Asian markets rise on revived hopes for a Fed rate pause
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2023-06-09 11:18
'Fubar' fouls up Arnold Schwarzenegger's TV series debut in recognizable ways
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2023-05-25 20:57
Andrew Tate claims every man has warrior instinct and modern life finds 'slavery' easier, trolls say, 'talking fast doesn’t make you smarter'
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Infighting among Putin’s lieutenants reveals signs of ‘deep dysfunction’
The video was shocking — not just for what it showed but also for what was said. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the outspoken millionaire head of the private military contractor Wagner, stood in front of the bloodied bodies of his slain troops in Ukraine and yelled expletive-riddled insults at Russian military leaders, blaming them for the carnage. “They came here as volunteers and they died to let you lounge in your red wood offices,” Prigozhin shouted. “You are sitting in your expensive clubs, your children are enjoying good living and filming videos on YouTube. Those who don’t give us ammunition will be eaten alive in hell!” It was a disquieting display for Russians used to more than two decades of rigidly controlled rule by President Vladimir Putin — years with little sign of infighting among his top lieutenants. Prigozhin's video in May and his other rants against the military leadership have been met with silence from Putin, as well as the brass. Some see Putin's failure to squelch the infighting as a sign of potential shifts in Russia’s political scene that set the stage for more internal battles. Prigozhin's rift with the military has been ignored by state-controlled TV, where most Russians get their news, although it is followed closely by the politically active, ultrapatriotic readers and viewers on social media networks, which share his contempt for military leaders. While there are no indications that Putin is losing influence, “there are growing signs of deep dysfunction, anxiety, worry about the war and real problems in marshaling the resources necessary to fight it effectively,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the editor of its Strategic Survey. Prigozhin’s feud with military leaders goes back years, and it spilled into the open amid the fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut that was spearheaded by his mercenaries. It has pushed the 62-year-old Wagner owner, dubbed “Putin's chef” for his lucrative Kremlin catering contracts, to the forefront of Russian politics and signaled his growing ambitions. He scathingly criticized Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as weak and incompetent in mocking statements full of vulgar language. At one point, he even alleged the army planted mines on the route his fighters planned to use and opened fire at them. With his crude remarks, Prigozhin ventured into territory where only Putin had gone before: Over the years, the Russian leader occasionally broke decorum with an earthy remark or off-color joke, while top officials used carefully worded language. In a later video, Prigozhin made a statement that some have interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on Putin himself. He declared that while his men were dying due to the Defense Ministry’s failure to supply ammunition, a “happy granddad is thinking he’s doing well,” and then referred to that “granddad” with an obscenity. The blunt comment caused a social media uproar, where it was broadly seen as a reference to Putin. Prigozhin later said he was talking about Gerasimov. “Prigozhin is now sailing much closer to the wind than he ever has,” Gould-Davies told The Associated Press. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political commentator, described Prigozhin as “the second-most popular man after Putin” and a “symbol of Russia’s military victory for millions of people.” Putin needs Prigozhin's mercenaries at a time when the regular military is still recovering from setbacks earlier in the invasion. The Wagner chief's position was bolstered after the private army captured Bakhmut last month in the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, relying on tens of thousands of convicts who were promised pardons if they survived six months of fighting. “Putin dominates the system, but he still sort of depends upon a small number of big people to implement his will, to provide him with resources to carry out his orders, including fighting the war,” Gould-Davies told AP. While Putin may adhere to keeping various factions divided and then intervening to “decide who wins and who loses, and who’s up and who’s down,” the process erodes the government's authority in wartime, Gould-Davies said. “That may be a way of keeping the political system going, but it’s certainly not the way to fight the war, because if your military forces are divided and if they’re not fighting together effectively, then your military operations will suffer accordingly and that’s exactly what’s happening here,” he said. Mark Galeotti, a London-based expert on Russian politics and security, noted the infighting was continuing even as Ukraine is in the early stages of its long-expected counteroffensive — "a point when really everyone should have one single common goal.” In a recent podcast, he speculated that Putin’s failure to resolve political disputes could be rooted in a lack of interest, a focus on other issues or, more likely, a reluctance to take sides. “It also raises questions about his overall capacity to do his job,” Galeotti said. “This is the one thing, the one job he can’t really outsource, and he’s not even trying.” The lack of response from military leaders to Prigozhin’s insults appeared to indicate they weren’t sure if Putin was on their side. St. Petersburg regional Gov. Alexander Beglov was another recent Prigozhin target, following their long-standing conflict rooted in Beglov’s reluctance to award lucrative contracts to Prigozhin’s companies. Just like the military leaders, Beglov has not responded. Prigozhin has allied with other hawkish officials, reportedly including Tula Gov. Alexei Dyumin, a former Putin bodyguard seen by many as a potential successor. The Wagner head also gravitated for some time toward Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed regional leader of Chechnya. While denouncing most senior military leaders, Prigozhin spoke approvingly about Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who led Russian forces in Ukraine for several months before Putin appointed Gerasimov to oversee the operations. But some of those alliances have been shaky. While Kadyrov initially praised Prigozhin and backed some of his criticism of the military leaders, he later shifted course and criticized him for sounding defeatist. Kadyrov’s lieutenants went further, blasting Wagner's efforts in Bakhmut after Prigozhin made dismissive comments about Chechen fighters in Ukraine. Kadyrov’s right-hand man, Magomed Daudov, bluntly said Prigozhin would have been executed for such statements during World War II. Prigozhin quickly backed off, saying he was only expressing concern about Russian operations. Prigozhin has dodged questions about his ambitions, but in a move that reflected his desire to gain political clout, he recently toured Russia, continuing a barrage of blustery comments. “There are signs that he seeks some sort of political future,” Gould-Davies observed. Even though Prigozhin owes his position and wealth to Putin, he's playing the role of outsider with his criticism of some leaders and by trying to appeal to the masses amid setbacks in Ukraine, said Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Endowment. “He is posturing as an enemy of the elites, even though he is a product of Putin’s system, the embodiment of his regime and state contracts,” Kolesnikov said. “Prigozhin is playing an independent politician, raising the stakes and testing the system’s limits. But it’s only technically and physically possible for as long as Putin finds him useful and is amused by his escapades.” In a show of support for the military, Putin backed the Defense Ministry’s demand for all private companies to sign contracts with it — something Prigozhin has refused to do. And in another sign Putin's administration may finally be cutting Prigozhin down to size, messaging app channels connected to the Kremlin carried photos of his partying children, including a daughter in Dubai, in apparent retaliation for Prigozhin’s attacks on the defense minister’s daughter. Prigozhin has urged all-out war with Ukraine, including a total nationwide mobilization and the introduction of martial law in Russia — calls welcomed by some hawks. But Kolesnikov notes that the vast majority of Russians who are mostly apathetic or unwilling to make larger sacrifices could be frightened and appalled by that message. He cautions against overestimating Prigozhin’s clout and political prospects, and underestimating Putin's authority. "It’s enough for the commander-in-chief to move his finger to make the Wagner chief disappear,” Kolesnikov said. ___ Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine-war Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Live Updates | Armed rebellion by Russian mercenary chief Furious Putin calls Wagner mutiny ‘treason’ and ‘mortal blow’ to troops –live Mapped: Inside Russian Wagner group’s road towards Moscow
2023-06-24 18:24
U.S. seeks 'just and lasting peace' for Ukraine, Blinken says
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What we know about the 16 fake electors charged in Michigan
State prosecutors in Michigan announced criminal charges Tuesday against the 16 Republicans who served as fake electors in 2020, a watershed moment in the still-ongoing federal and state investigations into the 2020 election aftermath.
2023-07-19 05:50
Who is James Burke? Authorities address speculation about disgraced ex-police chief's ties to Gilgo murders probe
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Georgia Stanway brings fire and ice to show why this England are different
Georgia Stanway stood on her own, isolated in a pocket of space. With her hands in the air, she saw the move before it unfolded. England had been searching for the gaps against Colombia, but going behind only sharpened their focus. After the explosion of Colombia’s goal, England could have lost their heads, but Stanway found hers and then the space. One thumping finish from Alessia Russo later and England were heading towards the semi-finals of the World Cup. Arguably, no one deserves this semi-final more than the Bayern Munich midfielder. Stanway had to be disciplined when Keira Walsh was injured, constrained when Lauren James was given the keys to England’s creative output. With James suspended, Stanway was released. With the bite in midfield to combat Colombia’s physicality, then the cool to pick holes in their defensive shape. Having to play through four games on a yellow card has meanwhile forced Stanway to do it all on a knife-edge, controlling the aggression when one wrong moment would have taken her semi-final away. The Lionesses also had to earn it, in a difficult contest that passed by in waves of England control and frantic Colombia pressure. The atmosphere fed into it: Colombia turned up in their numbers, dominating the 75,000 capacity stadium and its soundtrack; hostile when England had possession, electric when Colombia flew forward, the noise rising further when Linda Caicedo drove them on. England faced the battle they had been expecting. Then Colombia scored and a tournament that has been defined by obstacles was presented with a new one, as England trailed for the first time in the World Cup. But Stanway epitomised how England responded and took to their task. It was a different type of resilience to what England showed at the end, continuing to show, on the ball and off it. She showed her intelligence, baiting Colombia players in and waiting a moment, before releasing it. As a whole, there wasn’t a panic. Lauren Hemp’s equaliser was scrappy, arriving in a mess in the penalty box, but it had been coming. If anything, going behind sharpened England. England’s plan was clear enough: they had their control and build-up, neat passages of play as they found the gaps in Colombia’s shape, threading passes through for Stanway and Ella Toone to turn. England were sharper than against Nigeria, even if the final ball was missing. With James’s two-match ban forcing another rethink for Wiegman, the England manager combined something new with something old. The midfield three returned, with Stanway and Toone deployed as twin eights in front of England’s back five. But Colombia reached the quarter-finals by ensuring those spells do not last for long. Between England’s passing moves, Colombia rattled them and threatened with their quality, thriving off the match being in a scrappy and disrupted state. The South Americans broke England’s passing up and tore whatever momentum they were building down, a series of fouls to pause England’s flow. Then there were the challenges: Ana Guzman barging into Hemp, then leaving an arm on Rachel Daly, Santos pulling Stanway back by the arm. And in those spells England were sloppy, five-yard passes hit straight out of play, allowing themselves to take the safe or easy option, turning down the chance to turn. When Santos’s cross drifted in over the head of Mary Earps, England were faced with the worst. The response was crucial. In the six minutes of added time at the end of the first half, England stuck to how they had set up to play. The way Colombia were positioned allowed England to have those gaps in midfield and there was always a player to find. England had to be patient, to move it quickly enough and have the confidence to do more when they could turn. Hemp everywhere across the frontline, taking pressure off England with bursts downfield, Russo struggling to hold the ball up, but producing the devastating finish when it counted. England dropped deep, perhaps too early, but they did so safe in the knowledge that they had Millie Bright in this form. Bright was faultless as England defended their box, alongside the exceptional Alex Greenwood. It wasn’t the perfect team performance but this tournament has been about finding a way through. England are enjoying it, while Stanway just offers them that bit more. Read More England set up old rivalry on new stage thanks to Alessia Russo magic How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card? Who and when do England play next? Lionesses’ route to the World Cup final ahead of semi-final
2023-08-12 22:59
UN stages food summit as more people around world go hungry
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Sabrina Carpenter On Her Tour Glam & “High Maintenance” Hair
Can you imagine being on the Eras tour with Taylor Swift? At just 24 years old, Sabrina Carpenter is living that reality. Coming out of her own musical “era” following the release of her new studio album, Emails I Can’t Send, the former Disney star turned musician will be opening for Swift during the Latin America leg of the Eras tour, starting in late August.
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