International
Putin’s top candidates won’t take parliament seats
AFP
Candidates who topped the electoral lists of Russia’s ruling party in this month’s legislative elections will not take their seats in parliament, officials said on Wednesday.
The announcement prompted opposition figures to accuse the Kremlin of duping voters, on top of allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
On Wednesday, the Central Election Commission said four of the five candidates who headed the list of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party would not be serving as deputies.
“They are not on a list of lawmakers,” a commission spokeswoman told AFP.
The ruling party turned to popular figures including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 71, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, 66, to head its list, as pre-election polls saw its support as low as 30 percent.
The figures asked to take part in the campaign also included a popular doctor in charge of Moscow’s main Covid-19 hospital, who has become a symbol of Russia’s fight against the coronavirus.
The doctor, Denis Protsenko, initially refused the nomination, but after a call from President Vladimir Putin, the 45-year-old took part in the campaign.
Of the five, only the children’s rights ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova will take up a seat in parliament’s lower house, the State Duma.
Activist Elena Shmelyova, who heads a popular children’s centre, will also give up her mandate.
The team of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said it was “clear from the very beginning” that prominent figures were on the unpopular United Russia election list only to boost support and “cheat voters.”
“United Russia is spinning voters a line to remain in power,” Navalny’s team said on Telegram.
United Russia claimed a two-thirds majority in the lower house after a massive crackdown on the opposition. Kremlin critics have accused the authorities of mass voter fraud.
Official results gave United Russia 49.8 percent of the vote, down from 54.2 percent in the last parliamentary election in 2016.
Critics say online voting, new limits on election observers and the polls being spread over three days — a move officials said was to reduce coronavirus risks — all presented opportunities for fraud.
International
Zelenski urges global action after russian ballistic missile strike
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski called on the international community Thursday to “respond” to Russia’s ballistic missile strike on Ukraine, which he said has heightened the “escalation and brutality” of the conflict.
“The world must react. So far, there has been no strong response,” Zelenski lamented in a social media statement.
“We must act. We must pressure. We must push Russia towards real peace, which is only achievable through strength,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Thursday that Russia had launched a new type of hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine in its “non-nuclear configuration.”
International
Elon Musk plans sweeping cuts to U.S. bureaucracy and spending
Elon Musk has pledged massive cuts to government programs, subsidies, and bureaucracy in his anticipated role as a “State Efficiency” leader, according to an article published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.
The billionaire entrepreneur plans to target hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending, including funds for public broadcasting and Planned Parenthood. Musk called government bureaucracy an “existential threat” to American democracy.
Teaming up with fellow businessman and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk aims to streamline federal regulations and implement significant administrative and cost reductions.
“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as external volunteers, not federal officials or employees,” Musk and Ramaswamy stated in the article.
International
Putin warns of escalation, suggests strikes on western weapon suppliers
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the conflict in Ukraine is taking on the characteristics of a “global war,” warning that Russia might target Western nations supplying Ukraine with weapons used in attacks on Russian territory.
These remarks come after a day of heightened tensions, during which Russia launched a state-of-the-art medium-range missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead. However, this particular missile was loaded with conventional explosives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the missile strike, calling it the action of a “deranged neighbor” using Ukraine as a “military testing ground.”
Earlier, Ukraine accused Russia of attacking the central-eastern city of Dnipro with a missile exhibiting “all the characteristics” of an intercontinental missile, an unprecedented development in the ongoing conflict.
Zelenski urges global action after russian ballistic missile strike
Elon Musk plans sweeping cuts to U.S. bureaucracy and spending
Putin warns of escalation, suggests strikes on western weapon suppliers
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