Amnesty International Thrown Out of Moscow Office

Last Wednesday, Amnesty International, a human rights campaign group has been evicted from its Moscow Office.

According to the Amnesty Staff’s, they found that the office door’s lock has been changed. Moreover, power has been shut down and a notice from the city government has been placed on the front door.

A statement released by Moscow City Government, from whom Amnesty rented the office said that the group violated the rental agreement and failed to pay on the agreed time. However, Amnesty said they were up to date with payments and have documents to support it.

“The eviction may be part of an official crackdown on civil society groups that criticize the Kremlin, but he said there were other possible explanations.” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe director said.

The Moscow City Government answered, that they sent numerous warning notices about the said payment delays and because of this terms violation, the Amnesty Contract Lease has been voided.

“This complaint was ignored by the unscrupulous tenant,” Moscow City Government said.

“In this connection, the premises were closed and sealed off,” the statement said.
Amnesty group responded back saying that they have not received any notices from the government. They  also said they have documents to prove that they are paid up to October.

Amnesty’s Dalhuisen said: “This bizarre claim is simply not true.”

Amnesty Civil Society Issues

In a phone Interview, Dalhuisen said, “As an organization, along with others, that has criticized the Russian authorities, it is possible this fits into the context of the squeeze on civil society,”

“It is equally possible, however, that this is a genuine administrative mix-up, or that other interests are at play within the municipality. At this stage, I do not want to speculate until we have had the opportunity to try to resolve this with the municipal authorities.”

Meanwhile, Dmitry Peskov Kremlin spokesperson said that he is not aware of the issues going on with Amnesty’s Office.

John Kirby, U.S State Department Spokesman said, “He had seen reports about the eviction, and “obviously we’re concerned about it.”

Washington is now investigating the issue and we’ll see how it goes, He added.

Amnesty International was founded in London. The group castigated Russian authorities and its allies for violating humanitarian laws. This was due to Russia’s airstrikes in the Syrian City of Aleppo that killed hundreds of people. Moscow rebuffed the accusations.

President Putin’s administration accused some civil rights groups as being funded by some western countries to criticize the Kremlin. These civil rights groups are also responsible for provoking revolution to unseat pro-Russian leaders in several ex-Soviet states.

Part of the Kremlin’s move was to suppress these western funded groups. They have specified some non-government organizations as ‘foreign agents,’ which makes them subject to intense investigation from the authorities.

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Friday Evening Deadline Set by Russia for Rebels to Leave Aleppo

On Wednesday, Russia and the Syrian army indicated an extended moratorium on air strikes in Aleppo. The two allied forces told anti-government rebels in the city to leave by Friday evening,

Russia is helping forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad to retake full control of Aleppo. However, rebels would be permitted to depart the city unharmed and with their weapons between 0900 and 1900 local time on Nov. 4 thru two distinct corridors, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Civilians and the wounded and ailing would be allowed to leave thru six other corridors, it said.

The Syrian army issued a similar statement later in the day urging rebel fighters to cease firing and to “use this opportunity” to leave the city with their weapons.

An official in an Aleppo-based insurgent group said rebels spurned the calls.

Fastaqim rebel group’s Zakaria Malahifji told Reuters that leaving Aleppo is completely out of the question. They will not give up the city of Aleppo to the Russians and will not surrender.

He denied there were corridors assuring safe transit and said civilians did not believe the government side.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said President Vladimir Putin had instructed the pause in fighting to prevent senseless killings. Further, Syrian authorities would guarantee its troops withdraw from the two corridors assigned for rebels.

Humanitarian cease-fires intended to allow both civilians and rebels to depart the city have been arranged by Moscow and Damascus previously. However, they have mostly failed amid unceasing violence as both sides accuse each other of preventing people from leaving.

No way out for rebels

On Tuesday, a Kremlin spokesman said the cessation of air strikes was still in effect, but could not be extended if rebels in the city did not cease their attacks.

Rebels inside the city had taken heavy casualties during the fighting and were essentially trapped, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

“All attempts by the rebels to break through in Aleppo have failed,” the ministry said. “The terrorists have suffered heavy losses in lives, weapons, and equipment. They have no chance to break out of the city.”

 

 

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FBI Hits Dead End in Trump-Russia Link Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on-going inquiry of allegations regarding Donald Trumps’ connection with the Russians hit a dead end. The agency also launched multiple investigations involving Trump’s supporters to establish if there is any connection. However, the FBI found no criminal connection between the two parties.

Law enforcement agencies involved in the Democratic organization hacking incident speculate that Russian spies were involved in creating turmoil in the 2016 election. However, according to the intelligence officials, the Russian spies are not helping a specific candidate.

Furthermore, the US government blames top-level Russian officials in organizing intricate hacking incidents on the Democratic groups. Subsequently, the group released the confidential information online.

In spite of the allegations, the US government did not formally charge the Russian government of rigging the election. The US also turned silent on the issue of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta’s hacked emails. Likewise, the US kept quiet on the detected voter’s registration hacked databases.

Democrats Protest

The FBI did not disclose any information on its investigation regarding Trump’s Russian tie connection in his campaign.

Sure enough, Democrats protested, citing unfair treatment. The FBI recently released information about their separate email probe about Clinton’s use of private email when she was still the Secretary of State. The agency announced the details of their investigation within the final days of the election campaign.

The newly discovered email surfaced when authorities were doing another investigation. Law enforcement seized a laptop for their investigation of Anthony Weiner, the former New York Representative and the dishonored husband of Huma Abedin. Abedin serves as Clinton’s longtime aide.

Weiner was accused of a sexual misconduct involving a 15-year-old teenager and the laptop may serve as evidence in the case. It, coincidentally contains emails from Clinton.

Intricate web of controversies

According to a CNN report, Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was accused of having connections with pro-Putin personalities in Ukraine. A year into the investigation, the FBI stopped short when the case implicated other lobbying firms in Washington.

The investigation covered the Podesta Group owned by Tony Podesta, brother of John Podesta for having political ties with Ukraine.

Moreover, FBI scrutinized appointments of Trump’s former adviser, Carter page in individuals in Russia who are under US sanctions. The source of the information came from the Democratic leader, Sen. Harry Reid who made a public letter sent to the FBI. Democrats convinced of the notion that Russia is trying to rig the election challenged the idea of the conspiracy.

Page, on the other hand, denied all allegations and blamed democrats in mentioning the concern. In a CNN interview, Page said, “most of the accusations that have come have been sort of a downward circle … bouncing back and forth between media accounts and stories that are planted … by the Clinton campaign against me.”

A longer FBI investigation of six years, implicated a Trump supporter, Roger Stone in partaking email hacks relating to WikiLeaks. According to democrats, Stone conspired with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks to hacked emails from their party officials.

Stone denied accusations of conspiring with WikiLeaks, but said he has “back-channel communications with WikiLeaks”. In his defense, he added, “They certainly don’t clear or tell me in advance what they’re going to do”.

Leaked emails

Thanks to WikiLeaks, Podesta’s private email leaked for more than three weeks. Russia and WikiLeaks denied any corroboration with the Podesta’s leaked email. But a security firm discovered a link to the same Russian hackers who cracked into DNC using a phishing email.

The First Amendment protections hinder the FBI and Justice Department investigation. Because the newly formed organization obtains and distributes information, just like WikiLeaks only they handle hacked information. Also, WikiLeaks declines to say their sources, making it even harder for the FBI to discern their connection with the Russians.

The Senior Democrat Adam Schiff said that one would have turned a blind eye as not to notice Russia’s action. The California representative added to the House Intelligence Committee that the Russians are “trying to help one side over the other”.

Shiff pointed out that “The leaks speak for themselves. They are uniformly damaging Clinton, not Trump. And it’s an effort to damage one candidate’s campaign and American democracy.”

Democrats suspect FBI Director, James Comey for political motivation against them since he released new details regarding Clinton’s email server probe. Contrary to some media reports, Comey did not mention Russia assisting email hacks for the election.

The FBI cautiously handles the probe with diligence as not to compromise any cases leading to other investigations. When the details about Russia was made public, Comey and other top FBI cyber officials opposed the move.

The White House also reserved its silence on the issue because of the election and to show equality for both parties. The testimonies against Russia originated from Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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Russia Out of UN Human Rights Council

On Friday, the General Assembly voted Russia off the U.N. Human Rights Council. It was a stunning reproach to the country that is increasingly being blamed of war crimes over its actions in Syria.

The Human Rights Council is the UN’s foremost body charged with protecting and promoting human rights. The 193-member General Assembly voted 14 members to the 47-nation council.

Russia received 112 votes. Hence, the country lost its regional seat to Hungary, which had 144 votes, and Croatia, which received 114 votes.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin made light of the significance of the loss.

“It was a very close vote and very good countries competing, Croatia, Hungary. They are fortunate because of their size, they are not exposed to the winds of international diplomacy. Russia is very exposed. We’ve been on council a number of years, I’m sure next time we’ll get in,” he said.

The U.S, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, China, Japan, Brazil, Rwanda, Hungary, Cuba, South Africa, Tunisia,. and U.K. also won seats on the council. Beside Russia, Guatemala was the only country contending for a seat to not be elected.

Strong opposition against Saudi Arabia and Russia

Human rights groups had cried out for countries to refuse the candidacies of Saudi Arabia and Russia. Saudi Arabia has been faulted of arbitrary attacks against civilians in Yemen. But Saudi Arabia’s election was an inevitable conclusion since it was running unchallenged for its regional seat.

U.N. director at Human Rights Watch Louis Charbonneau said that in rebuffing Russia’s bid for re-election to the Human Rights Council, U.N. member nations have sent a strong message to the Kremlin concerning its support for a regime that has committed so much atrocity in Syria.

Baroness Anelay, Britain’s Human Rights Minister, said she was pleased with her country’s re-election to the council.

Anelay said in a statement that the UK has been a keen advocate of the crucial work of the Council since its inception and that her country is honored to continue to serve as a member.

 

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NATO Calls On Allies To Help Boost Defense On Eastern Flank

NATO prepares for a long-drawn-out dispute with Moscow and will urge its allies on Wednesday to support the alliance’s most extensive military build-up on Russia’s borders since the Cold War.

Russia’s aircraft carrier is heading towards Syria in a show of force along Europe’s shores. This development raised concern among NATO leaders. Hence, the alliance plans to follow on their promise in July to deploy forces to eastern Poland and the Baltic states from early next year.

Hoping for binding assurances from Europe, the United States expects to fill four battle groups of about 4,000 troops. This is part of NATO’s response to the occupation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.

The United States, Britain, Canada and Germany’s four battle groups expects France, Italy, Denmark and other allies to join them. The allies are heading to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with forces consisting of armored infantry to drones.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s Secretary-General, said that the commitments would send a strong message about the alliance’s transatlantic bond. Further, it would also send a similar message to US presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Republican contender has criticized European allies about not paying their way in the alliance.

The battle group would be supported by NATO’s 40,000-strong rapid reaction force. In addition, for any potential conflict, more follow-on forces could deploy into Poland and Baltic states on rotation if needed.

The US-led alliance’s plans, for Moscow, are already “overkill” in view of Russia’s tribulations at NATO’s expansion eastwards.

But Stoltenberg denied going too far. “This is a credible deterrence, not to provoke a conflict but to prevent conflict,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Russia’s withdrawal from several nuclear disarmament agreements the past two months while sending nuclear-capable missiles to its Baltic territory in Kaliningrad have given next year’s deployments greater significance.

NATO officials refused to disclose if Russia had moved nuclear warheads to Kaliningrad. Nevertheless, the so-called Iskander-M cruise missiles can strike targets across Poland and the Baltics.

Relationship between the East and the West has been deteriorating since Crimea and the West’s resolution to carry out retaliatory sanctions. However, recent US accusations that Russia has utilized cyber attacks to unsettle the presidential elections preceded by the breakdown of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire in Syria have marked a severe decline of East-West relations.

 

 

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US Vigilante Hacker ‘The Jester’ Attacks Russia Government Website

Last Friday, a notorious American Hacker known as “The Jester” hacked a Russian government ministry’s website as payback for attacking American targets.

‘The Jester’ left this message:

“Comrades!

We interrupt regular scheduled Russian Foreign Affairs Website programming to bring you the following important message,” he wrote. “Knock it off. You may be able to push around nations around you, but this is America. Nobody is impressed.”

His hacking activity includes a very weird and annoying sound that whenever people visits the site they hear an “attention-demanding” dial tone right after an American emergency broadcast alert message.

MID.ru is the official website of the Russian institution that is responsible for operations concerning the country’s international diplomacy. It is the Russian counterpart of the U.S. Department of State.

The U.S government accused Russia of interfering in American politics. Recently, US accused Russian intelligence agencies of being involved in hacking Democratic National Committee private information. These include emails and the sites of other Democratic Party-linked organizations. Moreover, they also leaked damning information to influence the election toward Donald Trump and away from Hilary Clinton.

Russia is also incriminated of publishing stolen emails to WikiLeaks. Russia and President Vladimir Putin however, has denied all the accusations.

The Jester said, “Let’s get real, I know it’s you, even if by proxy, and you know it’s you,” he wrote. “Now, get to your room. Before I lose my temper.”

‘The Jester’ is not new to hacktivism. He has taken down jihadist websites, hacking into communication forums, and identifying potential terrorist threats. Hence, ex-FBI agents have tagged him as “the Batman of the internet”.

Russia hacked out of frustration

The Jester said he chose to attack Russia out of frustration for the massive DNS cyber attack that knocked out a portion of the internet in the United States on Friday.

“I wanted to poke them in the eye and stop feeling like US is just taking it on the chin. Again,” he said. “I’m not gonna sit around watching these f—-rs laughing at us.”

The Jester used a simple hacking trick. He found a flaw in the website’s computer code and exploited his own code to gain access.

“It’s 4 a.m. in Moscow right now and a weekend. I’m hoping they can’t fix the hole til Monday,” he said.

As of 11 a.m. ET Saturday, the message was still online. The notorious hacker warns Russia to take his threats seriously. There are other American hackers with this kind of capability.

“Think of this as a professional courtesy,” his public warning states. “Or if you prefer a message from ‘USA with love.'”

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Russian Warships headed to Syria, Royal Navy on Alert.

Philippines’ Duterte Aligns with China and Russia, Announces ‘Separation From the United States’

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States and had realigned with China as they continued with the bilateral talks regarding the South China Sea.

The President made his comments Thursday in Beijing, where he was accompanied by 200 prominent Filipino business people. They are seeking a new chapter in a new economic alliance with China.

In a business forum, President Duterte told the Chinese and Filipino business people, “I announce my separation from the United States”. This was followed by applause while in the presence of the Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

“Both in military, not maybe social, but economics also. America has lost,” he added.
Newly elected President Duterte declared the reversal in foreign policy, months after the international tribunal ruled that China has no historic rights in the South China Sea.

$13.5 billion deals will be signed during the China trip, according to Philippine Trade Secretary, Ramon Lopez.

President Duterte added, “I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world – China, Philippines and Russia. It’s the only way.”

The Philippines has been a long-time ally of the United States in Asia. President Duterte’s remarks, nonetheless, will raise new concern between the two countries.

The President’ predecessor signed an agreement giving U.S. forces access to Philippine bases. Further doubts are now raised about the future of this arrangement.

However, White House spokesman Ned Price said, Washington and Manila has a traditional alliance that cannot easily be broken.

“The U.S.-Philippines alliance is built on a 70-year history, rich people-to-people ties, including a vibrant Filipino-American diaspora, and a long list of shared security interests,” spokesman Ned Price added, “We also remain one of the Philippines’ strongest economic partners; the current stock of U.S. foreign direct investment stands above $4.7 billion.”

President Duterte’s Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia released a statement hours after his speech saying, “Asian economic integration is long overdue.”

“We will maintain relations with the West but we desire stronger integration with our neighbors,” they added”. We share the culture and a better understanding of our region.”

China rolls out red carpet

China prepared a great welcome for President Duterte, including a marching band complete with baton-twirling band master at his official greeting ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People, which is not extended to most international leaders.

The meeting of the two Presidents was called a “milestone” between the two countries ties.

President Xi Jinping told President Duterte that the two countries were like brothers and they could “appropriately handle disputes”. On the other hand, he did not mention the South China Sea in the presence of reporters.

“I hope we can follow the wishes of the people and use this visit as an opportunity to push China-Philippines relations back on a friendly footing and fully improve things,” President Xi said.

President Duterte said the country’s relation with China had entered a new “springtime.” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenn added, “The South China Sea issue was not the sum total of relations.”

China claims most of the South China Sea, where almost $5 trillion in ship-borne trade transits every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

In 2012, China has taken over the disputed Scarborough Shoal, denying Filipino fishermen access to their traditional fishing grounds.

Chinese Foreign Minister said both countries had agreed on coastguard and fisheries cooperation. He did not mention if they would give Filipino fishermen access to the shoal.

‘Goodbye my friend’

President Duterte’s position towards China is in direct contrast to the United States.

He has called the U.S. President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch,” and told him to “go to hell,” after the US criticized his bloody war on drugs.

On Wednesday, President Duterte said Philippine foreign policy was turning towards China.
“I will not go to America anymore. We will just be insulted there,” Duterte said. “So time to say goodbye my friend.”

The same day hundreds of Anti-U.S protesters gathered in front of the U.S. embassy in Manila. The activists were calling for the removal of U.S troops from the island of Mindanao.

President Duterte’s foreign policy from Washington to Beijing is unlikely to be popular at home. A recent poll showed the majority of Filipinos still trust the US more than China.

President Duterte said the South China Sea arbitration case would “take the back seat,” while talks are in motion. He said further that he would rather wait for the Chinese to bring up the issue rather than doing so himself.

According to the Chinese foreign minister, issues that could not be immediately resolved should be set aside.

China has also expressed their support for his war on drugs, which recently raised some concerns about extrajudicial killings.

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Philippines’ Duterte: Russia, China Supportive When He Complained Against US

In a new tirade against Washington, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he received support from China and Russia when he complained to them about the United States.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had agreed with him during a meeting on the sidelines of a leader’s summit in Laos last month when he criticized the United States, Duterte said.

Duterte disclosed during a speech, “I am revealing it to you now. I told him this is the situation: They are giving me a hard time. They are disrespecting me. They are shameless.”

“He said: ‘That is really how the Americans are.’ He said: ‘We will help you.’”

US President Barack Obama’s voicing over his opposition to Duterte’s deadly war on drugs has been a cause for annoyance for the Filipino president.

Duterte had called Obama a “son of a bitch” when Obama raised concerns about Duterte’s bloody campaign on drugs. This has caused the White House to cancel a meeting between the two leaders in Laos.

Duterte also mentioned his complaints about the United States to China, he said on Sunday. According to Duterte, a Chinese official said that the Philippines would not gain from siding with the United States.

As part of Duterte’s quest for an independent foreign policy, he has mentioned frequently that he intends to forge new partnerships with Russia and China, specifically for trade and commerce.

Duterte will visit Beijing on October 19 to 21 accompanied by a Philippine business delegation.

Re-evaluation of security arrangement with the US

In another jab at the US, Duterte said that he would review a significant security agreement with the United States, as it may not be binding since it does not bear the signature of the president of the Philippines. The US ambassador and then Philippine defense secretary signed the agreement.

The landmark security deal, known as Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, was signed before Obama visited the Philippines in 2014. It grants US troops access to Philippine military bases. It also gives them authority to put up storage facilities for maritime security and disaster response operations.

Although Duterte did not overtly say that the deal would be cancelled, it would be a huge setback for US attempts to enhance its authority in Asia and offset that of a rapidly emerging China if it does happens.

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Russia Sends More Jets, Pounds Rebel Held Territories in Aleppo

Air strikes by Russian war planes intensified in rebel held areas East of Aleppo on Saturday. The air strikes are in support of the Syrian Army’s major offensive which includes shelling eastern Aleppo with artillery. The Syrian governments offensive is on its 10^th day in an effort to recapture the last remaining rebel stronghold.

The Russian planes targeted major supply lines in the Castello Road and Malah District. Ground battles on the other hand, raged in the Suleiman al Halabi neighborhood.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov informed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Moscow was ready to consider more ways to “normalize the situation in Aleppo”.

However, Lavrov said that the U.S. failed to separate the moderate rebel groups from the Islamist faction which the Russians call terrorist. This failure allowed the terrorist group formerly known as the Nusra front to violate the US-Russian truce agreed on September 9.

Russia and Assad disregarded the ceasefire to initiate a new intensified offensive. The renewed offensive is possibly the biggest operation they have implemented in the Syrian civil war.

No Ground Re-taken

Amid intensified efforts by the Russian air strikes and the Syrian army offensive, rebels have stood their ground and repelled the assault.

Rebels say that Syrian troops supported by Iranian-backed militias were having a difficult time to retake any ground in the frontline of the city. Abu Hamam, one of the rebels defending the city said. “They are shelling the old city heavily after another failed attempt to gain ground. Moreover, they have lost several fighters and we are steadfast.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group is monitoring the war. They have reported “back and forth” fighting in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood. They also reported at least 20 casualties in the Russian and Syrian strikes on Friday through the early morning of Saturday.

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