World News
Echoes of nuclear threat gets louder, as Russia readies to annex parts of Ukraine
The din of nuclear threat in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, got louder on Tuesday with former President, Dmitry Medvedev, upping the ante with a fresh warning to Ukraine and the West of what could be the last resort to the seven-month-old war.
It is coming against the backdrop of a referendums one of the world’s nuclear-rich countries has put in place towards annexing four Ukrainian regions entered their fifth and final day, reports, say, adding that Moscow’s latest broadside came as European countries rushed to investigate unexplained leaks in two Russian natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea which will hinder efforts to restart the main line taking Russian gas to Germany.
The Kremlin, which has blamed technical problems for earlier cuts in Russian gas supplies to Europe, said it could not rule out sabotage, but did not say by whom and called for an investigation.
Russia’s confrontation with the West has driven up global inflation and sharpened energy and food crises in many countries since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which was met by tough Western sanctions and Russian retaliatory measures.
Tuesday’s nuclear warning by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, is one of several issued by Putin and his associates in recent weeks.
Analysts say they are designed to deter Ukraine and the West by hinting at a readiness to use tactical nuclear weapons to defend newly annexed territory, where Russian forces have faced strong Ukrainian counteroffensives in recent weeks.
Medvedev’s warning differed from earlier ones in that he predicted for the first time that the NATO military alliance would not risk nuclear war and directly enter the Ukraine war even if Moscow struck Ukraine with nuclear weapons.
“I believe that NATO would not directly interfere in the conflict even in this scenario,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.
“The demagogues across the ocean and in Europe are not going to die in a nuclear apocalypse.”
Voting on whether to join Russia in four Ukrainian regions partly controlled by Moscow — Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia — entered its fifth and final day. The West has said it will not recognise the outcome of what it regards as illegal sham referendums.
Russian government officials have repeatedly warned they might use nuclear weapons to defend the new territory if Kyiv’s forces, who are already in control of some of it, try to take what Moscow says it will soon regard as its sovereign territory.
NATO and the United States have not detailed publicly how they would respond to a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine, but Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, told CBS on Sunday that Washington had spelled out to Moscow what he described as “catastrophic consequences” for Russia.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick that Ukraine was preparing for the possibility of a Russian nuclear strike, but said the onus was on nuclear-armed states to deter Russia.
“…Where exactly should we evacuate people in the event of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine?
“That is why the use of nuclear weapons is a question of global security – this is no longer just about Ukraine,” he asked.
Podolyak said in the same interview that Ukrainians who had helped Russia organise the annexation referendums would face treason charges and at least five years in jail.
“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” he said, adding that Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished.
Ukrainians officials have reported ballot boxes being taken door to door and residents being coerced into voting in front of Russian troops.
None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been underway along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.
The British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that Putin was likely to announce the accession of the occupied regions to the Russian Federation during an address to parliament on Sept. 30.
Ukrainian and Russian forces were locked in heavy fighting in different parts of Ukraine on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Donetsk region in the east remained his country’s – and Russia’s – top strategic priority, with “particularly severe” fighting engulfing several towns as Russian troops try to advance to the south and west.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the regional governor, said three civilians had been killed and 13 wounded in the Donetsk region in the past 24 hours.
There were also reported clashes in the Kharkiv region in the northeast – focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive this month.
And Ukrainian forces pressed on with a campaign to keep bridges and other river crossings out of action to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces in the south.
A Reuters reporter in the city of Zaporizhzhia saw a huge crater next to a restaurant on Khortytsia Island and workers disentangling power lines and trees.
The restaurant owner said nobody had been hurt in the overnight strike.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Tuesday it had shot down three Iranian-made drones operated by Russia after an attack on the Mykolaiv region.
Posted by Editor | 27 September 2022, 11:07pm
Journalists and other guests, were forced to dock under their tables, fended by security operatives after sounds of gunshots were heard within the precinct of the venue where Donald Trump, President of the United States was hosting media personalities to a dinner on Saturday.
The POTUS and his wife Melania, were declared unhurt after the incident, in which one person was arrested and taken away and is said to be currently in custordy, as a result.
The incident took place at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, with the United States Secret Service confirming that a suspect was been taken into custody, adding that investigations were ongoing in collaboration with local law enforcement.
The shooting occurred near the main security screening area at the event venue, the Washington Hilton, where hundreds of journalists, politicians, and guests had gathered, reports say, quoting the statement as saying: “The President and first lady are safe along with all protectees.”
The report maintained that the condition of those involved in the incident was still being assessed, while witnesses said they heard what sounded like gunshots shortly after 8:30 p.m., triggering panic as attendees fled the ballroom.
Security operatives were seen swiftly evacuating top officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and members of the cabinet with a video footage from the scene showing Secret Service agents clearing the stage and ushering the President and other dignitaries to safety, while voices were heard urging people to “stay down.”
Trump, who spoke shortly after the incident, praised security agencies for their swift response, saying via a post on social media: “Secret Service and law enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended.”
He added that while he initially suggested the event continue, final decisions would be made by security authorities, noting that the evening’s programme had been significantly disrupted.
Organisers later confirmed that the president would address the press, with plans to possibly reschedule the event within 30 days.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an annual gathering that brings together journalists, political leaders, and public figures, and is often seen as a key moment celebrating press freedom in the United States.
With the announcement of a $10million bounty on the head of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, The United States, appears to be showing no let in its campaign in the Middle East country, where it had already killed scores of its previous leaders.
“These individuals command and direct various elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which plans, organizes and executes terrorism around the world,” the State Department said, to indicate Washington’s preparedness to pay $10 million reward for information about the whereabouts of Khamenei, whose father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the campaign a fortnight ago.
The department’s Rewards for Justice Programme (RFJP) placed a bounty on 10 of Iran’s most senior remaining leaders, including Khamenei and Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the country’s top security official, said to lead the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused of planning, organising and executing terrorism around the world.
The RFJP has previously offered bounties for terrorists like former al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was the subject of a $10 million reward under the programme until he was removed in 2024.
Five of the people designated on Friday are listed by their titles with no name or photograph, including “secretary of the defense council” and “the IRGC commander.”
The United States and Israel have killed many of Iran’s top leaders, including former IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader and Mojtaba’s father.
Ali Larijani, the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, who had also appeared in a live interview with Iranian media during the march, had posted a video of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian walking in Tehran on Friday for the country’s annual Quds Day demonstrations against Israel.
Taunting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s claim that Iranian leaders were hiding undergroundm, he wrote: “Mr. Hegseth, our leaders have been, and still are, among the people. But your leaders? On Epstein’s island!”
Earlier Donald Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Friday morning to underscore his belief that Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since he was elevated to supreme leader, was wounded, said: “I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form,”
“Rest assured that my determination to serve you is matched to the severity of the challenges before us. Together there are no challenges we cannot overcome. The best is still to come,” were the words with which Paul Biya, President of Cameroun, gave an indication to extend his reign in the country, for a record, eight time.
This would take the 92-year old leader, who came into power in November 1982, replacing Ahmaduo Ahidjo, his predecessor to 51 years and a year short of 100 years in age by the time his seven-year term would end, should he succeed in the current bid.
Though the oldest President in the world by age, Biya, who is the second longest President in the only to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in power since he came in through a coup in 1979, confirmed that he would be on the ballot on Sunday, saying he had accepted his party’s nomination.
In the announcement made on his official X handle, and Facebook account in French and English, he wrote: “I’m running for the presidential election on October 12, 2025.”
As the nonagenarian battles with both age and ill-health, giving rise to frequent speculations, one of which came with his disappearance from public view for 42 days, last year, was replaced by another speculation of a coup, last month, which turned out to be a ruse.
Members of the governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) and other supporters have since last year publicly called for Biya to seek another term.
But opposition parties and some civil society groups argue his long rule has stifled economic and democratic development, with two former allies quiting the governing coalition and announcing plans to separately run in the election.
“President Biya’s announcement to run again is a clear sign of Cameroon’s stalled political transition. After over 40 years in power, what the country needs is renewal – not repetition. Cameroonians deserve democratic change and accountable leadership,” Nkongho Felix Agbor, a human rights advocate and lawyer, told The Associated Press news agency.
Sunday’s announcement is sure to revive debate over Biya’s fitness for office. He seldom makes public appearances, often delegating responsibilities to the powerful chief of staff of the president’s office.
To underscore the situation in the Central African country, the government during his disappearance last year, had banned any comments on his whereabouts and state of health, which they claimed was a security matter and arrested those who flouted the order.
His long reign continued after he scrapped term limits in 2008, clearing the way for him to run indefinitely, winning his latest election in 2018 with 71.28 percent of the vote, though opposition parties alleged widespread irregularities.
The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation, which has had just two presidents since independence from France and the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, is likely to face a messy succession crisis if Biya were to become too ill to remain in office or die.
Besides Biya, several opposition figures have also declared their intention to run, including 2018 runner-up Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front, lawyer Akere Muna and Cabral Libii of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation.
Under Biya, Cameroon has faced economic challenges and insecurity on several fronts, including a drawn-out separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions and ongoing incursions from the Boko Haram armed group in the north.
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