of the new Minister of State Shantha Bandara (VIDEO)

A public protest was held yesterday (14) near the house of Sri Lanka Freedom Party MP Shantha Bandara who was sworn in as the new Minister of State for Agriculture.

Residents of the area near his house in the Maharajamulla area in Alawwa protested against him and it was seen that the house was heavily guarded by the police.

SriLankan Airlines to lease 21 aircraft amid severe financial crisis!

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SriLankan Airlines to lease 21 aircraft amid severe financial crisis!

SriLankan Airlines has decided to acquire 21 aircraft on a long-term lease basis.

Accordingly, the company has called for bids.

The company has announced that it will lease 21 aircraft with the aim of increasing its fleet to 35 aircraft within the next three years.

The state-owned SriLankan Airlines has called for bids for 21 aircraft at a time when the country is facing a severe financial crisis.

SriLankan Airlines is also a state-owned company that incurs huge losses annually.

Who approved the decision of defaulting on all the external debt?

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Who approved the decision of defaulting on all the external debt?

Sources say that for the first time in history, Sri Lanka’s decision to default on a foreign loan on the 12th was taken with the approval of the Cabinet and without any cabinet paper or cabinet discussion.

On the morning of April 12, Finance Minister Mohamed Ali Sabri, Governor of the Central Bank Nandalal Weerasinghe and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena had a discussion at the Ministry of Finance. Sources from the Ministry of Finance stated that the three of them had decided to suspend the repayment of foreign loans from that evening.

The decision taken by the three was immediately communicated to the world and implemented.

According to Finance Ministry sources, they have not sought the approval of the country’s executive cabinet or a cabinet paper or a cabinet meeting or at least not even the Prime Minister of the country to take such a drastic decision affecting the entire 22 million people of the country.

If such a crucial decision is taken, which will have a huge and long-term impact on the country, it must be approved by the Cabinet. Furthermore, since Parliament sets aside all money to pay off debts at the beginning of the year if the government decides to default on any debt, it must seek the approval of Parliament. But Ali Sabbari, Nandalal Weerasinghe, and Mahinda Siriwardena have taken this crucial decision regarding the future of the country, the lives and deaths of the people, and the children born tomorrow, without taking any of the above-mentioned steps and ignoring all of that.

What happens next through the Sri Lankan government’s debt default process?

  1. In the future, no letter of credit will be able to be opened by any Sri Lankan bank
  2. Sri Lanka will be ranked last in the international credit rating as a defaulting country.
  3. All Sri Lankan banks will be advised to repay all loans extended by foreign banks as soon as possible.
  1. The value of the rupee will not be able to maintain or control
  2. The Monetary Board will have to immediately increase the historic interest rate hike of 7% on April 8, 2022 by another 12%.
  3. With such a sharp rise in exchange rates and the inability of businesses and individuals to carry out all imports, almost all businesses in the country are at risk of collapsing.
  4. In such a situation people automatically fall suffer
  5. The risk of starting to lose a lot of jobs in a few weeks
  6. In three or four weeks there will be no imported goods in all the supermarkets
  7. Shortage of fuel, gas, pharmaceuticals, coal and other essential commodities will worsen

According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the sovereign power belongs to the people. The people elect a group of people’s representatives to represent them and send them to parliament, which has the full power to make decisions about the country’s finances. So how could the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance alone take such a drastic decision despite all that?

Even Finance Minister Mohamed Ali Sabri was not directly elected by the people but came to Parliament from the national list. The other two are officials who are not representatives of the people at all. Would representative democracy in the country be a joke if these three could make a decision to default on the country that would severely affect even unborn children?

At the same time, according to economic sources, the decision of these three will lead to further damage to the country. We look forward to presenting an analysis on this at the economic and technical level in the future as well.

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