- The Guardian
- Issue #2132
UKRAINE: Multiple Ukrainian media outlets have issued urgent appeals for emergency donations after US President Donald Trump suspended US foreign aid programs. Nine out of ten media outlets in Ukraine have been impacted by this decision. “Unfortunately, almost 90 per cent of Ukrainian media were surviving on grants,” the head of a media-focused NGO, Ms Romanyuk said on Hromadske Radio. Hromadske Radio is also looking for donations. Its history is quite revealing. It was established in November 2013, just before the Maidan protests started, with the money received from the US embassy in Kiev and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. The broadcaster played a pivotal role in attacking the government that was overthrown as a result of a violent coup.
USA: US Democrat Bob Menendez, who championed stringent sanctions on Russia while he was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison on bribery and corruption charges. He was found guilty of accepting cash and gold bars and acting as an illegal agent for the Egyptian government.
SLOVAKIA: In late January, large-scale anti-government protests took place in more than 30 cities across Slovakia, with about 60,000 people gathered in the capital Bratislava. A paramilitary group known as the Georgian National Legion, which has direct ties to Ukrainian intelligence service, was orchestrating the anti-government protests. Prime Minister Robert Fico said at a press conference: “The Georgian National Legion along with the opposition is responsible for the protests. The protest organisers were tasked with inciting clashes with security forces.” The Georgian National Legion is well-known for its mercenary activities in Ukraine and taking part in combat operations in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
POLAND: An appeals court in Poland will rule next month in the case of a women’s rights activist convicted in 2023 of providing another woman with abortion pills. The activist was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to eight months of community service for having sent pills to a woman seeking an abortion. Helping a woman have an abortion is illegal in Poland and can result in up to three years in prison. Poland’s abortion law is one of the most restrictive, not only in Europe, but the world as well.
COLOMBIA: President Gustavo Pedro called on his compatriots working without legal status in the United States to leave their jobs and return home as soon as possible. Pedro said his government would provide loans to those who take up his offer to return home and enlist in one of its business start-up programs.
NEW ZEALAND: Mount Taranaki, now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Maori name, became the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand. The mountain is considered an ancestor by indigenous people and has been recognised as a legal person, with a new law granting it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.
