Testing a Hexbear-like thread for sharing and commenting on news. Might become a weekly thing if people like it 👀
Rules:
- Include sources in (at least) every top-level comment
- No clearly fake stories
- That’s it for now
- Xibucks arrive on the third Sunday of every month
Serbian military issues warning over Kosovo violence
Belgrade would not stand by if the ethnic Albanian authorities in Kosovo start killing or displacing Serbs in the breakaway region, Defense Minister Milos Vucevic has warned. The statement came amid heated protest by Serbs in Kosovo over mayoral elections in several towns, which they have described as a travesty.
Speaking to the public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia on Wednesday, Vucevic assessed the risk of a violent escalation in the north of Kosovo as “big, probably the biggest possible.”
Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, and his “unilateral, illegal, illegitimate decisions” are what led to the current tensions in the region, according to Vucevic. He also accused Pristina of denying ethnic Serbs their basic human rights and freedoms.
The minister pointed out that the Serbian military is “ready to carry out any task,” adding that Belgrade has defined any infringement against its “vital national and state interests” as a red line.
“We are talking about scenarios where, God forbid, someone kills Serbs, that physical liquidation begins of our people by the Kosovo police, the expulsion of Serbs,” the Serbian official clarified.
Vucevic emphasized that any such actions “would really be not only a red alarm, but also the moment when Serbia can’t just talk and sit idly by.”
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Shit’s really looking bad for Kurti when even the americans aren’t putting up with his crap.
But what was he thinking? Ethnic albanian majors “elected” with 0-100 votes in constituencies of tens of thousands of people. That’s clearly a matter of renegotiating the electoral process instead of giving the Mayor title to whoever was there first. I can’t believe the Kosovar goverment thought that that was going to work out.
Taliban deploys heavy reinforcements to Iran border
Videos circulating social media on 31 May show Taliban forces heavily reinforcing the Afghan border with Iran on 31 May, after significant escalation regarding a water dispute between the two countries, which resulted in heavy border clashes between the two sides over the weekend.
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The outbreak of fighting came a week after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the Taliban to respect Iran’s rights to water from the Helmand River shared between the two countries, under the 1973 Afghan-Iranian Helmand River Treaty. Iran has long accused Afghanistan of restricting the flow of its water to Iran and causing droughts or dry spells.
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Despite videos showing reinforcements on the border, Iranian media reports suggested that some “elements are trying to provoke the parties involved with rumors and fake news.”
What even is the point? Do the taliban actually think they can go in the offensive against Iran? I really don’t get what’s the plan here
China urges NATO to respect Serbia’s sovereignty
China urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to respect Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and truly contribute to regional peace, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday during a regular press briefing.
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Regarding the escalating tensions in the region, Mao said that China is closely following the developments, adding that China supports Serbia’s effort to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The spokesperson vowed opposition to unilateral actions by the temporary institutions in Pristina and called on it to perform its duty of establishing an association/community of Serb majority municipalities.
They should.
I think it can be a diplomatic boost for China if they solve this conflict in Europe, although I doubt they’ll get too involved.
China is too smart and cautious to get itself involved in such a conflict. They gave their token support to Serbia and that’s it - nobody in the CPC wants China to be seen as the one stirring up conflict in Europe or elsewhere.
Same reason why they don’t (openly) support the NPA in the Philippines and they keep reiterating that they want a peaceful solution to the SMO. China cares about being seen as the reasonable mediator, someone countries can rely on to actually stop conflicts instead of escalating them like SOME countries do
You can say whatever you want and you’re free to criticize the government in wholesome western liberal democracies. /s
British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/05/30/journalist-kit-klarenberg-british-police-interrogated-grayzone/
As soon as journalist Kit Klarenberg landed in his home country of Britain on May 17, 2023, six anonymous plainclothes counter-terror officers detained him. They quickly escorted him to a back room, where they grilled him for over five hours about his reporting for this outlet. They also inquired about his personal opinion on everything from the current British political leadership to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At one point, Klarenberg’s interrogators demanded to know whether The Grayzone had a special arrangement with Russia’s Federal Security Bureau (FSB) to publish hacked material.
During Klarenberg’s detention, police seized the journalist’s electronic devices and SD cards, fingerprinted him, took DNA swabs, and photographed him intensively. They threatened to arrest him if he did not comply.
of course the police should carry semi-automatic rifles, that is definitely appropriate for self-proclaimed “law enforcement”, and it’s a particularly good fit for a crowded airport
I am still shocked at how many cops there are out and about in Germany with fully automatic weapons in their hands ready to go. You’d expect it from Amerikkkans but not at a German train station or Christmas Market. Another one that has stuck with me was an entire group of soldiers with assault rifles and armored vehicles hanging out at the bus depot in Venice Italy.
the terror attacks in the last decades (such as the one in nice, or the bataclan, or many others) have been our 9/11 in that regard. The fearmongering that came after those was meant to justify heavily armed police (and in some cases even soldiers, i saw them in Milan) in public spaces just like the fearmongering after 9/11 was meant to justify the patriot act.
From in the last 10 years police and military presence has increased MASSIVELY across europe, and nobody noticed because at the time the media made it seem reasonable. And now the emergency is no more, but we sure as hell ain’t going back to how it was before just like the US never dropped the patriot act.
