Month: February 2023
Switzerland to end its neutrality to help Ukraine
Swiss neutrality dates from Napoleon’s defeat in 1815 and is enshrined by a treaty since 1907. It states that the country can’t sell weapons directly or indirectly to combatants in a war. Switzerland, one of the top 15 gun exporters in the world, currently has an arms embargo on both Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian
Ethiopian Orthodox Church split
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahdo has postponed until further notice, the great national protest called for next Sunday in the context of a serious episode of tension following the recent declaration of a schism that, they denounce, would have had the tacit support of the Prime Minister of the country. The
New Attacks reported across Ukraine
Zelensky said Russian missiles had crossed over ex-Soviet Moldova and NATO member Romania while heading to Ukraine, though Bucharest denied the claim. Ukraine said Friday that Russia had launched a major new wave of aerial attacks, as President Joe Biden announced he would mark one year since the invasion by visiting Kyiv’s neighbor Poland. With
Government in Chisinau has fallen
The government in Chisinau has fallen after a year and a half in office, amid inflation and energy security concerns.Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita stepped down from her position on Friday citing a lack of support in the former Soviet Republic. Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accepted Gavrilita’s resignation and said she would talk with parliamentary
Ukraine accession to NATO would mean world
The Hungarian government does not back Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO and makes Kiev’s potential entry to the EU contingent on protecting the rights of Ukraine’s national minorities. Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyas Speaking about the prospects of Ukraine’s EU membership, he underscored that Kiev must ensure progress in protecting the rights
Most powerful SpaceX rocket system tested
Nasa has already contracted SpaceX to develop a version that can play a role in its Artemis programme, to once again land astronauts on the Moon. Starship will become the most powerful operational rocket system in history when it makes its maiden flight. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has performed a key test on its huge
Netflix crackdown on password sharing
growing competition in the streaming market, and customers cutting back on subscriptions due to the rising cost of living, have prompted Netflix to focus on shoring up its revenues. Back in 2017 Netflix even appeared to be sanctioning the practice when it tweeted “Love is sharing a password”. Netflix is introducing limits on password sharing
Kyiv bared from using Starlink tech for drone control
After invading its neighbour in February last year, Russia quickly looked to close down local internet services and to block social media. The first Starlink dishes or terminals were provided to Ukraine soon after, in an effort to ensure people stayed connected. Early in the war, Ukraine was given thousands of SpaceX Starlink dishes which
Twitter outage
In recent weeks many users have complained of bugs while using Twitter – including some claiming they could increase the reach of tweets if they locked their accounts. Some Twitter users were unable to tweet on Wednesday after the website experienced technical problems. Some reported being notified by Twitter that they were over the 2,400-tweet-per-day
Russians hackers sanctioned
Russia has for years denied that it is harbouring ransomware hackers, but cyber-security experts say there is compelling evidence that many of the criminal groups are co-ordinated from the country. Many of the gangs operate on Russian-language forums, there are fewer attacks on Russian organisations, and the frequency of hacks dips during Russian public holidays.